In researching the book he wrote with his wife, “Images of America:
Rhododendron,” Steve Graeper learned about some of the unique characters
who helped make the community special. One was Ethel Gallagher, who was
known for dressing to the nines, dancing at the Log Lodge and serving
breakfast at her cafe with curlers in her hair.

“That’s so typical of Rhododendron,” Graeper said. “I wish I knew Ethel
Gallagher.”

The book offers seven chapters and 127 pages on the community, featuring
stories and a bevy of historical photographs throughout the years.

Graeper noted that during the process of compiling photos and stories, he and
his wife, Judi, were concerned they did not have enough photographs. But
once they started working on the layout, he had to pare back from the more
than 250 photographs they planned on using.

“That was kind of sad,” Graeper said. “What pictures do we pull, what pictures
do we keep; that editing process was tough. Hopefully we kept the best.”

The book will be available at the Rhododendron Centennial +1 celebration
(see story on Page 1 for more details), while Graeper also hopes to have it for
sale at Mountain businesses in the near future. A limited number of
autographed copies are also available for $25.

Graeper offered his thanks to Mary Carol Day and Leslie Phillips for their help
in editing the book.

“We couldn’t have done it without them,” he said.

Graeper added that proceeds from the sales will benefit the Rhododendron
Community Planning Oragnization.

“It was a labor of love for both my wife and my standpoint,” he said. “We’re
very very pleased with how it turned out. We hope the community is as well.
We didn’t do it for ourselves, we did it for the community.”
To order a copy, please email Rhodycpo@gmail.com.