Maeburl Tincher
Some children enjoy swings sets and merry-go-rounds in the backyard of their city homes.
As mountain children in the 1940s and 50s, we were privileged with the opportunity to explore the majestic forests surrounding our establishments and create our own brand of wonderland.
Where Jutts Creek Road ends and the woods begin there is a place known as “The Bars” – named for the sliding, pole-gate daddy built to guard the entrance to an area where he would let his cattle roam freely in the forested pastures.
As children, we would venture past The Bars, guided by the outline of obsolete logging roads. Only a short distance into the woods, we would come upon the remnants of long-abandoned homesteads named after these who settled them prior to the forest service taking it over. There were the Jordan, Lewis and Woodie fields, and Holloway Cove.
We would spend our time constructing playhouses and roaming the meadows to gather blackberries, hazelnuts, apples and persimmons, along with the materials necessary to construct the thatch roof of our makeshift shelter. Adjacent to woods was the stream which carried the same name as the road. We would dam up the water and create our own mountain swimming pool. A limb across the creek offered itself as a diving board.
Not being a good judge of depth, I once dove headfirst into a knee-deep pool. Half-addled, I emerged with a headband of grit and sand only to see my friend Junie doubled over on the bank, belly laughing at my stunned appearance.
In the level places, we would pick out a young sturdy tree – then using daddy’s hatchet – we would chop it down to the size we needed and make homemade stilts. Sometimes, we would use flexible hickory poles – which gave us the added thrill of weaving back and forth through the air, high above the ground.
I’m sure town children had their own brand of magic, but even Alice in Wonderland could not have matched the epic adventures we got to experience growing up in the history and mystery of the Smoky Mountains.
Maeburl Tincher writes a monthly column for The Graham Star. She is a native of the Jack Branch community.