History Highway

The Historic National Road

In 1806 Thomas Jefferson approved federal funding for one of the first interstate road projects. Known today as the Historic National Road, it stretches 824 miles through six states, from the East Coast nearly to the Mississippi, following the modern I-70 for much of its length.

As befits the route that made the westward migration possible for thousands of settlers, the Road is strewn with sites of historical interest. From the eastern terminus near Hollins Market, the oldest of Baltimore’s public markets and centerpiece of the artsy Union Square neighborhood (market open Tuesday-Saturday; www.union-square.us), you’ll pass Casselman River Bridge State Park, as well as historic inns and tollhouses. From Maryland, the Road swings west through southern Pennsylvania, with a stop at the Fort Necessity National Battlefield, site of the first battle of the French and Indian War. The Old Petersburg Tollhouse, built from native-cut stone, still stands along the roadside.

On the National Road, Maryland's Casselman River Bridge was once the longest of its kind in the U.S.
Photo: Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects, Jim Klein

Passing through a corner of West Virginia, the Road continues into Ohio, where you can ponder the changes in American transportation at the Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Dayton (www.aviationheritagearea.org). Cut across the entire breadth of Indiana, taking in the famous “Antique Alley”—an extensive loop encompassing more than 900 shops and dealers; it’s the ultimate destination for any fan of collectibles (www.visitrichmond.org). The Road ends in Illinois, the land of Lincoln. Leave time for visits to the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site (www.lincolnlogcabin.org) as well as the Lincoln School Museum in Martinsville (open Sunday afternoons through the summer, 217-382-6666).

Tracing a Path

The Natchez Trace Parkway

Following what is perhaps the oldest continuously used travel route in the U.S., the Natchez Trace Parkway—
a 444-mile stretch of two-lane blacktop running south-
by-southwest from Nashville to the banks of the Mississippi—began as a dirt trail used by the earliest European traders and missionaries, and by local Native American tribes for centuries before that. Travel here was once so hazardous that the trail was called “The Devil’s Backbone.” Today, the Parkway offers the natural beauty 
and rich cultural heritage of the South. Note: Because it sits on mostly high ground, only a few areas of the Parkway were impacted by the flood waters that hit the Nashville area earlier this year. While the entire Parkway is expected to be passable by summer, it’s always a good idea to call ahead and confirm your itinerary.

Also known as "Nutt&rquo;s Folley," the octagonal mansion at Natchez&rquo;s Longwood Plantation was never completed due to a turn of fortune.
Photo by Dennis Adams

On the Parkway, two wheels are as good as four, as the entire road is a designated bicycling area. Along the way, there’s boating and fishing at Laurel Hill Lake in Lawrenceville, Tennessee (931-762-7200), and hiking, camping, and nature trails at Tishomingo State Park in Mississippi (662-438-6914). Or simply stop to smell the wildflowers tracing the trail.

The Parkway is rich in Native American historical sites. In Tupelo you will find the ceremonial Emerald Mound, the Grand Village of the Natchez, and the Chickasaw Village and Fort. You can also pay homage to “the King” at the Elvis Presley Birthplace (www.elvispresleybirthplace.com).

At the Mississippi Crafts Center in Ridgeland, you’ll find artwork and housewares from regional crafters working in traditional and contemporary forms (www.mscrafts.org). Finally, surrender to the charms of old Natchez and view gracious antebellum homes in the city’s historic district (www.natchezms.com).

Rolling on the River

Great River Road National Scenic Byway

The mighty Mississippi is, in a way, the original interstate highway, used for ages to transport goods and passengers downriver. Trace that epic path on the Great River Road National Scenic Byway—a route following the course of the Mississippi through 10 states and over 2,000 miles, from the headwaters to the delta, from St. Paul to New Orleans, straight through the heart of America.

Spend a week or two following Old Man River downstream—through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and finally, Louisiana—and you’ll sample a great swathe of the American experience. Along with unparalleled views of the “Father of Waters,” there are ample stops for bird and wildlife watching, outdoor recreation, shopping, historical sightseeing, and more.

Beautiful old cypress trees surround a natural fish hatchery at Reelfoot Lake State park in Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Photo by Amie Vanderford.

Music runs deep along the river, and many festivals and performance series are held along the route, from Wisconsin’s Riverfest (June 30-July 4, www.riverfestlacrosse.com), presenting dozens of musical groups on six stages, to the annual blues and jazz fests in Davenport, Iowa; from the St. Louis Municipal Opera—this year featuring live outdoor performances of Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, Damn Yankees, and more—to the renowned jazz clubs of New Orleans (www.riverroads.com).

Riding with the Rail-Splitter

The Lincoln Highway, dedicated in 1913, originally ran from New York’s Times Square to San Francisco’s Lincoln Park. Once known as “America’s Main Street,” most of the original route has long since been decommissioned or assimilated into other, newer highways. But a stretch of the original alignment still runs through northern Illinois, from the Chicago metro area to the Mississippi River. Redesignated as a national scenic byway, the 179-mile Illinois Lincoln Highway now makes a perfect weekend jaunt.

Blackhawk Statue
© July 2002 Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition

Along the Highway, wander the tree-lined streets of Geneva, still graced by Federal-era homes as well as quaint shops in the still-vibrant downtown section (www.genevadowntown.org). Prefer outdoor recreation? Play a few holes at one of the half-dozen golf courses scattered along the Highway, or enjoy hiking, fishing, or touring a historic grist mill at Franklin Creek Natural Area (www.franklingroveil.org). Take in sights such as the majestic Black Hawk statue towering above the Rock River, where paddle-wheeler riverboats still ply the waters (cruises run April through November: www.oregonil.com). Or learn about one of the iconic names in American industry at the John Deere Historic Site, where the great blacksmith perfected “the plow that broke the plains” (Grand Detour, Illinois, 815-652-4551).

Wherever you stop along the way, keep an eye out for the original mile markers. To prove the project’s viability—and the advantages of paved roads, at a time when the concept was still a novel one—the Lincoln Highway was first paved in short stretches called “seedling miles,” which are marked by commemorative signs (www.drivelincolnhighway.com).

Road to Ruins

Car travel is a great way to get from place to place. But an expedition on the Trail of the Ancients—which runs through parts of Colorado and Utah—is a trip back in time. That’s because the Trail is dotted with some of the oldest and best-preserved Native American archeological sites in the entire country. Take a week roaming the Trail’s 480 miles, and catch a glimpse of this corner of America as it was before the coming of Europeans. In Mesa Verde National Park alone, hundreds of cliff dwellings are little changed with the passage of centuries (www.visitmesaverde.com). At the nearby Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado, history comes alive with interactive exhibits, hands-on activities, and live demonstrations of tribal lifeways (970-882-5600). Walk in the footsteps of the Ancestral Puebloan people at Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum in Blanding, Utah (closed Sundays: www.stateparks.utah.gov), exploring the ruins of an ancient settlement.

Mesa Verde dwellings
© 2006 John Mocko

Farther along the Trail, you’ll find some of the most stunning and iconic scenery in the Southwest. The soaring sandstone buttes of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (www.navajonationparks.org) are familiar from dozens of Hollywood Westerns; about 30 miles to the northeast, the lesser-known Valley of the Gods offers vistas less familiar but no less ravishing. Leave time for a rafting trip on the San Juan River, booked through Wild Rivers Expeditions (800-422-7654 or www.riversandruins.com). End your journey at Four Corners Monument, the only spot in the U.S. where you can stand in four states at once. (At press time, the park was scheduled to reopen in June, 928-871-6647.)

To plan a complete itinerary, explore the National Scenic Byways Project at www.byways.org.

For more inspiring trips, including the Historic National Road, the Natchez Trace Parkway, and the Great River Road National Scenic Byway, look for the Jul/Aug 2010 issue of The Saturday Evening Post (on newsstands the first week of July) or subscribe here.

“On the flight home, I kept thinking about that train,” says McCommons, who teaches journalism at Northern Michigan University. “When are we going to have a decent passenger-rail system in this country again, one that moves people efficiently between major cities and provides Americans with a true alternative to airplanes and automobiles?” To answer that question, McCommons spent a year riding on and writing about America’s trains. He shares insights from his journey in the May/June cover story of The Saturday Evening Post, and also in his book, Waiting on a Train available for purchase from publisher Chelsea Green.

You can view more images in our gallery.

