Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Alta Shank

  • wcu_picturing-5409.jpg
  • This image of I. K. Stearns' mother, Alta Irene Shank (1875-1900) is part of the Stearns-Grueninger Collection. Alta was the second child of Jeremiah (1847-1930) and Helen Caughey Shank (1849-1930) and when she died in 1900, the Shank family grandparents and aunts helped with the care of her only child. Irving Kip Stearns (1895-1942) was president of Carolina Wood Turning Company from 1928 until his death in 1942. Stearns’ grandfather, Jeremiah Shank, started the company in 1903 as Bryson City Pump Works and it grew to be a thriving industry for the community. In 1911, Stearns was in the first graduating class of Bryson City High School. He had one son, Joseph Pease Stearns (1917-1948). In 1935, I. K. married Betty Grueninger (1896-1971).