Before WNC’s natural beauty routinely graced travel publications and social media accounts, there was a time when its most awe-inspiring sights remained unknown, unexplored, and largely undocumented. That is, until George Masa entered the frame in the early 1900s.
Masa, an intrepid, tenacious + diligent photographer, dedicated his life to exploring and documenting the rugged swaths of land that are now recognized as the Appalachian Trail, Pisgah National Forest, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 
George Masa poses with his cameras. | Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections And the scope of his work was far more than pretty pictures — his photography is credited as one of the main reasons the Smoky Mountains gained the support necessary to become a national park. Historians also attribute Masa with sparking powerful social change in the realms of conservation and preservation.
Want a closer snapshot of his life? Let’s look back at how he found Asheville in the first place — and the impressive legacy he left behind. 
A Masa capture of Whiteside Mountain. | Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections From Osaka to Asheville
A Japanese immigrant, he was born Masahara Izuka in Osaka in the early 1880s. While the details are murky, historians believe that in 1905 he stole passage on a ship to San Francisco as a 25-year-old and started going by George after converting to Christianity. After devoting a decade to traveling the country by rail, he reached Asheville in 1915 and took up work at the Grove Park Inn as a laundry worker, bellhop, and eventually a valet. It was then that he shortened his name from Masaharu to Masa, as a matter of convenience. 
Masa original of Hendersonville's Jump Off Rock. | Photo via Buncombe County Special Collections The peak of his career
And through the remainder of his life, he mapped out hundreds of uncleared trails in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, including a considerable chunk of the modern-day Appalachian Trail that runs from the Virginia-NC border down to Georgia.
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Roaring Rhapsody is the second installment of ASO’s 2021-2022 Masterworks Series | Photo by Michael Morel Asheville Symphony Orchestra is back with A minor announcement… 🎼
Returning to Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (87 Haywood St.) on Sat., Feb. 12, 2022, ASO presents an exciting program titled “Roaring Rhapsody” that celebrates Black History Month with moving works by Will Marion Cook and William Grant Still, alongside Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Dvořák.
The performance will be the second concert of ASO’s 2021-2022 Masterworks Season, bringing to the stage American symphonic music inspired by Black songs and spirituals — a uniquely American musical tradition.
Featuring guest piano soloist Xiayin Wang and under the direction of ASO Music Director Darko Butorac , step into 1920s New York and explore a melting pot of American musical masterpieces.
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Did you see the new murals that went up at Pack Square last week? While the demolition of the Vance Monument has faced a standstill since June, local artists decided to make use of the blank wooden canvases that have served as placeholder material.
Casey Vandergrift, one of the artists behind the project, shares that the project was done “guerilla style,” and, as a result, was recently taken down. If you missed out though, don’t fret — Vandergrift says she and fellow artists Ernesto Borges, William Najger, Tyler Ladd, and Amanda + Dave Anderson are getting approval from the city to bring back the murals for several weeks, beginning Fri., Jan. 14. #DYK that your photos and quotes could be featured in our newsletter? Just use #AVLtoday on social media. REWARDS
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Editor's Pick: George Masa's story is fascinating, and while many aspects of his life remain mysterious to local historians, more and more has been discovered in the past few decades.
If you want to dive in deeper, I recommend watching local documentarian Paul Bonesteel's "The Mystery of George Masa," or reading this gorgeous essay "George Masa's Terra Incognita" by Eric NeSmith of Bitter Southerner.
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