Everything I know about Gatlinburg I learned because of Pi Beta Phi. Having the opportunity to visit Arrowmont while serving as a Pi Phi volunteer made the story of the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School come alive to me on my visits. My heart breaks for all those affected by the quick moving and deadly wildfires of Monday night.
Things can be replaced; people can’t be. A life lost is the ultimate sorrow, and I don’t want to negate that by mourning the loss of dormitory space and a maintenance shed at Arrowmont. Hughes Hall was dedicated during the 1995 Pi Phi Arts Weekend. While in the planning stages, it was called Heritage Hall. When University of Louisville Pi Phi Margaret Elkin Hughes left her estate to Arrowmont, a new name emerged. Two wings of Hughes Hall were named for past Pi Beta Phi Grand Presidents – Marianne Reid Wild, who left Arrowmont part of her estate, and Jean Wirths Scott. Jean, in addition to serving as NPC Chairman, spearheaded the successful Campaign for Arrowmont in partnership with Pi Beta Phi Foundation, to fund Hughes Hall, a new woodturning studio among other things.
This photo from the groundbreaking for Hughes Hall was on my dining room table in a stack of photos I am using in a current project. C.A. Edwards, Jo Ann Roderick and Sandy Blain took part in the ceremony during Officer’s Workshop 1994.
A photo taken by my daughter when we stayed at Hughes Hall a few years ago.
Bill May, whose pictures from early Tuesday mornings were posted on Facebook and assured us that the reports about Arrowmont being destroyed were false, did a phone interview with the Weather Channel. Despite the repetitive roll of pictures, it was good to hear him talk about the school (https://www.facebook.com/arrowmontschool/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf). I’m also glad to know that his house was left untouched and that he can lead Arrowmont through its travails without dealing with his own.
Hughes Hall after the fire with the Wild Wing in the foreground (at least this is how I see it.) Photo by Bill May.
Although Arrowmont is only a few feet off the Parkway in Gatlinburg, it is almost like being transported to another time and place. I know Arrowmont will survive the loss of Hughes Hall. Arrowmont is a very special place. I encourage any artist or budding artist to take a class, send a donation, or buy a t-shirt (www.arrowmont.org). I sent a donation on Tuesdav (http://www.arrowmont.org/support/rebuild-fund/).
To read more about the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School and Arrowmont, see http://www.lib.utk.edu/arrowmont/index.html. The grant project digitized items from the Arrowmont and Pi Beta Phi archives to tell the story of the Pi Beta Phi Settlement School and the establishment of Arrowmont. Marie Maddox’s book A Lifetime in Gatlinburg: Martha Cole Whaley Remembers (https://www.amazon.com/Lifetime-Gatlinburg-Martha-Whaley-Remembers/dp/1626196842) offers a glimpse of the changes which took place in Gatlinburg when the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established.
As for donations to help the citizens of Gatlinburg, on Giving Tuesday, I made a small donation to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. I am waiting for directions from my friends on the ground as to where donations will be best. However, I will mention that as I clicked on this link, and heard the words of the song, I burst into tears. Be forewarned (http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/11/29/help-gatlinburg-fire-victims-middle-tennessee-community-foundation-starts-relief-fund/94599686/).
I have no doubt the citizens of Sevier County will get to work and make life normal again. They come from hardy stock and they will rise above the devastation and heartbreak. I, for one, will be praying for them, and doing what I can from afar.
Pi Beta Phi Elementary School is adjacent to Arrowmont. It, too, was thought to be destroyed at first reports, but it is intact, although it make have sustained minor damage on the back side from some reports (blown out windows).
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2016. All rights reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
