Winner of the 2025 Publication of the Year award
from Public Lands Alliance
Winner of the 2024 Project Excellence Award
from East Tennessee Historical Society
Within the archives of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a wealth of knowledge is tucked away in more than a million time-worn documents. Letters from the Smokies, written by the park’s librarian-archivist, makes some of the most salient of its letters readily available for the first time. Meet a Tennessee woman who wrote about Southern life under a male pseudonym. Follow celebrated ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson on an epic road trip that included the Smokies. Learn how an artificial lake would have engulfed the park’s beloved Cades Cove. And hear the remarkable tale of a Smokies bobcat gifted to a US president.
About the author
Mike Aday is the librarian-archivist at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Originally from Texas, Mike earned a master’s degree in history and archival administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has worked in numerous cultural resource repositories, including the Dallas Municipal Archives, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture.
In 2012, Mike and his wife, Denise, sold almost everything they owned; put two cats, two suitcases, and seven boxes in their Mazda Protégé; and moved to Yosemite National Park, where Mike began a one-year term as an archives technician.
In 2013, the Adays moved from California to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, where Mike took over management of the Smokies archives. Since then, he has helped thousands of researchers uncover the history of the park, the region, and its people. He has also contributed to Smokies Life journal and the Smokies LIVE blog.
Mike and Denise now live in Maryville, Tennessee. They enjoy exploring all that Southern Appalachia has to offer.
Media Coverage
New book features letters from park archives (Smokies Life; October 18, 2023)
‘Letters from the Smokies’ shares hidden gems and human tales from park’s history (The Mountaineer; December 9, 2023)
Preserved on paper: From a GSMNP archivist comes a collection of missives from the mountains (WNC magazine; Spring 2024)
‘Letters from the Smokies’ book awarded for contributions to regional history (Smokies Life; May 26, 2024)
National Parks Traveler Podcast (June 2024)
Book pulling from park archive earns second big award (Smokies Life; February 11, 2025)
