Twenty years ago, our church began a tradition of adopting families in a small, rural Appalachian community, and providing them with gifts to brighten up the Christmas season. In previous years, Helen (adorable wife) and I have adopted families and shopped for them, but three years ago (post-retirement) I volunteered to deliver the gifts to the Community Center which serves as the collection point. On Monday of this week, our volunteers gathered at the church for another year of spreading cheer.
I arrived at the church to find it already abuzz with activity. Stacks of wrapped boxes and brightly colored gift bags sat in SUVs ready for the trip. I placed gifts for two families in Freddie (my car) and joined the group inside for last minute instructions from Margaret, our volunteer leader and organizer, and a prayer led by Mark, our associate pastor. Minutes later, the convoy moved out.
The Clearfork Community Center sits in the tiny Appalachian town of Eagan, Tennessee. Eagan is a former coal mining community tucked into the Clearfork Valley a few miles below the Tennessee and Kentucky border. Our church has always referred to the area as Roses Creek. I don’t know where that name comes from unless it is the name of one of the small creeks that flow into the Clearfork River running alongside the community center. Hopefully, a reader will tell me.
We left Knoxville in heavy fog to begin an hour and a half drive traveling 75 miles north on I-75. We planned to cross the Cumberland Mountains in Campbell County and meet up at the state line in Jellico where all nine cars would form a convoy to Roses Creek. The fog persisted until I punched through it at the mountaintop, around 2,000 feet above sea level. The bright sunshine illuminated the dense fog covering the valley floor and I couldn’t restrain myself from taking pictures from Freddie’s front seat at 70 miles per hour (photo above). I was the fifth of nine cars when I arrived at the rendezvous point.
Within about five minutes the rest of our group arrived, and we began snaking our way up, over, and around the mountain to our destination. Once again, we found ourselves beneath the fog that filled the valley. We proceeded slowly for the last 20 miles and followed a creek for most of the drive. In some respects, this is an area forgotten by time. We passed several abandoned homes and small country stores that I assumed sprang up at a time when coal was king. Coal mining continues in the region, but the coal industry offers few jobs now, and there are even fewer young men willing to brave the dangers of coal mine work.
I remembered a few landmarks from previous trips and, after about thirty minutes, they came into view and we were turning onto the gravel drive leading to the Community Center. Everyone began unloading packages. Margaret had organized the families by name and number and we completed the unloading and assembly process rather quickly. The director of the Center was on hand to greet us. She was truly grateful for our support as well as excited about the joy that would come from the recipients. I’m not certain when the families would receive the gifts. None were present when we were there.
I spent a few minutes walking around the community center. Mounted on the entry hall wall was a large picture depicting mining activity during the 1920s. Other pictures told the story of the people who had formed the community around the same time. From the time Helen and I began adopting Roses Creek families, I’ve always felt a kinship to the people of this region. My father grew up here with two brothers raised by a single Mom. He left after serving in World War II when the GI Bill made college affordable.
The center itself once house the Eagan School, but a former nun named Margaret Cirillo came to the area around 1960 to assist Appalachian families and secured a grant to convert the school into an institute for the benefit of the job-starved residents of the Clearfork Valley. Margaret has devoted her life to the people of Appalachia. A YouTube Video tells her story and I have posted a link to that video that is viewable by clicking here. Margaret was not there to greet us, but I hope to have the opportunity to meet her sometime in the future.
The director prepared cookies and sandwiches for our group and we enjoyed them before the return to Knoxville. By the time we said our goodbyes, the sun had penetrated the fog with just enough light to reach the floor of the Clearfork Valley. Looking to my right as I drove away from the center, I spotted a small clapboard house below the road. A chimney poked through a tarpaper-covered roof, billowing smoke. Stacks of split firewood surrounded the house. I guessed that the owner gave up on coal long ago…probably for reasons having nothing to do with heat.
I drove on feeling extremely blessed for the life I have — Merry Christmas to all, especially to those in Roses Creek. We’re Easin’ Along…
I used to take trains in and out of the Clear Fork Branch, Joe. We would leave Lafollette with engines and cars, picking up more cars as we reached Morley, TN. Then up the branch our four man crew would go, picking up loads of coal and leaving the empties. Been to Eagan, Fonde and other mines many times.
