The Mystery of the Table and Chairs in the Nature Center – Solved

Exploring the Reinke Archives at the Highlands Biological Station (HBS) often feels like assembling a historical jigsaw puzzle—where even the smallest, seemingly insignificant pieces can eventually unlock a compelling story. One such piece emerged in the form of a dated receipt tucked within the Ralph Sargent papers, offering a surprising clue to a long-standing mystery.

Dated March 12, 1942, the receipt was issued to the Highlands Museum by the Highlands Woodwork Shop, operated by Louis A. Edwards. It recorded the delivery of a table—signed by Mrs. L.A. Edwards—on February 8, 1942, for the amount of $12.00. Remarkably, this very table was discovered in 2023 in the basement of the Nature Center (formerly the Highlands Museum), and thanks to the skilled restoration work of our Facilities Manager, Mike McMahan, it has been beautifully brought back to life. (Pictured at the bottom of the article.)

Digging deeper, a new layer of the story surfaced in the HBS Minute Book dated August 21, 1941. A committee, including Ralph M. Sargent and Margaret Cameron Howell, had been tasked with furnishing the newly opened Museum Building, which had held its grand opening just two months earlier on June 20.

The committee wanted one large table, one long bench and one dozen chairs for the new building. The table and bench were designed by Edwards “to the specifications of the director, Miss Laura M. Bragg . . . to be constructed from chestnut lumber in the basement of the building. . . .The lumber to be used has not yet been properly seasoned. Mr. Edwards agreed to season it and build in time for use at the opening of the building for the summer season of 1942.”

Then another important puzzle piece was given. “Your committee had one dozen chairs (8 straight back and 4 curve back) constructed by Mr. E. D. Watson of Norton, N. C. . . . made of ash with split oak cane bottoms. . . .The ash will be stained the color and grain of the chestnut in the building. The chairs (unstained) are now in use in the building.” Edwards would stain before the next season. Indeed the photograph of Laura Bragg, shows one of the chairs in the background.

When staff surveyed the Nature Center in 2023, they discovered just one remaining chair fitting this description. That rare piece is now preserved in the Reinke Library Archives.

About the Craftsmen

Enis Dewey Watson (1900–1977) was born in Jackson County and spent much of his life in Haywood County, N.C. He married Lassie Lavida Kilby in 1920, and the couple had five children—three sons and a daughter, with two sons surviving into adulthood. Watson’s craftsmanship lives on in the ash chairs that once graced the museum’s halls.

Louis Alexander Edwards (1915–1999), son of James Grover and Minnie Zoellner Edwards, had deep roots in Highlands. After James’s passing, Minnie married Louis’s great-uncle William Wyatt Edwards, and together they purchased The Central House hotel, later expanding and renaming it the Old Edwards Inn in 1935.

Louis Sr. opened his woodworking shop in Highlands in 1932 and earned a degree in architecture from Clemson College in 1937. He married Elizabeth Swain in 1938, and their son, Louis Swain Edwards, was born in 1939. Elizabeth later opened The Condiment Shop in 1945, and according to historian Randolph Shaffner, was known for her environmental convictions—including once chaining herself to an oak tree to prevent its removal.

Louis Sr. supervised the construction of the Highlands Museum from 1940 to 1941, served in the U.S. Army during WWII, and returned home in 1946 to become Highlands’ Building Inspector. By 1950, he had opened his own hardware store in town. Louis, Elizabeth, and their son are all buried at Highlands Memorial Park Cemetery.

-Bryding Adams, Volunteer Archivist, May 2025