GOV. EASLEY PROCLAIMS MAY 15, 2007 AS ‘TOURISM DAY’

 RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed Tuesday, May 15, 2007 as Tourism Day in recognition of the vital contributions of travel and tourism to the economic and cultural growth of North Carolina.

“Travel enhances our personal growth and education, while promoting understanding and appreciation of North Carolina’s history, geography and culture,” Easley said. “Tourism is also a rapidly growing industry that contributed $15.4 billion to the economy in our state last year and provides jobs to more than 187,000 North Carolinians.”

In celebration of Tourism Day, a full-day of events is scheduled in Raleigh.  In addition, North Carolina Welcome Centers across the state have events planned throughout the week of May 14-18. For a list of activities, visit www.nccommerce.com/tourism/TourismWeek/welcomeCenters.asp.

Tourism Facts:

  • More than 45 million visitors came to North Carolina in 2006, making it the sixth most visited state in the nation.
  • Travel in North Carolina generated more than $15.4 billion in tourism-related expenditures, an increase of 8.3 percent over the previous year.
  • The tourism industry directly employs more than 187,000 North Carolinians.
  • Each North Carolina household would pay $347 more in state and local taxes without the tax revenue generated by visitors to North Carolina.

**For more information about Tourism Day, contact Wit Tuttell at the Commerce Department’s Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development at (919) 733-7420 or wit@visitnc.com. [Press Release May 14, 2007]
Western North Carolina Early Travel and Tourism Booklets, Reports, Speeches, Brochures, Postcards and Postcard Folios -
A growing body of material covering many of western North Carolina's most scenic points of interest and unique materials related to politics, social services, tourism, environment, architecture, and more. 

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 Alta Pass Inn 
A postcard describing the amenities of the Inn.

 

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 Asheville in "The Land of the Sky"
Brochure produced by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce in the 1920's detailing the important tourist attractions of the city and surrounding region.

 

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 Battery Park Hotel (late 1800's)
Written by E.P. McKissick, the hotel manager, the 12 page booklet describs the hotel in detail. Photographs of the interior and exterior of the hotel.

 

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 Brief History of Macon County  (1891)
A small 17 page booklet containing a brief history of Macon County, by Dr. C. D. Smith, Franklin North Carolina Press Print, 1891.
 

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 Catalogue of the Bingham School (1903)
Official catalog of the Bingham Military School covering the 110th school year from September 3, 1903 to May 26, 1904. The school was established in 1793. The catalog includes photos of the students from various classes, photos, descriptions, and maps of the school grounds, and numerous essays detailing the benefits of a Bingham education.
 

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 Community Life in Western North Carolina (early 1900's)
A beautiful 40 page booklet published by the Southern Railway Company detailing tourist attractions in western North Carolina. Contains photographs by noted regional photographer Herbert W. Pelton and descriptions of many well-known landmarks in the area at the turn of the century. 
 

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 Dedicating Buncombe County's Court House  (1928)
A 16 page dedication program provided to the public when the Buncombe County Court House was opened in 1928. Includes a brief history of Buncombe County by F.A. Sondley when the corner-stone for the building was laid November 7, 1927.
 

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 Dedication of the City Building Asheville NC  (1928)
Dedication program of the City Building of Asheville, NC. Exercises March 19th, 1928. Includes information on the Contractors, the architect, Douglas Ellington, a brief history of Asheville, pictures of the leaders in the two administrations under which the City Hall was built, and a roster of City Commissioners from 1849 (prepared by Gallatin Roberts).
 

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 Directory of the Public Schools of Buncombe County, NC, 1928-29
A small 30 page booklet listing schools in Buncombe County in 1928-29 and the administration and teachers associated with the schools.
 

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 Directory of Social Resources of Asheville and Buncombe County  (1947)
A 39 page booklet produced by the Social Work Executives of Buncombe County, Community Chest Councils, and the Welfare Planning Council which details the various city services and programs in 1947. Basically serves as an index to services in the region for that year.

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 European Letters by T.W. Patton to The Asheville Citizen. Description of the Tour of the North Carolina Teachers, During the Summer of 1889.  Presenting impressions of Scotland, England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Paris
 

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 Flowering Trees and Shrubs : Biltmore Nursery, Biltmore, North Carolina (1909)
A 63 page catalogue that contains descriptions and illustrations (from photographs) of the trees, shrubs, flowers found on the Biltmore Estate in 1909, that may be perused and ordered by interested persons. Contains index.

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 Golden Book of  Memoirs (Congregation Beth Ha Tephila) (1887-1940)Part of the Congregation Beth Ha Tephila collection at UNCA and prepared for the fiftieth anniversary of the Congregation in Asheville, NC in 1941. This 36 page booklet contains and anniversary message from the Rabbi, a history of the Congregation, a program for the fiftieth anniversary Sabbath Service and the Banquet, a look to the future of the Congregation,  and a list of membership in 1941.

Grove Park Inn Postcard Folio (after 1917)
A holding within the extensive LeCompte Postcard collection at UNCA. this folio contains multiple views of the Grove Park Inn not long after its opening in 1913.
 

Grove Park Inn Finest Resort in the World ... (after 1917)
 A 15 page promotional brochure for the Grove Park Inn prepared by Fred Loring Seely and containing information about the Inn, its context, the city of Asheville and other related information about western North Carolina. One of the most informative booklets on the hotel, written by its designer and builder.
 

Grove Park Inn - "In the Land of the Sky" (after 1917)
An 18 page pictorial guide to the Inn and to the region's scenic locations. Prepared for tourism and travel probably after 1917.
 

