Foxfire - A Christmas Serenade

Looking Back A Christmas Serenade

Kami Ahrens

In A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions, you can learn about different crafts, recipes, traditions, and more that made up holiday celebrations in this region of the mountains. One such tradition was serenading—and not the romantic singing you might be thinking of! In the mountains, serenading was a way for kids to have fun during the holidays. They would sneak up to a home after dark and make a ruckus, and would only stop when they were invited inside for a warm drink or sweet treat.

Lawton Brooks remembers of serenading:

“All the noise we made for Christmas and serenadin’ people and hootin’, we done it with a shotgun. We’d get shotgun shells, fifty cents a box. And we’d get out there and shoot them things, serenadin’ people. There’d be about 25 or 30 of us, and they’d take us in and have something for us to eat and sometimes give us a Christmas present or somethin’ or another. We’d go on to another. We’d have to go all night nearly.

[Serenading was] just gettin’ out and going around—slip up to the house and they don’t know nothing about it and you just come up shooting, ringing bells, and things. Just going around the house making the durndest noise you ever seen.”

Another community member interviewed by Foxfire, Burma Patterson, recalled that:

“We went Christmas Eve night, serenading. That was the most fun. I would look forward to that every year. And us girls, we’d take the cowbells off of the cows. And the boys would take real shotguns. They didn’t have firecrackers. They’d take shotguns, you know, to shoot all around the house. You know, everywhere we went, they treated us. They was real good to get up and open the door. They was afraid we’d do somethin’ to ‘em if they didn’t. But they’d get up and you know they served us every place we went.

You was real quiet, and everybody walked in, you didn’t go in a car, no way, you walked. And we walked in a neighborhood–we was real quiet–we’d wait til we’d get just right to the house, then go to shooting and running around the house, just a-running around the house and ringing the bells and a-shooting and a-screaming to the top of our voice! And it would be dark. After awhile–we wouldn’t be running around there long ‘til we’d see ‘em strike a match and light that lamp, open the door and say, “Y’all come in.” Then we’d quit shooting, quit ringing our bell, and they would have their cake out in little pieces for us, or an apple for every one, or an orange. Some of ‘em would have somethin’ to drink. We would be loaded. Kind of like trick-or-treating. Then we’d get through serenading, go back down the road, and…we’d build a big bonfire, and tell tales, and play Pleased or Displeased til midnight.”

Experience a mountain Christmas this December at the Foxfire Museum, with special demonstrations and activities on Saturday, December 10th. Learn more at www.foxfire.org/events

John V. Arrendale Seminoles, Mount Rushmore East, and Black Rock Mountain State Park

By Dick Cinquina

There could have been a settlement of Seminole Indians atop Black Rock Mountain as a tourist attraction. There also could have been a bust of Franklin Roosevelt gazing down over Rabun County from the heights of the 3,640 foot mountain. Instead of these, the county became home to the highest state park in Georgia, Black Rock Mountain State Park, due largely to the tireless efforts of John V. Arrendale.

Arrendale was born in 1879 in Tiger. A member of one of the largest landowning families in Rabun, he was one of the first men from the county to receive a college degree (University of Georgia School of Agriculture in 1905). During his senior year, Arrendale was assigned to write a thesis on what he intended to do after graduating. He wrote that he would return to Rabun County and work to improve the quality of life for mountain people. And so he did. the commercialization of apples. He was instrumental in establishing the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District. He also helped establish the fish hatchery on Lake Burton near Moccasin Creek and pushed for the development of the poultry industry in northeast Georgia. Arrendale served as the Rabun County Surveyor for several decades. During his tenure, he advocated for improved roads and helped secure the right-of-way for power lines bringing electricity to rural areas of the county. However, his greatest accomplishment was the formation of a park on Black Rock Mountain.

As early as 1930, investors were interested in developing Black Rock Mountain. The Clayton Tribune reported in its October 9 edition of that year that “capitalists” from Florida wanted to develop a park atop the mountain, complete with an encampment of Seminole Indians to be imported from the Sunshine State. Their plan included the construction of lodges, lakes, a golf course and a “revolving beacon that could be seen for 200 miles.” Nothing came of this scheme. Rabun County remained Seminole-free.

Mount Rushmore East

Introduced New Crops to Area As the county’s first Georgia Farm Agent, Arrendale introduced a variety of new crops to the area, including grapes and blueberries, while encouraging Starting in 1934, Arrendale began acquiring land on Black Rock with the idea of creating another Mount Rushmore. He planned to have an enormous bust of President Roosevelt carved into the side of the mountain. After being dissuaded from this curious plan, Arrendale shifted gears and instead intended to preserve Black Rock in its natural state as a park to promote Rabun County tourism. Toward this end in 1938, he deeded his 70 acres on the mountain to the county, which then deeded it to the state in 1939.

Dick Cinquina holds graduate degrees in history and journalism, making his work for the Rabun County Historical Society a natural fit for his interests. He is the retired president of Equity Market Partners, a national financial consulting firm he founded in 1981. In addition to writing monthly articles for the Georgia Mountain Laurel, Dick helped produce the Society’s new web site and is involved with the renovation of the group’s museum. After vacationing in this area for many years, he and his wife Anne moved to Rabun County in 2018 form Amelia Island, Florida.

John V. Arrendale 1878-1972 The newly graded Black Rock Mountain Road in 1931

Arrendale was unflagging in his effort to establish a park. He made countless pitches to civic clubs and local politicians in addition to lobbying the Georgia legislature. However, nothing came of his work over the ensuing decade, due partly to the more pressing business of World War II.

Georgia’s Governor Provided Needed Help Then lightning struck in 1951. During a visit to Rabun County, Governor Herman Talmadge was taken to the top of Black Rock Mountain by way of a perilous, unpaved road. Captivated by the commanding 80-mile view, the governor endorsed Arrendale’s vision for a park that would stimulate tourism. Talmadge authorized the Georgia Highway Department to replace the unpaved road up the mountain with a safer, paved road.

The paving of this access road, together with the acquisition of additional land totaling 1,000 acres, led to the establishment of Black Rock Mountain State Park in 1952. The official dedication was held on September 24, 1953. Attending the event were Governor Talmadge and about 1,500 people, who were shuttled to the mountaintop in school buses. No one went hungry at the event. The crowd was served sixty hams, 100 gallons of Brunswick stew (most likely without squirrel or other local delicacies) and 1,000 loaves of bread. The park did, indeed, prove to be a significant tourist attraction. Over 60,000 people visited Black Rock Mountain State Park in 1964. It has remained a tourist destination ever since.

Four States Visible from Black Rock Mountain

Located astride the Eastern Continental Divide, the park provides spectacular vistas of the southern Appalachians. On a clear day, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and, of course, Georgia are visible from the mountaintop. In addition to Black Rock Mountain itself, the park encompasses four other peaks over 3,000 feet in elevation.

John V. Arrendale, the parks first and foremost proponent, died in 1972 at the age of 93. At his funeral, Rev. L.B. Gibbs commemorated Arrendale by stating: “Some people looked at him as a dreamer, a visionary, but it would be helpful and inspiring to look at how many of his dreams and visions became realities, which have benefitted many people.”

Learn more about our history by becoming a member of the Rabun County Historical Society. Membership and complete information about the Society’s museum are available at www.rabunhistory. org. The newly renovated museum at 81 N. Church St. in downtown Clayton, which houses the Southeast’s largest collection of Tallulah Falls Railroad artifacts, is open Thursday-Saturday from 11 to 3. The Society is a not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, making membership dues and donations tax deductible. Visit us on Facebook and Instagram.