A few years ago, a teacher named Ken Smith was spending his summer working in the gift shop at Yellowstone National Park. One of the items they sold there were the circus animal cookies that are so popular with children.
Ken thought that it was silly to sell cookies depicting giraffes, lions and tigers at Yellowstone. He thought that the cookies should depict bears, elk, bison and other Yellowstone creatures instead, and have an Yellowstone theme instead of a circus carton.
When he discovered that there were no such products on the market, he started the Wildlife Cookie Company to fill the niche. The first product he released was indeed based on animals in Yellowstone, and the cookies were a success. The company then made the decision to branch out into other National Parks, with a unique product for each area.
So when they decided to do a Great Smoky Mountains cookie box, our lives crossed. Ken contacted me and asked if I would provide the photos for the product container. I was only too happy to comply, and about six months later, the cookies appeared in gift shops and concession stands both in an out of the Park.
So if you are visiting the Smokies, and if you buy a souvenir cookie box, look on the back! If you look at the Clingman's dome observation tower very closely, you can see my wife waving at me! She has been immortalized forever in the sphere of animal cookiedom.
Now, how many people can say that? And the point of all of this? If you have a good idea ... run with it!
For more information visit the Wildlife Cookie Company and SmokyPhotos.com
All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc., and may not be used without the expressed written permission of ERA United Realty and Coweta Fayette Real Estate of ERA United Realty Newnan Georgia. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2003-2008.
Learn more about Coweta County and Fayette County Georgia Real Estate, and Lake West Point Lots.
All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Coweta Fayette Real Estate, Inc., and may not be used without the expressed written permission of Coweta Fayette Real Estate Better Homes and Gardens Metro Brokers, Newnan Georgia. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2003-2009. Richard Weisser REOS, E-Pro. licensed Auctioneer. 770-827-6225.
Learn more about Coweta County and Fayette County Georgia Real Estate, and to search the entire Georgia MLS for free with no registration required visit CowetaFayetteRealEstate.com! Photos of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Get the latest GA Foreclosure List Updated Daily! We Do HUD bids in Georgia! 770-827-6225


I have spent the last two days bringing my Dell Inspiron back to life after a catastrophic crash. It has been an uphill battle. I tried a lot of fixes that failed miserably, leaving me the only option left ... to start all over again from scratch.
Well, I have seen it happen to others, but this is a first for me. My trusty Dell Inspiron had an "episode" as I was trying to get my work done for tomorrow. Now that I finally have some business, I have to deal with tech issues.
Last Friday night my wife and I were walking through downtown Newnan Georgia.
Well, it turns out that she and her little dog Molly were in the parade, and she was portraying Mrs. Claus. She indicated that she did not have a photo of the episode, and wondered if maybe I had taken a photo of her as she rode past me. I asked what she was riding in, and she told me it was a red convertible. I told her the truth, that I wasn't sure.
In the parade, she was riding in front of the Youth United float that is affiliated with 
OK, the big day is finally upon us. For over a month now it's been parties, activities and general revelry but now the grim reality is upon us. Christmas is here and we suddenly realize that we have forgotten, neglected or just plain ran out of time to do all of the things that we really wanted to do this year.
In 1944, my father was a young airman about to experience his first Christmas away from home! The entire world was engulfed in a horrific war of epic proportions, and it was very man's duty and privilege to serve his country in battle.
I have to admit that I love Christmas. I love everything about it, especially all of the activities surrounding the preparation for the blessed event.
I guess I was the only person in the country that did not know that the moon would simultaneously be full and at perigee (Nearest point of orbit) on December 12.
Newnan Georgia does not enjoy the status of being subtropical!. It is, however, located in the Deep South, and the weather can change dramatically overnight!
Newnan Georgia is one of those classic old downtown areas that still does extensive holiday decorating, and it's a beautiful spot for a December stroll. To be able to do so in one's shirtsleeves is a rare treat, although it doesn't feel very Christmassy to a man raised in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania! Hopefully the weather will cool off by Christmas Day!
The word "obstacle" is peculiar. Although we use it often, we don't put a lot of thinking into the true meaning of the word.
Being one of ten children in a family is never an easy thing. It isn't so much of a sibling rivalry issue than it is a competition for love and acceptance. Especially when you father worked night and day to feed and clothe such a large brood!
And to my surprise at first, but less and less each year, no mention was ever made of the carefully crafted Christmas cards. I always hoped to myself, that some kind of fuss would be made over the technique or the design or even the color choices. Surely, when the card arrived, there had to be some observation of the fact that it was a hand painted watercolor designed just for them.
I began looking through all of the papers, and though some stacks of books, when I discovered a little shoebox. Inside was a stack of hand painted Christmas cards, lovingly set aside and stored together, safe from being discarded and carefully preserved.
Okay, admit it! Christmas is about a week away, and you're not ready. Even if you are the best planner in the world, this is the time when the lingering doubts set in!
As we approach the winter solstice, and we absorb the fact that the calendar is waning down to nothing, it is time to both reflect on the year past and to plan ahead for the new year ahead.
For centuries, the heart and soul of America has been the small town. The economy was based on agrarian commerce, which required large tracts of land interspersed with centers for selling crops and purchasing merchandise.
Christmas is just around the corner, and the year is quickly drawing to an end. It has been an interesting and dynamic time in history, that's for sure.
One day several years back I was sitting in my office around Christmas time and a friend's grandson was lurking about, and looking bored.
We are creatures of habit. We instinctively react to stimulus of all sorts. We could have a ball spinning yarns all day long, but instead, we are always on the prowl.
The 2008 Newnan Christmas Parade took place on Sunday December 7. Newnan Georgia, is about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta.
The parade lasted nearly an hour before the primary guest of honor closed the show! Santa Claus made his arrival on a bright red county fire truck, to the delight of all the children anxiously waiting to catch a glimpse!


Sometime around 1970, my father decided that he wanted our Christmas decorations to all be red and gold. There was no special significance, other than he like the color combination from an aesthetic point of view.
The serpent slides ‘cross gleaming steel


