Gatlinburg: Beauty from the Ashes

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.....

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:1-3

The devastating fires that engulfed Gatlinburg Tennessee, this past November, was a tragedy beyond words. Several lives were lost, and countless homes reduced to ashes. That night was the stuff of nightmares. Viral videos captured the unbelievable scenes of destruction, panic, and heroism. I was not physically there that night, but I, and many of members of my family were awake through the wee hours of the morning, praying hard for this place we loved so dearly. Falling asleep finally, when we realized there could be no more word until morning light provided a report of the devastation. So many were praying for rain that night, and thankfully, the rains came. After seeing the destruction first hand in December, I realize now how sweet those rains had been. If they had not come, I firmly believe all would have been lost.

I cannot begin to describe how precious Gatlinburg has been to our family. For multiple generations it has been a nearby sanctuary. Always welcoming and peaceful, helping us forget the stresses of life, as we literally climb closer to spiritual comforts: Like a balm, renewing our mind, body, and soul. It has been a place of happiness, discovery, and love.

I have also been acutely aware of its sense of history and timeless existence. Its mountains echo thousands of years of nature's cycles: Its relatively short history of man, farming nearby valleys, harvesting nature's bounties, and passing on of ancient traditions. If you have never stood, barefoot, in the rushing mountain stream, and just listened to the symphony of nature around you, then you have not fully lived.

For the past several years, our family has been fortunate enough to spend Christmas in Gatlinburg. Each year, a week of family joy, surrounded by one of our most dear places on earth. During the night of destruction, our reservations for Christmas were a mere afterthought....we just prayed that Gatlinburg would survive to see another Christmas. Miraculously, our little corner of town survived, and we made the trek as planned, due to the pleas of the owner and local officials. Their message? "Please come visit!"

There were many false reports indicating that much of the town was gone. Don't get me wrong. The loss is tragic. There are large pockets of town that are no longer with us....but there are very large pockets that survived! The main strip, for example, and most along River Road, have all survived. It was comforting to see these places still standing - beacons of hope and strength.

Our Christmas of 2016 was wonderful as always. Family and relaxation, and a true sense of thankfulness that the rains had come that night in November. Yet, along with the joy of Christmas, there was grief. Our family had enjoyed a small group of cabins along the Roaring Fork stream for about a decade. They were very much like second homes to us. We had heard reports that they had been lost in the fire, but until we arrived to see for ourselves, reality was still at bay.

It was heartbreaking to see the destruction. Our ritual of walking this road along the stream, and basking in the beauty of history and nature would never be the same. Just last June, we had celebrated my Mother's birthday in one of these cabins. We had walked the road, taking pictures, and breathing in the restorative, oxygen-filled air.

One loss felt most poignantly, was a beautiful red barn, tucked up along side of the mountain base, just across the stream. Local lore said this was one of the first riding stables built in Gatlinburg for the use of tourists back in the 1930s. Seasonally framed in the trees, this picture of history will live on only in our memories, and the photos taken over the years.

The areas of destruction were sobering and heartbreaking. They also served to remind us of the frailty of life, and the savage, unpredictability of nature. Yes, it was man that started the blaze that destroyed so much life, but it was the winds of nature that carried embers in strange patterns....burning some pockets, and turning abruptly in a split second to spare a grouping just next door.

Many of the areas downtown are also still here today because of the valiant efforts of so many firemen. After seeing the videos of folks being flanked by burning forest on either side of their escape route, the firemen were very much in danger that night, and they deserve medals of valor, in my opinion.

As for the beauty rising from the ashes: I was encouraged by other sights we witnessed. During the day, we can see the darkened earth and scorched trees, sprinkled with ghostly chimneys standing as monuments to the pre-fire days. But in the night, standing on the balcony of the condo rental, looking towards downtown, I could see pockets of light sprinkling the hillsides. You could clearly see the areas that survived, and there were many more than I expected. Sadly, there were large pockets of complete darkness, but those surrounding clusters of light were perfect messages at Christmas. Beacons of hope, reminding us all that Gatlinburg will survive, and flourish once again. 

