CONTENTS F E AT U R E S 23 Building a Bomb and not Knowing It Young women from eastern Tennessee performed a hugely patriotic service in the 1940s, unaware of what they were doing. BY NANCY HENDERSON 28 Photo Essay: Critters, Creatures and Wild Things Our contributing photographers provide the close-ups. 32 A Good Dog is Hard to Find But sometimes you get lucky. Really lucky. BY JOAN VANNORSDALL 35 Festivals 2020 Here's your guide to planning great travels around great events for the rest of the (tentative) travel year. BY JOE TENNIS 52 Mountain Beauties: Photography from Robert Stephens DEPARTMENTS 5 Letters/ Contributors 6 From the Editor 8 Mill Creek Stories 10 Creature Feature 12 The Good Walk 14 Our Blue Ridge Towns 16 Festivals & Events 19 Country Roads 62 Flavors 64 Singing in the Garden 66 Guest Column We got just a few of the stunning images from his new book. 56 Next-Gen Beekeeper Wes Davis And it's just one of the undertakings for the new college grad. BY ANGELA MINOR 58 Wild Edibles, West Virginia Style There's a festival to get you educated, and then a world awaiting. BY SU CLAUSON-WICKER ON THE COVER An eastern swallowtail butterfly drinks nectar from a purple coneflower. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE KOENIG. See page 28 for more photos of critters, creatures and other wild things. ON THIS PAGE A monarch butterfly camps out on thistle on the Charles Glade Trail in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. PHOTO BY ED REHBEIN JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 3