Dana Soehn: Welcome to the Friends of the Smokies podcast, where we'll be discussing the people and places that make great Smoky Mountains National Park so special. I'm Dana Sowen, president of the Friends of the Smokies, and I'm so glad you're here with us. Whether you're a descendant of the people who called the Smokeys home or you made your home here, this podcast is meant to be a place where we talk about all things Smokey. Just between friends. So today we're gonna start off by talking a little bit about the roots of these mountains and why we're all here. And The Smokies has such a rich story. So we're gonna start with the mountains themselves. And these ancient mountains are some of the oldest in the world. The Appalachian Mountains run from Georgia to Maine. Smoky Mountains National Park is the center of diversity for the mountains. The most rugged, the highest peaks of the Appalachians lie within Great Smoky Mountains National Park with over 16 peaks above 6,000 feet. So the elevation, the climate, the rain that this park receives all helps support this grand diversity of life. In fact, this is the most Biodiverse national park in the entire National Park Service system. There are more than 22,000 species of described life here. It simply thrives with life in the Smokies. a place that is the keeper of stories of the people who made a life here in these mountains. People have been living in the Smokies for more than four. Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies on the ancestral lands of the Cherokee people and they are still here sharing their stories and their traditions with us today. It's also a place where 200 years ago European settlers started to carve their life here in these mountains, and they built homes and cabins, churches, mills. And created communities here carved in each one of the little mountain hollows. And those people left a mark that you can still experience today through some of the historic structures that have been preserved in these mountains. Their stories are told in so many different ways, windows into the past, whenever you have the chance to experience one of those historic structures. And then about a hundred years ago, Life changed here in the mountains, and that's when industry came through the logging industry, and the mountains started to change again. In fact, 85% of the forest were owned by logging companies by the early 1900s. And so we saw a rapid decline of our forests during that time period, enough that it really led to a call to action. And influential people, many in places like Knoxville and Asheville, but also people from the mountains themselves, led a grassroots effort to try to save these mountains and what made them so special. And it led them to help create this movement that led to the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. And that's why we're all here today, is celebrating that and at Friends of the Smoke. we stand on the shoulders of those early Smokies champions who created this park, by now being the ones to help support it. And there's nobody better to help talk about what support for these mountains and our national park looks like than the founding board chair of Friends of the Smokies, Gary Wade. And we are fortunate to have him with us today to help tell us a little bit about how this organization got started. And for those of you who don't know our founding board chair, he was the Tennessee Supreme. Court Chief Justice. He also spent 10 years as the mayor of Saberville, Tennessee. And again, he is our founding board chair, American Friends. He's one of the listed as one of the most 100 influential people in the story of the Smokies and has had a highly decorated career. We're fortunate to have him at the helm of our organization. Gary, thanks for being with us today.

Kathryn Hemphill: Thank you. Anytime I can talk about the smokies, I'll be first in line.

Dana Soehn: Well Gary, you grew up in these mountains, so they're just a part of who you are. So tell us a little bit about growing up in in the shadow of the smokies.

Kathryn Hemphill: My mother's maiden name was Reagan and of course Reagan's came to Severe County. I'm eighth generation, so it was just right after the re the Revolutionary War. And Timothy Reagan settled ultimately in and around where the national park is now in the Sugarlands area. And mother's family were have been there through all of her lifetime and and for all of mine of course. But we got connected because my father and mother bought a little or built a little cabin on the middle prong of the Little Pigeon River near the entrance for the park at Greenbriar. And of course we swam, fished, hiked, and got to know the that end of the smokies. And of course it it was an emotional attachment from when I first heard that Superintendent Randy Pope wanted to organize a friends group.

Dana Soehn: Well, that is certainly one of my favorite areas of the national park in the Greenbrier area and it it's a place where you still spend a lot of time today with the next generation, I think.

Kathryn Hemphill: Yes, it wasn't so long ago that I saw the Sowan family on tubes heading down the the rapids on the on the middle prom. And so you know it pretty darn well.

Dana Soehn: Well it's I love that you still enjoy these mountains today with your your kids, your grandkids, just like you did. So hopefully it's capturing their heart as well. but you spoke a little bit just briefly about the superintendent who was here at the time in the n early nineteen nineties. So tell us what that conversation was like with the superintendent, what led to the formation of the Friends.