The Midwest

Photo by Robert Quick/Courtesy Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Wisconsin) Olbrich Botanical Gardens (OBG), located near the University of Wisconsin in Madison, is among the Midwest’s best-kept secrets. It has earned awards in fields ranging from solid architecture to inspirational value. In 2005, it won American Public Garden Association’s National Award for Excellence, an honor given to only one garden a year. Outside, OBG features free admission to 16 acres of captivating areas like the sunken, shade, and rain gardens. Indoors, Bolz Conservatory makes this northern destination great to see year round, with exotic plants, waterfalls, free flying birds and more. OBG is a model in sustainable gardening, responsibly implementing smart water usage, natural insect control, composting and more. www.olbrich.org

Missouri Botanical Gardens' Climatron with artwork by Dale Chihuly/Wikimedia Commons

Missouri Botanical Garden (Missouri) St. Louis is home to one of the US’s best and oldest botanical gardens – Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG). It recently celebrated its 150th birthday, is a National Historic Landmark and is a global leader in plant science and conservation. MBG offers thematic gardens ranging from English Woodland to Chinese. A signature area is the Spink Pavilion, which features a reflection pool with floating sculptures by legendary glass artist Chihuly. Climatron Conservatory serves as the pool’s backdrop and houses over 1,400 plant and animal species. Behind the scenes, MBG is a major plant information center. Its herbarium oversees global research projects and has over 6 million mounted plant specimens, it operates tropicos.org (the largest online plant database) and is home to multiple conservation centers, making it a true environmental leader. www.mobot.org

Photo by Jim Munson/Courtesy HLG Files

Hidden Lake Gardens (Michigan) Hidden Lake Gardens (HLG), which is operated by Michigan State University, is a 755-acre ode to the four seasons. The essence of year-round nature is captured here, making it a place worth a visit any time. A main attraction is the Benedict Hosta Collection (or “Hosta Hillside”), where over 800 varieties of the plant reside, including Michigan’s own “Hosta Hybridizers.” The Harper Collection of Dwarf and Rare Conifers, miles of trails and of course the Hidden Lake itself all add to the appeal. HLG’s conservatory is home to a Bonsai “forest” with dozens of the miniature trees capturing the imagination of visitors. hiddenlakegardens.msu.edu

Monument to a Tree/Courtesy Toledo Botanical Garden

Toledo Botanical Garden (Ohio) People like some things universally: pretty landscapes; free things; centers of culture and knowledge. Considering Toledo Botanical Garden (TBG) is all of these, it’s no surprise that over 120,000 come see it every year. TBG is free to the public and offers over 15 thematic areas. A real emphasis is placed on balancing art with nature and, in places like the aquatic, shade, and color gardens, harmony is achieved. Another emphasis is on culture. TBG is home to 19 garden, art, and nature groups and hosts work from over 230 artists during the Crosby Festival of the Arts. Additionally, youth benefit from its educational programs, science benefits from a research partnership with the USDA, and the city benefits from “Toledo GROWs,” a gardening outreach program. www.toledogarden.org

The Northwest

Vancouver Island's Butchart Gardens (Wikimedia Commons)

Vancouver Island Garden Trail (British Columbia) Roughly 50 miles from the city of Vancouver off the coast of Canada, Vancouver Island is nature at its most untamed. Home to several Canadian national parks, people come for the untouched mountain terrain and wildlife. Yet, in the wilderness lies a group of cultivated gardens that rival any. The Vancouver Island Garden Trail is several gardens, ranging from less than an acre to grand estates. The temperate coastal climate allows an array of flora not normally found this far north and different plants take turns putting on a color show each season. Fall brings vibrant leaf change; winter provides the stark contrast of snow on evergreen; spring and summer mean the entire wildflower color spectrum. The best way to tour is to ferry from the coast, rent a car and travel at your leisure. Each garden presents unique atmospheres, from small, quaint Ronning’s Garden to large, exquisite Butchart Gardens. www.vancouverislandgardentrail.com

International Peace Garden

International Peace Garden (North Dakota) Because of this 2,339-acre garden dedicated as a symbol of friendship by the U.S. and Canada in 1932, North Dakota is known as the “Peace Garden State.” It is a favorite destination for citizens of both countries, as well as people the world over. Friendly international relations is a resonating theme – there is an entrance from both sides, and the Maple Leaf and Stars and Stripes are depicted side by side in floral gardens. The Peace Poles project, founded in Japan and dedicated to world peace, has seven poles here that say “may peace prevail on Earth” in 28 different languages. Other features include the Cairn (a border marker made of aboriginal hammerheads from the area), a floral clock, the Peace Tower and the Peace Chapel. A special site is the 9/11 Memorial, where 10 girders collected from the twin tower wreckage help us understand, forgive and grow from the tragedy. www.peacegarden.com

You can see more images by viewing our gallery. You can also check out our first installment, America’s Best Botanical Gardens, Part 1: The West

The South

Wikimedia Commons

Atlanta Botanical Garden (Georgia) Most gardens ask visitors not to step in flowerbeds. In the Atlanta Botanical Garden, they warn you. This is because it has one of the largest carnivorous plant collections around, making it a place where guests with poor manners learn the hard way. In reality, these plants are no threat to anything larger than a bug (or the occasional mouse or frog), but they are very cool. They capture prey in a variety of ways- from snapping shut to pitfall traps- and fascinate visitors of all ages. There are of course other attractions, like the Rose, Rock, and Southern Seasons gardens. The Fuqua Orchid Center houses lots of the flowers, and the Center for Conservation and Education does just that. For a special treat, visit after dark. www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org

Courtesy Fairchild Botanical Gardens

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Florida) Florida is home to the greatest tropical plant center in mainland U.S.- the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (FTBG). Named for David Fairchild, who traveled every habitable continent studying plants, it is a global conservation leader. FTBG’s 83 acres harbor over 4,000 plant species. Thematic areas include the National Palm Collection (the world’s greatest living collection of palms and cycads), Simons Rainforest, and Whitman Tropical Fruit Pavilion. Events like the Chocolate, Orchid and International Mango festivals add to the appeal. FTBG’s conservation efforts extend beyond its grounds. It oversees research, development and renovation projects in over 20 countries. More than 150 classes are taught here, including graduate courses for tomorrow’s conservationists. www.fairchildgarden.org

Courtesy of the Dallas Arboretum

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden (Texas) Plants have unique challenges in North Texas – searing summer heat; severe winter temperature drops; drought possibility all year. The Dallas Arboretum (DA) meets this climatic challenge, maintaining a model in regional gardening excellence. The garden’s relative youth (founded 1982) has been key in its success. Planners used modern information to select flora that endure and thrive in the harsh conditions. Today, DA is a leader in climate-specific plant knowledge and operates trial gardens to provide private plant companies info. In spring, DA puts on two signature events. In “Dallas Blooms,” 500,000 bulbs create the South’s largest floral display. In Artscape, artists show photos, jewelry, woodwork, and more. www.dallasarboretum.org

The Northeast

Photo by T. Kates / Courtesy of The Trustees of Reservations

Mytoi Gardens (Massachusetts) Located in Martha’s Vineyard, one of the most scenic locales in the U.S., the Mytoi Gardens are a sight to behold. Here, the pristine beauty of the Massachusetts coastal island seems to be captured and amplified with a Japanese twist. Guests enjoy tranquility and self-reflection during their visit to Mytoi, which includes a camellia dell, stone garden, and pine grove. All of these center around the signature feature: a reflection pond and island accessible by elevated bridge. Mytoi is free to the public, making it an easily accessible and affordable item on any Martha’s Vineyard travel itinerary. A hurricane destroyed much of it in 1991, and the Trustees of Reservations charitable organization has restored and maintained it for everyone since. www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/cape-cod-islands/mytoi.html

(Wikimedia Commons)

Brooklyn Botanical Garden (New York) This 52-acre “living museum,” located smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn, makes visitors rethink what an “urban jungle” is. Over 700,000 come annually to see the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, which celebrates its centennial in 2010 and is home to 11,000 plant species and several specialty areas. The cherry orchard is a famed destination during Hanami, the Japanese holiday for cherry-blossom season. An enchanting landscape takes center stage during this event- hundreds of  cherry trees bloom overhead and millions of fallen petals carpet the path below- while Japanese culture is shared with all. Other thematic areas include a Rose Garden, Conservatory, and Fragrance Garden. Year round art shows, tours and plant sales, and programs like the Chili Pepper Fiesta and Street Tree Stewardship Initiative, make this botanical garden world-class. www.bbg.org

“Ordinary people, living their everyday lives can create extraordinary history,” said Spencer R. Crew, director of the National Museum of American History. “This exhibition will inspire our visitors to look at history in a new way, a history that begins at home,” he added.

The exhibition is sponsored by the National Association of Realtors®. “This truly is a historic event for NAR to be able to bring “Within These Walls…” to millions of visitors, said NAR President Richard A. Mendenhall.

The exhibition’s curatorial team researched nearly 100 occupants who once lived in the house. Their stories show some of the ways Americans have made history in their kitchens and parlors. Inside this house, American Colonists created a new genteel lifestyle, patriots set out to fight the Revolution, and an African-American struggled for freedom. Neighbors came together to end slavery, immigrants made a new home and earned a livelihood, and a woman and her grandson served on the home front during World War II.

For more details, visit the exhibition Web site. Curious about your own home? Read “House Detective: Finding History in Your Home.”

Photos courtesy of the National Museum of American History.

Ageless St. Augustine Bonus
(Bonus material from “Ageless St. Augustine,” in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Click here to subscribe or buy the issue online at ShopThePost.com.)

The Kessler calamari at 95 Cordova in the Casa Monica Hotel is so popular that the restaurant plans to sell it in go-cups for travelers wandering the streets. Even nonsquid lovers fall for this semolina-crusted version, served with a Moroccan pesto of sweet olives, tomatoes, and asiago cheese. “We haven’t convinced them to let us walk and drink here like you can in New Orleans and Key West,” said Casa Monica’s Joni Dooley Barkley, “but we can walk and eat.”

