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Taste the New Delights

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Chasing Sunsets and Waterfalls

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There are so many great articles in the pages of The Laurel Magazine, sometimes you want to read them again. You won’t miss a thing. Use these helpful search parameters and find just what you’re looking for about Highlands, NC and Cashiers, NC.

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The Cullasaja – Mountain River of Wonder

Peter Ray’s debut book, The Cullasaja – A Mountain River of Wonder, is a photographic love story about a river.  The Cullasaja River, situated in Macon County, flows 25 miles from the shoulder of Whiteside Mountain through the town of Highlands and into Franklin. There it joins the Little Tennessee River on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over its short distance, …

Dig My Do

Many of you sent support when I went through my recent balding (chemo and radiation). Your sweet wishes, jokes, and empathy pulled me through that hairable time. I am glad my first hair poem resonated with those who’ve experienced chemo or had loved ones who did. Now that I am a fluffy again, here’s a poem to celebrate hair-etics everywhere. …

A Special Place for Special Weddings

“Do you think there are fairies in these woods?”  It’s a question that might usually cause you to cock your head to the side and audibly “hmm” when asked.   But when you’re standing beside the thick rhododendron forested trails that surround the Hutchinson House it seems all too logical a query.   I gazed down as the bright eyed seven-year-old …


Restore Function & Find Relief

There’s no doubt that the body is an amazing vessel that can endure various amounts of wear and tear.     Unfortunately, it is also susceptible to a wide range of issues that can create a decline in function, cause pain and lead to limited movement.  The culprit can be everyday habitual activities, a past or current injury, physical trauma, …

What is Your PH?

Have you ever thought of your Personal Health IQ? When we think about PH, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Hopefully, balance or homeostasis and the ability to live life in a constant state of great health!  Now, this is often easier said than done, but totally doable! A better understanding of the health dynamic, or PH (personal …

More Healthcare, Better Health

Whether you’re here year-round, are a seasonal resident, or simply a visitor, the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation has your health and well-being in mind.  “If you’re on the Plateau, we’re thinking of you,” says Dr. Walter Clark, Foundation Board Chair. The Foundation envisions a community where vibrant and healthy living is ensured for all people.  That’s a big task and …


Forefathers’ Strength & Resolve

“What’s a poor boy to do in times like these?”   Those lyrics were floating through my head as I drove onto the grounds of the historic Zachary-Tolbert house in Cashiers.  Face masks, hand sanitizers and grim statistics were beginning to take a toll, but I discovered there’s nothing quite like a visit to these peaceful and historic grounds to …

What’s in a Name?

There have been articles in The Laurel about how Cashiers and Glenville got their names and now it’s time to discuss how Jackson County got its name.  The earliest settlers of the Cashiers Valley arrived in the 1820s and 1830s when the area was part of Macon County. It remained in Macon County for several decades until Jackson County was …

Highlands Heroine Dr. Lapham

Dr. Mary Lapham broke all kinds of boundaries. She was a tomboy, a sailor, a gunwoman, an equestrian, a doctor, a humanitarian, an inventor, and a precursor to the Women’s Suffrage Movement.  One of her favorite places to rest, nest, and wrestle problems was Highlands, for it was here she found a station of inspiration for all her boundary-crossings. Born …


Keeping Abreast of Birds

Though it’s been an unconventional summer here in Highlands, the Highlands Biological Foundation  continues its dedication to research here on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.  The foundation annually supports research at the Highlands Biological Station, and over the past 10 years, has awarded over $300,000 in scholarships and grants to visiting researchers who have come to Highlands to study various aspects of …

Parkway’s String of Pearls

A few miles north of the Highland-Cashiers Plateau — out State Road 23/74 north of Sylva — is America’s most visited national park. Begun in the 1930s and not completed until 1987, the Blue Ridge Parkway runs between the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Architect Stanley Abbott designed the BRP to be a …

A Practice Tee To First Tee

It has often been said that the longest walk in golf is from the practice tee to the first tee.  I see players of all levels struggle to take their range game to the golf course.  Why is it so difficult?  Golf is one of the few sports that we don’t practice on the same field that we play on. …