By Suzy Alstrin
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution that proclaimed the county’s official song, and the winner was a former Reinhardt student. “Cherokee County” was co-written by residents Kurt Wheeler and his mother Barbara.
Kurt Wheeler grew up in Lathemtown, is a graduate of Cherokee High School, and attended Reinhardt University in the 1980s. He is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose songs reflect life in the American Southeast. He is also a teacher and Air Force veteran who fondly remembers his time at Reinhardt.
The Wheelers wrote the song three years ago after a request by the Cherokee County Historical Society to perform at a fundraiser. The chorus proclaims, “And I love to see the mountains, with the valleys below. Across the creeks and the hilltops, this land is my home.”
Kurt says it is a great honor to receive this recognition. He says it was difficult to write 200 years of history into a three-minute song and says he gets emotional when he performs it. He thinks it’s rare for a county to have an official song and hopes it represents Cherokee County well for a long time.