For dessert, there’s Key Lime Pie in every possible permutation, but for my calories, I’ll take Claude’s Chocolate. Former New Yorkers Claude Franques and his wife, Nicole, have gotten into the Southern groove, making little white chocolate mimosas, flavored with orange and champagne, and pandering to University of Florida fans with dark chocolate gators.

However, there are scarier things than gators in St. Augustine. All you need to feel a chill up your spine is to eavesdrop on the locals. The Casa Monica Hotel and adjoining condos were built on an old Indian burial ground, they say, and were so haunted that the new owners called in ghostbusters from England.

Henry Flagler, the Standard Oil magnate who transformed Florida with grandiose hotels and railroads, died in 1913 and was lying in state in the rotunda of the building that is now his namesake college. Local legend holds that during the service, the casket lid slammed down, a puff of smoke flew up to the top of the dome, flashed down like lightning and seared a portrait of the man himself in one of the inch-square floor tiles. Just ask a local where to look in this sea of mosaics.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse, recently restored, has its own tales to tell. It’s a huff-and-puff climb up 219 stairs. (Just imagine being a keeper carrying 30-pound buckets of hot pig lard up to fuel the flame.)

Tragically, three little girls were killed during the lighthouse construction when they hopped into a railroad car for a ride and couldn’t stop it before it dumped them into the waves.

In the 136 years since, ghosts seem to have stacked up upon themselves at the lighthouse. When the SciFi Channel’s Ghost Hunters came to tape, they saw faces leaning over the stair landings and tracked plenty of psychic activity.

But you can hardly blame spirits for haunting St. Augustine. I didn’t want to leave either.

To make the most out of your St. Augustine getaway, check out the links below.

Art Galleries
Attractions
Bed and Breakfast Inns
Campgrounds
Events
Hotels

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It seems appropriate: Christmas candles have been glowing here every season since 1895, when Vanderbilt first occupied Biltmore House two months before the holidays, and on Christmas Eve held a festive party with gentlemen guests dressed in white tie and tails, ladies in full-length ball gowns.

While I’d visited the estate as a teenager and again as an adult, my wife had never been. Walking toward the house, our tracks trailed behind us in the snow. In the twilight, the surrounding landscape hinted of vast forests and distant rivers — 8,000 acres in all. The estate includes River Bend Farm with an assortment of goats, chickens, and horses roaming freely in the barnyard; an award-winning winery; a deer park; a river for rafting; winding drives; and the 213-room four-star Inn on Biltmore Estate.

Holiday goodies abound at Biltmore Shops
Photo courtesy of The Biltmore Company

As a young man of 25, Vanderbilt chose this locale in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, North Carolina, following a visit with his mother. His original purchase was 125,000 acres, a parcel three times the size of the District of Columbia. The mansion took him some six years to build.

At the entrance to the property lies a Tudor village, built to house the workers who constructed Biltmore House. Today Biltmore Village is a trendy district offering chic boutiques, sidewalk cafes, and antique shops. The house itself opened to the public for the first time in 1930. Today, 1,800 employees attend to the estate’s upkeep. As we strolled toward the house, I took in its magnificent stone architecture, a French Renaissance chateau design by Richard Morris Hunt. Topped with hunched gargoyles and a steeply pitched roof, it looks as impressive now as it did in movies such as The Swan with Grace Kelly and Being There with Peter Sellers. Biltmore House has six levels: four floors plus a basement and sub-basement. The Banquet Hall rises 70 feet high.

The mammoth entrance is manned by ticket takers, for today Biltmore House is a commercial enterprise that welcomes more than 1 million visitors a year. Docents hand out earphones for an audio tour hosted by Bill Cecil, Vanderbilt’s great-grandson. The family still owns the property, with Cecil serving as president and CEO.
Just off of the Entrance Hall, the tour begins in the Winter Garden Room, a glass-ceiling solarium that, tonight, is festooned with lights. Ballroom dancers in period costumes twirl around the circular room, a festive touch for the season. Making our way to the vast Banquet Hall, we encountered the pièce de résistance, a 35-foot Christmas tree that lords over the room, pointing toward the seven-story-tall ceiling, next to the twin chandeliers and a magnificent pipe organ that is playing carols. Each November, two big Clydesdale horses pull an enormous Fraser fir to the house, taking it into the Entrance Hall and around the Winter Garden, past carved friezes of Greeks on horseback, before squeezing into the portal to the Banquet Hall. The massive stone pillars here bear the scrapings of branches being pulled through year after year.

From here we explore a Tapestry Room and book-lined Library, decorated with treasures from around the world, including Napoleon’s personal chess set, just in front of the giant stone fireplace. More than 10,000 volumes in eight languages attest to a contemporary newspaper’s claim that Vanderbilt was “the best read man in the country.”

The grounds of Biltmore House were the last grand project of famed landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted. Formal gardens cover more than 75 acres in all.
Photo courtesy of The Biltmore Company

Upstairs visitors will find 33 bedrooms, sitting rooms, and guest quarters, as well as four never-before-seen rooms to explore. In a newly opened Louis XV Suite, we found a feather tree with tabletop trees in crystal and gold and heavy garlands surrounded the fireplaces.
Floral display manager Cathy Barnhardt and her staff work all year planning the holiday event. Every room is decorated as if awaiting holiday guests. Outside, to the left of the House, there are several gardens and a Conservatory.
Later we enjoyed a Christmas dinner at the Stable Café, one of five restaurants and grills on the property. As the name suggests, this one occupies the old stable building. Its surroundings have been transformed into a shopping experience offering an array of small stores.

The Carriage House Shop features teapots and lamps and jewelry and Biltmore-brand salad dressings — not to mention wines bottled on the estate.

A confectionery shop offers mountain taffy, French chews, white chocolate champagne balls, and milk chocolate cherry cordials.

I lingered in the tiny Toymaker’s Shop, a cornucopia of teddy bears, rocking horses, and monkeys on a swing. In addition to the stuffed animals, storybooks, and iron blacksmith’s puzzles, there were turn-of-the-century Biltmore dolls, eye-dazzling kaleidoscopes, and hand-carved spinning tops.

There’s even a shop called A Christmas Past that sells holiday decorations: Father Christmases, Nativities, angels, and toy soldiers. Poinsettias, wreaths, and fat snowmen surround the room, imbuing it with a genuine sense of holiday cheer.

Even in winter, strolls on the vast estate are popular.
Photo courtesy of The Biltmore Company

As we took the shuttle back to the parking area, driving the winding roads through the snow-covered night toward the stone archway that marks the entrance (and exit) to the Biltmore Estate, I couldn’t help thinking about the live reading we’d heard on the third floor earlier that evening, the story of “The Little Match Girl.” Her tiny flames were nothing compared to the candles flickering throughout the mighty mansion; her poverty a contrast to the lavish lifestyle on display. But the last line of the story came to mind: “No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, and how happily she had gone … into the bright New Year.”

We enjoyed our visit and saw many beautiful things. A visit to Biltmore House during the Christmas season is a journey into the extravagant past, a time when moneyed families led a palatial existence. And today you can share that grandeur. At least for one candlelit, snowy night.

First Night Boston (Boston)

While there are countless venues that celebrate New Year’s Eve in style, the venues are not always family-friendly. In Boston, one tradition keeps New Year’s entertaining and enjoyable, sans the alcohol-induced shenanigans.

First Night Boston was started in 1976 by a group of local artists and citizens looking to create an alternative to customary New Year’s activities. Three decades later, the event is going strong. Run by the nonprofit First Night, Inc., the event is funded through the sale of $18-buttons that serve as a badge of honor to those who support the Boston arts community and act as an admission ticket to numerous events. In 2009, patrons of First Night witnessed ethnic dancing, live music (from saxophone quartets to African drummers), visual art exhibits, puppet shows, and a circus. The goal is to foster the creativity that has made Boston one of the country’s most interesting cities.

When: December 31-January 1, 2009
Where: Boston, MA
Website: First Night Boston

North Pole Christmas in Ice (Alaska)

An ice-carved angel herald sculpture. Courtesy of North Pole Christmas in Ice

The city of North Pole, Alaska, is home to one of the coolest Christmas festivals in America (pun intended). During the city’s “Christmas in Ice” event, the world’s greatest ice sculptors create a frozen wonderland perfectly suited to a town called North Pole.

Putting on the event is no easy task. Ice sculpture in and of itself is a challenge—arguably the most fragile art form in the world. And while the North Pole’s location (near Fairbanks in mainland Alaska) makes it ideal for the frosty art form, harsh winter conditions can present extreme obstacles. Cold snaps where the temperature dips below -40° F for days on end are not uncommon in the Alaska Interior. Even the simple task of getting from point A to point B can be a hard-won feat.

The difficulty offers clues as to why we host festivals in the first place. No matter how harsh the conditions are or how tough the daily grind, we love festivals because they quite simply cheer us up. Ice is an inescapable fact of life in North Pole. Why not celebrate it? The Christmas in Ice event deserves special respect because amid some of the harshest conditions on Earth, the festival brings a smile to the faces of those who know the meaning of the word survival.

