Paul Jay Adams is perhaps best known for his Mt. LeConte (1968) and the collection of Tennessee mollusca (acknowledged as the largest in existence) that he assembled with Manley Barber. Adams was born on September 4, 1901. In 1924, he became a charter member of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and of the Knoxville chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. Several years later, he served as a guide for members of the National Park Commission who had been assigned to evaluate the Great Smoky Mountains as a possible park site. He and his wife, Maxine Day Adams, established Alpine Floral Gardens in Alpine, Tennessee in 1934 but quickly relocated to Crab Orchard as their business grew. The couple moved to Oak Ridge in 1943 so that Paul Adams could work as the superintendent of fire prevention and safety for the Atomic Energy Commission but returned to Crab Orchard immediately after the end of World War II. After Paul Adams retired in 1961, he and his wife developed and operated a thriving weaving business. Adams died on February 2, 1985 in Crab Orchard.

Larry R. Richardson is an artist, naturalist, and author from western Kentucky. Richardson's career, art, and publications have largely focused on environmental conservation.