Exploring the Valley

A store can be more than shelves and prices. Sometimes it’s a place where you notice who looks tired today, who’s celebrating, and who might need a little help and where you quietly know exactly who to call if you can’t...

You can tell a lot about a town by what happens when you show up every week. We’re joined by Ted Roush, this year’s Rotary president, to talk about how a life of constant moving (Army brat, preacher’s kid, Army officer)...

Raleigh can feel far away right up until your road washes out, your business paperwork stalls, or disaster recovery turns into a maze. We’re joined by North Carolina State Representative Eric Ager, a Fairview native and...

You can learn a lot about a place by listening to someone who has loved it for decades, then chose to serve it on purpose. We’re joined by Glenn Cox, a Swannanoa Valley local with deep family roots and a lifetime of...

A local business owner pulls you aside at dinner and says, “We want you to take ownership.” That’s the moment Jessica Gruver and her now-husband Nathan step into a life-changing decision: buying Black Mountain Handyman...

She packed up her life, moved to the mountains days after graduation, and jumped into a Chamber of Commerce job that didn’t even come with a neat little job description. That’s the kind of real world leap we love, and...

They came to the mountains to be close to their daughters at summer camp and left with something way bigger: a new sense of home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, plus an “accidental” house purchase that might change...

You can tell a lot about a town by the people who quietly keep it moving and by the ones who choose to come back after trying somewhere else. We’re talking with Wesley Barker, a lifelong North Carolinian who grew up in...

You can live near a place for years and still realize you’ve never actually seen it. That’s the moment that hits when Judy Schuford talks about finally taking a real tour of Swannanoa and walking away convinced we all...

A place can hold more history than we realize until someone walks us through it with names, dates, and stories that snap the whole landscape into focus. That’s what happens when we sit down with Leigh Maher, longtime...

Fresh seafood in the mountains sounds like a contradiction until you hear how it actually works. We’re catching up with Carolyn Bajesse, a St. Thomas native who found her way back to Black Mountain, North Carolina and...

Your neighbor town can feel a mile away, until someone tells you the truth in a parking lot. We sit down with Brian Burpo, a Black Mountain local and the owner of Diamondback 4x4 in Swannanoa, to talk about how...

A teenager walks into a coffee shop and the staff already knows his name. That sounds small, but for a neurodivergent kid trying to rebuild confidence, it can be life-changing. We sit down with Brandon Moffitt, a...

An 80-year-old furniture store doesn’t last by accident, especially in a town that’s changing as fast as Black Mountain, North Carolina. I’m sitting down with Olivia Tyson Warren, a Black Mountain native and third...

<p>A new director walks into town and decides the best way to learn it is to get outside with everyone else. We’re joined by Jacob Guiot, Black Mountain’s Director of Recreation and Parks, who’s only a few weeks into...