The end result? Multifaceted works of ice art. More than a thing of beauty, however, ice becomes an entertaining mode of transportation on ice slides, which range from kid-sized to 100 feet long, and even more fun awaits at the entrance of this year’s ice maze.

When: December 5-January 3, 2009
Where: North Pole, Alaska
Website: Christmas in Ice

National Potato Latke Eating Contest (TBA, NY)

Courtesy of Association of Independent Competitive Eaters

Chanukah is a holiday with many great traditions. It is known as “The Festival of Lights” because of the Hanukiah, a special type of Menorah that is, perhaps more than anything, emblematic of the Jewish faith as a whole. Dreidel, the ancient game that combines the physics of a spinning top with the luck of gambling, makes its annual appearance this time of year. And, of course, the tradition of exchanging gifts occurs on each of the holiday’s eight nights. The tastiest Chanukah tradition, however, is the latke. This delicacy is comprised of potatoes, onions, and a secret ingredient known as schmaltz and is a special treat that Jewish people look forward to all year. During the National Potato Latke Eating Competition, contestants from all over the world indulge themselves in a feast of epic proportions.

Latkes are served by the hundreds during the fierce gastronomical battle, and contestants mean business—last year’s winner, “Furious” Pete Czerwinski, set a world record by eating 46 latkes (equal to about seven pounds of potatoes) in eight minutes. Can he  defend his crown? “Furious” Pete will face off against such legendary food warriors as Elizabeth “Rubber-Gut” Canady and Mark “The Human Vacuum” Lyle, both of whom have participated in years past. Of course, up-and-comers hungry for a piece of golden-brown fried potato glory this year could take home the crown as well. Although this event has been marred by controversy (Phil “Clowny Chompers” Teglia was caught stuffing latkes in his pocket in 2007, an illegal performance-enhancing technique), the atmosphere should be sizzling in 2009. For more information, visit Zan’s Deli or The Association of Independent Competitive Eaters

When: TBD
Where: New York
Website: Zan’s Deli

Day of the Dead (Oaxaca, Mexico)

Courtesy Oaxaca Ministry of Tourism.

The Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in its current form is the product of a cultural clash. Ancient Aztecs viewed life as a dream; only in death did one become awake. This festival honored what they viewed as the completion of the life cycle. When the Spanish conquistadors saw the ancient practice, they viewed the practice as sacrilegious paganism. However, try as they might, the Spaniards were not able to stop the annual event. Eventually, the celebration was moved to November 1 (All Saints’ Day) and November 2 (All Souls’ Day), in an effort to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism. It is still celebrated on these dates today, and has become an exotic blend of ancient rituals and Christian theology.

One of the best places to experience Dia de los Muertos is Oaxaca, Mexico. The highlight of the event occurs after nightfall, when city streets are crowded with people celebrating the deceased. Many don wooden skulls called calacas—a throwback to Aztec tradition, and almost all wear unique costumes. The sound of trumpets, the movement of dancing, the sight of vibrant costume colors, and the emotion of merrymaking signal a night of celebration. During the day, shop windows showcase skeleton figurines called calaveras, which depict people of all professions fulfilling the same activities as when they were alive. Street vendors sell skull-shaped candy; flowers from the countryside; special bread known as pan de yema; and homemade altar candles. TCountryside traditions are equally interesting. Families visit loved ones’ graves, bringing food and music for the enjoyment of living and dead alike, and each small town touts unique traditions. Whether in the bustling city or the quaint countryside, visitors to Oaxaca will enjoy a cultural experience unlike any other. For more information, visit the Oaxaca Secretary of Tourism website.

When: November 1 & 2, 2009
Where: Oaxaca, Mexico
Website: Day of the Dead

Natchitoches Christmas Festival of Lights (Louisiana)

Courtesy of Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

Palm trees adorned with Christmas lights in Hawaii, decorative boat parades in Florida, Christmas caroling in New England—American holiday celebrations are as diverse as the “melting-pot” itself.

Consider Natchitoches, Louisiana, where the Christmas spirit comes alive with a bayou twist. This year marks the 83rd year that Natchitoches (pronounced nak-i-tosh) has put on its annual Christmas bash—the longest-running Christmas festival in Louisiana. Visitors enjoy holidays with some southern hospitality. The whole event began as a byproduct of the American innovation that shaped the 20th century. In 1926 Max Burgdof, the man who installed the first electric generators in Natchitoches, decided that stringing up Christmas lights along Front Street would make an excellent Christmas gift to town citizens. Ever since, people from Natchitoches and surrounding communities have come to witness the lights switch on. Beginning in the ’30s, visitors also came to enjoy the sight of fireworks and their reflection on Cane River Lake. Nearby Cane River Creole National Historic Park complements the festivities—adding to the parades, historic tours, lighted barges, pageants, and contests—with special events of its own. Natchitoches is right in the heart of Cajun country, and as one would expect first-class food abounds. The town even has its own contribution to international cuisine—the world renowned Natchitoches Meat Pie is made especially for this all-American festival.

When: November 21-January 6, 2009
Where: Louisiana
Website: Natchitoches Christmas Festival of Lights

Chinese New Year (San Francisco, California)

Photo by Knight Lights Photography. Courtesy Southwest Airlines Chinese New Years Parade

Traditionally celebrated with colorful parades, unforgettable foods, entertaining carnivals, and more, the Chinese New Year is a visually stunning, tastebud-pleasing occasion. The holiday is based on a lunar calendar, so the date varies from year to year. It falls on February 14 in 2010, and cities across the world will bring in the Year of the Tiger in their own unique way. Perhaps the best place to experience this cultural festival on a grand scale, however, is San Francisco.

Because the city has such a large Chinese population (it boasts the largest Chinatown in the U.S., about one-fifth of the population is of Chinese descent), the Chinese New Year is unquestionably a big deal. In fact, this festival is considered the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia and has been a San Francisco tradition since 1860. The celebration is as much a part of the city’s heritage as crab cakes.

The festival kicks off with a flower market fair where vendors sell food, fruits, and, of course, flowers. Many Chinese households keep live blooming plants to symbolize the new growth and regeneration of the New Year. While festivities include a 10k run, Miss Chinatown Pageant, and community fair, the highlight of the celebration is the parade. Chinese acrobats, lion dancers, stilt walkers, and an assortment of floats explode onto the streets, showcasing the finest entertainment with authentic Asian flare. The procession ends with the 200-foot-long “Golden Dragon” carried by 100 members of the White Crane Martial Arts group and accompanied with over 600,000 fireworks.

When: February 6-28
Where: San Francisco, California
Website: Chinese New Year Parade

Rock City Enchanted Garden of Lights (Georgia)

Courtesy of Doug Barnette Photography

Located about six miles from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, Georgia’s Lookout Mountain is always a visual treat, regardless of the season. Features like Ruby Falls (the tallest underground waterfall in the U.S.), Rock City Gardens (a 4,100-foot-trail showcasing the best of the mountain scenery), and Needle’s Eye (one of many stunning rock formations) make Rock City an American landmark.

And the destination becomes truly special during Yule. In 2009, the city celebrates the 15th anniversary of the “Rock City Enchanted Garden of Lights”—a month-and-a-half-long extravaganza where the natural beauty of the mountain is complemented with a one-of-a-kind light display. More than 1 million Christmas lights illuminate the famed Rock City trail every night except Christmas Eve during this award-winning event.

When: November 20-January 2, 2009
Where: Rock City, Georgia
Website: Rock City Enchanted Garden of Lights

The Post profiles some of the best.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (New Mexico)

More than 600 balloons take to the air during one of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta's mass ascensions.

A spectacular event takes place in the skies over New Mexico every October. No, it’s not a UFO sighting over Roswell. It’s the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, where hundreds of hot air balloons dot the sky in one of the most amazing aerial displays in the world. The eye-catching exhibition is made possible by a perfect combination of desert climate and valley geography, creating what is known as the “Albuquerque Box.” Like many desert areas, extreme temperature fluctuations occur between day and night. As the sun rises, cool air pools along the valley floor and travels northward while hotter air rises and travels south. As a result, hot air balloons can travel in one direction, change altitude, and come back in a “box” shape. If weather permits, this environmental phenomenon allows a “mass ascension” (600+ balloons in the air) to occur—a flight of epic proportion, which, according to the event’s Web site, has become the “most photographed event in the world.”

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

When: October 3-11, 2009
Where: Albuquerque, NM
Web site: balloonfiesta.com

Northeast Kingdom Fall Foliage Festival (Vermont)

An old covered bridge outside of Cabot, Vermont.

Vermont is a great place to be in late September/early October, particularly if you visit Northeast Kingdom’s Fall Foliage Festival. The celebration takes place in seven towns over seven days and pays tribute to the wonderful fall colors of the New England landscape. The location is appropriate for such a festival since all of the towns are in or near Groton State Forest, a 25,000-acre fall wonderland that encompasses six state parks. In addition to hiking and sightseeing, visitors can enjoy art exhibits, tasty dinners, and farmers’ markets in quaint, historic towns.

