ASHEVILLE — Pesky alcohol enforcement agents and railroads coming to the mountains will be among topics explored at the symposium, “Change and Tradition: Exploiting Western North Carolina 1877-1900 A History Symposium” on Oct. 26 and 27, in Asheville at the Reuter Center, UNC-Asheville. It is presented by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
“The Gilded Age and Appalachia” will be the keynote address by Ron Eller, University of Kentucky, on Friday at 7 p.m. The free Friday program is open to the public. Reservations are required for Saturday sessions, which will include “Hillbillies in the Land of the Sky,” by Richard Starnes, Western Carolina University; “Battleground Woods: WNC Forests in the Gilded Age,” by Katheryn Newfont, Mars Hill College; and “Those Pesky Revenuers,” by Bruce Stewart, Appalachian State University.
Reservations for the public are $90, and include lunch and a reception on Saturday. For additional information, or to register, call (828) 253-9321, email smh@wnchistory.org or visit conference website.