Kathleen Walls
Kathleen Walls, former reporter for Union Sentinel in Blairsville, GA, is publisher/writer for American Roads and Global Highways. She is the author of several travel books including Georgia’s Ghostly Getaways, Finding Florida’s Phantoms, Hosts With Ghosts, and Wild About Florida series. Kathleen’s articles have appeared in Family Motor Coaching Association Magazine, Food Wine Travel Magazine, Weekender Extended, Travel World International, Tours4Mobile and others. She is a photographer with many of her original photographs appearing in her travel ezine, American Roads, as well as other publications. Her fiction includes Last Step, which was made into a feature movie of the same name by Forbes Productions, Kudzu, Under A Bloody Flag and Under A Black Flag.
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Articles by Kathleen Walls
Have a high time in Albuquerque
By Kathleen WallsA major highlight in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a hot air balloon ride at daybreak. But floating through the sky into the sunrise is not all there is to do in Albuquerque, and this city is full of culture and education to provide a well-rounded and enriching experience. Before you … Read more
United States Off the Beaten Path Food & Drink
Is It Still Midnight in Savannah?
By Kathleen WallsSince its founding in 1733, Savannah, Georgia has drawn visitors both temporal and spiritual, and the spooky occurrences noted throughout its history make for a thrilling experience. Here is a glimpse into the haunted history of Savannah. The Story of Jim Williams Savannah came to the attention of tourists in … Read more
United States Family Travel Architecture History
Ellijay, Georgia: Extraordinarily out of the Ordinary
By Kathleen WallsSet in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Ellijay, a city in Gilmer County Georgia, is very different from the urbanized America that most visitors picture. Gilmer Country, also known as the “Apple Capital in Georgia”, offers a unique experience that will provide a charming and authentic taste of what … Read more
United States Backpacking & Camping History
St. Simons Museum Shows that War is Hell on the Home Front, Too.
By Kathleen WallsSt. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia is filled with history. Its newest museum, the World War II Home Front Museum, gives a different view of the war from typical accounts. Most WWII museums deal with the war in Europe; D- Day on Normandy Beach or battles in far-away Belgium. … Read more
United States History
Franklin, Tennessee’s Historic Trilogy
By Kathleen WallsThe battle of Franklin was a turning point in the Civil War. Most historians agree it was the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. The novel, Widow of the South by Robert Hicks, tells a fictionalized account from the viewpoint of a historical figure, Carrie Winder McGavock, whose family … Read more
United States History
Civil War History at a Crossroads
By Kathleen WallsCan you imagine a piece of real estate, not more than a few square feet, worth the loss of over 30,000 lives? That is the case in Corinth, Mississippi, where two railroads cross. The Civil War placed this small Mississippi town in the crossroads of history by making it a … Read more
United States Family Travel History
Ladies of Laura: A Southern Plantation Run by Women
By Kathleen WallsWe think of southern ladies of yore as deferring to their gentlemen about anything concerning business. Not so with the ladies of Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana. Starting with Nanette Prud’Homme in 1808, the strong Creole women of this family managed the business of their sugar plantation in a masculine-oriented … Read more
New Orleans History
Gangsters, Monkeys and Mines: Exploring the Diverse History of a Florida County
By Kathleen WallsWhat once was old is now new in Florida’s Marion County. One of the “newest” attractions in the city of Ocala, has roots going back nearly 100 years, commemorating an epic FBI shootout with a notorious gang that ended the era of gangsters in the United States. Other attractions in … Read more
United States Adventure Off the Beaten Path History
The Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond
By Kathleen WallsSome things should never be forgotten. The Holocaust is one of them. In the middle of the last century, Nazi Germany, along with its allies, systematically killed about six million Jews as well as many others, including the Romani people (known as gypsies) and gays, for the purpose of ethnic … Read more
United States History
Enterprise Alabama: Thank the Boll Weevil
By Kathleen WallsSometimes tiny towns are overlooked. Enterprise, Alabama is just such a spot. I was on my way to Columbus, GA, when I decided to stop briefly to see the iconic Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise and was captivated by its perfect small-town Main Street. I pulled into one of the … Read more
United States Off the Beaten Path
The Heidelberg Project: A Detroit Artist’s Political Protest
By Kathleen WallsAward-winning artist and sculptor Tyree Guyton started The Heidelberg Project in 1986 as a political protest after he returned to his old Detroit neighborhood, the Heidelberg area in the McDougall-Hunt Neighborhood, and found dereliction and debris. Drugs and crime made the neighborhood unsafe to walk even in the daytime. He … Read more
United States The Arts Preservation
Exploring Niagara Falls
By Kathleen WallsNiagara Falls, one of America’s most scenic wonders, wasn’t always a pristine park open to the public. Comprised of three waterfalls that straddle the U.S.-Canadian border, the falls have a long history; not all of it pretty. Industrial factories once marred their astonishing grandeur and their spectacular views were restricted. … Read more
United States Family Travel
Cajun Culture in Lafayette Parish
By Kathleen WallsIn Southern Louisiana, French Canadian migrants settled and intermingled with the existing community to create a unique ethnic group, the Cajuns, whose culture continues to thrive today. Visitors can learn more about the Cajuns through a visit to Lafayette Parish, where they can explore their history, customs, music and food. … Read more
United States Experiences
Western New York’s New Onöhsagwëde’ Cultural Center
By Kathleen WallsThe Enchanted Mountains of Cattaraugus County, New York are the homeland of The Seneca Nation, one of six Native American tribes that formed a confederacy in the region. The largest of the six tribes, The Seneca, who lived in the Western part of the Confederacy, called themselves the Onöndowa’ga,’ or … Read more
United States Experiences
Early American History in Harmony, Pennsylvania
By Kathleen WallsA half hour’s drive north of Pittsburgh, the tiny Western Pennsylvania town of Harmony, with a population of fewer than 1,000 people, has an unusual history that makes for a fascinating visit. Harmony, which is a National Historic Landmark District, was founded in 1804 as a religious commune by George … Read more
United States Religious Travel History
Kinston, North Carolina: A Farming and Industrial City Turned Arts Hub
By Kathleen WallsThey say art is in the eye of the beholder. When you visit Kinston, North Carolina, art will be in your eyes, ears, and taste buds too. Art is everywhere. The city, with a population of 22,000, southeast of Raleigh, wasn’t always like that. Kinston started life in 1762 named … Read more
United States The Arts
Three Stops on the Trail of Tears
By Kathleen WallsThe rich culture and heritage of the Cherokee people and the story of their forced removal from their homeland is sometimes lost amid undifferentiated accounts of indigenous people in the United States. Three stops along the Georgia section of the Trail of Tears, a National Park Service site that documents … Read more
United States History
The Rise and Fall of Goldsboro, Florida: An African American Town
By Kathleen WallsMany people know the story of the African American town Rosewood from the movie about the massacre, but how many of us have heard of Goldsboro, Florida, the second black incorporated city in the United States, which also thrived and was subsequently destroyed? Boasting famous residents, like the writer Zora … Read more
United States History