Northeast Kingdom Fall Foliage Festival

When: September 27-October 3, 2009
Where: Various places in Northeast Kingdom, Vermont
Web site: nekchamber.com

27th Annual Bean Fest and Championship Outhouse Race (Arkansas)

Bean artisans create a masterpiece at the Mountain View, Arkansas Annual Bean Fest.

Mountain View, Arkansas, hosts a festival every October celebrating a food taste buds love but cohabitants hate—the Bean Fest and Championship Outhouse Race. While the nearby Ozark Mountains showcase pretty fall colors, the real sign of seasonal change is the unmistakable aroma of beans. The city provides cooking utensils and more than 1,000 pounds of beans to contestants, who prepare food for 40,000 visitors. After the feast, the outhouse race begins. What may sound like a bean-induced stampede to the bathroom is more like a soapbox derby with modified outhouses on wheels. These methane-powered vehicles race through the town in a one-of-a-kind spectacle that everyone enjoys—that is, unless there is a crash.

27th Annual Bean Fest & Championship Outhouse Race

When: October 29-31, 2009
Where: Mountain View, Arkansas
Web site: ozarkgetaways.com

Sonoma County Harvest Fair (California)

Beautiful vineyards call Sonoma Valley, California home, where more than 150 wineries produce world-class wine.

For those with too discriminating a palette for conventional Oktoberfest beer, the Sonoma County Harvest Fair is the destination of choice. During the three-day festival, more than 150 wineries offer visitors an unequaled opportunity to enjoy the agricultural heritage that has won this region and its legendary wines worldwide fame. The food isn’t too shabby either. This region is also known as a center for culinary creativity, and professional chefs perform live demonstrations at the Fair’s Showcase Café. The fair also boasts fresh produce, prize farm animals, a barnyard maze, and the World Championship Grape Stomp.

Sonoma Harvest Fair

When: October 2-4, 2009
Where: Sonoma County, California
Web site: harvestfair.org

Toronto International Film Festival (Ontario)

Toronto waterfront at night.

This north-of-the-border “Festival of Festivals” is renowned as one of the best places to catch new film debuts. Hotel Rwanda, American Beauty, Chariots of Fire, Life is Beautiful, The Princess Bride, Roger and Me, and Ray are but a few of the films that have debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The event featured screenings of over 300 movies in 2008, from a list of submissions that included more than 4,200 entries from 64 countries. Slumdog Millionaire, which went on to nab eight Academy Awards, won the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award in 2008. Although it’s impossible to predict if this year’s winner will be from Hollywood, Bollywood, or somewhere in-between, one thing is certain: visitors will enjoy some great movies.

Toronto Film Festival

When: September 10-19, 2009
Where: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Web site: tiff.net

Feast of the Hunter’s Moon (Indiana)

The Feast of the Hunter’s Moon commemorates French and Indian traders who celebrated this festival on the Wabash hundreds of years ago.

Fall festivals boast a time-honored history. Historically, autumn has been the time to enjoy the harvest. For many pioneers, this was the last opportunity to celebrate before winter settled in. The Feast of the Hunter’s Moon commemorates French and Indian traders who celebrated this festival on the Wabash hundreds of years ago, and visitors today relive the custom by dressing in traditional garb while enjoying old-fashioned pastimes, including children’s trade blanket, candle-dipping, story telling, puppet shows, cross-cut sawing, and tomahawk throwing. The location, Tippecanoe County’s Fort Ouiatenon—the first fortified European outpost in what is now Indiana, only adds to the historic experience. Popular attractions include reenactments of battles that occurred here, vintage arts and crafts activities, Native-American traditions, and authentic pioneer recipes, such as buffalo and “forfar bridies,” cooked over the open fire.

Feast of the Hunters Moon

When: October 10-11, 2009
Where: Fort Ouiatenon, Tippecanoe County, IN
Web site: tcha.mus.in.us

Charleston Halloween Events (South Carolina)

One of the many haunted locales found in Charleston, South Carolina.

One of the biggest national fall celebration is Halloween, and one of the best places to celebrate it is in Charleston. Everyone gets involved with Halloween in this notoriously haunted town—including the dead. While families can enjoy Fish or Treat at the South Carolina Aquarium, Scarecrows on the Square in nearby Summerville, or the Harvest Moon Hayride, those who enjoy the darker side might want to take part in some genuinely spooky activities. The Charleston Ghost and Dungeon Walking tour offers visitors access to the city’s infamous prerevolutionary dungeon. Hop aboard for the Haunted Harbor Tour, which sails to where the spirits of pirates and shipwrecked sailors are still thought to roam. Or you can join in the Halloween in the Swamp activities at Cyprus Gardens—one of numerous tours of haunted churches, graveyards, and the jail.

Charleston Halloween Events

When: Multiple dates
Where: Charleston, South Carolina
Web site: charlestoncvb.com

Floresville Peanut Festival (Texas)

The Floresville Peanut Festival Parade features floats and amusement for more than 15,000 visitors.

While apples, pumpkins, and colorful fall foliage garner the attention at many fall festivals, a less celebrated crop gets top billing at the Floresville Peanut Festival. More than 15,000 people visit the celebration every October, honoring the peanut in a manner that would make George Washington Carver proud. Families enjoy the Goober Games, where sack races, face painting, and the peanut toss take place. But the centerpiece of the festival is the parade, where King Reboog and Queen Tunaep (goober and peanut spelled backwards) wave to the crowd amid marching bands and street floats.

Floresville Peanut Festival

When: October 8-10, 2009
Where: Floresville, Texas
Web site: floresvillepeanutfestival.org

Long’s Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival (Colorado)

Athletes adorn their kilts for the annual caber toss competition.

Kilts, bagpipes, and haggis take center stage every September in Estes Park, Colorado, during the Long’s Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival. A parade, live music, and plenty of other traditional festival activities are staples, the true appeal of this celebration lies in the less conventional old-world activities. The fan favorite might be the U.S./International Jousting Competition. What is more entertaining than watching grown men carrying big sticks collide with each other on horseback? While the winner is no longer guaranteed a virtuous maiden, he can walk away with some serious prize money—up to $3000—so there is more at stake than chivalry and honor. Other main attractions include the hammer throw, the stone throw, the caber (a long, wooden pole) throw, and the strongman competition. Prefer less strenuous activities? Don’t miss the military marching bands, pancake breakfast, and Irish and Highland-style dances.

Long’s Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival

When: September 10-13, 2009
Where: Estes Park, Colorado
Web site: scotfest.com

The Keene Pumpkin Festival (New Hampshire)

Thousands of pumpkins make up the Keene Pumpkin Festival's Pumpkin Tower.

Every October, the city of Keene, New Hampshire, takes the tradition of pumpkin carving to the cutting edge. Visitors to the two-day Keene Pumpkin Festival will see 25,000 jack-o’-lanterns lit simultaneously in a one-of-a-kind family celebration. Friday night is “Community Night,” when pumpkins are dropped off and people enjoy hayrides, music, and, of course, food. On Saturday, families participating in pie-eating and seed-spitting competitions, face painting, a costume parade, and more, while volunteers prepare for the main event. After nightfall, the jack-o-lanterns are lit, a true sight to behold.

Keene Pumpkin Festival

When: October 16-17, 2009
Where: Keene, New Hampshire
Web site: pumpkinfestival.com

Oktoberfest (across the country)

Oktoberfest began in 1810 in Munich, Germany. The Munich event is now the world's largest fair, with more than 6 million attendees annually.

While not be the most important German-American contribution to society, Oktoberfest is arguably the coolest. Where else is donning lederhosen and listening to Polka socially acceptable? Bratwurst, dancing, and, of course, beer are the stars of the festivities from coast to coast, with each city and town’s Oktoberfest offering a unique twist.

For 30 years, the town of Helen, Georgia—modeled after a traditional German village, has hosted an Oktoberfest that lasts for more than a month and is world-renowned. According to the festival’s Web site, it’s the longest-running Oktoberfest in the United States.

Helen Oktoberfest

When: September 10-27 (Thursday-Sunday); October 1-November 1 (Daily)
Where: Helen, Georgia
Web site: helenchamber.com

The beer flows at the La Crosse Oktoberfest.

Although “La Crosse” is a French term, this Wisconsin town goes the extra mile when throwing the German Festival. An annual tradition since 1961, the title Oktoberfest, U.S.A.® is a registered trademark of La Crosse.

La Crosse Oktoberfest

When: September 25-October 3, 2009
Where: La Crosse, Wisconsin
Web site: oktoberfestusa.com

Bands from the United States and Germany play in Leavenworth, Washington’s Oktoberfest every year, and, in accordance with Bavarian tradition, the city’s mayor taps the first keg. In nearby Fremont, Washington, more than 35 microbreweries participate in an Oktoberfest suited for the finest beer-connoisseur.

Fremont Oktoberfest

When: September 18-20, 2009
Where: Fremont, Washington
Web site: fremontoktoberfest.com

Leavenworth Oktoberfest

When: October 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 2009
Where: Leavenworth, Washington
Web site: leavenworthoktoberfest.com

Alpenhorns, traditional horn instruments from the Alps, delight visitors at the Oktoberfest in Snowbird, Utah.

