It is with both sadness and relief that I announce the final installation of our Worth 1,000 Words essay project . . . sadness because I’ve so enjoyed each new essay and the varying perspectives our authors have brought to the Morton collection, and relief because, wow, this has been a lot of work! (I have a whole new respect for editors/publishers).
But perhaps the sun hasn’t gone down for the last time on this project. All along, our intention with these essays has been to demonstrate the usefulness of Hugh Morton’s images beyond their obvious value as “pretty pictures.” As we stated in our original grant proposal to the North Carolina Humanities Council:
“Photographs are rich primary sources in themselves, full of historical detail, and as visual records, offer immediacy not available through text — a direct visual link to the past. Photography is also, of course, an art, one of which Hugh Morton was a master. The beautiful and communicative documents he created hold almost endless possibility for study, research, and exhibition. They also contain great potential for educational use at all levels, from grade school to graduate school.”
We heartily encourage researchers, journalists, students, teachers, history buffs, etc. to take up the mantle of our Worth 1,000 Words authors and continue to put Morton’s photos to work in the creation of new knowledge. We hope to find ways to encourage that in the future, e.g., through collaborations with media outlets and educators (here on UNC campus and/or in the public schools). We’d love to hear your ideas on ways to accomplish this.
And now to the final essay, entitled The Grandfather Backcountry: A Bridge Between the Past and Preservation, written by RANDY JOHNSON, the originator of Grandfather Mountain’s trail system. In this essay, Johnson provides his first-hand, behind-the-scenes perspective on the changing attitudes towards managing and providing public access to Grandfather’s backcountry. Combining Johnson’s piece with four of our other essays, by Drew Swanson, Anne Whisnant, Richard Starnes, and Alan Weakley, provides a fascinating, nuanced analysis (from multiple, sometimes conflicting perspectives) of the complex balancing act between profit and conservation at “Carolina’s Top Scenic Attraction.”
I’ll conclude with a final plug for our second (and last) Worth 1,000 Words event in Boone on Tuesday, August 10, which will feature both Johnson and Starnes. Come on out!
Tuesday, Aug. 10, 5:30 p.m.
Watauga County Library, Boone
Information: Evelyn Johnson, ejohnson@arlibrary.org, (828) 264-8784
- Randy Johnson: “The Grandfather Backcountry”
- Richard Starnes: “Selling North Carolina, One Image at a Time”
Randy Johnson’s piece was an interesting read. All in all the whole project was great!
There is an interesting two-part report from Carolina Public Press about mountaintop development in Western North Carolina…Hugh Morton was a General in that battle.
http://www.carolinapublicpress.org/17499/the-view-from-the-top-the-battle-over-mountaintop-development-in-wnc
http://www.carolinapublicpress.org/17512/the-view-from-the-top-the-battle-over-mountaintop-development-in-wnc-2
There is a new book out featuring Grandfather Mountain.
http://www.hcpress.com/arts/grandfather-mountain-featured-in-new-book-local-author-shares-history-with-spectacular-vintage-images.html
There is an interesting article in the current (September, 2019) issue of “Our State” magazine. The article, titled “A Man & His Mountain,” by Phillip Gerard, can be found on pages 200-206.
Phillip Gerard’s Hugh Morton “Our State” magazine feature in the September, 2019 issue, is now online:
https://www.ourstate.com/the-1950s-photographer-hugh-morton-grandfather-mountain-north-carolina/