Hot Springs in national spotlight as 'star of the show' in new PBS program

HOT SPRINGS - Many Western North Carolina outdoor enthusiasts know about the special allure of Hot Springs, but people throughout the country are getting a peek into the quaint, quirky little river town's magic, too.

A new PBS show, "America: The Land We Live In," spotlights a number of Hot Springs faces and places, and the show is based on a more than 150-year old travel guide, Picturesque America.

The concept for the show was developed and produced by Weaverville resident and executive producer Alicia Albee and writer/director Devon Chivvis. The two own and operate World Life Productions, which was founded in 2003 and specializes in travel, adventure and historical documentaries.

"America: The Land We Live In" is co-hosted by Scott Varn, a Saluda resident who is executive director of the nonprofit organization, Preserving a Picturesque America, and Sophia Michelen, a world-traveling photojournalist from New York. The pair bring their own unique experiences and perspectives to the adventure.

The pilot premieres on PBS stations across the country this month and is available for streaming online through PBS Passport.  With more than 950 historical landmarks and natural wonders documented in the original “Picturesque America” in the 1870s, Albee and Chivvis plan for the series to continue showcasing these incredible places across the US in subsequent episodes.

“‘America: The Land We Live In’ takes viewers on a treasure hunt across the country to rediscover America's hidden treasures, forgotten national wonders, and rich history, all through the lens of a 19th century book, ‘Picturesque America,’" Albee said.

“Co-hosts Sophia and Doc start searching for a location by looking for clues in the original artwork and prose, but often these clues are limited," Albee said. "That’s when the locals come in. In each place they visit, they dive into the culture, the history, and the knowledge of the local people to help them find each treasure. They couldn’t do it without the locals.”

Albee credits Michelen and Varn for doing just that - utilizing the local experts to familiarize themselves with the culture of the mountains.

The News-Record & Sentinel spoke with co-hosts Sophia Michelen and Scott "Doc" Varn in a Zoom meeting Feb. 27 prior to the show pilot's premiere on Feb. 28.

The pilot episode will be shown March 6 at 7 p.m. on PBS-NC and later that night/early morning, on March 7 at 12 a.m. It also will air at 5 p.m. March 9 and 2 p.m. March 10, both on PBS-NC, and 9:30 a.m. March 10 on the Explorer Channel.

Varn, who is originally from South Carolina, has lived in Western North Carolina for many years, and spoke to The News-Record & Sentinel from his cabin in Saluda.

Varn came at the project from a similar vantage point as Albee, and said the people one meets along the way make the story.

"The purpose of so much of this with the nonprofit and the subtle underlying perspective of the entire show is that people need to get out there and find it in their own way — whether it's through art, or it's photography, or it's connecting to the people, or it's the food or the culture. We don't respect things until we experience them.

Varn paraphrased Mark Twain, "'The enemy of prejudice and bigotry is travel. You can not grow while vegetating in one small corner of the Earth,'" Varn said. "And he's right. We want to encourage people to do that."

Picturesque America was first released as 65 individual serials in the late 1800s and eventually was bound into two large volumes, in which the authors implied progress without responsibility could destroy places unique to our country.

In Varn's view, these artists, poets and writers ignited a conservation movement without even knowing it.

"What encouraged us, is this publication, Picturesque America, that sent out people, specifically artists, poets and writers, in the late 1800s right after the Civil War. Everything had been torn apart, and they couldn't find anything to agree on. But one thing they did agree on was that this is an amazing country, and that it should be protected and it should be preserved."

"When everybody was reading this, they were being inspired in a new way."

According to Varn, the Preserving a Picturesque America nonprofit team has found more than 300 of the original locations in the book, and started to form conservation groups around the country to protect the historic and natural wonders.

There are more than 950 engraved locations identified in the book.

"But it all started in the heart of Western North Carolina along the Buncombe Turnpike," Varn said.

Varn, a woodcut artist and watercolor painter, and Michelen, a photojournalist, serve as co-hosts, and Varn said he and Michelen are "kindred spirits."

"We will pick up a rock and go, 'Look at this. We've got to keep that,' while everybody else is going, 'What are you slowing down for?'" Varn said. "I'm still so grateful to Sophia because she encouraged me. Now it's not just me out here geeking out on history and the wild things and trying to protect them. Someone else gets it.

"I'm looking at it mostly from an artist perspective, and I'm saying, 'What is the artists take on this, from 150 years ago? How has it changed?' Where she's looking at it from a cultural aspect."

Michelen is originally from Troy, New York, near the Catskill mountains, and is a longtime photojournalist.

"I really love the cultural anthropology perspective, but also the viewpoint through my camera," Michelen said.

Together, Michelen and Varn connect with viewers to give them access to beautiful landscapes and entertaining characters.

"It's about the people. It's about preservation," Varn said.

Sarah Jones Decker is one of the people spotlighted in the pilot episode, which features Western North Carolina and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Decker is a farmer, photographer and writer based in Marshall. She and her husband, Morgan, own Root Bottom Farm in the East Fork community, where they live with their daughter, Josephine. Decker has published multiple books, and her first book, "The Appalachian Trail: Backcountry Shelters, Lean-tos, and Huts" was published in April 2020, and has received critical acclaim nationally.

Decker said she first heard about the project through Varn, as the two have been friends for many years.

Michelen was effusive in her praise of Decker and said people like her make the show what it is.

"It's really about the journey. It's about the people we meet," Michelen said. "We get to know the culture around that area — be it water, natural resources, the historical culture. We go to Charleston a lot, so we bring in the food, the Gullah Geechee community, the sweet grass part of that community, and of Charleston, art and architecture.

