NOC Stories

Payson Kennedy enjoyed a fifteen-year academic career at Longwood College, Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Illinois, and Georgia Tech. He worked at the new NOC in the summer of 1972 and then began year-round work at the NOC in June of 1973. He served at the NOC as President and later as CEO, Chairman of the Board, and CPO (Chief Philosophical Officer) until his retirement from full-time work in 1998. He returned to full-time work at the NOC as CEO and CPO from 2004 through 2006. While working at the NOC, he also guided regularly on six rivers, taught canoeing and kayaking courses, worked as a ropes course instructor, and led extended trips in Central America, the Cayman Islands, and Nepal. Since retiring from full-time work, he has continued to serve on the NOC Board, guides a few trips on the Nantahala River, and especially enjoys regular bicycling, working in his pond, and continuing to do adventure travel trips.Greg Hlavaty worked in NOC Rentals for four years. He believes in combining nature experience with written reflection, and his essays have appeared in various magazines and literary journals, including Arts and Letters, Barrelhouse, Yale Anglers' Journal, and Bird Watcher's Digest. He has taught survival skills classes and led outdoor trips in North Carolina and Alaska, and his writing and teaching are founded on the belief that outdoor adventure and nature connection changes people for the better. He lives in Graham, North Carolina, with his family. Find his website at greghlavaty.com, or contact him on Twitter @greg_hlavaty.

• FOREWORD by Clay CourtsINTRODUCTION TO THE NOC LEGACY: Changing Lives Since 1972 by John BurtonHOW THIS BOOK CAME ABOUT by Payson KennedySECTION I: Life on the RiverIn Service by Gordon GrantMarch 1979: First Day on the Job by Dave PerrinRunning Down the Upper Nantahala by John BurtonThe Early Years at the Chattooga Outpost by Les BechdelA Yankee Paddler Goes South: A Summer with Donnie Dunton by Charlie WalbridgeWalkabout Beginning by Herbert B. BarksDonnie Dunton, An NOC Legend: The Other Side of the Man by Cathy KennedyDodging a Bullet at the Five Falls by Bob TolfordA Quiet Fighter by Greg HlavatyStaring into the Eye of God by Eric NiesApple-Eating Eddy by Joe HugginsChattooga: Racing Down Section IV by Kent FordNOC Pride by Dave PerrinAdventure Is Made of Adversity by Kevin “Taz” RiggsProject RAFT and Nantahala ’90 by Bunny JohnsRocked by the Cheoah by Ken KastorffSECTION II: History of a Southeastern Paddling CultureA Brief History of the Nantahala Outdoor Center: The Growth of a Southeastern Paddling Hub by Payson KennedyThe Business of Whitewater Rafting: Growth and Concerns by Payson KennedyA Legacy of Groundbreaking Paddling Instruction by Kent Ford and Bunny JohnsSECTION III: Life Beyond the RiverWild in Winter Wood by Cathy KennedyWelcoming: Two Sisters Remember the Local Community by Florrie Funk and Allie Funk (Jones) Guests in the Old Days by Allie Funk (Jones) and Bunny JohnsSnapshots from River’s End Restaurant by Florrie FunkMaintenance by Sue Firmstone GoddardThe Old Store by John BarbourNOC Store Talk by John LaneScenes from Wesser Creek by Allie Funk (Jones) Above Bone Ring Lake: For John Dolbeare (1957–1989) by John LaneAuthentic Leadership by Betsey Lewis UpchurchOffice Space by Susan Bechdel“Hello, Jerome” by Susan Hester with Ray McLeodThe Lodestone by Heather McLeod WallSECTION IV: Adventure TravelAn Introduction to Adventure Travel at the NOC by Payson KennedyA Thanksgiving Dayyenu by Dan AdamsAmericans Sneak into Mexico on Rafts! by Tom GonzalezWhen Travel Was an Adventure by Villa BrewerAdventures with Christine by Bill HesterMistaken Identity by Susan BechdelKind of like the Nantahala by Villa BrewerRío Upano Staff Trip: Adventure of the Millennium! by Leigh BoikeOrigins of Clinic Nepal by Payson KennedySECTION V: Life Changes at the NOCNever, Never Give Up by Tommy YonFrom the Mouths of the Converted: Letters from NOC Guests and Staff from Barbara Holliday-Evans, Dick Graham, and Gordon GrantMore than Paddling Instruction by John LaneThe Lift by Joe JacobiTransitions by Michael InmanUpper Nantahala, 1974 by Florrie FunkLearning to Leap by Arlene BurnsA Son’s Tribute to Horace Holden by Howard HoldenOn the Eddy Line by Greg HlavatyRelocation by Maggie ParkesMy Accidental Community by Janet SmithLuck by Florrie FunkMemories by John and Margie ZubizarretaFamily Matters by Heather McLeod Wall and Michael McLeod, Betsey Lewis Upchurch, and Jennifer HolcombeSECTION VI: Early Leaders of the NOCHorace Holden: An Appreciation by John BurtonPayson Kennedy: An Appreciation by John BurtonAurelia Kennedy: An Appreciation by John BurtonJohn Burton: An Appreciation by Gordon GrantThe Other Side of the River: An Interview with Whitewater Pioneer Bunny Johns by Gerald ThurmondSECTION VII: Zen and the Art of Running a Rafting CompanyA Chautauqua on NOC Philosophy and Practices by Payson KennedyGood Things Never End: A Poem for Payson’s 70th Birthday by Gordon GrantEPILOGUEAPPENDIX: Chronology of Events: 1971–1997