Snowbird, Utah, launched Oktoberfest some 30 odd years ago, when two men visiting the mountainous ski resort were reminded of their native alps. They busted out the lederhosen and accordions, and Oktoberfest has remained a tradition ever since.

Snowbird Oktoberfest

When: August 22, 23, 29, 30; September 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27; October 3, 4, 10, 11, 2009
Where: Snowbird, Utah
Web site: snowbird.com/events/concertsnfestivals/oktoberfest.html

Of course, the great thing about Oktoberfest is its widespread popularity, so the best place to celebrate might be in a town near you.

Of course, she’s had work done—expert work. Because no one would trust Gone with the Wind to anyone but the best cinematic plastic surgeons.

The film, which catapulted Britain’s Vivien Leigh to icon status as Scarlett O’Hara and immortalized Clark Gable as the only possible Rhett Butler, will celebrate its 70th birthday this December. Thousands are planning pilgrimages to Georgia, the setting for the book and scene of the premiere. Marietta, Georgia, is even restaging the three-day GWTW gala of 1939, with spotlights criss-crossing the night sky and the remaining cast members walking the red carpet.

But what, really, is left after all this time—73 years after Margaret Mitchell unleashed the world’s best-selling novel?

Never underestimate the South’s love of tradition and, especially, its tenacious stewardship of all things GWTW.

From an original Scarlett gown to Mitchell’s Remington typewriter, there’s plenty to experience. Here are some of the milestones to help you map your own epic adventure.

Questing for Tara

Docent Ted Key greets visitors at Stately Oaks plantation in Jonesboro. Photo courtesy Betsa Marsh.

GWTW fans—called “Windies”—long for the towering white pillars of Tara, but the mansion we love was basically a confection whipped up by producer David O. Selznick.

The native Pittsburgher, who called GWTW “the American bible,” envisioned a plantation house like the antebellum mansions lining the Mississippi. Mitchell’s Tara, however, was modeled after her great-grandparents’ farmstead in Clayton County, a two-story frame house with a comfy porch. The family called it “Rural Home.”
In a tribute to her Irish ancestry, Mitchell named her fictional estate Tara for the hill of Tara, 30 miles outside Dublin, where Ireland’s first High King was declared.

“When Margaret Mitchell saw the film, she said, ‘That’s not the house I wrote about,’ ” said Ted Key, a costumed docent at Stately Oaks in Jonesboro, Clayton County.

Built in about 1831 by Mitchell’s Irish ancestor Philip Fitzgerald, Rural Home is now in ruins. Instead, head down Carriage Lane to Stately Oaks, an 1839 home in the Plantation Plain style of Rural Home.

“Windies always ask, ‘Is this Tara?’ ” Key said. “It’s as close to Tara as you’re going to get.”

During the Civil War, the Robert McCord family lived in the house, which was moved four miles in 1972. Mrs. McCord, her six children, and the cook were hiding alone
in the home when Union soldiers broke into the basement and found them.

An officer stationed a guard at the front and back doors to protect them, then asked a favor of the lady of the house. Would her cook make his officers home-cooked meals?

“That’s the way the house was saved,” Key said.

It was on the porch of her family farmhouse, similar to Stately Oaks, that young Mitchell heard tales of the war.

“I heard about fighting and wounds… how ladies nursed in the hospitals…the way gangrene smelled. …I heard about the burning and looting of Atlanta. I heard everything in the world except that the Confederates lost the war. When I was 10 years old,” Mitchell recalled, “it was a violent shock to learn that General Lee had been licked.”

Hollywood may not have gotten Rural Home right, but it did create an indelible illusion beloved around the world.

In 1979 Georgia’s First Lady, Betty Talmadge, bought the studio façade of Tara’s doorway, now located at Atlanta’s Margaret Mitchell House and Gone with the Wind Museum.

A photo of Mitchell surrounded by her papers is on display at the Margaret Mitchell House. Photo courtesy Betsa Marsh

Tracking the GWTW Manuscript

Travelers would love to see the original pages of the world’s best-selling novel, but Margaret Mitchell wouldn’t have it.

Her second husband, John Marsh, who encouraged Mitchell to write, said her will placed upon him “the duty of destroying her papers. … She believed that an author should stand or fall before the public on the basis of the author’s published work.”

Only 20 or so pages survive, and if you really want to see them, there’s only one thing to do.

Sue.

“There are a few pages in the SunTrust Bank, where they will remain unless someone challenges her authorship,” said Richard Cruce, the librarian who handles the Mitchell collection at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System.

But you won’t leave the library disappointed. Fans from 38 states and 13 countries came last year to see the Remington typewriter that Mitchell wrote GWTW on—last chapter first. She wrote out of chronology from 1926 on, eventually weaving the chapters together about 1935.

The manuscript may be out of reach, but the Margaret Mitchell House has the clipboard she corrected it on. And the suitcase that Harold Latham of Macmillan Publishing bought to carry away the manuscript.

He’d come from New York to scout for new writers. When he met Mitchell at a writers’ conference and asked if she had work to show, Mitchell said, “No, I have nothing.”

A friend urged her on, and Mitchell finally went to the Georgia Terrace Hotel just as Latham was leaving. She handed over 70 bulging envelopes and said, “Take the damn thing before I change my mind.”

Searching for the Loew’s Grand

Seats 101, 103, and 105 at the Road to Tara Museum were saved from the Loew's Grand, which burned in 1978. Photo courtesy Betsa Marsh

Gone with the Wind was a publishing sensation, even at an astronomical $3 each. It sold more than 28 million copies worldwide.

Barely was the ink dry before movie buzz started. Clark Gable, “King of Hollywood,” would play Rhett, everyone decided. The actor, however, resisted all the way. Finally, his studio, MGM, loaned him out for the role, and Selznick added $50,000 to the deal, enough for Gable to divorce Ria Langham and marry Carole Lombard. Lombard urged him to take the part, and now no one can imagine anyone else as Rhett Butler.

Scarlett was trickier. The search would take two years, cost more than $92,000, and involve 1,400 actresses, from Lana Turner to Lucille Ball.

Ninety candidates took screen tests, with four in full color: front-runner Joan Bennett, Jean Arthur, Paulette Goddard, and Vivien Leigh.

Selznick, of course, swooned for 25-year-old Leigh, who traveled from London to land the role.

“Better an English girl,” sniffed a Daughter of the Confederacy, “than a Yankee.”

Atlanta, of course, was determined to host the world premiere, and the lavish Loew’s Grand was the place.

“The premiere was like a snowflake in Atlanta,” said Beth Bailey of the Clayton County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We shut down everything for one snowflake. People didn’t go to work, didn’t do anything but try to see actors from Gone with the Wind.”

The city dolled up the Grand, built in 1893, with faux Tara pillars and raked the night sky with searchlights on December 15, 1939. All the stars arrived, somehow dwarfed by the 4-foot-11-inch figure of Margaret Mitchell.

Sadly, the Grand burned in 1978, and only fragments remain. The Road to Tara Museum has three of its red plush seats, a playbill, a railing, and a scrap of art deco carpet.

Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, built in 1929 as a Masonic temple, has taken over the heritage role with classic movies, including GWTW. It even has a few of the Grand’s seats. Ironically, they’re up in the standing room only area of the top balcony, a section reserved for blacks during segregation.

Staying at the Stars’ Hotel

You can still book the Clark Gable suite at the Georgian Terrace Hotel. The ballroom, a white vision of Corinthian columns and chandeliers, was the setting for the film’s post-premiere party.

“Every day,” said Carl Dees, general manager of the hotel, “someone comes into this ballroom to take pictures.”

Unveiling the Costumes
Walter Plunkett created some of film’s most iconic costumes. Who can forget Scarlett’s green velvet drapery gown?

He took the costumes after filming and willed most of them to the University of Texas, where they remain in storage.

Only one of Scarlett’s original gowns is on display, and it draws Windies from around the world to Marietta’s Scarlett on the Square. It’s her ivory bengaline silk gown that Rhett bought her on their honeymoon in New Orleans.

At the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro, seamstresses have devoted thousands of hours replicating GWTW gowns. They had the green-sprig fabric for Scarlett’s barbecue dress specially milled and sent plumes to Las Vegas to be dyed just the right burgundy for the gown Scarlett wore to Ashley Wilkes’ birthday party.
And when they replicated the green drapery gown and hat, they added a real chicken’s foot to the cording on the hat, just as Scarlett wore it. For true Windies, no detail is too small.

Turnbladh recently winterized his art compound to boost its attraction as a cozy place to spend an autumn or winter afternoon. He describes Door County as a doers’ destination where guests “can experience art, not just buy it.” The peninsula’s evolution from a warm-weather getaway to a year-round playground is gaining momentum. Rather than hunkering down and waiting for the thaw, residents such as Turnbladh are creating new reasons to beckon guests north to “explore the Door,” as their slogan invites. Roughly two-thirds of the region’s tourists still visit between early May and late October, but the shoulder seasons of winter and spring are becoming increasingly popular.

When temperatures dip, visitors to Door County, Wisconsin, enjoy an after-dark candlelight ski trek.

