This summer, the mountain resort community of Little Switzerland will celebrate its centennial with a series of special events and a new book about its rich and fascinating history.
One hundred years ago, N.C. Supreme Court Justice Heriot Clarkson founded the Little Switzerland community on 1,100 acres of land surveyed from the top of Grassy Mountain. Located in McDowell and Mitchell counties, it would later become one of the few private resorts along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Today, Little Switzerland is home to some of the finest and most scenic hotels, inns, restaurants and shops along the Parkway. It is also home to numerous seasonal and full-time residents.
Judith "Judy" Knight is one of the full-time residents of Little Switzerland. She's helping organize a big celebration of the community's 100th birthday that will be held this May and June. Knight said she and the other people who are in charge of the special events expect more visitors than usual, especially with the recent winter weather.
"After a brutal winter, we are really looking forward to having a great time," she said.
Little Switzerland will celebrate its 100th birthday with several events, including a picnic at the Orchard at Altapass, a walking tour of several historic homes, a campfire with storytelling one evening and a play written especially about early times in Little Switzerland. More details about these events will be announced later, according to organizers.
Knight said she and the other organizers have gotten some donations of money and gifts. These will be sold at a silent auction in early May to help fund the festivities.
Pat Turner Mitchell is a local author who wrote about her Little Switzerland ancestors. The title of her work is "Lifted to the Shoulders of a Mountain: A Story of the People who Climbed a Mountain Before their Home became Little Switzerland, N.C." She's assisting with the production of the play along with other local writers.
Furthermore, two other local authors, David Biddix and Chris Hollifield, are writing a new book in time for the centennial. It will be published by Arcadia Publishing Co. of Charleston, S.C. as part of the firm's "Images of America" series. Biddix and Hollifield recently published another volume in the "Images of America" series. This one is about Spruce Pine.
In addition to gathering photographs and information for the Little Switzerland book, the two men also conducted a number of one-on-one interviews with local residents and descendants of the community's founders. They also interviewed history Professor Anne Whisnant who wrote the book "Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History." These book and DVD interviews will be available for sale during the celebration.
"At the conclusion of the centennial year, all collected information will be given to the local public library system for archival purposes so it will be available to everyone," said Knight.
A reception for Biddix and Hollifield will be held in June at the Switzerland Inn. That event will also feature a display of many of the photographs they collected. At last count, the authors had more than 2,000 from which to choose.
Organizers are hoping to tie in the community's centennial celebration with the Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th anniversary. Both Little Switzerland and the Parkway have a strong connection to each other.
"All in all, we are trying to have a celebration for all residents of our community, past and present, summer visitors and people who have never seen our beautiful area," said Knight.
For more information about the upcoming events, visit www.littleswitzerlandcentennial.com.
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