Beyond These Hills (21 page)

Andrew didn't feel any better on Wednesday night when he went back to the church for the meeting Simon had arranged. When he arrived, he was surprised to see the yard filled with trucks, wagons, and a few buggies. The remaining Cove people had turned out to hear what the man from Washington had to say.

As he entered the church, he paused at the back and let his gaze drift over those in attendance. Some he knew because he'd already visited with them. Others he hadn't seen before. He recognized Nate Hopkins, the shotgun-wielding farmer, and hoped he'd left his gun at home tonight.

He walked down the aisle, and heads turned to follow his progress
as he passed the pews. At the front Simon waited, his hand outstretched in welcome. They shook hands.

“It's good to see you tonight, Andrew. It looks like we have a good crowd.”

Andrew nodded and looked around to get his first glimpse of the people's faces. Matthew sat next to Anna in the second row. His heart gave a small lurch when he realized Laurel wasn't in attendance. He couldn't resist asking Simon about her. “Is Laurel coming?”

“No, she and Rani are staying with Granny so Anna could come with me.” He took a deep breath. “It looks like most of the folks are here. I'll introduce you and turn the meeting over to you.”

“Thanks, Simon. I really appreciate your doing this.”

Simon didn't say anything, just nodded and turned to the crowd. “Folks, thanks for coming out tonight. I know you've got lots going on with your crops, so it was even harder for you to come. But we have to make some decisions, hard decisions. One family's choice may not be another's, but it's got to be made. I think we need to listen to what this young man has to say so each of us can decide what we want to do. Please welcome Andrew Brady who works for the Park Service.”

If Andrew had expected applause at his introduction, he would have been disappointed. Only silence greeted him as he rose to his feet. A nervous smile pulled at his mouth as he faced the people.

“Good evening. Thank you for coming. I don't want to keep you long, so I'll get right to the point. You know as well as I do the history of the situation you find yourself in right now, but I'd like to review it for everyone if that's all right.” He paused but no one said anything. “The idea for the park began in 1923 with some influential residents of Knoxville. They'd visited a national park in the west and thought the Smokies needed to be preserved too. There were two big obstacles to acquiring the land—mainly the lumber and pulp companies that were making a lot of money from stripping the land of its forests. The other one was the people who lived in the mountains.”

Joseph Prince near the back stood up and shook his finger at Andrew. “Well, they got the land from the lumber companies, but they ain't got mine yet.”

Andrew nodded. “That's right. And how did they get Little River's land and Champion Fiber's—who held out until the last? I'll tell you how. They brought condemnation suits against those companies. Whether you agree or not, under law the right to condemn property is given to states if that property is needed for something that will contribute to the greater good. In the end the state won, and Little River and Champion had to sell. The state's going to win here in the Cove too.”

Joseph Prince shook his head. “Well, they better not condemn my land.”

A loud chorus of agreement rang out across the group. Andrew let his gaze drift over the men and women who'd come tonight. Their sun-bronzed skin told of long hours spent living and working the rich soil in the shadows of the mountains they loved. Their way of life was coming to an end, and they were frightened. They might appear angry, but underneath Andrew sensed a fear of the unknown. Where would they go? How could they exist in the outside world so different from their mountain valley?

Andrew took a deep breath. “I understand how terrible this is for all of you. Believe me, my heart goes out to you, but there is no way private citizens are going to be allowed to live inside a national park. If your land is condemned, you're going to have to hire a lawyer to represent you in court. Can you afford to waste money you may need to provide for your family when you move out of the Cove? Think about it. What is the best thing for you to do?”

No one spoke for a few moments, and then Ezra Nash rose to his feet. Andrew remembered him as the man who'd ordered him off his property. His dark eyes reminded Andrew of threatening storm clouds, and his fingers curled around the straw hat he held in front of him. “We been farmin' our land long as I can remember. What
makes the government think they got the right to take what my family's worked for just so some folks can come look at our mountains? Let 'em come as long as they leave me alone.”

Andrew smiled. “I'm afraid they wouldn't leave you alone. We have no idea how many people will come into the park by the end of this century. We might be seeing thousands coming into Cades Cove every weekend just to camp and fish and hike. We can't have private property that's off-limits to visitors.”

Ezra raised his hand that held the hat and shook it in Andrew's direction. “But it's our land! Ain't nobody got the right to take it away from me.”

Nate Hopkins jumped to his feet. “I done told you what was a-gonna happen to anybody comin' to take my land away from me. I'll shoot the first man who tries it.”

Before Andrew could reply, Matthew was on his feet. “Nate, that's not going to solve our problem. The only thing that will happen is that you'll end up in jail, and then they'll get your land anyway.” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “We've talked about this and fought it for years. Now there's just a few of us left. I think we're going to have to face the fact that we're not going to win this fight.”

Thomas Bennett jumped to his feet. “Matthew, how can you say that? You and Simon been the ones leadin' us in this here fight. If you give up, there ain't no hope for any of us.”

Andrew spoke up before Matthew could reply. “What I'm telling you is that there is no hope left of saving your farms. Please believe me when I say I sympathize with you. All I'm trying to do tonight is let you know you can't win this fight. The government wants to end this standoff. They're giving you until the first of the year to sell or they will begin condemning your property. It will be taken from you.” His voice quivered on the last words. He took a deep breath. “I'm sorry to be the messenger, but I've spoken the truth. Now it's up to you.”

