Butler, TN "The Town That Wouldn't Drown" Part II

Continued.....

So in 1999 when a group of alumni from the Watauga Academy began to talk about building a museum to keep the memories of Butler alive, there was a great deal of interest.  The Butler Ruritan, led by Larry Shoun of Shoun’s Lumberyard, offered some of the land which had been donated to the Ruritan by Babe Curtis on which to build the museum. Shoun Lumber donated all the lumber which was used to build the museum and the inmates from the Northeast Correctional Center provided the labor. 

Today the Museum stands as a testament to the dedication of the Watauga Alumni Association, the Butler Ruritan, the NECC and Shoun Lumber to preserve the past while looking forward to making more memories for the present citizens of Butler.

Oh, what happened to Carderview?  Well, the citizens of Butler didn’t keep that name for very long.  In fact, the only use of the name today is as the name of the water company serving Butler.

Before the Tennessee Valley Authority built the world's largest earthen dam, Butler was the hub of life in the Watauga River Valley.  Native Americans, Daniel Boone, Frontiersmen, Scots and Irish - all found the lush valley, hardwood forests and softer climate hard to leave.

Mostly passed by during the Civil War, Butler and the surrounding communities of Fish Springs, Poga, Little Milligan, etc. have kept to "the old ways", living off the land to a great extent, taking care of family, being involved in their churches and welcoming strangers as friends.

In 1949 the dam began generating power. Today the TVA provides power for over 9 million customers through its series of over 34 lakes and dams. 

Watauga Dam is 318 feet high and extends 900 feet across the Watauga River. t more than 1,900 feet above sea level, Watauga holds the distinction of being the highest reservoir in the Tennessee River system. The reservoir is managed for many uses, including flood damage reduction, power generation, water quality, and aquatic ecology.

Surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and flanked by the Appalachian Mountains, Watauga Lake is one of the most scenic in the Tennessee River watershed. It offers access to the Appalachian Trail. Below Watauga Dam is a wildlife observation area where visitors have a chance to view unique species of waterfowl.

Watauga Lake is also a great place to fish, swim, and paddleboard.  Bring your boat, or rent one from one of the marinas and explore the feeder streams and coves which surround the lake.  There are also many homes to rent on the lake including the www.houseonwataugalake.com right in Butler.  This is a view from the Blue Bedroom!~

Butler, Tennessee "The Town That Wouldn't Drown"

Butler, TN may not be well-known to the outside world, or even to our neighbors on Johnson City or Boone, NC, but it’s history is one which illustrates many of the changes which have occurred as the land west of the Allegany Mountains was settled.

History comes alive at the Butler Museum in Butler, TN.  Built in 2000 out of native lumber, the Museum is a replica of the train depot which once brought settlers and speculators to the mountains. The Museum is dedicated to telling the story of the communities along the Watauga River Valley and Butler, TN “The Town That Wouldn’t Drown”.

Founded by the last graduating class of Watauga Academy in Butler, TN, Shoun's Lumber Company, the Butler Ruritan, and built by the inmates of the Northeast Correctional Facility, the Museum recounts 200 years of life in the mountains of northeast Tennessee.

From the time of Daniel Boone there had been a settlement at the headwaters of the Watauga River.  Legend has it that while traveling on his way to Kentucky, Boone stopped next to the river in a lush pasture.  Here he turned his faithful horse, Roan, loose to live out his days in comfort.  There was plenty of fresh mountain water and lush green grass for grazing so Boone knew Roan would comfortable in his last days.

 

On his return two years later, stopping at the same peaceful riverside site, he saw a fat glossy horse in the distance.  Immediately on sensing his presence, the horse ran up to Boone.  Overjoyed to see his faithful companion so healthy and welcoming of his appearance, Boone took his saddle from the horse he had been riding, saddled Roan and over the mountains they went reaching home in quick time.

In the following years, settlers arrived creating homes, farms and businesses along the fertile river valley.  Soon it was large enough for a grist mill and the town become known as Smith’s Mill.  Next came a small general store where farmers could purchase those items they couldn’t raise themselves.

In 1860 a secondary school was organized.  Named Aenon Seminary it soon had borders from the surrounding area as well as local students.  Boarders, including some of the teachers, were housed with local residents during the school year. The school grew and soon built their own brick building which was finished in the spring of 1886.  It became known as Holly Springs College. 

