Scott “Doc” Varn painting at the Smoky Mountain Vantage Point in Hot Springs.
By Emma Castleberry
A new PBS special program, AMERICA: THE LAND WE LIVE IN, highlights our local region through the lens of the 19th-century book Picturesque America. Developed and produced by Weaverville resident and executive producer Alicia Albee and writer/director Devon Chivvis of World Life Productions (WLP), the show follows hosts Sophia Michelen and Scott “Doc” Varn as they hunt for famous scenes depicted in the book. While the show is formatted as a treasure hunt in pursuit of the landmarks, the ensuing adventure is what makes the program entertaining and meaningful. “It’s not necessarily about finding the spot,” says Michelen. “It’s really about the journey and the people you meet in these communities.”
Sophia Michelen and Scott “Doc” Varn at Lover’s Leap Rock off the Appalachian Trail in Hot Springs
Varn and Michelen travel first to North Carolina, where they seek locations along the French Broad River, and then to South Carolina, where they explore the rich history of Charleston and the coastal waterways. “It was meaningful to film a place I love that is right in my own backyard,” says Albee. “Exploring Hot Springs through Sophia and Doc’s adventure gave me a deeper appreciation of the natural beauty, history and culture of this area. I hope that our show can inspire others in that same way, by offering them a new perspective on a place they visit or a greater connection to their own community.”
Scott “Doc” Varn and Tia Clark cooking crabs in Charleston, SC
Published in the 1870s, Picturesque America is a two-volume collection of more than 900 engravings of natural and historic landmarks across the country. Through his nonprofit Preserving a Picturesque America, Varn has spent a lot of time rediscovering these sites. For him, sharing these locations with the public is part of an effort to inspire conservation efforts—the same mission of the book’s creators more than a century ago. “It’s so important to continue the work that they did,” says Varn. “We need to be observing these historic, natural landmarks. If we don’t have some connection to them, we don’t care if they’re lost.”
The pilot episode is available for streaming on PBS.org and the PBS app. “We use the book as a vehicle to rediscover America in a whole new way, from a new perspective,” says Albee. “There are more than 950 historical landmarks and natural wonders depicted in the original Picturesque America. So, Doc and Sophia’s adventures in Western North Carolina and South Carolina—it’s just the beginning.”
Learn more at https://www.pbs.org/search/?q=America+the+land+we+live+