"It's adventure, and it's about finding the spot. But the story really encapsulates the people we meet along the way."

According to Michelen, the team spent roughly 10 days filming in Hot Springs.

Michelen said North Carolina served as "the adventure zone of the show."

"The adventure is definitely in Hot Springs, AT trails out of Asheville," Michelen said. "And that's kind of what we want to tell people about the show: You don't have to go super far to feel like you can experience new cultures or new experiences. We're all American in the show, and we all have different backgrounds and experiences, but it's such a privilege to have the varieties that unite us.

"That's what I feel like - I just feel even more American. I embrace that I haven't had those experiences. But, if you have an open mind, you learn a lot from people, and you get the best experiences in life. I can't wait to go back."

Some of the other local celebrities featured in the show include seventh-generation ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams, who was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2013 as a National Heritage Fellow.

"She's one of the best storytellers on the planet," Varn said.

Wayne Crosby, owner of Bluff Mountain Outfitters, is also featured on the show.

"If you watch this show, you will more than likely recognize somebody on the screen," Decker said. "It's so cool to sit down and see. You will recognize somebody from Madison County in the show. There are a lot of people in the community that are in this pilot."

Michelen has visited more than 70 countries, and while she has extensive experiences living, working and traveling among six continents, it's the fascination of experiencing her own country that adds a deep enthusiasm for the adventure on America: The Land We Live In.

Michelen's trip to Madison County and to South Carolina marked her first time in the Carolinas.

While the beautiful scenery stood out to Michelen, her maiden voyage to The Jewel of the Blue Ridge was really about the people she met on her trip, she said.

"The nature and the beauty, it just stands out. That's easy," Michelen said. "It's the people, honestly. So, it was my first time in South Carolina, and my first time in North Carolina, and definitely rafting in America, and going on the AT.

"These are poignant moments in my life, but it's the people. I can remember who I've met and the stories I've learned by where I was. It's the stories. It's the oral history. It's the history on the water with Sarah. It's the history with Sheila Kay singing. I was a city mouse in the wilderness."

Hot Springs: The 'star of the show'

But the real star of the show, according to Decker, is the town of Hot Springs.

"Hot Springs looks gorgeous in it," Decker said of the show.

"Hot Springs is the star of the show. It just shows how beautiful it is where we live. It's just really cool. It shows a lot of different characters in Hot Springs."

The serial book showcases the work of Harry Fenn, an English-American artist who served as the primary illustrator in the book.

"Harry Fenn just loved this area," Decker said. "A big part of the book is this area, which is cool. He was drawn to it 150 years ago, and here we are, still loving it as our backyard."

To aid in their quest to find some of the Hot Springs spots featured in the book, Varn and Michelen consulted Taylor Barnhill, a local historian who currently works with the Appalachian Barn Alliance.

Barnhill said he met Varn through his work with the Appalachian Barn Alliance, and assisted Preserving a Picturesque America with the history of the French Broad River and the Buncombe Turnpike, as well as in the organization's quest to find the Harry Fenn sites.

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The local historian has been documenting Madison County and Hot Springs history for more than three decades.

"I’ve studied and written about Madison County and Hot Springs for over 30 years, hoping to fill the shoes of previous historians like Jackie Painter, who have died or retired," Barnhill said. "I knew the sites they were looking for and connected them to other resource people. Most of the history work and history tours, I do those as a volunteer. I do regular barn tours and photo workshops and meet with the media."

According to Barnhill, the work of the documentary team is important, as it affords transplants and natives alike the opportunity to learn about Madison County's history.

"The history of Madison County is remarkable and was very significant in the late 1700s settlement era after the 'East Indian Boundary' was pushed farther west, opening the border areas to white settlement," Barnhill said. "Hot Springs has a deep and important history which I’m trying to restore. Very few local people know about this history, the people who did have long passed. PAPA’s work is a terrific project to reopen these histories."

At the time the town was featured in the book, the town was named "Warm Springs."

The filming process

Part of the filming process saw Decker take the entire film crew on the French Broad River in Hot Springs.

Barnhill said he was fascinated by the filmmaking process.

"The actual filming, the variability of the ever-changing 'plot,' and how well we 'actors' were able to ad-lib literally everything," Barnhill said. "Having done audio editing for radio, I could not imagine how the producer and director could take all those different shots and create a film with continuity, much less a good story. But they certainly did."

With more than 30 years experiencing studying the county's history, Barnhill said he was thrilled about the opportunity to see the culture of Hot Springs be showcased throughout the country.

"I was also extremely glad that our regions’ remarkable history was on display," Barnhill said "When it was over, I had that melancholy feeling of having to leave summer camp and your new friends."

In the pilot episode, Barnhill takes the team to Lover's Leap, one of the Hot Springs places identified in the book, and Decker takes Varn and Michelen to two of the other places featured in the book, along the French Broad River.

"There's a lot of the art of the French Broad area in that book, which is cool," Decker said.

Ultimately, Varn said the goal for the nonprofit organization is to find as many of the places identified in the original Picturesque America, and to turn the project into an endeavor throughout many years.

"That's my life's goal. Preserving a Picturesque America does this," Varn said. "This is all we do. Our job is to find all 1,000 of these spots and protect each and every one of them if possible. But, over the years, we've discovered that some of them have already been lost. So, when we have an opportunity to do this on the show, we'll be able to show the good news and the bad news — where we've been good stewards and where we've failed."

Albee said she and executive producer Chivvis' hope is the same.

”We couldn’t agree more and plan for the pilot to develop into a series that could continue for a lifetime," Albee said.

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Hot Springs in national spotlight as 'star of show' in new PBS program