. . . Continuing with the life of Irma Henderson Smathers . . . After Dr. Irma Henderson settled into her own office, she needed, like all physicians, some medical malpractice insurance. William E. Smathers of Autry-Smathers Insurance Agency sold her the coverage. They married the following year. She liked to say of her malpractice policy and her insurance
Irma Henderson Smathers was born in Madison County in 1910 to Carlene “Jenny”and Logan Henderson. Growing up in Marshall, “Irma painted her dolls with Mercurochrome and did surgery and suturing on their sawdust bodies. She told everyone she was going to be a doctor. They said, “No, dear, you mean you are going to be a
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Swannanoa native Wade Martin, who was known nationally for his woodcarving abilities. Click here if you haven’t read it. While I was writing about Wade Martin, I was surprised to read that he was also known of as a great baseball player. Because I was staying focused on Wade’s
Wade “Gob” Hampton Martin was born in 1920, the son of Marcus Lafayette and Callie Holloway Martin. He had four brothers, Edsel, Wayne, Fred and Quintin and one sister, Zenobia. All of them carved. In the early 1930s the family moved from Andrews, N.C. to Swannanoa, N.C. Wade was nine at the time and grew
The Friends of the North Carolina Room sponsored a presentation, “Let’s Talk About Anthony Lord” on Thursday, August 28, 2014. Seventy-five people attended the event and got to know more about Lord’s life, profession, his many avocations and the effect his life had on Asheville. It is a hard task to recount what five close
The photographs of Exum Clement Stafford that we used in our online exhibit (see Last Week’s Post) came from several sources, and in some cases we did not have access to originals. We were scanning copies, and although the reproductions are remarkably good, we did not have access to any information that might have been written
Note: Click here for an indepth online photograph exhibit detailing Exum’s life. Then click on the first picture to start the slideshow. Lillian Exum Clement Stafford (1886-1925) is quite worth remembering, especially as we celebrate remarkable women in Buncombe County. “Exum,” as she was known, was the first woman in Buncombe County to receive a license to practice
Do any of you remember The Cabin Kids? These Asheville singing talents found Hollywood fame. They traveled the country performing in various venues. Their talents were featured in many films and televisions shows such as “The Little Rascals.” Looks like they started out as “The Jolly Six Sextette” before they made it to the big time.