The Derosia Team

SNOW DAY! It's the 1st official Snow Day of 2016!  All schools in Sevier County, and most of East Tennessee has been shut down. Many businesses are closed for the day and reports are coming in of Highway 66 being closed currently. Snowfall totals vary across the area from a dusting to a few inches. An additional 1-3 inches of snow and ice could accumulate before the end of the night. Enjoy these snow pictures from around Sevier County. Also, what is a snow day with out a little snow cream? SNOW CREAM! YIELD: ABOUT 2-4 SERVINGS SNOW ICE CREAM This 5-minute recipe for homemade snow ice cream is a sweet way to celebrate a snow day! PREP:   5 MINS   TOTAL:   5 MINS INGREDIENTS: 1 cup milk (any kind) 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 pinch salt 8 cups clean snow or shaved ice (more or less depending on the density of the snow) optional (but strongly suggested) topping: sprinkles!!! DIRECTIONS: In a ...

It's a brand new year! A time to make resolutions, a time for a fresh start, a time to reflect and move forward.  New Year's Celebrations...When Did It Begin?      The tradition of celebrating the start of each new year has been occurring for at least the past four millenniums. Our celebrations start on December 31 and carry into January 1, but that has not always been the norm. The earliest New Year's Celebrations have been recorded to about 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. The Babylonians celebrated the new year on the day of the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This day (occurring in late March) is significant, because the amount of sunlight and darkness were equal. The occasion was marked with a large religious festival called Akitu. This celebration lasted for 11 days, with each day partaking in a different ritual. A new king was also crowned during this celebration.       As more civilizations developed more ...

The Derosia Team would like to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Looking for some ideas to make your holiday brighter? Read below for activities to do with your family.  Games!  Oven Mitt Gift Reveal Hold a gift-opening relay race that adds a silly oven mitt challenge. The frenzy to unwrap boxes will be even more fun when the kids are slowed down by mitts Christmas Relay Race After indulging in all that hearty holiday food, get everyone moving by revamping the traditional “egg on a spoon” race! Balance PLASTIC, UNBREAKABLE ornaments on a spoon while running as fast as you can without dropping them. Crafts! Make some reindeer hand prints with the family! This would be a great way to keep your little one's footprints! Treats! Gingerbread Cheesecake Dip Author: A Food, Folks and Fun Original! Recipe type: Dessert Ingredients 1 8­ounce package cream cheese, softened ¼ cup brown s...

Moving can be a scary and taunting endeavor. If you are new to the Smoky Mountain area, check out this link for a list of resources in our area.                                                   Community Resource Guide A great place to learn more about the area is to check out the local libraries. Each of our local libraries has tons of resources and activities.  King Family Library 408 High St (865) 453-3532 Pigeon Forge Public Library 2449 Library Dr (865) 429-7490 Seymour Branch Library 137 W Macon Ln (865) 573-0728 Anna Porter Public Library Public Library 158 Proffitt Rd (865) 436-5588 Kodak Public Library 319 W Dumplin Valley Rd (865) 933-0078

                                               In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.Thanksgiving Day did not become an official holiday until 1941. The Derosia Team would like to wish you and your families the happiest of Thanksgivings. May you be surrounded by friends and family. May love, joy, laughter, and happiness surround you in abundance through the holidays.  Interesting fact: According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds o...

Fall is the perfect time for hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The weather is mild and the colors are vibrant. There are tons of hikes for all ages and skill levels. The fall leaves are quickly moving past their peak, but there are several trails that still provide some great opportunities for leaf viewing. These hikes are in the lowest elevations of the park, where leaf color remains exceptional.                                                        Meigs Mountain Trail is found in the Elkmont area. It is a moderate, 4.6 round-trip mile hike. This trail will offer some great opportunities to view the leaf colors along Jakes Creek. You will pass a small 2 foot waterfall and remains of former inhabitants. The trail ends with an opportunity to view remains of an old dam.                 ...

Sevier County, Tennessee was established September 18, 1794 and covers about 6,000 square miles.  There are three distinct regions in Sevier County, Appalachian Mountain region to the north, Foothills region in the central portion, and the Great Valley of East Tennessee, which stretches 9,200 square miles across Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. Since the counties establishment, the county seat has been situated at Sevierville, the eighth oldest city in Tennessee.  As with an old county throughout the world, their is always historic buildings and places that still remain today.  Sevier County is no exception.  There are many historic buildings that make up part of the history of Sevier County that are still standing today.  Some of these buildings/places have made their way to the United States National Registry of Historic Places.  Because their are so many important buildings/places within Sevier County it is near impossible to hit on all of these in o...