Simon stood and faced Andrew. “I've had the opportunity to
speak with many of those who have sold out and left. It's hard to understand how prices the government pays vary so much from farm to farm. I have a question for you, and I believe you'll answer it truthfully. Do you agree with the way the land has been evaluated in the past?”

Andrew had dreaded this question, and now it had been asked. He stared at Simon and knew he could do nothing other than answer it truthfully. “As you know, the nation is in a depression, and land prices have been dropping since the 1920s. The average price paid per acre of farms in Cades Cove so far has been forty-one dollars and sixty-five cents. That price is arrived at by two or three government agents appraising the land, not the price the owner wants. Most land has sold at seventy-five percent of what the owner asked. Do I think that's fair? No, I don't. But those who argue otherwise say that value is a relative judgment. It makes it especially hard when the owner doesn't want to sell.”

Simon nodded. “Thank you for your honesty, Andrew. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?”

He shook his head. “I think we've covered it all. Think about what we've said tonight. I'll be dropping by your farms in the next few weeks to speak with you individually. If you're going to sell, it would be good to do it now. You'll be able to stay here until after the first of the year, and you can use the money you receive to be looking for a place somewhere else. Please believe that I want to help you any way I can.”

“Thank you again,” Simon said. “Now if you don't mind, we'd like some time to discuss this issue among ourselves.”

Andrew realized he'd been dismissed from the meeting. He strode up the aisle and onto the front porch of the church. He stopped and sucked in his breath. That hadn't been as bad as he expected. He hoped he'd covered everything.

Matthew hadn't looked up at him as Andrew had passed where
he sat. He wondered what he would tell Laurel when he got home. Andrew shook his head and headed to his car. It didn't make any difference what Matthew told Laurel. It wasn't going to change her feelings about him. The bad thing for him, though, was that he hadn't been able to change his feelings for her either.

Chapter 11

T
wo weeks after the meeting of the Cove holdouts Matthew, Rani, Laurel, and Willie arrived on a rainy afternoon at Simon and Anna's cabin. They had come for a family conference about their options for the future. The day outside was as gloomy as the atmosphere inside the house. Even Willie seemed subdued. Unable to play outside because of the weather, he ambled off to Noah's old bedroom, stretched out on the bed, and began to read some of the books Noah had read as a boy.

The rest of the family gathered around the kitchen table. One of Anna's blackberry cobblers sat in the middle of the table ready to be served, but food appeared to be the last thing on anyone's mind.

Finally, Matthew broke the silence when he took a deep breath and looked across the table at Simon. “Putting off what we need to talk about isn't going to make it any easier. We'd better get started, but Simon, I'd appreciate it if you would lead us in prayer first.”

They all bowed their heads as Simon began to pray. “Dear Lord, You know how heavy our hearts are today. We come to You asking for guidance in the decision we're about to make.” His voice cracked, and Matthew peered up from beneath his lashes to look at the man he'd thought of as a father since he was a child. Anna slipped her hand into Simon's, and they laced their fingers together.

After a moment he continued. “Oh, God, this valley has been our home ever since we can remember. And now we're being forced to leave the only life we've ever known. We fear what lies before us—where we'll go, what we'll do in a world outside this valley, how we'll live. But we know You will be with us. Touch us with Your divine knowledge and let us know what we should do. Do we continue our fight in the courts, or is it time to give in and leave our homes? We trust You, Father, and know You will be with us as we make the decision that will decide where we'll spend the rest of our days on this earth. Thank You for this wonderful family You've given us and keep us all close to You. Amen.”

Matthew opened his eyes, leaned forward, and rested one arm on the table. He tapped his fingers on the white tablecloth and thought of Simon's words. “Ever since the meeting with Andrew two weeks ago I've been struggling with what we need to do. Rani and I have discussed it over and over. One day we think we know what we should do and the next we don't. All I do know is that time is running out. Our fight is coming to a close, and we're going to have to decide what to do.”

Simon nodded. “I know. I feel the same way, Matthew. It's been difficult for me as I try to hang on and minister to those who haven't given up. But deep down, we all know we can't go on much longer. There are too few families left to fight the government. But if we leave, where will we go?”

“Rani and I have been talking about that, and we wanted to get your opinion. There's a group of mountain folks who are going to start a craftsmen community over at Gatlinburg out on the loop road off 321. We could buy a piece of land out there and build a shop for Mountain Laurel Pottery with a house behind it big enough for all of us to live in. I went to Gatlinburg a few weeks ago, and I looked at some land that would be perfect. If we buy it now, we can start building and have it ready by the time we get ready to move.”

A frown pulled at Anna's forehead. “Have you discussed how you'll pay for it? It will be some time before we get paid for our land.”

Matthew nodded. “I have a little saved up that we can use to get started. Then we'll settle up after the land's sold.”

“We have some saved up too,” Simon said. “Doc left his house in Maryville to Anna when he died, and we sold it. Between the two of us, maybe we'll have enough to pay for the land and begin building before we sell the land.”