Kathryn Hemphill: Well, I really didn't know Randy Pope well. And of course people in Severe County knew who the superintendent was, and there are three cities in the county at that time. I was a volunteer mayor. I like to say that I became mayor by drawing the short straw and and it I loved it. I got a 10-year lesson in people and and during my early years they were that office just gave me an opportunity to grow and as as a lawyer and and make relationships which are essential to any nonprofit. But back to Randy sometime around nineteen ninety I got a call from Randy. that call came about because of a a meeting that Randy had had with Tom Trotter when we were in had reached 40 years old, Tom Trotter, who I went to school with from fifth grade on, decided that at that age we ought to hike all of the trails in the smokies. And one of the pivotal trips we took was to Mount Camera, even though on the east side of the park, I had never been there before. And my brother and I, my brother Dwight, who was physician in Knoxville at time, wanted to see Mount Camera. He planned the trip. We went up there. We were amazed at the at what we found, a beautiful fire tower. and and i because i was hiking more regularly with tommy at the time tommy and architect in gallenberg i wanted him to see it we got there right at lunchtime and a park ranger was there as tommy recalls he was packing so dana you'll have to explain why somebody in the park service would be packing. but that got our attention. We had a nice conversation with him. We had seen the graffiti that was on the walls of the fire tower and and it was not in good condition. And Tommy, the architect, said, Well, this is a unique fire tower. It's the first one I've ever seen east of the Mississippi River. It was a western style, and certainly that turned out to be true. Tommy asked the park ranger to tell the superintendent that that fire tower needed attention. Well, he got a call the next day. I'll make this short. he complained and offered to do the plans for the resurrection of the fire tower. And Randy says, Hey, we don't have the money for. to pay for it. the Park Service in general is strapped and and we just don't have the dollars. And Tommy said, don't worry, I'll get Gary Wade to raise the money necessary for that. So that's how Randy and I started a dialogue that lasted a couple of years before he called people from North Carolina good citizens and and from good citizens from the Knoxville area primarily to come and meet and agree to organize Friends with the Smokies. I like to say I was the last to arrive, therefore I earned the position of chair.

Dana Soehn: Well, I've heard stories that Well, I've also remember stories about how you started raising those first dollars and it wasn't through a bake sell, it was through you making some very direct phone calls to some friends as I recall.

Kathryn Hemphill: Well, yes, but I got a lot of help, Natalie Haslum and being chief among them and she and the Haslam family had a great deal of influence in the Knoxville area, which is really critical to support because Knoxville founders like Colonel Chapman, Ann and Willis Davis. had been key in persuading the two states and national government to recognize our park as a national park. So that with that history and with Natalie's influence, we called everybody that we could think of, and in retrospect it was probably the most inefficient way to raise the money, the capital we needed to to start the Friends. We decided that $150,000 would be essential for us to to hire a staff. And at that time a Methodist minister by the name of Charles Maynard gave me a call and said, I'd like to talk to you about assisting with with the organization. We had no employees but we got 151 people to donate a thousand dollars and by September of of of that following year we hired Charles to to be our first executive director as we called at that time we called the the CDO and Charles was a master at at speaking and very knowledgeable about the park. he had photographed waterfalls, he had hiked all the trails, and he was a lover of the of of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. And he stayed with us for a time. But that first meeting was a critical point and we had some excellent people reputation wise. I'll talk to about the Tennessee side primarily because I knew or knew of everyone from that side. Lindsay Young, of course, who was a treasure, and Judy Morton the Tennessee side was well represented. Because Asheville is tied more to the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was a little bit harder nut to crack there. But Steve Woody was the leader of the of the group coming out of North Carolina and he had a strong history with the his family's connection to the park. Very knowledgeable and accomplished speaker. It was really helpful for Steve to to help rally the the crew in North Carolina. But gotta mention Bob Miller in addition to Randy Pope. I called him the voice of the Smokies, very articulate, strong voice. he would have been great in communications just because of his quick wit and his ease with the English language. but Bob, I called him the scribe because he took the notes and and we decided to to incorporate in North Carolina to encourage people in that area to reconnect with the smokies. Of course North Carolina and Tennessee had a strong hand in in providing the founding dollars. But each of those states raised a couple of million dollars and private donations took us on the way and then of course the famous Rockefeller gift maxed the five million dollars that private sector and the two states had put together and the rest is history. By nineteen thirty-four the park opened and and then in nineteen forty, just before Pearl Harbor was was bomb bombed, FDR made his second trip to the smoke. He's unbelievable when you think about it. He came in thirty-six and then came back in nineteen forty and despite his disability was a huge proponent of the park and it's amazing when I think about the fact that he took the time to come to the state of Tennessee and the state of North Carolina to to dedicate the park September second, nineteen forty. So

