This history nerd is pretty active on social media. Fine, I am very active there. Recently on Threads I was lamenting about how I felt like when people ask for recommendations for things to do in Asheville, I usually don’t comment because all of my suggestions would be nerdy history things. Well, imagine my surprise when people commented and said THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT STUFF. Then I threw out a “Maybe I should do a blog series” and there was actually some intrigue so here we are! A new blog series is born! I have written a couple of posts that fit the category that I will include links to at the bottom. Now let’s get on with the show….
For context, I am not from Asheville. I grew up in Metro Atlanta and you wouldn’t like how I say Appalachia. It took me a while to acclimate to the area. However, once I reached 5 years here in 2023 I realized it was time to start learning more about the area. So I have made it a mission to see the places and do the things in Asheville and surrounding areas in Western North Carolina. And I am sure glad I did because some of the places I have visited had damage from what we here just call “the hurricane.” For those outside of the area I mean Hurricane Helene back in September 2024.
There are SOOOOO many hidden gems and most of the time visiting is free or quite low cost. Now in the gift shops one can come out with a pencil for a quarter or one can drop a pretty penny. I fall into the “A gift shop loves to see me coming” category. If you want a bargain, I have the deal of a lifetime coming at you with this post.
Since last week was National Library Week, I decided that my first post in this new series would be about the public library system here in Asheville. And hot take….every week should be National Library Week.
As an elementary teacher gone rogue, of course I have spent my fair share of time at a library. I took my kids all the time when they were little. Now that I’m working in Adult Education and my kids themselves are adults, I really hadn’t been to the library (other than the one on campus where I work) in many years. I do buy books and if I want to actually finish them I listen on Audible. This fall when funding for the arts and humanities was in the news and public libraries were in danger I started feeling guilty that as a mom/teachery person I hadn’t gotten a public library card myself. Let’s be real…the arts and humanities are still in danger. There are just other pressing things that hit the news cycle.
I had been attending programming at the libraries here (more about this coming) for years and thought it was about time to rectify the situation at the end of September 2025. Here are my first check outs! And guess what!?!?! A book sale???? Jackpot. These mystery books are adorable and I haven’t even opened them months later. They are too cute plus I am not a mystery book reader. I fell for the cute hook, line, and sinker and I am ok with that.
So, the obvious history nerd suggestion is to check out books about history from the public library with your handy dandy library card. I live in Buncombe County, North Carolina and just happened to be at the East Asheville Branch for a program. What’s cool is that you can check books out at any branch and return them to a different one! I’ve gotten really into Kristin Hannah books and many of her books are historical fiction. I consider her the Shonda Rhimes of fiction y’all. She loves to kill off a main character so have your Kleenex ready. I did finish this book and another short one of hers.
I did follow my Captain Obvious advice about history books at the library and check out SNAFU. I did not get very far with multiple renewals and it was on hold being a newer book. I admitted defeat and got the book on Audible and still haven’t finished it. I can’t get past the whole Andy Bernard does history tidbits of it all. Plus I’ve been in a “fiction book era.” I am sure I will get back to listening eventually! Definitely maybe.
A great way to support the library and bring some history related books home to keep is through a Friends of Insert Local Branch Library sale! I thought I was going to get arrested for robbing the place for the amount of money I spent on this stack of books. These books were a steal! You would have thought I was a kid in a candy store when I spied a Glenn Miller book! I was VERY excited as a WWII nerd.
Let’s get into one of my favorite parts of our Buncombe County library system: Special Collections at Pack Library. I visited for the first time when I brought my 5th graders on a field trip back during my 1 year tour of duty teaching elementary here in Asheville back in 2018-2019. Students did a really fun scavenger hunt that I wished I could be doing instead of wrangling wily 10/11 year olds. I didn’t visit for several years due to the pandemic but have followed their fascinating Asheville history posts on social media probably ever since.
Special collections has a section devoted to local authors such as Thomas Wolfe, Wilma Dykeman, and Charles Frazier. Fun fact—->When Thomas Wolfe was little, he loved the library and consumed books like they were going out of style. His Pack Library location is now the home of Asheville Art Museum (subject of a future blog post in this series). There is an angel statue in his honor (Look Homeward, Angel brought him notoriety) out front.
There are lots of reference materials and fascinating finds archived there as well. They also sponsor programming! You can do research or check out books from that section but pay close attention to their policies and operating hours which vary from the regular hours.
If you aren’t local to the area, you can still attend programming as a visitor that may align with when you are in town. I follow individual branches on Facebook and Instagram and learn about all kinds of goings on that way! Let’s get into those!
One of the really fun events the Pack Library holds is the Retro Tech event in July. It’s nostalgia galore and fun for the whole family! I have been twice. It’s really well organized and I really enjoyed attending. I went in 2023 and 2024 and took a pause last summer since I had been twice in a row, I didn’t think enough time had passed for any more tech to enter the retro era yet, so gist gotten. Times were had!
Right around the time of the 2024 event, was a program about the development of radio in Asheville. Did you know there is an Asheville Radio Museum on the AB Tech campus? It’s open on Saturday afternoons. The speaker was connected with the museum. It was really informative and I wondered if the radio would have caught on in popularity as fast if it wouldn’t have been for people like the Vanderbilts settling here.
In 2025, I attended four different events at Buncombe County branches. The first one was June 10th about Charles Lindbergh, who I always put into the “American hero” category. Turns out Lindbergh had a real villain arc! This talk was at the East Asheville branch and featured author James Davidson, a Linderbergh expert. He brought memorabilia and his talk really opened my eyes to how you have to view men such as this with a critical lens. I learned a lot about the kidnapping or the Lindbergh baby and more.
Next up on July 8, 2025 my friend and I went to Pack Library for the viewing of Come Hell or High Water: Remembering the Great Flood of 1916. This was a wonderful documentary from 2016 but a hard watch less than a year after “the hurricane.” It was eerie because in the documentary scientists clearly said it would happen again. And it did. History repeats in the worst way. It was a hard lesson to learn about disaster preparedness.
As a follow up after literally leaving the state on the 1 year anniversary of “the hurricane,” I attended a presentation from the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County about Historic Preservation after Helene on September 30, 2025 at the East Asheville branch.
It was really informative and I learned about parts of Buncombe County I didn’t even know about. The Preservation Society and volunteers really were boots on the ground documenting things, surveying things, and giving out grants to restore historic houses and structures after the hurricane. They do a lot for the community that goes unseen. I was in my feels with the anniversary of the hurricane but was glad I went.
The last library program I attended was at the North Asheville branch (good luck with parking there on Oct 3, 2025. I had a Thomas Wolfe event-palooza that week in honor of his 125th birthday and was excited the library offered something as well! This lecture was presented by local professor Tom Hearron. I loved it! And I nerded out that I was doing Thomas Wolfe things on his actual birthday!!!
So to recap:
Check out books
Attend programs
Help the community
Learn at the same time
Click here to learn more about the Buncombe County Library System: https://www.buncombenc.gov/161/Libraries