“You don’t go through Door County,” explains a local merchant, “you go to Door County.” A look at the Wisconsin map underscores his point. The 70-mile Door County Peninsula juts north until it runs out of land and disappears in the swirling water where Green Bay meets Lake Michigan. Early French explorers were so intimidated by the choppy passage between the peninsula’s tip and nearby Washington Island that they called it Port des Morts, or Door to Death. Later, settlers wisely dropped the “death” but held onto the Door.

A ferry service now links Door County with Washington Island, giving visitors one more option to consider when deciding where to go and what to see. The choices and the crowds diminish after the middle of October when fall foliage fades, traffic thins, and some venues close for the season. Getting a table at Al Johnson’s popular Swedish restaurant becomes easier, and the waitresses have time to explain why the goats are on the restaurant’s sod roof (to trim the grass, of course) and what’s so special about Swedish pancakes (they’re square and sprinkled with lingonberries).

Of the county’s 100 art galleries and museums, enough are open to prompt tourists to wander the string of villages, talk to the locals, and hear the quirky stories behind the towns’ names. There’s Carlsville, once spelled “Karlsville” and named for the large number of male residents (six!) with the first name of Karl. Then there’s Egg Harbor, whose name dates back to 1825 when a trade flotilla put down anchor and a food fight broke out among the landing party. This resulted in eggshells covering the pristine beach. The town of Ephraim—a biblical word meaning “fruitful,” appropriate since tart cherries grow by the bushels—was settled by Norwegian Moravians and still follows Moravian law that insists all buildings be painted white.

For a nominal fee, guests can dabble in paint, fuse glass, mold pots, and build metal sculptures at Cy Turnbladh’s Hands On Art Studio in scenic Door County.

During “high season,” at least 10 restaurants in the various villages host outdoor fish boils. By November that number shrinks, but the tradition continues on Friday nights at the century-old White Gull Inn. The cooler weather and early sunset (around 4 p.m. in December) add to the fun because dinner guests huddle outside to form a ring around a huge steaming cauldron. The pot, filled with chunks of fresh whitefish and small red potatoes, is brought to a boil over an open fire. When the fish oils rise to the surface, the Master Boiler tosses a small amount of kerosene under the pot. The burst of flames causes the oils to spill over the sides and leaves the fish perfectly cooked and ready to serve.

Reservations for the fish boil are required in the summer months but off-season guests are likely to claim a spot around the cauldron without advance notice. The same holds true for securing rooms at one of the dozens of inns that stay open after October. Some accommodations are especially welcoming during the six-month stretch that innkeepers call “the quiet season.” At the Blacksmith Inn on the Shore, each room has a postcard view of Lake Michigan, a fireplace, and is furnished with authentic antiques. “My wife scoured the country for the furniture,” says innkeeper Bryan Nelson, who bought the house and its next-door smithy 13 years ago as “a work in progress.”

At least half of the guests at the Blacksmith Inn are repeat visitors who often request their favorite rooms year after year. For newcomers who ask for suggestions on how best to spend their limited time, Bryan has a ready list of activities based on the season. He recommends that warm weather visitors consider a bike ride to the Cana Island lighthouse, a two-hour sail on the schooner Friendly, or an outdoor jazz concert. When the temperatures dip, there are candlelight ski treks, sleigh rides through the woods, and cooking classes at The Savory Spoon. However they customize their itineraries, guests usually voice the same complaint when they leave, according to Bryan. “I often hear people say, ‘We simply ran out of time.’ ”

More than a warm-weather destination, winter visitors enjoy open-sleigh rides in Door County.

Get in line

Door County is football country, and the Green Bay Packers have been the “home team” for 90 years. The Packers open their season on September 13, but if you’re thinking about adding football to your vacation itinerary, get in line. Historic Lambeau Field, home of the Packers, has been sold out since 1960 and has 57,000 names on its ticket waiting list. The team is owned by fans who turn out in record numbers to cheer their 12-time national champions. Average wait for season tickets: 30 years.

Take a number

Did you know that Door County has:

• 300 miles of shoreline
• 10 historic lighthouses
• 42 outlying islands
• 5 state parks
• 2,000 acres of cherry orchards

Cherries for all seasons

Door County orchards typically produce 13 million pounds of tart cherries a year, which means visitors can stock up on cherry wine, salsa, BBQ sauce, jams, butter, juice … and the list goes on and on. Most restaurants and inns keep a ready supply of dried cherries on hand so they can offer their “specialties of the house” year-round.

The recipes for Cherry Almond Scones and Cherry Oatmeal Cookies are from the Blacksmith Inn on the Shore.

All images courtesy of Door County Visitor Bureau, doorcounty.com

The home of the Scarlett on the Square Museum will recreate the celebration November 13 and 14, with a costume ball like the one held in 1939 and a Saturday screening of the film at the restored Strand Theater. Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, is confirmed as emcee, and many of the remaining stars, such as Ann Rutherford, who played Carreen O’Hara, and Cammie King, who played Bonnie Blue Butler, will appear. Organizers are planning a first-ever GWTW writers’ forum, including Herb Bridges, who amassed the world’s largest GWTW collection, and Molly Haskell, author of the 2009 retrospective Frankly, My Dear: Gone with the Wind Revisited.

For more details, contact the Marietta Welcome Center and Visitors Bureau, 800-835-0445; mariettaga.gov.

For GWTW travel in Atlanta, contact 800-285-2682; atlanta.net.

For Stately Oaks and the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro, contact the Clayton County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-662-7829; visitscarlett.com.

Yet today you would never guess the mountain slopes had been stripped, the streams silted, and the wildlife decimated. From The Rockefeller Memorial, where FDR stood with one foot in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina, the view is breathtaking. The densely forested hills, verdant valleys, and wildflower-lined roadways show little sign of past abuse.

At the Sugarland Visitor Center at the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, entrance, Ranger Arthur McDade explains the beginnings of the park. “This was the first citizen-driven park in the nation. With the help of $5 million in matching funds from the Rockefeller Foundation, Tennessee and North Carolina raised enough money to purchase the acreage required to establish the park. This park is a testament to citizen efforts to donate and preserve. And with 50 to 80 inches of rain annually and a long growing season, the park is a testament to nature’s ability to recover.”

In the early 1920s the people of Tennessee and North Carolina realized that a park in the Appalachian Mountains could rival the great western parks with both natural beauty and the economic benefits from tourism. The movement developed with citizen advocates and automobile clubs in Knoxville and Asheville leading the way. Finally in 1926, Congress agreed to establish an Appalachian park if the states could acquire 150,000 acres to donate to the federal government.

The John Oliver House

“First, the Cherokee gave up their land when the government forced them out,” Ranger McDade says. “Then the American-European farmers gave up the land. Now we have a great chunk of the southern Appalachian Mountains preserved for posterity.”

By the time the park became a reality, however, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and funding for development seemed impossible. But the Civilian Conservation Corps came to the rescue by sending 1,000 young men to build the roads, buildings, and trails that are still the backbone of the park infrastructure.

Though decimated by logging, the mountain ecosystem recovered with the spread of the plants and animals that survived in the hollers and hills too steep to cut. Now a designated UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve, the park boasts more species of plants than all of Europe. An ongoing biological inventory has documented 1,500 species of flowering plants and 130 species of trees. The study has discovered 900 species previously unknown and estimates the park may harbor as many as 100,000 life forms.

Sampling the magic and majesty of the mountains is as easy as getting out of your car and walking down one of the forest trails. Along the road, “Quiet Walkways” lead far enough into the woods to escape road noise. Yet, according to the park administrators, five out of six of the nearly 10 million visitors have only a “windshield experience.”

Azalea and Rhododendron blossom in the Smokies
Courtesy: Gatlinburg Department of Tourism

“We offer lots of ways to see the park,” says Nancy Gray, park public relations officer. “We have auto trails with stops and printed guides and self-guided nature trails from one-fourth to one-mile long. From June through October, rangers lead interpretive hikes and present programs. Best of all, the park has 800 miles of trails that vary from easy strolls to 71-mile hikes of the Appalachian Trail.”

For an introduction to the lure of the Smokies, we hike to Laurel Falls, a 1.3-mile walk through a forest of oaks and maples with a dense understory of mountain laurel and rhododendron. In June flamboyant blooms cover the shrubs, and in the fall the maples turn blushing hues of reds and oranges. Today shades of green color the valleys and distant ridges. Couples pushing strollers and people of all ages flock down the family-friendly, paved trail to the 80-foot waterfall.

Besides the wonders of nature, the park preserves seven historic districts where settlers carved out small farming communities in the rich valleys. The Cades Cove district preserves 10 cabins, barns, outbuildings, and churches from the 125 families that lived here in 1900. An 11-mile, one-way loop circles the perimeter with abandoned fields in the center.

To get a closer feel for the land and its pioneer inhabitants, we rent bicycles at the visitor center and cruise the rolling, winding lane. A cloudless blue sky and precipitous mountain ridges frame fields chest-high in grass and sunflowers. With little road traffic, the silence of history mingles with the whisper of the breeze. We stop at log cabins with split-rail fences and walk among the weathered gravestones in cemeteries behind white, clapboard churches. The land shaped the lives of these farmers as much as they shaped it.

