How Does Smoky Mountain Life Insurance Work

How Does Smoky Mountain Life Insurance Work? How life insurance works is pretty simple. You buy a life insurance policy and name a beneficiary to receive the death benefit. If the policy is active when you pass away, your beneficiary will receive that death benefit. As Denise Elliott, State Farm agent in Durango, Colorado, describes it, “It’s like having someone who will take care of your family financially if you couldn’t, due to an untimely death.” It can be a great comfort knowing if something happened to you, your family can stay in their home, stay in the same schools, and keep living the life you’ve dreamed for them.

And while most people buy life insurance because they want to protect their family, it also offers a lot of benefits for small business owners and can even be a way to leave money to a favorite charity. If you have a business to protect or an organization you’re passionate about, an agent can help you understand your life insurance options.

Agents also get a lot of questions about the cost of life insurance, and it can be helpful to look at cost in two different ways – the cost of having it, and the cost of not having it.

  • The cost of having it  — The cost of life insurance varies, based on factors like the type of life insurance you purchase, the amount of life insurance coverage you want, your health, and your age. The younger you are, the more affordable it typically is. As Quach explains, “I always tell people when you buy life insurance, today is the least expensive day you can purchase it.” That doesn’t mean it becomes unaffordable as time goes on though, and most people think life insurance is more expensive than it actually is. Sitting down with an agent to talk through your budget and your goals can help you find the protection that makes the most sense for you.

  • The cost of not having it  — This is even more important to consider. Take a moment and think about what you provide for your family now. Do you provide income they need for the mortgage and other expenses? Do you contribute to their future savings? Do you help with child care? Cooking? Shopping? Home maintenance? Now imagine if you weren’t here. What would your family’s life be like without you in it? How would they be affected financially? What would the cost to their future be without life insurance? That’s the cost of not having it.

Smoky Mountain Farmers Markets. Get Your Fresh On!

Yum Yum! Photo credit: foodie.com

Smoky Mountain Farmers Markets. Get Your Fresh On! Smoky Mountain Farmers Markets are open for business! Bring the whole family and fill up on fresh veggies!

Downtown Sevierville Farmers Market
Downtown Gazebo on Bruce Street
Fridays from 9:00 am until 1:30 pm
This weekly Smoky Mountain special event downtown Sevierville showcases area farmers delicious produce and more. The farmers market boasts over 30 vendors! For more information, visit Sevierville Commons Association on Facebook.

Gatlinburg Farmers Market
The Covered Bridge in Arts & Crafts Community
849 Glades Road
Saturdays from 8:30 am until 12:00 noon
The Gatlinburg Farmers Market just gets better and better each year! Every second Saturday, the market hosts local musicians and other special events. Every fourth Saturday, kids will enjoy a special treasure hunt!  It’s fresh food, fun, and extra nice folks at the Gatlinburg Farmers Market! For more information, visit Gatlinburg Farmers Market.

Seymour Farmers Market
First Baptist Church of Seymour, Lower Level Parking Lot
11621 Chapman Highway, Seynour
Saturdays from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon
Enjoy the fresh bounty of summer at the Seymour Farmers Market. It is hard to beat all the delicious veggies at this family friendly event! For more information, visit www.seymourfarmersmarket.org.

Sevier Farmers Co-op Market
Sevier Farmers Co-op Parking Lot
321 West Main Street, Sevierville
Wednesdays & Saturdays from 8:00 am to 12 noon
This is a simple market where local farmers gather weekly to sell their fresh produce. The market accepts cash. For more information, call 865-453-7101 or visit Sevier Farmers Co-op.

Wheels Through Time Museum Showcases Rare Motorcycles

Wheels Through Time Museum Showcases Rare Motorcycles. Seventeen of the world’s rarest bikes will be on display for a limited time. Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum will celebrate 17 years of operation in Maggie Valley with an exhibit of 17 of the rarest bikes in its collection.

