Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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George Brown and Mark Cathey

  • wcu_picturing-5476.jpg
  • This 1941 image of George Allen Brown (1897-1966), left, and William Marcus “Mark” Cathey (Jan 28, 1871 - Oct 23, 1944) with fishing rods and dog Kip is part of the Stearns-Grueninger collection. Brown was the founder and president of Brown Wood Products which he began in 1926 in Illinois, and is now operating as Brown Wood, Inc. Mark Cathey was a legendary hunter and fisherman of the Smokies who spent his life living on Indian Creek. 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).