But war arrived in the mountains.  Although some of the settlers had slaves, most of them sided with the Union.  Times were uneasy for everyone during those war years.  No battles were fought in the area, but many of the men did leave to join one side or the other.

As the new century began, the railroad finally arrived in Butler and in 1902 Holly Springs College because Holly Springs Institute and then in 1906 it became the Watauga Academy.  From then until the last class in 1948, Watauga Academy was a leading educational establishment in Northeastern Tennessee.  Until its students were transferred to Hampton or Mountain City schools, the Academy had day and boarding students.  Today, the local students of Butler can choose to attend the schools in Carter or Johnson County because Butler straddles the county line.

 “New Butler” was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority during the Roosevelt Administration.  Started in the late 1940’s, once again war interrupted the history of Butler.  But as soon as the war was over, in 1945 the TVA began to buy up the farms and homesteads of families living in Butler along the Watauga River.  The TVA’s idea was to control flooding, to bring electricity to the mountains and as it turned out, to create one of the best recreational lakes in Tennessee! The dam was completed and the gates were closed in December, 1948.  Soon Butler was just memories and photographs.  When completed the dam was the largest earthen dam in the world.  Today it is the third largest as there are two larger ones in China along the Yellow River.

But it disrupted the lives of over 700 families who had lived along the river for generations.  Houses were moved, businesses were closed down, families were split with the older members having to leave the area when the younger members were unable to find jobs.  Some were moved to a tract of land which the TVA had bought and called Carderview.  Some bought land with the money they received from the TVA for their homes and moved into the hills.  Others just gathered their belongings and moved away.  But all kept alive the memories of Butler.

To Be Continued

A Road Trip

Google said it would take me 7.5 hours to get from Tennessee to Lancaster, PA so I decided I could drive up Friday, watch my granddaughter, Miss Sway, compete in a gymnastics meet on Saturday, return home right after the meet and I would be in time on Sunday to take care of serving breakfast to guests at the Iron Mountain Inn where I am the Innkeeper.

After making arrangements to have my assistant come, lay a trail of red rose petals to the guest's room and prepare breakfast the next morning, I contacted the guest and explained the situation.  He was most gracious and said he looked forward to seeing me on Sunday.

I packed a toothbrush and change of underwear and headed north via I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley (bit of a boring drive), through West Virginia, then Maryland and finally into Pennsylvania.  A right turn at exit 59 onto 581 about an hour from the Marriott Hotel and convention center where the Red Rose Invitational meet was to be held..

I left home at 8:30 expecting to be in Lancaster and the hotel by 4:00.  But something went wrong…either I misread Google’s directions and time, or Google can’t map. Of course, we all know Google has the best maps in the world, but the time of a trip…hummm.

Anyway, I finally arrived at the Iron Hill Brewing Company restaurant just across from Franklin and Marshall College at 6:30 in time to meet my daughter and granddaughter for dinner.

I understand there are dorms above the brewery!  Now wouldn’t that be a good place to live during your college years!  I did have to stop and ask a mounted policeman for the final 10 minutes drive since my TomTom confused me…not for the first time! And I’d given up on Google.

A lovely dinner of mussels (which we don’t serve often in the mountains of East Tennessee), checking out various cell phones (do I want an Iphone 4 or 5) and generally catching up. 

Although there was a pool at the hotel, no swimming before a meet!  So it would just have to wait until after the meet the next afternoon. Then it was time for an early bedtime for one and all to be rested for the meet the next day.

Preparing Miss Sway's very long hair for the competition is quite a procedure!  Luckily her mom is a hairdresser so is prepared with lots of hair pins, hair spray and the skills needed to wind three thick strands of hair into a beautiful bun on back of Sway's head.  A hair net and scrunchy finished the job.  Then it was time to put on the competition leotard and head down to breakfast.  Be CAREFUL not to spill anything on the leo!

Meeting some other team members a lively start to the day helped calm any nerves which might be setting up butterflies.  The meet started at noon, but the team members were due at warmup by 11:15.  Running, stretching, finalizing skills - then the meet began.  Uneven bars were the first event and Sway did a fabulous routine - one of the best she has ever one!  What a great way to start!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=522047504512403&set=a.422495281134293.111124.124045604312597&type=1&theater

To be continued

Winter's Day and Thoughts on Breakfast

The sun shooting rays through the clouds this morning  highlighted the Iron Mountains' brush cut ridge.  4000 feet means the snow will stay up there even as it begins to melt here at the Iron Mountain Inn about 1400 feet below.  But as I write this the sun is high in the sky, snow is dripping from the gutters and it's a gorgeous day.

