Our Story Series: John D. Rockefeller, Jr.’s Crusade for the National Parks

Welcome back, Gatlinburg! We are excited to continue with our successful “Our Story” series, where Appalachian stories are told and preserved. To kick off this new season, renowned writer and editor Steve Kemp will be our guest this August! Steve Kemp spent most of his adult life working in national parks. His career paths included a cook at a park concession, seasonal ranger, and over 30 years as an Interpretive Products and Services Director for the Great Smoky Mountains Association, now Smokies Life, an educational partner for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Kemp also has a successful writer’s program named for him, The Steve Kemp Writer’s Residency. 

Steve Kemp graduated from the University of Montana and is the author of Great Smoky Mountains Simply Beautiful, Trees of the Smokies, The Blue Ridge Parkway: In Celebration of the American Landscape, and the children’s book, We’re Going to the Mountains. Kemp has…