Former President Bush will be in Sevier County this week to speak at a Christian Convention. He will be at the Sevierville Events Center as a guest speaker for the “Celebrate America!” day in the Celebrators conference, which is said to the “the leading Christian conference for older adults and mature believers.” This event has been sold out for months and will be closed for media.
Bush was scheduled to visit the Smokies on Earth Day in 2005, but due to inclement weather he was unable to make it, so this will be Sevier County’s first appearance by George W. Bush.
Great Smoky Mountains Association has just published and released its newest book, Smoky Mountain Magic, a novel by Horace Kephart. Although completed in 1929, just 2 years before his death, the novel was never published until now.
The unpublished manuscript for Smoky Mountain Magic was handed down within the Kephart family until it was finally brought to the attention of park superintendent by the author’s great-granddaughter, at one of this year’s 75th Anniversary celebrations.
Smoky Mountain Magic’s fictional story takes place during the summer of 1925, mostly along the Deep Creek watershed in the Great Smoky Mountains. Characters include a mysterious stranger, a greedy land baron, a cadre of mountain folk ranging in constitution from stalwart to conniving, a beautiful botanist, a Cherokee chief and a witch. The novel fits the adventure story genre of the day with a bit of romance interwoven.
The 248 page Smoky Mountain Magic is now available in both paperback ($12.95) and hard cover ($19.95). All proceeds are being donated to the Horace Kephart Foundation (in support of the annual Horace Kephart Days Celebration in Bryson City), Great Smoky Mountains Association and Friends of the Smokies.
The novel is available at park visitor centers, area bookstores, and by contacting GSMA at www.SmokiesInformation.org or , ext. 226.