MARCH ISSUE 1999
BREVARD COLLEGE, BREVARD, NC
Browns Mountains
Regina Davis
The Great Smoky
Mountain National Park has
provided “a sense of place” for
milhons of people over thou
sands of years. Like many
others, Dr. Margaret Lynn
Brown, Assistant Professor of
History here at Brevard College,
has found the Smokies to be her
haven, a place she loves, and
one whose history she searches
to understand. From now on,
Brown’s identity will be linked
forever to the Smokies
as the author of A Wild East:
Creating a Wilderness in the
Great Smoky Mountains, a
nonfiction environmental history
book soon to be published.
Covering the entire
history of the Park during the
20th Century, Brown states that
her work focuses on “people’s
lives recounted to me over the
years.” Concentrating on three
main elements of the Park; its
beginnings, its creation, and its
mission, A Wild East speaks of
the more human history of the
landmark. The first part of
Brown’s book discusses the
communities of mountain people
removed by the state to create
the 504,000 acres that make up
the Great Smoky Mountain
National Park. The second part
of A Wild East tell the creation
story of the Park; the building of
roads and trails, the origin for the
names given to Park locations,
the boundary lines established,
and the people involved in
founding the Park. Finally, the
third portion of Brown’s work
focuses on the Park’s mission;
protecting the national site.
Dr. Margaret Brown, author of A
Wild East, has taught at Brevard
College for three years. Previ
ously, she instructed at Kentucky
State University and the Univer
sity of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
making it accessible to the
public, and handling the
conflicts that arise between
environmentalists and often-
disrespectflil visitors.
As a child. Dr. Brown
determined to write. Describ
ing herself as “an oddball,”
she spent most of her time
reading at school or at the
public library. In fact. Brown
recalls one librarian who
made a special impact on her
in elementary school. “The
librarian assigned me, since I
spent so much time in the
library, the task of reading all
the books that none of the
other children read.” Brown’s
love of reading combined
with a new love for history
while she attended Minne
sota State University.
Working, as a journalist
for Waynesville’s The
Mountaineer and the
Christian Science Monitor
Continued on page 4
Hi, Ho! Hi, Ho! It’s Off
To Green River, They Go
Mandi Milligan
It’s official folks! The 1999 Voice of the Rivers crew has been
chosen and has already begun preparation for their three-week
journey from the headwaters of the Green River, The Broad River m
Columbia, Lakes Marion and Moultries, and Cooper River into
Charleston for the Spoleto Festival. Journey preparations begin
immediately on Sunday evenings and move into fast gear May 12th.
The 1999 VOR crew will begin their actual journey on May
15*, following graduation, and conclude on or about June 2"‘‘. This
summer’s crew includes trip leaders Clyde Carter, Susan Schmidt, Gary
Thompson, and Brian Oesch, as well as 11 student team members.
Linley Bowyer, Jarvis Broom, Wendy Byerly, Laura Dominkovic,
Mandi Milligan, Joe Raymond, Shannon Riley, Molly Smith, Shawn
Stevens, Erica Streich, and Alice Ufford.
All of the College community are invited to participate in the
crew’s departure May 15th immediately following graduation. More
details will follow in the April issue of The Clarion. As the trip
progresses, all are invited to keep abreast of the crew’s progress and
adventures by logging on to http://www.brevard.edu/voice.
Bon voyage, VOR. Congratulations and best wishes for a
safe and memorable trip.
Reverend]. Cameron West To Join College
VP Enrollment and Church_R£jation^
Brad Kimzey, Brevard College News
Bureau Director
A United Methodist
pastor with strong ties to the inde
pendent colleges of North Carolina
will become Vice President for Stu
dent Enrollment and Church Rela
tions at Brevard College, the old
est institution of higher learning m
the mountains of North Carolina.
The Reverend J. Cameron West,
pastor of Christ United Methodist
Church in Gastonia, N.C., will as
sume his duties in early April. In
his new role. West will coordinate
the work of the admissions and fi
nancial aid officers of the College,
as well as nurture relations with the
churches and offices of the
College’s parent denomination.
West succeeds Robert
G. McLendon as head of the en
rollment planning team at Brevard
College. Formerly Brevard
College’s Vice President for Enroll-
Continued on page 4