They all have made a difference

BY EDDIE WALKER

The foundation of the history of any community is composed of those people whose presence, initiative and labor have contributed to its formation and growth. In various ways, what each person said or did, voluntarily or perhaps paid, in just one instance or over the years, created an environment that has benefitted others. Sometimes this work was just short-term; in other instances, it may have “set the ball rolling” for a chain of events which were long-lasting.

“Community” can refer to a group of like-minded individuals or it can be a specific geographic location inhabited by groups of individuals. In either case, there have been persons who were responsible for actions and events which brought about change in the community. This has been as true in Cocke County as it has been in Phoenix, Arizona, Jamestown, Virginia or Tuskegee, Alabama.

In all locations there have sometimes been those persons whose names have been remembered because their names, their work and stories have been recorded; they have become part of our history. Safe to say, they didn’t accomplish it all by themselves. They had to have help. All involved deserve to be remembered.

First would be the pioneers, those folks who for whatever reason left the security and certainty of established areas and ventured into the wilderness of what is now Cocke County. The date attached to the first permanent settlers is 1783. A few had means of conveyance but most of them walked the distance, sometimes blazing a trail, fording the streams and perhaps crossing the mountains. They found a place to settle and a community began.

By 1787, there was the need and desire for a church and enough residents to establish one. Big Pigeon Baptist Church was organized on Dec. 6, 1787, on Big Pigeon River at the mouth of English Creek. It eventually has evolved into the Big Pigeon Primitive Baptist Church. Although not on the original site, the congregation continues to gather for worship as it has for 235 years (with the exception of the years “during the rebellion.”)

From this handful of men and women Cocke County’s religious community has developed. There have been numerous churches of at least 15 different denominations, plus the nondenominational or independent congregations, all in their own ways carrying the banner of Christ. One positive factor here is the spirit of cooperation among the churches. Even though they might not agree doctrinally, there has been little friction or animosity between denominations or churches. A congregation might squabble within itself but it seldom involved another congregation. Closely connected with religion was education.

The early ministers themselves had been educated, and either by example or direct encouragement, they were the impetus for the evolution of schools in the communities. The process was slow and selective, as it would take years before educational opportunities were available to all segments of society. Often they were both separate and unequal. Starting with Cocke County’s first organized school, Anderson Academy, in 1806, the educational history eventually reached the time when there were over 100 public schools operating here, moving forward to present time with the 12 multifunctional, technological facilities.

Even after the public schools were established, the church recognized that there was still the need for spiritual and educational instruction in certain remote areas of Cocke County, and the Presbyterians, Baptist, Methodists and Disciples of Christ founded mission schools, and when the mission schools were no more, church organizations saw that mission workers remained in the area. All communities have an economy which functions on the need of goods and services and those who provide them. While farming was the primary occupation of most early residents, soon there were those who recognized the need for items which farming alone could not produce. This was the beginning of the mercantile system. One of the first “stores” was conducted by Major Peter Fine, and his daybook, which began in 1797, shows that he was providing residents which such things as glass, kettles, ovens, cotton or wool cards, stationery, cutlery, buckles and buttons, queensware and a variety of cloth (linsey, linen, calico, corduroy, jeans, etc). Obtaining these goods required travel either from the itinerant peddlers who brought them in or the merchants themselves who trekked to areas with a larger market, sometimes as far as Charleston or Baltimore.

There were those who realized that personal knowledge and skills could provide a necessary service to the citizens and such professions as blacksmith, carpenter, cobbler and other leather work, attorney, physician, mason, gunsmith, tailor, tanner and cabinetmaker became vital functions in the communities. Each order was unique; there was no mass production.

All communities have had those who stepped forward in the name of freedom. The American Revolution was over by the time settlers moved into this area, but Cocke County citizens, both men and women, have been a part of every war and any other military conflict in which the United States has been involved.

The local folks truly have embodied the concept that gave Tennessee its nickname of “The Volunteer State.”

A veteran is one who was willing to give his life for the cause, and while most did not have to pay that price, many citizens of Cocke County have made the supreme sacrifice and unfortunately received little recognition for it. Of late, there have been those organizations who have made it a cause to see that our veterans are honored and not forgotten. The slogan “to care for them who have borne the battle” should be that of many groups not just that of the Veterans Administration. Industry is the process of taking raw materials and converting them into finished or semi-finished materials. Industrial development did not begin in Cocke County until its second century and at first was a bit sporadic. In 1884 the Scottish Carolina Land and Timber Company Ltd located here because of the county’s vast tracts of virgin timber. It was only here a couple of years, but the citizens had been given a taste of what industry could provide. SCL&T was followed by the England and Bryan Tannery in 1892, in 1900 by Speigle Lumber Company (which evolved into Rhyne Lumber Company) and then in 1905 by Stokely Brothers. These were all larger and long-lasting operations which did much good in the community. There were also smaller industries – knitting mills, bug- gy factory, handle factory – which were here only a short time.

In the post-World War ll era, Cocke County experienced a surge in industrial development with over a dozen industries locating here and bringing major changes in the lifestyles of the citizens.

Over the years, citizens have joined together into many charitable and fraternal organizations.

The first was the Masonic order which was chartered here in 1806. Each organization has had its own rules and goals, but all organizations have manifested programs of some concern for the less fortunate in society. Some of these organizations ceased to function after their goal was achieved or interest in it waned, but some, such as the Newport Kiwanis Club, which was organized in 1920, have continued, adopting new goals or adapting their older goals to the changing times. The good work of these organizations is still evident today.

Locally, there have been two excellent examples of how just a few citizens can make a difference.

In 1981, the Dead Pigeon River Society was organized by small group of citizens to protest the pol- lution of the Pigeon River which began in 1908 by Champion International in Canton, North Carolina. There were hearings here and hearings in North Carolina. Governmental agencies were brought into the fray. Tempers flared and violence was threatened, but in the end, the emissions from the Canton plant were lessened and the Pigeon River is today running clear and is now a popular recreation venue.

In 2002, a white-supremacist group announced a rally to be held in downtown Newport on Jan. 19, 2002, to protest the town’s black mayor. In just one week preceding the event, another group of citizens organized a “Diversity Festival” to be held at the same time at Cocke County High School. Both events took place without any violence. The “Diversity Festival” was an annual event for the next several years and there has not been a supremacist rally here since.

But then, when one considers all those in Cocke County who, in big and small ways, have tried to better the life of one person or the lives of the community, the number could not be counted, for all have made a difference.