Chad Bogart: The Storyteller of Sycamore Shoals

*STORY BY LYNN J. RICHARDSON AND PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

TThere is a saying, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Certainly, for Chad Bogart, Museum Curatorial Assistant at Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethton, that appears to be the case.

With 21 years of experience as a historic interpreter, guide and now as an interpretive ranger, Bogart couldn’t be happier in his professional life.

“I have always loved old things, old tools, old houses, visiting historic sites, doing things the old way or the traditional way,” he said. “I guess I just have an appreciation for the way people lived and what they had to overcome in order to survive. That grounds my passion for history. What we as modern people see as hardships and difficulties was simply everyday life for our ancestors, so just honoring them for the strong people they were is a huge part of it.”

The native Carter Countian married his wife, Anna, whom he met while both were part of the cast of Sycamore Shoals State Park’s outdoor drama. Their home is a 1920 farmhouse, complete with a graveyard and a ghost.

“My first real job was at Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site in Johnson City, where I worked as a tour guide and historic interpreter from 2002 to 2004,” Bogart said. “While in college I began at Sycamore Shoals as a Seasonal Interpretive Ranger (SIR) — a summer job giving tours of the Carter Mansion and doing historical programs at the park.

“I flipped back and forth between the SIR position in the summer and a student intern position in the off season. This allowed me to gain a lot of knowledge about local history especially the history pertaining to the early settlement and the stories we tell at the park.”

In 2010, Bogart was hired into a full-time laborer position at Sycamore Shoals where he continued to offer mainly historical programming and tours of the Carter Mansion. But in In 2015, a new position was created in Tennessee State Parks called the Museum Curatorial Assistant. This position was mainly geared toward parks with museums and historic houses, and for people who wanted to work as an interpretive ranger but did not have the desire to be a law enforcement officer. Bogart was the first Museum Curatorial Assistant hired in the TSP system. There are only five such positions in the state.

Bogart’s love of all things historic started when he was young and spending a lot of time with his grandparents, and great-aunts and uncles growing up.

“They instilled a love for all things old and the traditional way of doing things in me, so my love of gardening, cooking, preserving, music, and storytelling all came from them.”

Bogart can often be seen dressed in period clothing, literally taking on the personna of the historic figures whose stories he tells.

“Dressing in the clothing of the period helps me connect with the past,” Bogart says. “It helps me to understand how they felt and therefor makes it a bit easier to share their stories with people today.”

Taking on the role of a historic character can be difficult. Bogart says he always hopes he is “doing them justice “ in his portrayals.

“It’s easy to let our 21st century minds take control and begin to question everything about these people, but the truth is we will never be able to know exactly how they felt, what they thought, and what they experienced. But through research, reading their writings, and looking at what others wrote about them in that time gives us a small glimpse into their lives and we can build off that.”

Bogart’s job at Sycamore Shoals sees him working as a “jack of all trades,” tending to everything from the organization, maintenance and overall care of the museum and interpretive exhibits at the main park visitor center, to directing much of the historical programming that goes on there. He organizes several special events including Old Christmas at Fort Watauga, The Carter Mansion Celebration, The Siege of Fort Watauga, In - dependence on the Frontier, the Overmountain Militia Muster, Scary Stories at Fort Watauga, Death Comes to Sabine Hill, The Colonial Harvest Celebration and Christmas at the Carter Mansion. He also serves as the Colonel of the Washington County Regiment of NC Militia which is the host living history organization at Sycamore Shoals.

“We could not do what we do at the park if it were not for our volunteers, and I am extremely proud of what these dedicated individuals offer to the park and our guests. I, along with our great interpretive staff, which includes park manager Jennifer Bauer, and park rangers Jason Davis and Cory Franklin, also get to host many students from area schools during field trips to the park.

“The most interesting thing that I do is helping preserve and share our two historic house museums, The Carter Mansion and Sabine Hill, with the public. It is always a thrill to step through the doors of these historic houses where some of the most influential people in our local history lived and visited and share their story.

One of Bogart’s other favorite duties is talking with children in area schools where he discusses main historic local events. Sometimes he even brings period clothing of both settlers and Cherokee for the children to try on – a tangible way of helping them understand daily life on the 18th Century frontier.

“These people have always been my heroes,” Bogart said. “They probably did not think at the time they were anything great. They were just living and surviving. But today we realize what a tremendous task they carried out in forming a new nation. We have such a rich local history. I’ve always said a movie could be made on our story and not one thing would have to be embellished. It’s that good of a story.”

Adding to his own personal story, Bogart was thrilled when he recently learned that three individuals, who had pivotal roles in local history, are his ancestors: Mary Patton, Michael Hyder and Charles Robertson.

“I am very thankful for the opportunities afforded to me at Sycamore Shoals which have allowed me to share my passion with people from all over the world,” Bogart said, “and as a part of that, preserving the history for future genera - tions should always be at the forefront. It’s left up to good old-fashioned storytelling to get the word out that we have a proud, rich heritage that encompasses many cultures. We live in a remarkable area that has an amazing story to tell. There just must be voices to tell it and I am both proud and humbled at the same time to be one of those voices.”

“I have always loved old things, old tools, old houses, visiting historic sites, doing things the old way or the traditional way.”