Dana Soehn: Well, I love that continuation of support that again came from those early Smokies champions and they were charged to raise ten million dollars. at that time, which is about a hundred and eighty million dollars in today's money, and they did it in record time. They did it in less than ten years, which is just phenomenal to me. And it was in a way that everybody got to participate from the school children and the pennies to the large gifts like the Rockefellers. And I think that's the energy that is continuing today with Friends of the Smokies through you

Kathryn Hemphill: These dollars, yeah.

Dana Soehn: mentioned some of those founding, you know, philanthropic giants that have been a part of the Friend like Lindsay Young and the Haslums. It's also the people that drop in a dollar at our donation boxes. And those are all funding really important projects. What are some of the projects that we've been able to support that are some of your favorites?

Kathryn Hemphill: Well, the first will always be my favorite because raising forty thousand dollars to restore the Mount Camera Fire Tower was first order of business and we got a lot of help along the way. People love the park. And so many in the past had actually invested in the park, whether it was a nickel or dime from school children or a more generous gift from phil philanthropists in the area, you know that's a buy-in that that we can't replace. And in the same way, although I said it was probably the least efficient way to raise $150,000. We had a hundred and fifty people back in nineteen ninety-three and nineteen ninety-four make a a gift looking back, not that substantial a gift, but even a small gift like that connects people with the park. And the Smoky's history has always been about connecting the people of this area with this national treasure.

Dana Soehn: Well, we had a great beginning with with you and those founding board members and the gifts that Charles Maynard shared. but then a a big gift and bringing the heart of the people and the heart of the Smokies was the leadership of this organization by Jim Hart. And share with us a little bit about his influence.

Kathryn Hemphill: Absolutely. Well, when Charles left, and I'm sorry that I can't remember the year, it was probably late nineties. We went on a search. And one of the volunteer directors that that we had was Jack Williams, who was at that time vice president of the University of Tennessee, and then later the vice president of the entire system at the University of Tennessee. And he said, Gary, do you know Jim Hart? And and I said, No. and Jack says, you know, the guy that started s Straight from the Heart and the Heartland series on the most popular television organization in Knoxville. And he had sold the station along with his s sister after his parents really just before his parents had died, and then connected with scripps and when his parents became quite old, they but had health problems. Jim left his plus job with scripts, came back to Knoxville to take care of him, which just shows what a heart this man had. long story short, our board hired Jim Hart to take over and he really professionalized the organization. today if People believe that Friends of the Smokies is a successful organization. I would point to the work of Jim Hart as being the reason for that. And of course, Dana, you had the privilege and honor of working with Jim directly while you were still with the Park Service, and then ultimately seeking his advice when you were named the president of the organization.

Dana Soehn: You know, Jim brought so much to this organization and helping us raise more support so that we can give more support to our national park. Because as America's most visited national park, the needs are many. And we've been doing that now for more than 30 years, which is remarkable. And one of the gifts Jim Hart and the board brought was the gift of the license plate program. That's another way that everybody can participate if you live in. Tennessee or North Carolina and I guess you have a license plate on your car.

Kathryn Hemphill: I've always had a friend of the smoky's license plate. I probably should have utilized my judicial plate more because when I'm speeding down the highway, law enforcement officers tend to yield to a judicial plate and and so I paid the price a couple of times for my travels between Knoxville is a part of my work, Nashville, Jackson, and Memphis. But anyway, yes, Jim had a hand in it and had it grow. Charles was very important in getting Tennessee to agree to the allow us to have a license plate. And we had a state senator, Claybo from Blunt County. also a lover of the park, who sponsored sponsored that in the Senate. So it sailed right through with with Tennessee and Bill Club Claybow had a lot of clout at that time. So I give him primary credit for steering that. authorization through. It was a little bit tougher nut over in North Carolina by the time Jim was there, we were working on that and and they had the state motto first in flight at that time on their license plates and persuading them to honor their national park in the western part of their state was a little bit tougher nut to crack. But ultimately it did. And both states have people who love the park that buy those plates every year. So that's been a blessing to the organization.

