Bethel Writers and Media Contributors
Dr. Garrett Smathers
- World War II veteran, serving in Normandy
- BA Degree in Chemistry and Educational Psychology from UNCA and Furman
- MA Degree in Biology and Educational Psychology from Western Carolina University
- PhD Degree in Botanical Sciences and Terrestrial Ecology from the University of Hawaii
- Industrial chemist at the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C.
- Biltmore College (University of North Carolina at Asheville) professor
- Park Naturalist with the National Park Service
- Naturalist for the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina
- Naturalist for the Lava Beds National Monument in California
- Naturalist for the National Parks in Hawaii
- Regional, chief, and senior scientist with the National Park Service Science Centers in Mississippi, Seattle, and Washington
- Ecological instructor at the Grand Canyon
- Research biologist and supervisory naturalist at the University of Hawaii
- Senior scientist with the National Space Technology Laboratories
- Chief scientist with science centers in Denver, Colorado, St. Louis, Mississippi, and Seattle, Washington
- Conducted study on the Appalachian Balds that was published by the National Park Service
- Hawaii: The Fires of Life (ecological findings of the vegetation study in the post volcanic era at Kilauea Iki from 1960 – 2006 by Dr. Smathers and Mueller-Dombois)
- Assistant principal, teacher, and coach at Bethel High School where he started the first midget football team in Bethel
- Co-writer of the Bethel theme song
- Western Carolina University’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award for scientific achievement and administration of National Park Service research – 1974
- Appointment to the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by NC Governor J.B. Hunt, Jr. - 1985
- Appointed to the NC State Environmental Management Commission – 1989
- Canton Paper Town Person of the Year - 1999
Caleb Smith
- Harvest Bluegrass/Gospel band
- Power Grass Music Award for Male Vocalist of the Year
- Power Grass Music Award for Guitarist of the Year
- Power Grass Music Award for Harvest for Album of the Year
- Smoky Mountain Boys Bluegrass/Gospel band
- Balsam Range Bluegrass band
- Balsam Range has had multiple appearances on the Grand Ole Opry
- Balsam Range collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra to record 2 albums, including Mountain Overture, that debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6.
- Balsam Range’s Mountain Voodoo debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and stayed for 45 weeks.
- Balsam Range’s “Bluegrass Collar Dreams” reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart
- Balsam Range’s “The Girl Who Invented the Wheel” reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart
- Balsam Range, since its inception in 2007, has garnered 13 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards on the heels of 8 critically acclaimed albums.
- Wrote “Grace for Today”
- Wrote “God Knows”
- Wrote “Jack Diamond”
- Wrote “Jaxon Point”
- Renowned luthier (maker of guitars) whose C.B. Smith company makes quality instruments
Edith Collier Stamey
- SawDust Trail
Bill Terrell
- Cold Mountain Calling Me (Song Writer)
Emily Terrell
- Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, Book 3 (Contributor) (Origins of the Lenoir Family, Thomas Lenoir, Thomas Isaac Lenoir)
Hugh K. Terrell
- Sonoma, Valley of the Moon, Sunburst– A 1978 Bethel Junior High School eighth grade documentation project consisting of a collection of Terrell’s students’ interviews and writings about the historic Sunburst logging community.
Charles and Martha Trantham
- Recipients of Bethel Rural Community Organization’s Pigeon Valley Award for Historic Preservation in 2018 for their maintenance of the Lenoir’s Creek Farm as a historic site as well as their devotion to maintaining the historic Red Devon herd of cattle that are historic to the farm.
- Presenter for the Walking in the Footsteps of Those Who Came Before Us DVD which received the multi-media award from the North Carolina Society of Historians in 2018
- Presenter at Bethel Rural Community Organization meeting about the history of the Lenoir’s Creek Farm and cattle
Wanda Mathews Taylor
- The Mountaineer newspaper (Columnist)
INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC ASSOCIATION (IBMA) AWARDS FOR BALSAM RANGE:
- Entertainer of the Year (2014, 2018)
- Album of the Year (2013, 2017)
- Song of the Year (2011, 2015)
- Vocal Group of the Year (2014,2015)
Click here for a full listing of Wanda Mathews Taylor's writings and media contributions
Lenore M. Thompsen
- Designing Corsages and Bouts
- Designing Romantic Bouquets
- Designing with Garden Flowers
- Ellie has a Happy Belly - children's book
- Seven Weeks in Low Country - short story
- Walks with Angel - children's book