Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Mollie Blankenship

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  • Mollie Blankenship was a basketweaver and arts advocate for Eastern Band Cherokee. The first woman to be elected to Tribal Council, she served on the boards of Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, the North Carolina Arts Council, and the Southern Arts Federation. Mollie Gap, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, was named for her. In this photograph, Blankenship (right) is standing with Joan Mondale (center), wife of Vice President Mondale. The photograph was made on June 7, 1977 when Mrs. Mondale attended the ground breaking of the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville, NC. Mondale was accompanied by the wife of the U.S. Senator from North Carolina, Robert B. Morgan, and Mrs. Lana Gudger, wife of Vonno Lamar Gudger a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 11th District. The photographer's name is unknown.