Cherokee County NC Blog

Gov. Mike Easley announced that the official, free, 2008 North Carolina Travel Guide is available.

The new guide includes a special pull-out map of the state and details on activities that can be shared by the entire family, grandkids to grandparents.

You can get a copy of the guide by calling 1-800-Visit NC (800-847-4862) or on the web at www.visitnc.com, or you can go directly to the page to request a copy of the 2008 North Carolina Travel Guide.

Sail away with the Murphy/Tri-County Women’s Club from noon until 1:45 pm on Thursday, June 7, 2007, in the fellowship hall of Murphy First Baptist Church.

Phylis Blackmon, owner of Crown Travel and Tours Inc., in Murphy NC, will tell about some of the exotic places to travel, how to get there, and what to do once arriving at your destination.

Back by popular demand will be special music by Jeff Owens of Murphy.

Special speaker Linda Farrell of Kathleen, Georgia, will tell about “How a U-turn in Georgia Saved Her Life.”

Reservations and cancellations for the luncheon and child care must be made by noon on Monday, June 4, 2007. Reservations not canceled by Monday will require payment.

Admission is $9.50 inclusive, and child care is free. Special hostess gifts will be given.

For more information, call Martha at 828-837-2694.

I want to thank my friend, Jerry Chautin, for alerting me to an article in the New York Times, A Basket Case in North Carolina, written by David Rakoff, and published on May 20, 2007.

In this article, the author talks about taking a week-long class at the John C Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, NC.

Originally, like most men, he wanted to experience the thrill of blacksmithing, of smiting hot steel and shaping it into new forms with fire, hammer, and anvil, but (for reasons he details in the article) he changed to taking a basket weaving class.

As a true lover of the Folk School and all that goes on there, I felt the resonance of reading what I know to be true about the Folk School experience, not just what happens when taking a class and learning a new skill, or improving your ability to create pieces of art in your chosen craft.

Mr. Rakoff talks about the unexpected moments of silence and “getting into the zone” that artists strive for while transforming the vision in our minds into the item in our hands.

This is one of the best articles I’ve read about the Folk School, and I recommend it to you. I don’t know how long the New York Times keeps these articles archived, so maybe you should read A Basket Case in North Carolina, now.

(For more information about the John C. Campbell Folk School, its classes, crafts, and events, call 828-837-2775 or 1-800-FOLK-SCH (800-365-5724) or visit www.folkschool.org.)