We had one of the best trips to Cades Cove we have ever had. We stopped at the Primitive Baptist Chursh on our loop tour. We met a man that was born in Cades Cove and lived there until he was 13 years old. He was born in 1919. The mans name was Odis Clinton Abbott. Everyone called him Clinton until he went away to WWII and they asked for his first name and middle initial. Then, he started using Odis. His family owned 69 acres. they received $5,200.00 for their land. He told us the best book to read about their displacement was a book by Durwood Dunn “The Life and Death of a Southern Appalachian Community”. His family moved just outside the cove not far away when they were displaced by the government. He said he felt that the government was not fair in their dealings with the Cade’s Cove residents. But, he thought the government thought they were being fair. He now has 3 kids and 6 grandchildren.
When we returned to our cabin, my sister started reading a book called “Mounain Home”. There he was as a child on page 48. He was pulling his little sister in a wagon. We found a you tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1OljJjM3H8 about a tour in Cades Cove and there he was talking about the Cove. We all thought that it was really neat. How awesome would it be if you could get a tour of Cades Cove from someone who actually lived there. He said the valley had a lot less trees when he lived there. There were small trees on the outskirts of the valley, but nothing like you see today.
We also found information on the descendants of Elmer and Ella Tipton Abbott in various books and on the internet. We were very thankful to this gentleman for speaking to us. His tales and mannerisms were fascinating.
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