WW 1 Memorial with the Gold Star Court Of Honor Plaques

When one man found 752 cast bronze disks in Soldier’s Memorial, he had no idea the years of effort involved to turn the forgotten artifacts into a memorial at Jefferson Barracks.

Seventeen years ago, Frank “Skip” Berger made an interesting discovery in the lower level of Soldiers’ Memorial in downtown St. Louis.

Fifteen unmarked barrels filled with 752 cast bronze disks stood in the dust. Each disk bore the name and military information of a St. Louis service member who lost his or her life while serving in World War I. The serendipitous find began a chain reaction of activity that would impress even professional historians.

The American Gold Star Mothers, a group who wished to honor their fallen sons and daughters, commissioned the markers, cast at a local foundry in the 1920s.

Berger is a member of the Rollo-Calcaterra American Legion Post 15 and the group began an extensive research and restoration mission.

The effort will come to fruition Sept. 30 at 1:30 p.m. when Post 15 will dedicate the World War I Court of Honor Memorial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

The Post preserved 752 of the 1,185 gold star medallions. They worked in conjunction with the Jefferson Barracks Chapel Association, the National Cemetery Association, the Veterans Administration and the St. Louis Economic Council.

The Port Authority, under the economic council, awarded the group $250,000 for the memorial, and construction started in May.

via WWI Memorial Complete After Buried Treasure Discovery – Mehlville-Oakville, MO Patch.

See the photos at Photography by McGraphics

Dancing Bear Lodge | Smoky Mountains | Photo Trip

Stirred by the sapphire mist that envelops our mountain vistas, the Cherokee people named the Great Smoky Mountains the place of blue smoke. At our Townsend, Tennessee lodging, we call them our back yard. Whether visiting the Smokies for relaxation, sport, romance or business, Dancing Bear Lodge hotel in Townsend, Tennessee, inspires getaways as expansive and free-spirited as the Smokies themselves. Experience one of the gems of Great Smoky Mountain Cabin Resort hotels!

Our Smoky Mountain accommodations are ideally located for both a relaxing retreat and an engaging open-air adventure. Dancing Bear Cabin Resort offers a number of impressively-constructed, luxurious cabin rentals in the Smoky Mountain lodges that are adjacent to Little River in Townsend, Tennessee. Only 5 minutes from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and 25 minutes from the Knoxville Airport, our 36-acre estate is sure to provide you and your family or associates with an unforgettable escape at our Lodging in Townsend, Tennessee. You will quickly see why our Smoky Mountain Lodges are better than other Townsend hotels.

Enjoy America’s most visited national park—The Great Smoky Mountains, only 5 minutes from our Townsend, Tennessee lodge. You’ll find an astonishing diversity of plant and animal life, unparalleled beauty and a bevy of guided programs and special events. A hiking and bicycling paradise awaits! While enjoying the best the Smoky Mountains region has to offer, enjoy a luxurious and relaxing refuge with our Townsend, TN Hotels Amenities when you retreat to your cabin or room at our well-appointed Smoky Mountain Lodge.

If you’re looking for outdoor adventure nearby, Dancing Bear offers paved biking trails, wildflower walks and mountain biking on our 36-acre property. Unwind with your favorite book on a front porch rocker, get the adrenaline flowing with a spirited game of beach volleyball or test your angling skills by fly fishing with water shoes in the Little River. Whether it’s a bubbling hot tub or a blazing campfire that marks day’s end for you, our lodge helps round out your Smoky Mountain experience—all without leaving your home away from home. Dining in the Smokies is no less exciting, with authentic regional favorites that are lovingly crafted by our own chef.

via Hotels in Townsend, TN – Smoky Mountain Cabin Resort The Dancing Bear Lodge Gatlinburg.

The Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky or Smokey Mountains, and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Great Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934, and, with over 9 million visits per year, it is the most-visited national park in the United States.

The Great Smokies are part of an International Biosphere Reserve. The range is home to an estimated 187,000 acres of old growth forest, constituting the largest such stand east of the Mississippi River. The cove hardwood forests in the range’s lower elevations are among the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest that coats the range’s upper elevations is the largest of its kind.[4] The Great Smokies are also home to the densest black bear population in the Eastern United States and the most diverse salamander population outside of the tropics.

Along with the Biosphere reserve, the Great Smokies have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The U.S. National Park Service preserves and maintains 78 structures within the national park that were once part of the numerous small Appalachian communities scattered throughout the range’s river valleys and coves. The park contains five historic districts and nine individual listings on the National Register of Historic Places.

The name “Smoky” comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. This fog, which is most common in the morning and after rainfall, is the result of warm humid air from the Gulf of Mexico cooling rapidly in the higher elevations of Southern Appalachia.

See the photos at Photography by McGraphics
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