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As regular Cafe readers will recall, last week we began
an alhabetical journey through Jackson County, with each letter representing
a place or person of local significance.
We got the idea from a recently published children's book, T Is for
Tar Heel: A North Carolina Alphabet, by Carol Crane of Holly Springs.
Beginning with "A is for Addie" and "B is for Beta,"
Part I worked its way down to "M is for Mountains."
This second installment starts with "N" (for Neddy Mountain)
and winds up with "Z," which here stands for Zion Hill.
As was the case last week, some letters have more than one listing,
mostly because we thought of multiples.
"S," for example, had seven entries at last count.
A is for Addie (Part II)
N is for Neddy Mountain, up Canada way
It's also spelled "Nettie," what's right we can't say.
O is for Ochre Hill, Oscar and Olivet
They're all on a map. Have you been to them yet?
P is for Panthertown, the East's "Yosemite"
Named after the cat, it's in Cashiers' proximity.
P is for Pine Creek and Pressley Creek, too
Pumpkintown, Pinhook and the Parkway's view.
P is for Poteet, both Charles and Roscoe
The pool has this name; the park does also.
Q is for Qualla, on the edge of the Reservation
Home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.
R is for railroad, it opened the way
For Sylva's expansion to the town of today.
S is for several, and it will repeat.
It's for big creeks, high mountains and our county's seat.
S is Scotts Creek, Savannah and Sols
Large creeks with good fishing and some waterfalls.
S is for Smoky Mountains, the high peaks whose name
Gives our county and region its main claim to fame.
S is for Sylva, our county seat
Its stately old courthouse looks down on Main Street.
S is for Sylva, home of The Herald
The paper that launched the career of Bob Terrell.*
S is for Sylva, named for a wandering Dane
By Col. Hampton's daughter, Mae was her name.
S is for Smokey Mountain and Smoky Mountain also
Two schools named the same for reasons we don't know.
T is for Tuckaseigee, the river runs through
East LaPorte, Cullowhee and Webster, too.
U is for Unity and also for Union Hill
One in Cullowhee, one in Cherokee, both churches still.
V is for Valley, we have two or three
There's Truthful and Thomas and wide Cullowhee.
W is for Webster, our former county seat
A vote to keep it there went down in defeat.
W is for Wayehutta, pronounced differently it's true
They say "worry hut;" Why? We haven't a clue.
W is for Willets, a once-thriving town
Past Beta and Addie is where it is found.
W is for Wilmot, spelled wrong more than right
It does not have an "n," though "Wilmont" is a common
sight.
W is for Western Carolina University, where legends are made
Bob Waters coached there, and it's where Logan** played.
X is for Xanthophyll, not well known at all
It's the pigment that causes yellow leaf color each fall.
Y is for Yellow Mountain, Yellowhill and so forth
The first's to the south, the second's to the north.
Z is for Zion Hill and Mt. Zion for sure
Once thriving communities, their churches endure.
We welcome readers' suggestions for our Jackson County alphabet, either
of entire couplets or of other places or people we should consider for
a given letter. Also, please feel free to vote for your favorite rhyme
where we have proposed multiple listings.
Dan Johnson, who lives in Granada, Spain (but says he has Jackson County
roots) sent along five verses, and we'd like to hear from others and
publish them all next week.
If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail them to lynn@thesylvaherald.com,
mail them to P.O. Box 307, Sylva, N.C. 28779, or telephone us at 586-2611.
*Longtime Asheville Citizen-Times columnist and regional author Bob
Terrell grew up in Addie and once wrote for this newspaper.
**Basketball standout Henry Logan of Asheville, who set numerous scoring
records at Western that still stand today.
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