Dana Soehn: Well, it's one of the primary ways people can support friends. And if you live in Tennessee and North Carolina, we hope you would enjoy having a bear on your plate. It shows your support and it's the gift that keeps giving because from each one of those plates annually we're gonna receive twenty to thirty dollars depending on which state you're in, that goes directly back in to helping us preserve and protect the park through our support. And some of the other ways we earn monies, again, those donation boxes, we also have some events where people can come and spend time with us and spend some money at some of our auctions. And Gary, I've heard stories about how you and Jim Hart and others started some of those events where you were maybe selling things off of somebody's walls in their own home.

Kathryn Hemphill: yes, for a time the Earl and Margaret Warsham, who have about three thousand acres on on top of Cove Mountain and and commute to Gatlinburg, they offered their home for some fundraising efforts. And yes, indeed, once when the auctioneer didn't show up. I was the last man standing, and we were doing so well and had such a generous crowd. Earl and Margan, both of whom were outdoors people and fishermen and hunters. they had a beautiful boar hanging on their wall. It's hard to say that a boar is beautiful, but it was a Russian boar that was black and and an outstanding piece and so I pulled it off the wall without their knowledge and came out to sell it and they got a big laugh out of it and ended up making the highest bid so so they bought that boar twice. and but I've got to mention the Jim Ogle and his family that have sponsored the barn party for low these many years and what twenty-five now Dana you know better than I okay very good and then and then Dan and Deaner Matthews both of whom have served on the board and and Dan our father Dan as we call him was icon in the Church of England and Episcopal churches and

Dana Soehn: Yeah, I think we're up to twenty eight, twenty eight years.

Kathryn Hemphill: They both served on the board. They represented North Carolina and Dan followed me. I served as chair through two thousand six. Mark Williams, an attorney in Knoxville that worked in Lindsay's office, served as chair for two years, a busy lawyer. So he was glad when Dan agreed to become our chair around two thousand and eight. And he and Jim Hart were the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid of of the Friends of the Smokies, they made things happen. And Jim this low key way of of selling the park, so to speak, and then Dan, who was a master at storytelling and connecting the park with the hearts and minds of people in our area.

Dana Soehn: Lot of really special people who help us guide the Friends of the Smokies and come up with innovative ways to raise support that our part desperately needs. more than ever, I would say. And and Gary, you were a big part of helping the friends keep our park open, fully, and staffed during the longest ever government shutdown and and tell us why that was important to you.

Kathryn Hemphill: Well well first I'd be remiss if I did not mention the fact that Dan and Deaner, Deaner who was the innkeeper at the SWAG Country Inn, we'll call it. What a beautiful place. Adjacent to the park on Hemphill Knob and separated from the their quarters and the kitchen. only by a few feet. But they offered their facility to to have fundraisers in North Carolina. And and those were just so important. Now 30 years plus we've been doing that and it helped connect us with some of the those in the with philanthropic hearts that did not mind giving significant. gifts for the privilege of being a part of that of that annual resort retreat. But and back to your last question which like old persons like me have long forgotten what was your question

Dana Soehn: well Reflecting on the ongoing needs that our park desperately needs that have really just grown over time, over the 30 years you've been involved with friends. the needs haven't gotten less. Then the needs have grown to the point where this year I think we made a commitment to support the park to the tune of four point six million dollars. but sometimes even unexpected needs arise and and one important one was last fall. during the longest ever government shutdown when when you helped lead efforts to bring together the friends in the park communities to help make sure our park stayed open and staffed during that shutdown.

Kathryn Hemphill: Well, in the spirit of Friends in High Places, we were fortunate to have a strong connection with Larry Waters over the years. Larry is just finishing his forty-eighth year as county executive slash county mayor of Severe County. And over that period of time has made s really important political connections that have worked out in our favor. And a few years ago when we had a short shutdown, Larry and I discussed the fact that in October we really needed to keep the park open to the people. especially for Severe County, the the park is vital to our economy. And every business in the county is either directly or indirectly. benefited by the by all of the traffic that comes into the main entrance of the park. So Larry and I think it was just a three or four day shutdown as it turned out, but Larry with his political connections called the state, both states, and got governmental bodies to fill the gap, so to speak, when when we needed to keep the park open. And then the government settled it in a short period of time. I my guess is that was around 2016. And then last fall, when this was not a banner year for tourism in Severe County, Larry came to the forefront again, called the same people, and this time the friends contributed as we did earlier. significantly and in order to keep our employees during that shutdown. And that just shows how important it is to to the smokies to have a support group like its friends. And of course other parks throughout the nation started friends groups before ours and we're pretty pretty accomplished at providing help at Yosemite or Yellowstone w when they needed it, just like we did throughout this last 35 years. So it's it's been a an honor and a blessing for those of us who have given time and treasure to the to keep our mountains accessible to the people and and now Dana, you were the successor to Jim primarily. And and we have have Sharon as is our new board chair. J Dan retired after he started approaching ninety, so so it was it was time to go to the youth movement and Sharon Price, of course, is the owner of the trust company in Knoxville and a philanthropist of the first order. And she's been a great supporter for years and years and of the natural successor to Jim and his work.