The unique site is nicknamed “The Museum That Runs” because every motorcycle, auto or machine in the collection can fire up and run. In fact museum staff regularly cranks up to 20 different bikes for visitors each day it is open. Owner Dale Walksler, who opened the North Carolina site in 2002, dedicates the first week of July to celebrate the goal of educating visitors about the importance and history of American transportation. This year the museum plans a special exhibit of 17 vintage cycles including the museum’s crown jewel 1916 Traub, the “world’s rarest motorcycle.” This treasure was discovered inexplicably bricked up behind a wall in Chicago, Illinois in 1968. Hidden from view for more than 50 years, the Traub is truly a one-of-a-kind classic American motorcycle and the only example of its kind ever found. According to motorycycles.com the Traub was bought in 1972 by Bud Ekins, famous for his work as Steve McQueen’s stuntman. Ekins later sold the Traub to collector Richard Morris who then sold it to Walksler in the mid 1990s.  Walksler, who has been riding, working on, and collecting classic American cycles for more than 40 years, is passionate about the unique machine (which is still ridden on a fairly regular basis) and is quoted as saying that “everything inside the engine is just magnificent.” The machine is shrouded in mystery. There are no photos or documentation, nor has anyone claimed knowledge of it’s origin. Unique in construction, the machine features hand-made pistons with ap-less cast iron rings. Dale is quoted as saying that the engineering and machining were “years ahead of their time.”  Without any documentation, Dale was able to date the bike by many of the motorcycles off-the shelf parts that include a Schebler carburetor, a Bosch magneto, a troxen jumbo seat and unique wheel rims.

The museum’s collection also includes a 1917 Henderson four-cylinder motorcycle that was once ridden by Maldwin Jones in an attempt to set a 24-hour speed record in Ohio. Others on exhibit include an experimental 1941 Harley Davidson Shaft-Driven Knuckle-head Servi-Car, one of only 17 built for the United States Military. For 17 days prior to the Fourth of July, museum staff will fire up one of the rare bikes each day. The celebration continues with a special Saturday, July 6 when all 17 of the world’s best machines will all be started during the day-long festivities.

The 17th anniversary weekend runs July 4-8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m… Admission is $15 for adults and $7 for children aged 6-14. Discount rates for senior citizens and military veterans are $12.

For information, visit www.wheelsthroughtime.com of call 828-926-6266.

Smoky Mountain Pinball Museum’s

Smoky Mountain Pinball Museum’s. Gatlinburg’s Pinball Museum offers a step back in time for gamers. The metallic sound of quarters dropping into a metal slot; high-pitched electronic beeping; clanging bells; flashing lights and the flapping sound of metal flippers – rescuing stainless steel balls in the nick of time transport gamers to another time and place in the new Gatlinburg Pinball Museum.

This is definitely not your usual museum with hushed voices and static exhibits, rather it is a place where adults can re-live those rocking teen memories through vintage video games and pinball machines and, perhaps, instill a love for the same games in their children.

Boasting the largest collection of pinball and retro games in the Smokies, the new Pinball Museum showcases modern limited edition games as well as vintage ones – dating back to the early 60s.

Classic pinballs include Attack from Mars; Lord of the Rings; The Addams Family Gold Edition; Metallica, Dialed in; Medieval Madness; the 1965 classic Gottlieb Sky-Line and many others.

Early pinball machines, which became coin-operated and electrified in the 1930s, often paid off in small coins and were frequently considered gambling. And, as a consequence, were banned in many cities, including New York which outlawed them from 1948 – 1976. Nowadays the machine’s only rewards include, in some cases, a free game.

The museum is located off the Parkway (just past the Space Needle) at 205 Historic Nature Trail in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for children age 10 and under.

Hours are Monday – Thursday, 2 p.m. -9 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. -11 p.m. and Friday and Sunday, 12 p.m. -10 p.m.

The game is on for all you Pinball Wizards!

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Biltmore Gardens Railway

Biltmore Gardens Railway is on display at Biltmore Estate from May 24, 2019 through September 29, 2019. For a limited time, in the Conservatory and at Antler Hill Village & Winery, enjoy beautifully executed botanical model train displays! These displays features a variety of Biltmore area structures, each handcrafted in meticulous detail from such all-natural elements as leaves, bark, and twigs. With 800 feet of rails and trains traversing six separate lines at different eye levels, this is a one-of-a-kind, fun-for-all-ages garden experience. The model train experience is included with the price of admission to Biltmore Estate.

Biltmore Estate is nestled in Asheville, North Carolina in the foothills of the beautiful Pisgah National Forest. The largest private residence in the United States has long been referred to as America’s Castle. The sprawling estate includes tours of the historic mansion and the extensive garden designs by famed architect Fredrick Law Ohmsted.

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