Gateway to the Smokies

In this episode, our special guest is Dale Stewart , Award-winning media host, solo explorer, naturalist, ethnologist, author, and natural sound recorder, he has lived and learned from indigenous tribes on six continents while establishing his stellar reputation as one of the foremost solo explorers in the world today. Stewart is the host of a radio show – Nature’s Edge – and has been featured on...

In this episode, our special guest is Leslie Hartley , she enjoyed more than 10 years in professional marketing and communications leadership roles, including six years serving as the online content manager/editor at Biltmore. Leslie has spent most of her career in the tourism and non-profit fields in Western North Carolina. She is the communications manager at Blue Ridge National Heritage Area ,...

Our guest in this episode is Janet McCue, she enjoyed a great career as former Director of the Mann Library at Cornell University while earning a stellar reputation as an award-winning independent writer and researcher. She is an avid hiker and naturalist who often visits and writes about the Great Smokies. She has collaborated with renowned local naturalist, George Ellison on several literary pro...

Our guest in this episode is David Brewin, his career path took him towards the academic world where he worked for several years as a teacher and counselor while learning metalwork and playing music in his spare time.  Brewin lived in challenging conditions while further honing his skills apprenticing under some of the most iconic metal works in the southern Appalachians. But his hard work paid of...

Our guest in this episode is Libby Kephart Hargrave , she is an accomplished musician as well as a film documentarian. Her primary focus in recent years has been perpetuating the legacy of her great-grandfather Horace Kephart whose story still pulls an undercurrent through the Smoky Mountains. Kephart is acclaimed as the father of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an outdoorsman gifted with...

Our guest is Butch Mcdade , he is a retired Ranger with the National Park Service who now lives in East Tennessee. He has worked all over the nation at some of the most beautiful National Parks in America but finished up his career working in the GSMNP where his Field School Programs have been extremely popular. He still conducts them as a part-time employee in retirement. He is an avid hiker and...

Our special guest in this episode is Frances Figart . She directs the Creative Services department at the Great Smoky Mountains Association and edits Smokies Life magazine, the premier benefit for GSMA members. She is the editor of the 2019 GSMA title, Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography, which won the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award that same year.  Her background includes editing the...

Our guest is Teresa Smith, Executive Director at Maggie Valley Chamber & Area Visitors Bureau. They will be discussing Maggie Valley in the Smokies. ‍ Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here . Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph starts today’s episode off by introducing the topic of the episode, Maggie Valley. Joseph makes a big announcemen...

Joseph Franklyn McElroy talks about events and festivals that celebrate the food that can be foraged, the wildflowers that bloom, and fireflies that light the night as well as other natural wonders of the Smoky Mountains. Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here . Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph starts off today’s episode by introducing toda...

Our guest in this episode is Terrance and Caden Painter - Terrance is a member of the Piedmont Craftsmen, has won many awards, and has worked in collections all over the world. He has been a full-time potter for more than 38 years. He combines his first love of drawing and painting to execute detailed landscape scenes on clay forms.   ‍ Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch t...

Our guest in this episode is William Ritter he is a musician, farmer, western North Carolina native, and lover of southern Appalachia. He holds an MA in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State University, and he’s been saving seeds for a long time. They will be talking about heirloom seeds and growing traditional foods and agriculture's relationship to traditional music.‍ Tune in for this f...

Joseph and his guest Mike Ogletree talk about some of the museums that can be found in the Smoky Mountains. ‍ Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here . Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph starts off by starting about the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley. Joseph and Mike share stories about attractions near where they live that funnil...

Our guest in this episode is Keith Garnes he leads hikes for Smoky Mountain Outdoors and is the hiking director for Friends of Pickett State Park in Middle Tennessee. He lives in Gatlinburg. ‍ Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here . Show Notes Segment 1 Today’s focus will be hiking in the Smokies. Joseph discusses spring in the Smokie...

Our guest in this episode is Olwen Claiborne - Marketing Director of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Rafting , With over 30 years in the tourism marketplace, Olwen is living her first passion and represents the leading river outfitter in the Smoky Mountains Region. She knows all about whitewater Rafting in the Smokies. ‍ Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream...

Our special guest in this episode is Bob Plott he is an award-winning author of four books -- that have been sold in all 50 states and 11 foreign countries -- as well as numerous magazine articles, a public speaker, and a Historian. We will be talking about the History of Plott Hounds in the Smokies. Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking h...

Joseph Franklyn McElroy discusses the 5 Entrances to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina side of the park. We will explore not only the wonderful natural features but the small mountain towns near the entrances. Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here . Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph introduces the segments of tod...

With guests Mike Ogletree and Val Gene Hamilton... ‍ Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here . Show Notes Segment 1 Ancient natural beauty and mountain history. Joseph’s family has had deep roots in the Smokies for almost 200 years. Today Joseph Mcelroy will be discussing the road life in the smokies. The mountains are a popular attract...

Our special guest in this episode is Tim Surrett , a member of the award-winning and chart-topping bluegrass band Balsam Range , who talks about bluegrass music in the Smoky Mountains and the current music scene. Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here .  Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph Mcelroy first introduces the Balsam Mountain Range an...

We will be talking to Dave Angel , owner of Elevated Mountain Distillery in Maggie Valley, NC. We will be talking about the revival of the craft beverage industry in the Smoky Mountains and the history of Moonshine. Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here .  Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph McElroy’s guest today is Dave Angel, his cousin th...

Former Simple Minds band member Mike Ogletree talks about finding his Scottish (and African) music traces in the Smoky Mountains and Scots-Irish Cultural traditions. Tune in for this fun conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here .  Show Notes Segment 1 Joseph Franklyn McElroy’s family has been in the Smokies for over two hundred years. Joseph is interviewing...