PRESENTATIONS
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center (123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend, TN 37882) |
| Friday, Feb. 1 |
| 9:00-9:45 a.m. |
Joel Zachry – "How to Get Eaten by a Bear – Things you should know"
Join naturalist and author Joel Zachry for an informative "show and tell" narrative on safely traveling in the backwoods of our Southern Appalachians. As he provides a historical perspective on the bear and its life cycle he will share factual information on the past 100 years of human fatalities. In addition, Zachry will recant his own experiences, some funny missteps and others with serious outcomes, from backpacking the Smokies since 1975, completing the 2,175 miles of the Appalachian Trail and guiding hikers in Alaska for twenty-five years. |
| 10:00-11:00 a.m. |
Betty Boone Best – "A granddaughter tells about the war in Blount County"
Betty Boone Best was born in Blount County and graduated from schools at Happy Valley, Lanier, Maryville College and the University of Tennessee. She taught language and Tennessee history at Walland School before retiring from William Blount High School as a librarian. She is a member of the Blount County Genealogical and Historical Society and is presently editor of the Blount Historical Journal. Her hobbies are family and local history research and writing. |
| 11:15-12:15 |
David Ledbetter – "Little River Railroad"
David Ledbetter is a member of Cades Cove Preservation Association, having as president, vice president and board member. He currently serves as coordinator with the maintenance supervisor for Great Smoky Mountains National Park where he plans projects and workdays in the park and leads a full moon walk in Cades Cove once a month. A native of Miller's Cove, the Ledbetter family settled in the White Oak Sinks and lived there for many years before moving out in 1929. David is the great grandson of Matthew Manuel (Bud) Ledbetter who was the first of his line to settle in the White Oak Sinks. |
| 11:15-12:15 |
David Ledbetter Jr. - "Fire Towers From the Smokies"
David Ledbetter, Jr. (Davey) is the son of David and Paulette Ledbetter and is the great great grandson of Matthew Manuel (Bud) Ledbetter who settled in White Oak Sinks. Davey has hiked to the White Oak Sinks and seen where his family farmed the area for many years. Davey enjoys hiking and especially finding old home sites. He is currently mapping these areas and putting it together with his family names. |
| 12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch |
| 1:30-2:30 p.m. |
Judy Myers Johns & Verna Burchfield Myers – "Aunt Becky Cable"
Judy Myers Johns grew up in Cades Cove and is a descendant of John and Lauraine Oliver, from Russell Gregory (Gregory Bald), Robert Burchfield and John P. Cable. She lived in three houses in Cades Cove without electricity, learned to cook on a woodstove and did "washing" in a gasoline powered washer with a wringer for the rinse tub. Her parents (Hugh and Verna Burchfield Myers) and grandparents (Charlie and Mae Shuler Myers) farmed the Cove and raised cattle. Judy worked as a historical interpreter at Cable Mill, became a National Park Ranger, left to work in nuclear security before becoming a Vice President of Emergency Preparedness for international work with a fortune 100 company.
Verna Lee Burchfield Myers was born on Mill Creek in Cades Cove in Oct. 1932 as the second of three children. At a early age the family moved to Townsend and then to Maryville as her father sought employment at a diary farm and then the Aluminum Company of America. In 1948 she married Hugh Myers and moved back to Cades Cove where they farmed and ran Cades Cove Riding Stables until 2009. Verna is very in-tune with her heritage and "regrets not taking an interest" in that heritage until later in her life. Verna has fond memories of Cades Cove and takes time to document old family photos and short stories that have been passed down through the years. |
| 2:45-3:45 p.m. |
Allen Coggins – "An armchair tour of the Smokies: From Sugarlands to Clingmans Dome"
Allen Coggins is a freelance writer and part-time subcontractor with Oak Ridge Associated Universities. His presentation today is based upon his nearly decade long experience as a Smoky Mountain tour bus guide. He is author of the book, Place Names of the Smokies, which was published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association in 1999. His latest book, Tennessee Tragedies: Natural, Technological, and Societal Disasters in the Volunteer State, was just published by the University of Tennessee Press. |
| 4:00-5:00 p.m. |
Panel Discussion: Former residents of Cades Cove |
| Saturday, Feb. 2 |
| 9:00-9:45 a.m. |
Joel Zachry – "Special Creatures of our Smokies and Southern Appalachians"
Join naturalist and author Joel Zachry as he shares some of our region's most Fascinating creatures through his years of observing and photographing Smokies flora and fauna. For this presentation he goes beyond the ability to imply capture the organism but to also explain interesting facts about how each survives in the wild and coexists with others in its habitat. As a career biologist, Zachry will share his views on favorite landscapes, wildflowers and mammals that make our national park a special place. |
| 10:00-11:00 a.m. |
Betty Bales & Becky Thompson – "Dinner on the ground"
Betty Bales is a native Tennessean who lives in Maryville and is a registered nurse with Blount Memorial Hospital. Betty is the granddaughter of John and Lilly Cooper Whitehead, descendants of Cades Cove. She enjoys researching the history of her Smoky Mountain Heritage, working with women's ministries and serving in the mission field both locally and in South America.
Becky Thompson is very proud of her Smoky Mountain Cades Cove heritage in the Whitehead and Cooper families. She is often found taking pictures and exploring the many trails, churches and heritage sites in the mountains. |
| 11:15-12:15 |
Missy Tipton Green – "Tuckaleechee Cove"
Missy Tipton Green was born and has lived all her life in Blount County, and descends from the first land grant owner in Cades Cove, William "Fighting Billy" Tipton. She has penned three books, two being co-authored with Paulette Ledbetter. She enjoys researching the history of Cades Cove and Blount County, and genealogy. She is a charter member of the Cades Cove Preservation Association, serving on the Board of Directors for 11 years, past secretary, past treasurer, and past co-director of the Cades Cove Museum. |
| 12:15-1:30 p.m. Lunch |
| 1:30-2:30 p.m. |
Larry Sparks – "Tom Sparks – The Spencer Field herder"
Larry Sparks is a Cades Cove native, one of twelve children born to Asa and Amy Burchfield Sparks. His presentation is about his grandfather Tom Sparks, a former owner of Spence Field, where he herded livestock for several years. Sparks' ancestors were among the first to own land and live in the Cove. His immediate family was forced to sell their land with the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1930s, but although most neighbors moved out, his family remained in the Cove as leaseholders until 1960. He serves on the board of the Cades Cove Preservation Association, and is a member of the First Families of Tennessee as a descendant of Col. John Tipton. He writes and presents Cades Cove history. |
| 2:45-3:45 p.m. |
Bernard Myers – "Myers Town"
Bernard Myers was born to Golman and Viola Burchfield Myers of Cades Cove, living there until the age of nine attending the Cable School for one year before it closed down; he finished school at Townsend High School. |
| 4:00-5:00 p.m. |
Panel Discussion: Former residents of Cades Cove |