Cataloochee Reunion

 Cataloochee Valley is deep in the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It is very close to where I grew up and a place where some of my ancestors lived prior to the formation of the National Park in 1934.  In fact, my Uncle Gudger’s childhood home is now the National Park Visitor Center for the valley.

Every August since 1934 (with the exception of COVID) descendants of those pioneer residents gather on the second Sunday of the month at the old Palmer Chapel Methodist Church for a reunion.

Trish and I were there this past Sunday and I spoke at the church service for the third time.  The reunion is presided over by Steve Woody, whose paternal ancestors all came from the valley.  My father worked at the bank for Steve’s father, Mr. Jonathan Woody for thirty years.

The church does not begin to hold everyone and many people are at the windows or just visiting outside waiting for the eating to start.

After the big dinner in the grounds, people scatter to visit the homesites of their ancestors.  Many of them bring empty milk jugs so they can carry home water from the spring that hydrated their ancestors.  

We will be back next year to keep preserving the stories of this place and, most importantly, the people who settled and lived here.