Horace Kephart: The Original Carolina Adventurer

 
 Photo Credit:  http://barkriverknives.com/albums/album369/Horace_Kephart.jpg
    
      Horace Kephart was not only a master outdoorsman and accomplished writer, but more importantly he was an advocate for environmental policy.  Kephart utilized his literary background and love of the mountains to persuade leaders of the early 1900s to create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Kephart's obsession with mountain places, people, and wildlife culminated in his writing, and gave a voice to all who lived in the Great Smoky Mountains.  It was a combination of Kephart's writing and his friend George Masa's photography that helped create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
      Horace Kephart serves as a example of what passion and drive can accomplish.  Before moving to the mountains of North Carolina, Kephart demonstrated a high level of ambition through his work as a librarian.  He was appointed of head librarian at the St. Louis Mercantile Library, after gaining experience in library work at Cornell and Yale.  Looking for a new start on life, Kephart left his library position and headed for the mountains.  He now lived in an area that he was passionate about and had ample subject matter to write about, so he supported himself through writing for outdoor magazines.  Kephart's love for the mountains continued to grow as he now began writing letters and brochures expressing the need to preserve such a beautiful place.  He described the Great Smoky Mountains as "one of the finest primeval forests in the world".
             There exists an innate goodness that nature possesses and Horace Kephart saw this.  During the early 1900s, forests existed for the sole purpose to be cut down; forests were viewed by amount of timber they would produce.  This form of destruction Kephart viewed as wasteful and envisioned better way to use the land.  He brought his vision before others and with the help of his friend George Masa, put forth a very compelling reason for the forest.  This ultimately saved the land and created the Great Smokies National Park.
      Horace Kephart was a visionary outdoorsman that preserved a gem for future generations.  He was a very intelligent, educated man that felt passionately about the outdoors.  My wish is that, like Horace Kephart, we use the power of one to move mountains.