The Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center was all set to reopen from its annual winter break in May with a new exhibit on its second floor, spotlighting remarkable people from the Swannanoa Valley’s history. Working with Black Mountain native Regina Lynch-Hudson, who’s now based in Atlanta, they created pop-up banners focusing on different personalities, with an emphasis on African American history. But when the COVID-19 pandemic kept the museum from operating as planned, Lynch-Hudson felt inspired to take the exhibit’s design and information and transform them into short films. The result is Inspirational Cragmont Community Ancestors: Strength Stems from Struggle, which elevates the lives of John Myra Stepp, Mary Louisa Stepp Burnette Hayden, George Winslow Whittington and Winfred William Lynch. Free to view. avl.mx/7u6. Photo of Mary Louisa Stepp Burnette Hayden, left, courtesy of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center/Mary Othella Burnette
Smart Bets: Inspirational Cragmont Community Ancestors
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