In fact, there were some parcels that had already bulldozed the rubble and had framing already in place, as the sound of construction remained steady. This was a wonderful sign of new life. As we are reminded that beauty comes from the ashes, I can't wait to see the spring growth take over. The area will rise stronger than before, as long as we continue to support its people. The weather is warming up, and the blossoms are unfurling their splendor. For those of you who share this heartfelt regard for Gatlinburg, get those reservations in - it's time to come back!

Breathing in History

Every Thanksgiving our family continues a newish tradition by renting a cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Under normal, warmer circumstances, my personal Smoky Mountain mission includes spending as much time as possible in the mountains, hiking the trails or dangling my feet in the streams, while breathing in that fresh air. I'm not a huge shopper, but when Thanksgiving roles around, the weather prevents a lot of mountain time, and forces more shopping time. To make the best of this enforced shopping hiatus from the mountains, I try to make sure we hit as many "local" places as possible - i.e.: off the beaten and suffocating strip. One of my absolute favorite places to shop when in town is Ely's Mill. Follow me as I show you around this little hidden gem of retro shopping.

One of the quickest and most effective ways to quickly get immersed in the mountain atmosphere is to follow the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Yes, I know, you drive an automobile through the mountains - a contradiction of my previous paragraph - but not so! There are MANY places to park and hike or wander through fascinating stops along this paved trail. Since the tour is within the National Park boundaries, they have preserved many little former homesteads that existed before logging and tourism changed the landscape forever. However, once you get to the very end of this trail and cross just outside the Park lines, you encounter a collection of structures that has been preserved in a very different manner.

I will not attempt to portray the long history behind the existence of Ely's Mill. There is a web site where you can learn all about it. But in a nutshell, it was begun sometime back in the 1920s by a very educated man who wanted to get as close as he possibly could to nature.....living in this small mill tucked away along a mountainside stream that has a magical beauty all its own. This man lived off of the land, but did so in an appreciative way that honored the beauty around him.

Fast forward many decades to today, and his descendants are still keeping that small little cluster of buildings full of delights and long standing mountain traditions for the curious tourist. Among the many wonderful treats that await are: hand woven rugs, table runners, scarves, etc. Antiques of all kinds. Locally made honey - which my mom has fallen in love with. Welcoming cats of all sorts. Historical tidbits, informative books and artifacts from the region. And stories/lessons galore. If the family is not giving a local demonstration of their weaving tradition, someone will be more than happy to sit a spell and explain the difference between locust honey and wildflower honey - and the specific seasonal sequence that has to occur to produce either.

This adorable hodgepodge of culture is sure to charm anyone with eyes attuned to the convergence of history and present-day traditions. I not only adore each visit for the sake of what I can buy from the present, but for the experience of wandering through an atmosphere overflowing with tidbits of the past. In fact, I feel more connected to history when wandering around Ely's than I do in the stark "preserved" homesteads within the park. Here, history is still alive in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a multi-generational legacy.

And besides......

Who can resist a place that has history AND kittehs?! Seriously!

P.S. Just remember, like the motor trail through the mountains, Ely's shuts down for the winter, so you best wait until spring to enjoy this special treat!

Sepia Saturday - Tree Memories

Reuss-Beyersdoerfer Clan

The suggested Sepia Saturday theme for this week, trees, inspired me to look back on my own family tree memories, and what better way to celebrate genealogy than by honoring the image of the tree. I attempted to pull some sepia images from my family collection - but as other bloggers have learned today, there are not many "tree" photos in our collections. The family image that you see to the left is my favorite "tree" image. To see this family group, standing proudly in front of this equally proud tree that towers over them demonstrates a perfect blend of history and symbolism.