Hi, Eddie,
My dad grew up in LaFollette then left after the war, and I only went there to visit my grandmother until about age 12. I knew very little about the area and the struggles its people face. I wonder how much coal comes out of there now. I would guess that it is less than when you were riding those rails. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Joe, very little if any coal comes out of those mines now. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Joe.
Lovely post, Joe. The fog photo is stunning…and the story is a reminder of the reason for the season.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Nancy
Hi, Nancy,
It truly is a reminder of the important things at this time of the year. Although I have joined this group only three times, I now look forward to this trip every year. Great to hear from you. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas.
Joe
Joe,
You and Helen have such wonderful giving, loving charitable hearts. The people that were so generously given to in this time of year surely are extremely grateful for all that you and the team did and gave them. May you and yours have a Blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Linda
Hi, Linda,
This was a truly joyful experience and one I hope to continue for a long time. Great to hear from you. Have a blessed Christmas.
Thank you Joe for the “spirit of giving” post! We truly have a lot to be thankful for which we sometimes take for granted.
Thank you too for another year of your weekly posts!
A joyous Christmas to you and your family as well as a safe and healthy New Year!
Hi, Ron,
Thanks for the kind words. It is experiences like the one in this post that lets us know how blessed we are. Thanks for Easin’ Along with us this year. A joyous Christmas to you as well.
What a wonderful post, Joe! It brought to mind an anonymous quote I have tacked up on our kitchen bulletin board: “May God give us grateful hearts and keep us mindful of the needs of others.” At this time of year, life can become so busy that we forget the reason for the season and the fact that there are many people who find themselves in less than fortunate circumstances. I have no doubt that your generosity and that of Helen and your fellow Church members was truly and deeply appreciated by the Roses Creek community.
Best wishes for a merry and memorable Christmas to you, Helen and your family!
Hi, Mary,
Your bulletin board quote is one to live by. I love the trip to Roses Creek, and, I swear, I get more out of the experience than the wonderful citizens of the region. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. Let’s stay in touch…we might be up your way in the fall.
We would LOVE to see you and Helen!!!
Ho, Ho, Ho! Be careful with what you wish for…it may happen!
P.S. Thanks for the post on introverts. This is a subject I’ve studied a lot…I just don’t talk about it ;-).
Had a few days with nothing to do. Wife and I decided to leave our home in Charleston,SC and visit our dear friend in Apalachicola, Fl. Apalachicola seems to have returned to some semblance of normal. Especially since most of the storms detritus has been removed from the roadside. Still is a mess toward Eastpoint, Carabelle and Panacea.
Pt St Joe will make you cry. The beautiful homes along the Gulf are either completely destroyed or have been hollowed out. This observation goes blocks deep from the waterfront.
If Pt St Joe makes you cry, Mexico Beach will tear your heart out. Miles of devastation. If your home is still standing, there is still nothing else around. Stores, shops, restaurants, gas stations are literally gone. Our favorite beach behind the Chamber of Commerce, you cannot get to. Heck, the Chamber of Commerce is literally gone. Nothing, Nada, Zilch. The saddest of visits. Hwy 98 thru the area has piles of building materials torn down stacked 20 feet high. Even cars and trucks are dumped on their roofs awaiting to be taken away.
I tell you this only because we have loved and visited this area for a number of years because this is “old Florida “ before the too tall condos and the 6 lane highways. And you have loved this area as well.
Feel free to not respond to this note. It was meant for your information only.
Hi, Jack, I’m grateful that you took the time to share this with me as sad as it is. I’m grateful to hear that Apalachicola is in recovery mode and hopefully St. Georges Island as well. We will not be going to Florida this winter, choosing Arizona instead. Nevertheless, our thoughts and prayers go out to the residents and business owners. It sounds like they have a challenging year ahead. We promise to return. Great to hear from you. Merry Christmas.
Drove thru St George Island as well. Really seems to be doing fine. Shops open, restaurants open, streets open. Interesting that most of the damage was bayside versus oceanfront. Yes, damaged roofs, siding and some porches gone but the houses and interiors seemed fine. Another interesting note on St George Island/Apalachicola/Pt St Joe/Mexico Beach etc whether you built on stilts or on a slab, houses were standing or were gone indiscriminately. Many houses on slab were fine, many homes on stilts were fine but the other 95% of homes were gone. Also, while some homes were still standing the sand and driveways under the homes were gone so you can’t repair them or even get electricity to them. And I am talking 20-30 feet up to 1st floor.
A very sad tour.
You were wise to choose Arizona. It will take years just to clean up this place.