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The East Tennessee Historical Society honored Masa’s biography with a 2025 Project Excellence Award through its Awards of Excellence program. Coauthor Paul Bonesteel is pictured with the award alongside Michael Searcy and Cheryl Light (left), parents of coeditor Aaron Searcy, and copy editor Ken Wise (right). Photo by Smokies Life.
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Masa biography honored with multiple awards

The legacy of renowned Smokies photographer George Masa continues. George Masa: A Life Reimagined, a biography published by Smokies Life in 2024, has received regional and national accolades, a testament to the work of coauthors Janet McCue and Paul Bonesteel, who collaborated to uncover new details about the enigmatic and talented Japanese immigrant. The book has received two regional awards: the 2024 North Caroliniana Society

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Smokies Life June 29, 2025
A hiker tells Supervisory PSAR Ranger Joshua Albritton and PSAR Ranger Cutter Wheeler about a woman further down the trail who may need help. Photo by Holly Kays, courtesy of Smokies Life.
Holly Kays

New ranger crew works to stop emergencies before they start

It’s not yet 9 a.m. on a weekday, but Alum Cave Trail is already bustling. With parking scarce, hikers might walk nearly a mile to reach the trailhead along Newfound Gap Road. “I’ve probably already talked to 20 people,” says Joshua Albritton, supervisory preventative search and rescue ranger for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, joining PSAR Ranger Cutter Wheeler at the trailhead around a quarter

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Holly Kays June 26, 2025
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Smokies Life

is a proud partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and National Park Service

115 Park Headquarters Rd. Gatlinburg, TN 37738

865.436.7318    mailorder@smokieslife.org

Great Smokies

Welcome Center

Hours of Operation

(subject to change)

Open year round (closed December 25)


January - February

Open Daily 9:00 am - 4:30 pm

March - November

Open Daily 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
December

Open Daily 9:00 am - 4:30 pm

The Great Smokies Welcome Center is located on U.S. 321 in Townsend, TN, 2 miles from the west entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Visitors can get information about things to see and do in and around the national park and shop from a wide selection of books, gifts, and other Smokies merchandise. Daily, weekly, and annual parking tags for the national park are also available.

Physical Address

7929 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway Townsend TN 37882

Contact

865.436.7318 Ext 320