Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Bryson City in the snow

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  • This 1942 image of Bryson City in the snow taken from School House Hill showing Coburn Knob, high point right of center, and Sharptop in front of it, is part of the Stearns-Grueninger collection. 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).