My other favorite family image that includes a tree is this one of the Cox family in Pendleton County Kentucky. Most family group images we have utilize a more family focused composition. In other words, close enough to only see the people. This family photographer took a little artistic license and let the trees be even more prominent than the human subjects - or perhaps they were so new at taking pictures that they forgot to get closer.....either way, we get to see the expansiveness of the trees on this property, and not just the expansiveness of the prolific family unit!

Within my other family memories, trees have played a prominent role. I spent a huge chunk of my youth and adolescence traipsing around, climbing, drawing and adoring trees. I was an outdoors kid all the way. Nature and all of its complexity was, and still is, a dear friend. This image is from my grandparents farm in Bourbon County Kentucky - an old walnut tree that sits between a small field and the vegetable garden. That farm was not only a source of spiritual and mental health for me, almost as necessary as oxygen, but it also embodied all of the love my grandparents bestowed upon us when visiting. And don't get me started on the adventures! So many I cannot count! As a side note, this farm in the far western part of the county was certified a few years ago as home to the second largest tree in the state of Kentucky! An amazing old burr oak tree that sits in a valley, just below one of the ponds. Each tree branch is the size of a large tree trunk.....awe inspiring.

I have always regarded genealogy as somewhat of a spiritual journey. There is nothing as humbling as looking back across the generations and realizing that you are merely one addition to the long string of people that have come before you. Soon, you too will be nothing more than someone's memory. But in this realization, it bolsters my belief in life eternal. Time is ever flowing. And yet, when I think of the spiritual realm, and perhaps the place where our ancestors reside, there is no time. This final tree was captured on "film" just this past June while hiking up to Laurel Falls in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. We all learned in school that the trees we see above the soil have a duplicate existence in size and proportion below the soil in the form of roots. I can remember thinking, as a child, that had to be a load of bunk.....they were asking us to believe in something we could not see. This is just another example of nature demonstrating to us that we only understand a small portion of the world we encounter. I've also heard it said that the spiritual realm is just as real as the world we can see with our eyes, like this tree and its roots - and if our roots are as important as most genealogists believe, our journey is never finite.

Taking Time to History Hike!

For those of you heading to the FGS Conference in Knoxville next month, I'm sure you have been monitoring the official Conference blog for wonderful suggestions about what to do in the Knoxville area. They recently noted that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is only 45 minutes away from downtown Knoxville. Not only is the park itself an incredible and potentially spiritual experience for nature lovers, but there are still some amazing pockets of Native American and Appalachian history within and surrounding the Park. If you decide to add this excursion to your agenda, make sure you do some homework as to the historical wealth of the region. One book I highly recommend is History Hikes of the Smokies. This item is published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association, with proceeds going to assist the Park. At 352 pages, this guide directs you through 20 trails just bursting with historic importance. You can buy it at many of the welcome centers in the area, but purchasing ahead of time is also a good idea....let's face it, how many times during travel do we get the chance sit down and leisurely read up on where to go next?

For those of you who might have ancestors lurking in the Eastern Tennessee/Western North Carolina region, you might also want to monitor another blog focused on the genealogical/historical roots of the region: Mike Maples's Blog on the Go Smokies Ning Site. I am very impressed by the surname information he regularly includes in his posts! Here is just one example that includes a history hike and all of the farming families that you would have encountered many years ago. Way to go Mike!
http://gosmokies.knoxnews.com/profiles/blogs/history-hike-in-the-brier

Even if you aren't heading to the conference this year.....if you are in the area, don't forget about this wonderful historic resource! Not only did the formation of the Park preserve the natural landscape, but it also preserved a heritage that was fading quickly. Most of the families moved out of the land claimed by the Park, but they kept their stories alive through historic structure sites, folklore, cemeteries, reunions and folk art. Our family loves visiting this region - not for the shopping - but for the vast opportunities to experience a very special part of our country. But hey, shopping and restaurants are great incentives to get the rest of the family as excited as you will be when you set your sites on all the history that awaits!

See you in the Smokies!
CD
7/8/10