THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN TIMES

Thursday, June 27, 1996

Swain County Has Own "Ruins"

By Mike Kesselring

            There are many ancient wonders in this mysterious world.

1) The Mediterranean Sea has its Greek and Midian sunken cities.  2) The Atlantic Ocean has its sunken continent of Atlantis.  3) The Mayans and Aztecs have their vanished villages.  4) The Egyptians have their pyramids.  5) The Romans have their coliseums.

            Swain County has its own wonders of the world.

            1) There are several townships under Fontana Lake. 2) A whole land mass was submerged when the lake was made.  3) Towns in the present National Park vanished when it was formed.  4) Though not on the grand scale of the pyramids, there are several Indian mounds in the area.  5) Swain County has its own "ancient" theatre, though never used by gladiators and lions.

            The build-up here is to get your imagination going.  The scene in the accompanying photograph is of concrete and stone seats in an old outdoor theatre, looking a little similar to the famous Roman Coliseum in Italy.

            People's recollections and the amount of information available about this structure were limited.  There may be more information out there somewhere, but the time spent researching this article was limited as well.

            In or around 1965, an outdoor drama was started by someone.  They promoted its creation and production by distributing complimentary passes to numerous businesses and individuals in Cherokee and Bryson City.  Utilizing, as many new ventures do, the practice of getting lots of people in for free and then they tell their friends about it and they tell their friends about it and so and so on, they may have got off to a good start.

            This outdoor drama was of a spiritual or religious nature titled "Living Waters."  It was performed at night and has been described as being "very professional" by some and "not too well done" by others.  None of the people interviewed could recall what the performance was about.

            The seating capacity is estimated to have been 300-350.  The seating appears to have had no back support, though only eyeball archaeology was conducted.  There are parts to two old vintage carbon arch movie projectors strewn across the center of the bleachers.  There was also a recent, but crudely made mock-up of a projector made of thin aluminum sheeting, whose purpose is only a wild guess.

            This drama is believed to have lasted but one season.  Perhaps it had some stiff competition from the Cherokee drama "Unto These Hills."  No one is sure.  Whatever the length of its existence as a living outdoor drama, its remains have been left for countless others to wonder about.

            If you are curious about this "ancient ruin" you can find it by going to the Ela Community.  About half way between the Warrior Motel and the Teddy Bear Motel, turn at a blue and gray sign that says Blue Mist Mountain Estates.  Here you will find a small field and a dirt road.  Go about 300 yards until you start to enter the woods and there it is on your right, like wide steps climbing up the hill.  Let me know if you found out anything.

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THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN TIMES

Thursday, July 25, 1996

UPDATE;  Swain County "Ruins"

By Mike Kesselring

            Within two weeks of the June 27 story titled "Swain County Has Own Ruins," I received an abundance of information about the outdoor drama featured in the article.

            The first to call and meet with me was Janet Gillespie who still lives in the area.  At the time of the show (1962 not 1965 as estimated), she was just out of high school and working as a waitress in a restaurant in Bryson City.  She helped build the sets and was a performer in the show.  Janet gave me a description of the stage, how it worked and what the show was about.

            The next to call was Bobbie Fellows of Bryson City, who had been a patron of the show and fortunately, had saved a program, which she let me copy.  She made a connection through time by saving that program all those years just for me, so I could write this article.

            The third person I met was Bill Marcus of Jackson County.  I met him at a family reunion in Jackson County for which I was hired to take photographs.  Bill told me he read the article and wanted to talk to me about it.  He was 12 years old at the time and lived within walking distance of the theatre.  His duties were to help change scenery during the performance and to put bumper stickers on cars in the parking lot.  He gave me some insight into his role as a stage hand.

            The fourth call was from Judy (Kirsch) Wells of Boca Ration, Florida.  She was a performer in the show also, but had to quit before the end of the season.  She was helpful with information about the producers of the show, telling me that the daughter of one of them currently lives in Cashiers.

            Piecing together the memories of the four people mentioned above, here's what happened 35 years ago.

            Construction on the site began over a year before the show's opening.  The idea was to put together an unforgettable production about the heritage of America with scenes and songs covering the times of the Pilgrims to the revolutionary war, the explorers of the west, the Civil War, the migrations from Europe, the two world wars and to the modern times of the 60's.  This show was to be a testimony of their faith in God.

            The producers used their own money to build the theatre.  Gary Boekel, father of the woman in Cashiers mentioned earlier, and Parks Hunt, a Baptist minister from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida hired the best people they could get to help them put the show together, most of whom were professional Christian musical artists.

            The name of the show was "Music That Made America."  The name of the theatre was Fountains of Living Waters, perhaps a reference to Jeremiah 2:13, but also a reference to the stream and pond in front of the stage.

            The production was written and staged by James Grant who was from New York.  Music director and organist-arranger was Merrill Dunlop, a headliner musician from the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami.  The pianist-arranger was Hope Collins, who came from South Africa.  The script writer was Myrna Grant.  Dunlop and Collins, along with performer and singer Ed Lyman, all had RCA recordings available for sale at the ticket office.

            The main performers and singers were card-carrying professional members of Equity Union Actor's Guild.  Locally hired members of the show were usually in crowd scenes and background singers or stage hands.  Auditions had been held at the Hillside Baptist Church.  Everyone did their own makeup and costumes were rented from theatre companies in New York.

            The stage was made of four parts.  The main stage had a wooden floor and was of a thrust design.  Set changes were made by moving scenery that looked like pages of a giant book, revealing a new scene, as each new page was turned.

            The secondary, medium-sized stage was stage right of the main stage with a dirt floor and half as many pages in its scenery changing system.  Two small satellite stages on the left and right of the thrust part of the main stage had dirt floors and no scenery changing system.  Each of the three separate stages was used for small scenes or groups of singers while scene changes and cast movements were conducted on the main stage.  There were no curtains, so scene changes occurred with stage lights off.

            The audience entered the tree shrouded theatre along the stream by way of a dimly lit path, using only footlights for illumination.  This very peaceful and natural setting added to the realism of the scenes presented to the audience.

            The show illustrated the heritage of America, told by a father (Parks Hunt) to his son Billy (Ricky Roof).  The audience learned the history of the country through scenes and songs that followed along as the father taught his son about the struggle for freedom, the dreams of a people and their strength and faith in themselves.

            There were over 50 songs, some secular, and some religious that brought the story of America to the audience.  Songs such as Yankee Doodle, America the Beautiful, Cowboy's Prayer, Ole Man River, Go Down Moses, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Give Me Your Tired, Abide With Me, O Holy Night, The Man On The Flying Trapeze, He Hideth My Soul, Over There, America, The Old Rugged Cross and Come To The Living Waters.

            The show had four acts with about 16 scenes and over 25 singers, some of whom were whole families working together.  The secondary performers numbered another 10-15 and the production staff was another 8-10 people.

            The show as very professional and rivaled that of any living theatre still running today.  Many people saw it several times and members of the "Unto These Hills" drama were impressed by it.  The reason it lasted only one season is not certain, with speculation ranging from poor management, a lack of attendance, a tax write off or bad location.

            The fact that it existed, even for a short time, and is stored in the memories of all who saw it, all who struggled to create it and all who worked endless exhausting hours to carry it out means it was a success.

            A few people called just to tell me they had gone to the sight to look around and tried to picture what it may have looked like.  One friend said she sat in the seats and tried to reach back to the past to see what it felt like and tried to imagine the sights and sounds of the theatre when it was alive.

            I hope that happened in the minds of those who were there and remembered, and I hope to have rebuilt with words, what was there, in the minds of those who weren't.