But another storm is due in tomorrow night into Wednesday.  I guess I'd better check my pantry, but the last time I looked I could live up here for a month or more and not worry about running out of food.  I might end up eating some strange combinations, but that would get rid of some of those "that recipe sounds interesting" items which were bought and maybe never used.  Or maybe used part of the spice or ingredient or one time use pan and the end result wasn't as good as the anticipation so never want to make THAT recipe again!

I love reading cookbooks and dreaming about all the wonderful things I'm going to prepare.  But somehow, the dreaming is about all that happens except for breakfast items.  Now there I'm a champ!  I know, I could perfect some special Iron Mountain Inn recipes (like our chocolate chip cookies) and serve them over and over, but I'd get bored cooking the same things all the time.  And then there are the many repeat customers who want to try something new.

One of my favorite cookbooks is from the 1940's when ingredients were in short supply.  People had to make do or do without and there were some things you didn't want to "do without"!  So there is the cookbook, "How to Cook a Wolf" by M.F.K. Fisher.  Great fun just to read the chapter titles!  My mother used this book during "the War" and I don't remember feeling I was missing something.

Now that I have the bed and breakfast, I'm looking for unique breakfast items, especially for the customers who stay for a week or more and want to enjoy a full breakfast each morning.  Then I really get creative!  Which I enjoy because it gives me an excuse to check into the cookbooks looking at the beautiful pictures and reading the ingredients and spices--most of which I have at this point!  But there is still the time element and I do like to sleep in whenever possible!  So my choices run to the following:

A. Need something which is easy to prepare at the last minute
B. Need something that can be prepared the night before, put into the oven, turn on the timer and then I can
     really sleep in a little longer!
C. Need to alternate ingredients - can't serve an egg dish every morning, nor pancakes every morning.  And
     then there are the sides...bacon, Canadian bacon, sausage patties, link sausage, Vienna sausage, turkey
     rolls - all good ideas depending on what the main course is.
D. Need to get to bed no later than 9:30!

But right now it's time to squeeze the oranges for nice fresh juice tomorrow.  I've got 10 lbs of navel oranges and they are making wonderful juice!





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Opera in the Mountains

The International Tenors (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSxh5xS5UaI) came to Heritage Hall in Mountain City, TN this evening and although the crowd was sparse...they were enthusiastic!  And those who came were treated to a fine evening of good music, some memories from long long ago and a great addition to the entertainment of Johnson County.

The three tenors who are from Canada combined videos of Italian, French and German scenery while they sang selections from popular operas of those countries.  O Sole Mia was also included...as were songs from famous tenors who have passed on.  These were shown in videos of the tenors performing and included some biographical facts.    The audience was amazed at how young Caruso and Lana were when they died.

This was a nice interlude between songs, and I thought the International Tenors were very brave to show videos of the famous tenors singing their signature arias and then follow the video with a live rendition of the songs.

Some of the historic tenors included Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Lucianno Pavorati and who would-a thought Elvis!  He was a tenor after all.

Many years ago on my birthday in June, my godfather took me to Radio City Music Hall to see the show and movie.  In those days, there were continuous performances so you might come in at the middle of the show or movie and then just wait till it rolled around again.  We always sat in the second balcony, center.  This year, as we opened the doors to our seats, Mario Lanza started singing Happy Birthday directly to me!  My godfather always said he planned it that way!  After the show, we always went to Schrafts for ice cream.
Memories...wonderful and beautiful watercolors in the mind.

A few Broadway songs were thrown in for a light motif - of course, those which were song by tenors!  My Fair Lady introduced On The Street Where She Lives and Sound of Music was Eidelweis with audience participation.

There is a full schedule of events at Heritage Hall in the coming months.  Productions from Barter Theatre, just over the state line in Abingdon, VA to the local high school theater group doing a murder mystery musical, Musical Comedy Murders of the 40's!  There is some amazing talent here in the mountains, not only Cody Norris and his Watauga Mountain Boys.  Cody's shows always sell out!  It'll be May 25th this year if you think you might like to try and come I suggest calling for tickets right away.

For more information on shows at Heritage Hall check their website: heritagehalltheatre.org.  And then check for a room at the Iron Mountain Inn B&B just down the road from the theater on their website: www.ironmountaininn.com