thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

NEWFOUND GAP — They came to honor the past but also to look to the future.

Federal, state and local leaders as well as about 2,000 community members turned out Wednesday for the last official event to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The ceremony was held at Newfound Gap to remember the dedication of the Park in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The event was held at the Rockefeller Memorial that straddles the Tennessee/North Carolina boundary.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., looked to the future of the Park in his comments.

"So what should we hope for as we look to the 100th anniversary?" Alexander said. "I hope we have finished cleaning the air so that, instead of seeing smog, we can always see the blue haze about which the Cherokee sang; and that we will have done more to celebrate the way of life of families who lived here; that we will have become better students of the remarkable environmental diversity here -- more different kinds of trees than in all of Europe, new species discovered every year; that we do a better jobs of creating picturesque entrances and encouraging conservation easements along the park boundaries to protect the wildlife and the magnificent views. And I hope there are more private contributions and federal dollars to protect and maintain one of the dozen most visited places in the world."

Alexander's fellow U.S. lawmakers all waxed poetic about the Park.

"I love these mountains," said U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. "It is very, very fitting that one of God's most beautiful worldly creations is a tribute... to the people of North Carolina and Tennessee."

"I realize these mountains speak best for themselves," said U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. "Out of these mountains came a culture that not only shaped two great states, but shaped this country -- a culture of individual ruggedness, something that has made our country great."

"Make no mistake, you are as close to heaven as you'll ever get while you're on earth," said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Born in Cades Cove

Among the members of the public who attended the event was Leslie Sparks, who was born in Cades Cove.

"My dad and mother sold land to the Park in 1934," he said. "My dad stayed on and leased a 400-acre farm until 1960. I was 22 years old when we moved out."

Sparks said his life in the cove was one without many modern conveniences.

"Well, we didn't know any better -- we had no plumbing, no electricity ... years later, we got a kerosene refrigerator, so we could bring ice water out in the fields. We thought we were really doing well."

Another guest at the ceremony was Fuller C. Pierce, 91, who was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

"I was in from 1935 to 1939," he said. "I worked in three states -- North Carolina, Tennessee, and Oregon."

During his time working in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pierce cleared underbrush.

"It was a good job," he said. "We did a lot of clearing out underbrush."

Nine-year-old Joshua Rutherford, who attends Ritta Elementary in Knoxville, skipped school to attend the event.

"It was really fun, especially with the Indian blessing," he said.

Joshua did leave with a note to his teacher, asking to excuse his absence, signed by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Sen. Alexander and others.

"We're kind of lobbying our folks to say this kids needs to be excused," his father, Robert Rutherford, said.

Parton wows crowd

Beloved entertainer Dolly Parton drew the most applause from the crowd during her comments. She has served as the official 75th Anniversary Ambassador for the Park.

"Out of all the things I have been asked to do over the years, being the Ambassador for Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most special," she said. "I've done my best to share my love of the mountains while protecting them for the future. Even though my work is officially ending, I will continue to share my love for the Park as I always have."

Parton talked about her childhood growing up in the mountains of Sevier County.

"These mountains are givers, not takers," she said. "In my own life, growing up in one of these hollers in a family of 12 children, it was these mountains that inspired us, put food on our table, gave us everything we had, gave us wonderful ideas for songs and stories."

Dolly brought down the house, singing "My Mountains, My Home" from an album she recorded to benefit the Park. Afterward, GSMNP Superintendent Dale Ditmanson issued a polite challenge to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who was representing President Barack Obama, and his colleagues in 391 units of the National Park Service.

"I hope you would try over the next few years, but beat that," Ditmanson said to laughter from the audience.

Honors sacrifices

During his comments, Salazar honored those affected by the creation of the Park.

"We are humbled by the courage and sacrifice of those who created the Great Smoky Mountains National Park," he said. "We honor the people who gave up their land, homes and businesses so this park could exist today."

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue sounded a call to action in her comments.

"My left foot is in North Carolina, my right foot is in Tennessee," she said. "The beauty of this place is that when you are here, there is no North Carolina, no Tennessee, only one gift from God, America's most precious natural resource -- the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ... We're at bat now. It's our job. We have to make sure this legacy for the future is intact for generations and generations yet to come and walk in God's land."

"As we celebrate today, there is a greater lesson in this," Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said. "May today also remind us of the generous spirit and faith in the future that gave it birth."

Other dignitaries who took part in the event included U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina and U.S. Rep. John J. "Jimmy" Duncan Jr. of Tennessee.