by Gary Bailey | Mar 7, 2022 | History
Christus Gardens (later renamed “Christ in the Smokies”) was a Gatlinburg landmark for many years. The museum opened in 1960, early in the rise of Gatlinburg as a vacation hotspot, by Mr. Ronald Ligon. The museum featured life-size figures populating...
by Gary Bailey | Jan 17, 2022 | Celebrities, History
Legendary country music broadcaster, Ralph Emery, passed away from natural causes on Saturday, January 15th, at the age of 88. Emery was born in McEwen, Tennessee, in 1933 and after attending broadcasting school, got his first job in radio at the WTPR station in...
by Gary Bailey | Aug 31, 2021 | Attractions, History, Music, News
On August 19th, the Historic Gatlinburg had a rare honor bestowed upon it, which is its inclusion as a Tennessee Music Pathways destination. Tennessee Music Pathways is a set of destinations throughout the state that are recognized as playing significant roles in...
by Gary Bailey | May 6, 2020 | History
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the closing of an attraction in Gatlinburg that most of you (except maybe those of you local to the area) probably didn’t know existed – Fun Mountain. Fun Mountain is an abandoned theme park that closed in the...
by Gary Bailey | Apr 22, 2020 | History, Nature
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to the black bear, a medium-sized bear that is widely distributed throughout North America. They are omnivores (meaning they eat both plants and animals) that like to live in heavily forested areas but will approach...
by Gary Bailey | Apr 8, 2020 | History
In 1970, Columbia Pictures released a movie titled “A Walk in the Spring Rain.” The movie, filmed in 1969, starred Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn, two Hollywood superstars at the time. The plot of the movie involves a couple (college professor Roger...