Harley Jolley

When Dr. Harley Edison Jolley left this earthly plane on November 23, 2020, he left behind not only a legacy of exemplary higher education and historical research, but also his own personal history of 100 years of positive, productive living.

I first met Dr. Jolley, a history professor emeritus at Mars Hill University, around 1997. We both were invited speakers at an annual conservation event in East Tennessee. I was a park ranger/historian with the National Park Service, and he attended one of my sessions at the event. At the conclusion of my talk, he came up to the stage and shook my hand and mentioned that he was a retired college professor, and also a retired seasonal ranger with the Blue Ridge Parkway. He said he enjoyed my presentation, and I remember he held on to my hand with a very strong grip while looking straight at me with a pleasant smile. I later learned that I really didn’t receive any special treatment from him that day because he was always sincerely friendly and genuine to everyone he met. I remember him now with his round, happy face, and his infectious voice, a voice that always had an enthusiastic tone as he delivered words in rapid style. I even remember the turquoise bolo tie that proved to be a permanent part of his attire.  

I later attended his presentations at the event, since they were about the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Smokies, subjects right down my alley as a ranger/historian. 

At his next scheduled speech, I grabbed a seat in the conference room where he was to speak. The host for the talk that day approached the microphone and welcomed everyone to the event, but instead of using a traditional, formal introductory style, he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts and grab your seats, because here comes Dr. Jolley!”

That introduction set the tone for every one of Dr. Jolley’s presentations that I attended over the next 12 years at the annual event, and also when we planned a 75th anniversary of the CCC in 2008 at the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Jolley was a dynamo, enthusiastically drawing his listeners into the essence of his compelling talks. He had the real talent of putting “meat on the bones” of southern Appalachian history, resurrecting it from the dustbins of the past, making it fresh and alive.

I wasn’t the only one who saw Jolley was a special kind of educator. I attended a talk given by famed traditional storyteller/musician Sheila Kay Adams. On stage, she mentioned that storytellers and musicians should have passion for what they do. In that regard, she went on to mention that when she attended Mars Hill College, she had a professor who was so energetic and enthusiastic that one day he jumped up on his desk and demonstrated wildly to make a point. To her, that showed real passion, and there was never a dull moment in that class. After she finished her talk, I walked up to her and applauded her presentation, and then asked, who was that energetic professor? She replied, “Dr. Harley Jolley.” 

Born in Hudson, North Carolina, on July 5, 1920, Jolley grew up in what has been described as “humble” circumstances in Caldwell County, graduating from Kings Creek High School in 1937 in the midst of the Great Depression. Needing a job and no doubt looking for a little adventure, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that same year.

The CCC was a federal agency which put young people to work around the country in state and federal parks, forests, and public lands. The work was hard and physical, and Jolley served in several locations around the country. Apparently, life and work in the outdoors and the adventure of seeing new places agreed with him.

After his CCC days, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939 and was stationed at Hickam Field in Hawaii, near Pearl Harbor. He witnessed the horrible surprise attacks made by Imperial Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Like all who were there, his life was deeply shaped by that “day of infamy.” 

Jolley went on to serve in Europe until the end of that war. Upon returning, he was honorably discharged. He used the GI Bill to finance his initial college education, ultimately getting a job with the history faculty at Mars Hill Junior College, now Mars Hill University.

It was at Mars Hill that he met Betty Cornette, and they married on Christmas Eve in 1949, as “Christmastime is the perfect time to be Jolley!” he told her. They raised their kids in the town and worked at the college, where it has been said they “formed the backbone of the history department” for four decades.

While teaching at the college, Harley Jolley also worked for 25 summer seasons as a park ranger at several interpretive centers along the Blue Ridge Parkway. His infectious smile and enthusiasm served him well in those days as he regaled thousands of visitors with his extensive knowledge about the scenic and historic Parkway. He loved his years on the Parkway, even writing several books on the subject. He became know as the premier authority on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Jolley was an accomplished researcher and writer on many topics. In addition to writing about the Parkway, he wrote an authoritative volume about the CCC in North Carolina. His speaking style made him a much sought-after lecturer at public events and seminars in the southern Appalachians and beyond.

Jolley retired from his summer job on the Parkway in 1985, and retired from his job as an active professor at Mars Hill in 1991. But retirement didn’t mean taking up golf or buying a fishing boat. He and his wife remained active in writing, historical research, and community involvement until her death in 2007. Thereafter, Jolley continued his busy schedule of public speaking and writing about the southern mountains.

During his long life, Jolley received many well-earned professional honors, the highlights of which include winning the prestigious “Thomas Wolfe Literary Award” in 1969. In 2008 he was awarded the “Order of the Long Leaf Pine,” one of the highest awards the governor of North Carolina can bestow upon a citizen, and last summer he was honored by a parade through downtown Mars Hill on the occasion of his 100th birthday. That same day, the town mayor also issued a proclamation designating July 5, 2020, as “Harley Jolley Day.” High honors indeed for a humble man of the mountains.

In addition to his professional and academic work, through the years Jolley and his wife were very active in their church, the Mars Hill Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday school for more than three decades.

It’s fair to say that the Blue Ridge Parkway, that beautiful ribbon of road through the southern mountains, remained a lifelong interest of Jolley’s. He wrote and talked eloquently about it: “He who travels the Parkway today quickly discovers that it is a road of unlimited horizons. One of the great attractions of the route is that it follows the very crest of the ridges that form the backbone of the Southern Appalachians. In its role of opening this vast mountain region to the motoring public, the Parkway provides a grand balcony from which to view the diverse natural wonders of the area. Thus, a trip along the scenic route is well calculated to produce a marvelous sense of being on top of the world, with only one's imagination to bound the horizons.”

Harley Jolley had innumerable impact on thousands who took his college courses, listened to his talks, or read his books about the cultural history of the southern Appalachian mountains. He was a true product of the first quarter of the 20th century, an American who grew up in the foothills of the North Carolina and trusted his own self-reliance and initiative. Like many of his generation who were born in humble surroundings, who endured the Great Depression, who served honorably in World War II, Harley Jolley worked hard and made a positive impact for his family, his community, his profession, and his nation.

In the end, with all his sizable accomplishments, Dr. Jolley remained a nice, optimistic, happy soul—I never saw him frown or show any anger. With his innate optimism and self-reliance, I think he knew all along that if he worked hard enough and set himself on a chosen path, he could use his God-given talents to take care of himself and his family and contribute to society. And that he surely did.