McLemore Cove: Part 3

 Blue and Gold

South Chickamauge Creek in McLemore Cove.

Pentax 6x7, 105mm f2.4 Takumar lens, Fujichrome 100 film

(Click to enlarge)

This is the third installment of my article about McLemore Cove, originally published in Georgia Backroads Magazine. The first and second parts were posted on my blog on Monday, December 28th and Wednesday, December 30th.

High on the western side of Pigeon Mountain is a small enclosed valley -- known in the southern Appalachians as a "pocket." Someone told us about it not long after we came to the Cove, and of course, we wanted to see it for ourselves. Driving back along the gravel road that led to the Pocket, we passed a cornfield, where an old man and his wife were picking corn. It was Fred "Coon" Hise, then in his 80s, and his wife Myrtle. We stopped and they came over to talk with us, their arms full of corn and their faces full of simple goodness. The scene was overwhelmingly reminiscent of a famous 1930s FSA photograph of an Iowa farmer and his wife holding the products of their farm. I had my camera; I could have taken the picture; but somehow, I didn't. I've missed many shots in my career as a photographer, and some I regret more than others. But this was the one I regret more than any other.  That old couple defined McLemore Cove people for me, and still does to this day. Some of their children and grandchildren are our present neighbors and are very like their ancestors. 

McLemore Cove is home to some of the sweetest people we have ever met. "Sweet" may not be the most appropriate word, but I can't think of a better one. Cove people are for the most part sweet-natured, gentle, friendly, and kind. 

Of course, like most places, the Cove has a few people that just don't fit the mold. Chief among them would be George David Queener, who did not fit anybody's mold. Larger than life, he was one of the most unforgettable characters I've ever met.

George D. and Jake

Leica M3, 50mm Summicron lens, Tri-X

George D., as he was usually known, came to the Cove in 1946, just out of the army, to work at Mountain Cove Farm. He had been a corporal, and was newly married to Mary Ellen, who was older than he, and had been, interestingly enough, a lieutenant. George's ambition was to be a cattleman, and to that end, he told Mary Ellen that he wanted to go to medical school so he could become a doctor and earn enough money to own cattle. With her characteristic common sense, she told him, "If you want to be a cattleman, go work in the cattle business." 

Eventually, they were able to acquire a piece of property and put some cattle on it. Through years of scrimping and saving, going into debt when necessary to buy more land when it became available, they in time found themselves owners of the GDQ Ranch, with more than 800 acres and 350 head of purebred Polled Hereford cattle. 

George D. and Mary Ellen. Good Neighbors, good friends.

 

George D. was considered by many to be a hard man, and perhaps he was. But he sold us our land, and he was a good neighbor to us. Mary Ellen was one of the most gracious ladies I've ever known, but George D. was inclined to get a bit obstreperous now and then. It usually ended when Mary Ellen looked at him and said, "Now, George D. . ." 

I guess he never forgot that she outranked him. 

To be continued.

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(Photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2020)

Soli Gloria Deo

To the glory of God alone