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Former Cades Cove residents and genealogical enthusiasts met Sunday at the Valley View Lodge in Townsend for “Precious Memories III,” a program that completed the Cades Cove Preservation Association's annual Winter Heritage Festival. This year marked the third time the descendants of Cades Cove residents and former residents themselves met to share memories, stories and facts about life in the Cove and the surrounding area.

The meeting was attended by an estimated 110 descendants, residents and enthusiasts of many ages who all share a common passion for Cades Cove and the history of East Tennessee. All attendees who had previously lived in the Cove were given an opportunity to tell the audience of their time spent in this area; a microphone was passed through the crowd. The former residents were also given complimentary DVDs of the two previous Precious Memories events held in past years.

Cheryl Henderson of the Museum of East Tennessee History attended the event and discussed her own personal connection to the area and residents of the Cove.

Henderson spoke of former U.S. senator, White House Chief of Staff, and ambassador to Japan Howard Baker Jr., who was a native of Scott County Tennessee. “His powerful friends asked him why, when he could live anywhere he wanted to, he came back to live in the mountains of East Tennessee, and he said, ‘because it's the center of the universe.' I think we all feel that way, too,” said Henderson, as she described the passion for East Tennesse that the people that attended “Precious Memories III” share.

A narrated slide show created by CCPA member David Ledbetter was shown at the event, centering on the history of the White Oaks Sinks area and the families that lived there. Photographs of Ledbetter's own family were shown along with anecdotes about the individuals. Additional events preceding the finale included individual discussions of personal memories of the Cove and presentations of genealogical findings.

This year marked the first year that the CCPA has held this event without Dave Post, a founding member of the society and a former president, who passed away on Dec. 19. This year's Winter Heritage Festival events were dedicated to his memory.