Only in Asheville: An Eclectic History
()
About this ebook
Marla Hardee Milling
Marla Hardee Milling is a full-time writer in Asheville and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). She is the author of Only in Asheville: An Eclectic History (The History Press, 2015). More than 750 of her articles and essays have appeared in many publications, including Blue Ridge Country, where she is a contributing editor; Luxury Living; Parenting; Redbook; Our State; WNC; American Style; NICHE; and others. She spent ten years as a news producer at WLOS-TV in Asheville and six years as director of communications at Mars Hill College.
Read more from Marla Hardee Milling
North Carolina Day Trips by Theme Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegends, Secrets and Mysteries of Asheville Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Only in Asheville
Related ebooks
Hidden History of Asheville Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistoric Inns of Asheville Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegendary Locals of Asheville Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWicked Nashville Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Little Michigan: A Nostalgic Look at Michigan’s Smallest Towns Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Historical Guidebook to Old Columbus: Finding the Past in the Present in Ohio’s Capital City Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWicked Asheville Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmokies Chronicle: A Year of Hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Attractions of the Smoky Mountains Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Harvard to Homeless: Journeys of a Millennial Nomad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecondhand People: Confessions of a Recovering Junker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKid Pickers: How to Turn Junk into Treasure Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Elkmont's Uncle Lem Ownby: Sage of the Smokies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5100 Secrets of the Carolina Coast Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Flagstaff Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGlamping with MaryJane Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lake Junaluska Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLook Up, Louisville! A Walking Tour of Louisville, Kentucky Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGale Researcher Guide for: Mid-Century Modern Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoadside Florida: The Definitive Guide to the Kingdom of Kitsch Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weaverville Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost In Michigan Volume 4: History and Travel Stories from an Endless Road Trip Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmall House, Big Yard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSouthern Living Best of the South Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhosts of Georgetown Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat's Great about Virginia? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Center City Philadelphia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRude Pursuits and Rugged Peaks: Schoolcraft's Ozark Journal, 1818-1819 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Attractions of Alabama Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heirloom House: How eBay and I Decorated and Furnished My Nantucket Home Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Photography For You
Bloodbath Nation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Conscious Creativity: Look, Connect, Create Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Humans of New York: Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Haunted New Orleans: History & Hauntings of the Crescent City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Betty Page Confidential: Featuring Never-Before Seen Photographs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wisconsin Death Trip Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Book Of Legs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Photography Bible: A Complete Guide for the 21st Century Photographer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let Us Now Praise Famous Men Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Edward's Menagerie: Dogs: 50 canine crochet patterns Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Advancing Your Photography: Secrets to Making Photographs that You and Others Will Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The iPhone Photography Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Art Nudes: Artistic Erotic Photo Essays Far Outside of the Boudoir Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5On Photography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Collins Complete Photography Course Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fucked at Birth: Recalibrating the American Dream for the 2020s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Photography for Beginners: The Ultimate Photography Guide for Mastering DSLR Photography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Photography Exercise Book: Training Your Eye to Shoot Like a Pro (250+ color photographs make it come to life) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegendary Locals of Savannah Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorkin' It!: RuPaul's Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Declutter Your Photo Life: Curating, Preserving, Organizing, and Sharing Your Photos Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings9/11 THROUGH THE LENS (250 Pictures of the Tragedy): Photo-book of September 11th terrorist attack on WTC Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBombshells: Glamour Girls of a Lifetime Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Rocks and Minerals of The World: Geology for Kids - Minerology and Sedimentology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Portrait Manual: 200+ Tips & Techniques for Shooting the Perfect Photos of People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fifty Places to Hike Before You Die: Outdoor Experts Share the World's Greatest Destinations Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5David Copperfield's History of Magic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Native Mexican Kitchen: A Journey into Cuisine, Culture, and Mezcal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Only in Asheville
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Only in Asheville - Marla Hardee Milling
here.
INTRODUCTION
Some call Asheville weird. Others call it the Paris of the South,
the Santa Fe of the East,
Beer City, U.S.A.,
the New Age Capital of the World
or the Happiest City in America.
Rolling Stone magazine named Asheville the Freak Capital of the World
in 2000, and Travel and Leisure called it the Quirkiest Place in America
in 2014. You might have your own name for it. For me, it’s always just been home.
Asheville marches to a different beat—perhaps one coming from the drum circle on Friday nights in Pritchard Park. The drum circle features a random assortment of drummers pounding out a synchronized beat, surrounded by dancers, gawking tourists, hula hoopers and connected locals who love celebrating the contagious energy.
