Masa to be added to A.T. Hall of Fame
Cullasaja Falls. George Masa photo
The late George Masa, whose photographs were pivotal to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will be inducted with the eighth class of Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame honorees Friday, May 4.
Masa’s photos captured the beauty, mystery and moods of the Appalachian Mountains, especially seeking cloud effects that created an ethereal quality — even through black-and-white images. Masa and Horace Kephart were close personal friends and were both instrumental in creating the park and the Appalachian Trail.
Kephart and Masa formed the Carolina Appalachian Trail Club in 1931, working to locate and mark the A.T.’s future route. During the club’s first year, members scouted, measured and marked 29.2 miles of trail from Devil’s Fork Gap on the Tennessee border to Hot Springs, North Carolina; 31.6 miles from Hot Springs to Waterville; and 43.5 miles from Nantahala Station to Rich Knob on the Georgia border.
A Japanese immigrant, Masa was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1881 and passed away in 1933 due to complications from the flu.
Other 2018 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame class honorees are William Kemsley, Jr. of Taos, New Mexico; Robert Peoples of Hampton, Tennessee; and the late Elizabeth Levers of New York, New York. Each year nominations are solicited from the general public, and the Hall of Fame selection committee chooses the honorees that will be recognized at the museum’s Hall of Fame banquet.
