Few people realize that the story of Highland Lake Inn did not begin with hospitality. It began with goats. And rice cakes.

Long before Kerry Lindsey and his family transformed a rundown church camp into one of Western North Carolina's most distinctive destinations, they were quietly building one of the country's pioneering natural foods companies.

One cold December day in 1907 at the Socialist Party headquarters in Milwaukee, Lilian Steichen was just leaving a meeting about translating German literature into English for distribution.  When she emerged, a thin young man named Carl was in the waiting room.  The two were introduced and smitten; Carl asked her to dinner. She politely refused, but he persuaded her to give him her address as he said he wanted to share some of his writings with her. 

And so, early in 1908, Carl Sandburg, 30, and Lilian Steichen, almost 25, began a correspondence that evolved from idealist discussions of philosophy, socialism, and poetry to more personal expressions of their thoughts and feelings for one another.

Over the course of his 101 years, George Sarros of East Flat Rock saw the world transformed by war, peace, tragedy, and triumph. A man of quiet humility and remarkable strength, he stands as one of the last living witnesses to D-Day, the momentous Allied invasion that changed the course of World War II. His legacy, however, extends far beyond that fateful day in June 1944. George’s story is one of family, service, love, and resilience during a long and remarkable life well-lived.