The Land of the Sky. An Idyl  (1892?)
A 22 page booklet featuring a single poem by Winstanley (pseudonym of Thaddeus Coleman) and "inscribed respectfully" to Christian Reid.
 

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 Land of the Sky: Southern Railway, Premier Carrier of the South
(1913?) An unpaginated promotional booklet for rail travel in scenic western North Carolina. Contains photographs of key monuments, events, and life in the first decade of the twentieth century.

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 The Land of the Sky (1920's)
A 28 page booklet produced by the Passenger Department of Southern Railway as tourism promotional material. The booklet is available in digital format only. Original copy retained by owner.
 

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 Live and Invest in the Land of the Sky (1920's)
A 44 page promotional booklet for real estate interests in Asheville and environs. Includes descriptions of many planned communities in the region. Grouped by real estate company, some information is included regarding the companies.
 

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 The Manor (after 1913 ?)
A small 16 page booklet, describing The Manor at Albermarle Park, and the surrounding Asheville area. It has tourists or potential residents as its target audience. One section warns tuberculin patients that they need not apply as they are excluded from the hotel.

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 Medicine in Buncombe County Down to 1885; Historical and Biographical Sketches (1906) by Gaillard S. Tennent
A small booklet describing medical practice in the county before 1885. Details the activities of local doctors and their practice.

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 Merriwether and McCornack's New Battery Park Hotel
A 97 page booklet promoting the new hotel and golf at surrounding courses, including the newly opened Grove Park Inn golf-course.

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 A Motor Trip Veritably to Nature's Heart in "The Land of the Sky" (1920's)
A Motor Trip Veritably to Nature's Heart in "The Land of the Sky" was prepared as a guide to Asheville and vicinity by the Southern Railway System. It is a flyer with text and images arranged in quarto fold.

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 "Overlook" Asheville, North Carolina (1940's ?)
Small, un-paginated, eleven page booklet, describing "Overlook," Fred Seely's private residence on Sunset Mountain. Prepared for the sale of the property by Roy E. Burton, Realtor, in the mid 1940's. Contains text about the home and images of both exterior and interior.
 

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 Report on an Examination of a Forest Tract in Western North Carolina (1905)
Bulletin, no. 60,  produced as part of  series by the United States Bureau of Forestry, and detailing a particular tract found in western North Carolina
 

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 Rogers' Asheville (1890's)
Created in the1890's, Roger's Asheville was prepared as a guide to Asheville and vicinity. It is a 26 page book with text and images arranged much like a photograph album. Pages are stiff card stock and brittle in most copies.
 

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 Souvenir Folder of Asheville, North Carolina, "In the 'Land of the Sky'" ( from the Stafford and Wingate Anders Collection.)
Surrogate images scanned from a souvenir folder (25 images) of Asheville produced by the Asheville Post Card Company and dating from the 1930's [?]. Original souvenir folder retained by the owner.
 

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 Souvenir of Asheville of the Sky-Land by Harriet Adams Sawyer (1892)
  An early booklet written as a souvenir of travels to Asheville and environs. Contains 103 pages of descriptions and photographs of Asheville' public buildings, hotels, businesses, scenery, and environment.
 

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 The Sunny South :  drawings by E.H. Suydam (1924)
A 34 page booklet containing images and captions describing places and scenery throughout the South drawn by E.H. Sudyam for  the Southern Railway System, the sections on Asheville and Mt. Mitchell are beautifully drawn.

 

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 [Illustrated Guide Book of  North Carolina Mountains ], author unknown, (early 1900's)
Small 83 page booklet, describing travel in western North Carolina at the end of the 1880's. Booklet includes small hand-tipped original photographs of western North Carolina. Cover and frontispiece are missing and author is unidentified. Date is approximate.
 

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 Twenty-Five Years of Engineering in Western North Carolina
Charles Edward Waddell was the first President of the American Association of Civil Engineers, North Carolina Section and this small pamphlet is a record of the many projects that Waddell's company engaged in in western North Carolina. The facilities engineered by Charles E. Waddell & Company from 1902-1927 in Western North Carolina, are mainly in and near Asheville, NC.  This pamphlet contain a brief description of each job and supplemental photographs of the individual projects.

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 WWNC Radio Station (1929)
A brochure produced in celebration of the first anniversary of WWNC radio station, Asheville, NC.  It contains a brief history of the stations origins and lists and photographs of contributors and individuals who performed or contributed programming to the radio station during the first year of existence.
 

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 Western North Carolina "A State Within A State" [1933?]
Booklet produced by the Asheville Citizen-Times to celebrate the economic and social progress of the eighteen counties of western North Carolina. "A State Within A State" refers to the Economic State within a Prosperous State. The booklet contains statistical data and information the counties in the western part of the state. The population, literacy, automobiles, agriculture, income tax, and miscellaneous information is given for each county. A description of the Asheville Times and the Asheville Citizen and of the WWNC Radio Station is also included.

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 Western North Carolina Railroad Scenery "Land of the Sky" (1880's)
A 13 page booklet published by the Southern Railway Company about major tourist attractions in western North Carolina. It contains illustrated reproductions of photographs taken by noted photographer Herbert W. Pelton and descriptions of many well-known landmarks in the region at the turn of the century.
 

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 With Pen and Camera thro' The "Land of the Sky": Western North Carolina and the Asheville Plateau ( 1909)
A large format and beautifully produced 48 page booklet that describes travel in the "Land of the Sky," a region that  includes the Asheville plateau and the Western North Carolina, generally. The booklet contains large photographs with descriptive narrative of key points of interest to tourists and travelers to the area. The narrative by Homer T. Waldron and photographs cover highlights along the well-traveled tourist routes.