The Rockefeller Memorial marks the site where President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in September 2, 1940
Photo courtesy Gatlinburg Department of Tourism

Though majestic, the view also captures the history of mountains under siege since the first axmen invaded the pristine forests. Dead-standing Fraser fir trees killed by balsam woolly adelgid, an Asian parasite introduced in 1963, surround the tower. In 1929, the chestnut blight from Asia killed the keystone tree species and forever changed the makeup of the ecosystem. The latest threat to the forest emerged in 2002 when another Asian woolly adelgid that kills hemlock, another keystone species of the forest, entered the park.

Axes and plows decimated the forests of the Smoky Mountains in the past, and imported species threaten the future, but they are minor disturbances compared to what these resilient mountains have endured through the ages. Born from the collision of tectonic plates 200 million years ago, the Appalachian range has seen its rugged peaks worn down to rounded domes, ice ages come and go, and climate changes from near subarctic to today’s moderate winters. After seven decades of the healing touch of undisturbed nature, the rejuvenated Smokies once again have the power to inspire even the drive-through tourist.

Who can forget their first visit to the fair — a magical land of sights and sounds and smells beyond the reach of teachers, bosses, worries, and chores? There is nothing quite like that strange, veritable city that rises anew year after year on the outskirts of town to fill youths with wide-eyed wonder and adults with vivid memories of their own childhoods. For many people and many generations, the fair has occupied its own special place on the calendar and in the heart.

The American state fair is a conceptual curiosity, a celebration of agriculture that is at once a fantastic departure from the discipline and labor of the farming life. Even at the earliest fairs, agricultural displays and discussions competed for space and attention with horse races, carnivals, and shows. And innovations only widened the gap. The plowing contest became the tractor pull, and the horse race led to auto and motorcycle races and automobile stunt shows. Horse and hog contests blossomed into competitions among every kind of animal and vegetable, with baking and sewing contests right alongside. Like the prizewinning livestock and produce they showcased, state fairs expanded in size and number, becoming a national institution.

Agricultural fairs reach back to biblical times and promise to stretch far into the future. In America it was around the time of the Civil War when many of the country’s best-known and largest state fairs were first held. Before that, fairs were mostly local or county-wide affairs, more serious and less entertaining. But after the Civil War, the thrill shows, contests, and pageants that became such an integral part of our fair experience appeared to enliven the event.

The farming community began to shrink after World War I — a trend that accelerated after World War II. At the time of the Civil War, the vast majority of Americans supported themselves through agriculture; by 1940, only a quarter of all Americans lived on farms, and by 1980, that number was down to three of every hundred. Rural America was disappearing, and although fairs were thriving, the crowds in attendance were more often city or suburban dwellers who saw livestock about as often as they saw animals in zoos.

Fairs have changed with the people who have sponsored them, but tradition and innovation remain constant. In the 1860s and 1870s, fairs closed at dusk because gaslights and electricity were still decades in the future. Implements from that time, then considered revolutionary, live on in exhibits of agricultural history. By the 1950s, the Texas fair was installing a monorail, and the Indiana fair was displaying a replica of an atomic pile at an exhibit of nuclear energy. But at both fairs, the venerable Ferris wheel, invented at the turn of the century, was still a centerpiece of the midway. New meets old at the fair, and always takes something fresh from the encounter.

A retrospective of state fair snapshots and anecdotes includes a cavalcade of exciting, old, funny, heart-warming, startling, and amazing things. Monkeys dressed in hats danced to minstrel music at the Ohio State Fair in 1853. Monkeys drove miniature hot rods in California in the 1950s (the first aid tent, one year, treated 10 people for monkey bites, along with the usual hundreds of stomachaches and dozens of lost children).

Fairs held butter-making contests. A dairy company presented a butter sculpture of Teddy Roosevelt, posed with his foot on a dead lion; a live lion once rode in a racecar. Elsewhere, a butter sculptor carved a John Deere tractor. Fairs featured tractors when they were newfangled inventions that some farmers figured would never replace horses. Those same tractors appeared at displays of antique farm equipment 100 years later, where they evoked nostalgia for a simpler time.

Sure, fairs are corny — that’s why folks love them. Where else could you see a replica of the Statue of Liberty made of ears of corn? Or the state’s tallest corn stalk? Or watch contestants vie to slice off the longest apple peel? Or see a Liberty Bell made of apples?

Such attractions were irresistible.

Pretty girls wore new styles during fashion shows. Pretty girls in coochie shows wore not much at all. Pretty cows had their own events, as did fat cattle.

You could see the eruption of Mount Vesuvius depicted on a huge mural. The Battle of Manila in fireworks shot high into the night sky. A daredevil shot from a cannon. A car (the Torpedobile) shot from a cannon.

Big shots gave speeches. Trick shots entertained the crowds. Suffragettes rubbed elbows with prohibitionists; bootleggers offered shots of illicit liquor. Bamboozlers thrived. Bamboo novelty canes sold like hotcakes.

Parched fairgoers swilled draft beer and eyed draft horses. Draftees poured into fairgrounds during four wars, turning barns into barracks. One fairground became a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. At another fairground, a huge family campground has been popular for generations.

At fairs from Florida to Alaska, farmers and ranchers have shown enough livestock to fill 10,000 Noah’s arks, and gardeners enough jars of fruits and vegetables to build a pyramid for a pharaoh.

You can see cages of pigeons with names you’ve never heard: Oriental Frills, Modenas, Fantails, Birmingham Rollers, and White Kings.

You could have seen Blue Boy (the prizewinning hog in Phil Stong’s novel State Fair) or Old Oscar (the Iowa State Fair’s famous sturgeon, who spent 28 years as an attraction at the fair before dying in his tank on the last day of the fair in 1954). You can still peer up at Big Tex, the giant robot who greets people (in English and Spanish) at the Texas State Fair.

Honest Abe spoke at the Wisconsin State Fair in 1859 (he was paid $150, which included his expenses). A century later, the Kentucky State Fair held Abraham Lincoln look-alike contests.

Racers galore vied for ribbons, trophies, and loot; events featured horses, mules, camels, burros, dogs, boys, people riding on bikes or riding in wheelbarrows. Ostriches raced. At the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, an entrepreneur named E. R. Johnson of Fallbrook, California, did a steady business by serving omelets made from the eggs laid by his flock of 28 ostriches.

For generations, Americans took fairs to heart and expanded them in an unprecedented fashion. Along the way, the state fair became a piece of bedrock Americana, with elements so familiar that they seem quintessentially domestic.

The reason for this popularity is that, throughout their sprawling, tumultuous history, state fairs have always reflected the basic elements of the national character: the strengths and weaknesses, the common sense and faddishness, the unities and discords that have long marked Americans’ unique development as a culture.

Gallery

Beyond the thrills and souvenirs, Gatlinburg offers world-class attractions. Plan to spend several hours with the 10,000 exotic fish and sea creatures at the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, rated as one of the top three aquariums in the nation. The jellyfish exhibit mesmerizes as the delicate creatures drift through the water like clouds on a breeze. An underwater tunnel leads through a 700,000-gallon tank filled with sharks, swordfish, and schools of rainbow-colored reef fish. Children thrill at the touch of stingrays and horseshoe crabs in the touch tank.

For a sample of authentic mountain culture, take the eight-mile Arts and Crafts Trail, which loops through the hills just beyond the city limits sign. You can chat with more than 100 artisans that display handmade furniture, carvings, paintings, textile, jewelry, and ceramics in their studio/galleries. The guild of artists, the largest in the nation, dates back to 1937 when the group organized to preserve and promote their traditional skills.

The song describes a place called Rocky Top, Tennessee, which is one of the three peaks of Thunderhead Mountain located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hikers on the Appalachian Trail cross directly over Rocky Top.

Such is the lore one hears discussed in the lobby of the Gatlinburg Inn, constructed between 1937 and 1940 by R.L. (Rellie) Maples, Sr., and his wife, Wilma. Wilma Maples, now in her late 80s, loves to sit in her favorite chair in the lobby of the Gatlinburg Inn and reminisce with guests while crocheting and watching the Fox New Channel. She banters with the best of them, discussing today’s political landscape. But her favorite pastime is chatting with the guests who stayed at the inn with their parents in the 1940s and 50s.

The old hotel boasts many “firsts.” It was the first location of Gatlinburg’s city offices; the city’s First National Bank was organized there; and even the first dentist, Dr. Meaker, had an office at the inn.

Celebrity guests through the years have included: “Lady Bird” Johnson, Liberace, Dinah Shore, J.C. Penney, and Tennessee Ernie Ford. The inn even appeared in the movie A Walk in the Spring Rain, staring Ingrid Bergman.

Today, the inn’s landscape is carefully manicured, and inside it retains its early 20th century charm. A large porch with comfortable rocking chairs was added in more recent years.

Today’s guests, as they walk through the halls, might easily imagine hearing fiddle and lyrics coming from behind the door of room 388. But they would have to listen fast. The composers took just 10 minutes to write “Rocky Top.”

For more about Wilma, check out our profile on her.