Katrina Hurricane Victims in Town
Some of the evacuees from the horrendous hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia made their way to the Smokies this week and we’ve been gratified to learn of the generosity and philanthropy of some of the cabin businesses, restaurants, motels and comedy theatres in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
In particular, we want to mention David Fee, one of the owner’s of the Comedy Barn Theater in Pigeon Forge. Known locally as a great place to work, the theater owner’s gifted their employees with huge bonuses at Christmas time, and they are always among the first to come forward with aid when they see help is needed. So it wasn’t a surprise that their theater made the news again when they hosted a number of families who fled from Katrina and came here for solace and safety.
David Fee announced that a check for $10,000 was on its way to the Red Cross, and he extended free access to the theater to any resident of the storm if they show a driver’s license. The Free ticket offer is open until September 12th.
Fee said, “So many evacuees were in our theaters last night that after talking to them, we decided that we had to do something to help. Two families in particular came to our show last night after driving all day from New Orleans. They believed that they had lost everything and decided that they needed a laugh so they came to The Comedy Barn Theater.” Fee put them up in a chalet and provided them with theater tickets for an entire week.
“The Comedy Barn Theater is all about laughter, and it is a unique gift we can give to people in pain,” Fee said. We certainly agree with that and commend Fee for extending his hand to these families and for the theater’s continuing generosity.
More Development on Cove Mountain Denied!
It is with relief that we add our applause to the large audience that waited at the courthouse in Sevierville to learn whether the County Commissioners would allow the addition of yet more development along Wears Valley. Cove Mountain is the area’s largest and most visible peak encompassing 942 acres and developers wanted to add 61 lots to 89 acres of it. The vote was NO and the residents in the area approved with thunderous applause.
We’ve been concerned for the last three years about the amount of construction of cabins in the whole area of Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley and the destruction it has brought to the mountains. Pollution from sediment has affected the streams and ground water to say nothing of the loss of timber and the resultant gouges made to the sides of the mountains.
Just the other day I was driving on the back roads (Bird’s Creek Road) coming from the Glades Road Arts and Crafts community of Gatlinburg and going towards Upper Middle Creek (the road on which the main entrance of Dollywood sits) when I looked over to my left and saw a whole mountain had been zig zagged to the top with roads and denuded of trees in preparation of more construction of cabins. When is the area going to be overbuilt? Is it already overbuilt?
Two years ago, I saw an alarming set of numbers suddenly appear on a former web site I worked for which had a large number of cabin clients as well as campground clients. For the first time in the website’s 8 year history, the campgrounds numbers surged past the cabin numbers, and the cabin numbers dropped off. It was the best year our campground clients had ever had and we felt it might be the signal pointing to over construction of cabins in the area. I also took calls from the Knoxville News Sentinel asking pointed questions about the industry and I deflected them as best I could, all the time wondering if the death knell for the cabin industry was echoing through the mountains already.
But that was two years ago and the construction still goes on unabated. I can only trust that the commissioners will be as vigilant as they can be to assure any further developers submit very clear plans about what they are building so good decisions can be made about the construction. And too, we hope the residents never give up their rights to hear, learn, veto or applaud what is planned for their neighborhoods.
Bald Eagles Build Nest in Seven Islands Area of Knoxville
A very interesting story appeared in today’s Knoxville News Sentinel about a pair of eagles raising two eaglets this spring high above the waters of the French Broad River in the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge of Knox County. The public park is a first-class research and educational facility for the benefit of wildlife, and this is the first time eagles have been known to nest here.
Eagle’s nests are the largest nests built by any bird. They use sticks from the ground or from broken tree limbs to construct the huge things and the construction can take from a few days to months. They are enlarged each year they are used and they typically can be as large as 5 to 7 feet is diameter and 3 to 4 feet tall. The largest on record was 9 feet in diameter and 20 feet tall. The oldest at 34 years was estimated to weigh over 2,000 pounds!
Linda Claussen, whose family gave part of the land for the refuge, discovered eagles carrying sticks to enlarge a nest in the spring of 2004. She also saw a pair in the throes of courtship with the aerial tumbling and foot grasping they are known for. But no eaglets appeared until this past spring, so she assumes that the pair were immature and not the 4 to 6 years of age it takes before they are capable of reproducing.
Since April, when the eaglets were discovered at the refuge, they have grown out of the nest and have been seen flying up and down the river with their parents and no new pair of courting eagles has approached the nest. Obviously the refuge hopes the nest will be used again and that Knox County will grow more familiar with the birds.
Now That’s Hot!
No one will argue about the summer of ’05 being hotter than normal, but some will argue about whether they have the hottest job in the world.
Roofers and street pavers surely rank up at the top of the all time hottest jobs this year and two others swell those ranks as well……..being the engineer/fireman and his assistant on Dollywood’s Express train.
It get up to 2,800 degrees inside the boiler of the coal-fired Express, but that doesn’t stop Scott Ogle or Dirk Chandler as they shovel mounds of coal in the furnace during a regular 30 minute outing. Beads of sweat run down their smiling faces as Ogle and Chandler wave to the Dollywood visitors and blow the train’s whistle in passing.
Ogle has worked on the train for the past 17 years, working some 13 hour days. Chandler now 24, was just an 11 year old boy the first time he stood behind the gate and stared at the train. It was also the first time he met Scott Ogle and they have now worked happily together for years, in a labor of love for the Express.
String Time in the Smokies
A two-day FREE Bluegrass festival will be held in Patriot Park in Pigeon Forge from 1 pm to 7 pm August 6th and 7th. Sponsored by radio station WDVX and the city of Pigeon Forge, the Saturday show will feature a number of performers including the Burson Family, Shadow Ridge, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Greenbrier and the Grascals. Sunday’s show will highlight Paul Williams and the Victory Trio, Melonie Cannon, the Tony Rice Unit and the Del McCoury Band.
More information can be obtained from the Pigeon Forge Special Events Office at 865-429-7350.