Defying stereotypes and canned descriptions is Asheville’s forte. There are many differences among people in this town, and yet everyone seems to just coexist. There’s a blending here of opposing ideas and cultures and experiences, yet for the most part it is an oasis of tolerance. It’s also a place that can take criticism or a faux pas and poke fun at it. When a state senator in the piedmont of North Carolina dubbed Asheville a cesspool of sin
in 2011, it just became a humorous slogan—it can still be found on T-shirts around town. The phrase even caught the attention of Peter Sagal, host of the NPR quiz show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! He recorded a message for WCQS radio’s fund drive congratulating Asheville for its new distinction.
When Pauline Frommer appeared on Good Morning America in early 2015 to promote Frommer’s Best Places to Go in 2015,
she touted Asheville as their number one pick but drew scrutiny when she said this: We’re picking [Asheville] this year because the sketchy riverside area has been totally redone thanks to New Belgium Brewery, which has poured millions of dollars into this area, making new parks, artists collectives, farmers markets, bike paths.
A drummer pounds out a beat at the drum circle in Pritchard Park. This event takes place on Friday evenings in warmer weather. ExploreAsheville.com.
Local people quickly latched on to the term sketchy
and scratched their heads over the claim that New Belgium Brewery, which hasn’t even finished its new facility here, is somehow responsible for the success of the River Arts District. It’s the creative energy of many artists who make the RAD popular and one of the reasons New Belgium saw it as a good place to open a brewery. Of course, instead of getting mad, the folks at Image 420 in West Asheville responded in true Asheville spirit by creating another T-shirt. This one says, Still Sketchy After All These Beers.
Frommer was a bit premature in saying the river district had millions of dollars poured into it, but she is right about that money coming. On March 22, 2015, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported that upgrades in and around the River Arts District will reach $50 million within the next six years. The article added, The infusion of public funding into a once derelict industrial district will be accompanied by about $200 million in private investment.
The funneling of money and energy into this area will definitely transform Asheville in ways that can only be imagined at this point. Big change is underway, and Asheville is only going to get bigger. It’s my hope that it doesn’t lose its uniqueness in the process.
Tiny mouse doors on the bottom of a Woodfin Street building lend to the magical, whimsical vibe downtown. Photo by Hannah Milling.
Asheville is a place where, like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get or what you’re going to see or experience. It might be discovering tiny mouse doors on the side of a building on Woodfin Street, spotting a gargoyle hanging over the side of the Jackson Building or catching a glimpse of some freshly painted graffiti on a rambling, vintage building.
You might also cross paths with a man dressed as a nun. He might be sipping beer in a local brewery or riding a cherry red bike. That nun, known as Sister Bad Habit,
is really Jim Lauzon, who owns the popular LaZoom tour bus with his wife, Jen. You’ll read more about him later on, as well as other colorful Asheville personalities.
So what is it about this place? How did it become so unique and different from other places? Why is this place now winding up on just about every top ten list imaginable? In addition to the Frommer’s 2015 nod, Forbes named it one of America’s Smartest Cities
in November 2014, and a National Geographic Travel book released in October 2014 named Asheville one of the World’s Best Cities.
This town is innovative, exciting, progressive and anything but ordinary, but what is this incredible vibe all about? Those are the questions I set out to answer in this book.
Sister Bad Habit (aka Jim Lauzon) knows how to generate laughter and smiles when she
rides alongside the LaZoom Comedy Bus. LaZoom.
Ben’s Tune Up features a restaurant and an amazing beer garden in a former auto shop. Photo by Zen Sutherland.
Asheville is a vibrant, exciting place in 2015, but that’s nothing new. It’s been a vibrant, exciting place throughout history. It’s continually evolving, though it’s been through its share of rough moments in time. Despite the hardships, there’s always been a mysterious pull, especially for creative spirits, artists, musicians, nature lovers, writers, mystics and those seeking ways to more fully explore themselves.
It’s been a place marked by great wealth and great talent. Even bad events can leave positive results, and that was the case of the Great Depression in Asheville. While it proved to be a severely difficult time in history, it also left Asheville with many of its architectural treasures. Asheville simply couldn’t afford urban renewal, as it carried the burden of paying back every cent owed for projects completed in the Roaring Twenties. There was great enthusiasm in the ’20s and a lot of opulence, as noted in the detailed architecture. Saving those treasures from a bountiful era lends itself to the positive vibe felt in town today.
As an Asheville native, I came into this project with a strong love for my hometown. My family, on both sides, has been in these mountains for generations. Like most early settlers to this region, it was a hardscrabble life, with people surviving through ingenuity, dedication and hard work and calming the soul through creative endeavors, music and laughter. Asheville is the product of that strong mountain spirit, as well as the wealth funneled in by others who have discovered this place along the