Dana Soehn: Well, it's a it's an honor for me to be able to to serve on such a great organization with with great leadership. And Gary, I love your deep connection to the park that continues today. And so my last question for you would be if you would describe for us a perfect day for you and the Smokeys and what that would look like.

Kathryn Hemphill: Well, throughout the nineties I continued to hike a whole lot. but between being on the Supreme Court and and a a judge for 19 years before that, time constraints cut out a lot of my parking and my my being able to to hike in the park. But a couple of years ago Sandy and I had a big day. Sandy and I will have been married for fifty five years August twenty first. she will tell you it hasn't been easy for her, been a delight for me. But the we did a hike to through Grotto Falls all the way up to Trillium Gap and then out to the point. we went to Brushee Mountain along the way, and one of our supporters th throughout has been Lamar Alexander. And of course a very influential United States Senator and Governor prior to that. He was one of those who sent us a thousand dollars about way back when, as did Governor Ned McCorder at the time, and later on Phil Bredison, So we ran into Lamar's sister along the hike and had a great conversation. what an opportunity to have a visit with her and get to know her and continuing my relationship with Lamard. so we've just been very fortunate that perfect the reason I mentioned that trip was that that was a perfect day. We started off by dedicating the trail which had been repaired with Friends of the Smoky's funds all all the way up to Grotto Falls and beyond. And then got to see the fruits of our efforts and then the beautiful view we got at Brushy Mountain and the people we met along the way were a real delight. So I've described that as my perfect day. And And we're not too feeble to to do that again one day. So when I get home tonight I'll remind Sandy that she is still Sprite and she can make that hike easily. Now f for for me it's harder coming down than going up. that's a function of arthritic knees, I'm afraid then. I got I got a pair, yes.

Dana Soehn: I love that it ties it together. That's what those hiking poles are for. Yeah. Well, Gary, that's a I love that because it ties together perfectly. the importance of people as a part of these mountains and the places and you brought them together in such a powerful way on that hike and also on that that fateful hike that you and Tom Trotter took more than 30 years ago today. so thank you, Gary, for all you've done.

Kathryn Hemphill: Yeah. Dana, I've gotta say this. Thank you, but thank you. you've been connected since with the Friends of the Smoky since you became the successor to Bob Miller and and the representative who always joined the park superintendent at our meetings. And it was no coincidence that we went after you to be a a part of our organization. And let me just say this. The the staff that first Jim Hart built and that you have developed during your three year tenure with the organization is just a pleasure to work with. They all have their hearts and minds in the right place. They love the park. They're very supportive of the organization and make sacrifices of their own in order to keep us successful. So thank you. And you you are required, Dana, to stay on board. No retirement in your future. you still have color in your hair and and we believe that means you're gonna be with us a long time.

Dana Soehn: Ha ha. Mm-hmm. Well thank you, Gary. this is a mighty team of twelve and they are dedicated and passionate for our mission and it's pretty simple. We're here to raise friends and funds to support this park and we couldn't do it without you. So thank you and thank you for being with us.

Kathryn Hemphill: Right. Well, I'm glad to be here and I think I need to slip over to Nan Jones' office to give her a check for whatever is coming next. Thanks so much.

Dana Soehn: Thank you, Gary. And everybody watching or listening, thank you for joining our Friends of the Smokies podcast where we'll be discussing the stories and places that make the Smokey's special throughout the year, just between friends. And so until next time, follow us on Facebook or on Instagram or go to our website and sign up for our newsletter to learn more about the projects and programs that your donor dollars are supporting. And if you have ideas for That you'd like us to talk about on our podcast, let us know. We hope to take you behind the scenes to show you your donor dollars at work. So until next time, the Smokies have a way of becoming a part of your story. And thank you for letting friends become a part of yours.