A day at the History Hootenanny 2024

(Ed. Note 1: Thank you to everyone who donated this past weekend. Your support is vital to keeping the site running. We appreciate your donations and advertising as we try to bring you the latest news from the city we love. Ed. Note 2: Today's article was written by new contributing writer Matt Hollingsworth. Matt has written local interest articles for Farragut Life, Monroe Life, and McMinn Life, as well as science fiction stories for various magazines.)

I have to confess something: I'm not entirely sure what a hootenanny is.

I mean, I think it's some kind of festival or event, but beyond that I just can't think of anything. Does that make me a bad Southerner? A few years ago I got looks because I didn't know that the term “holler” could also mean “valley.” As I said, whether I'm a bad Southerner or not is still up for debate.

Although I don't know exactly what it is, I officially participated in a hootenanny, namely the East Tennessee Historical Society's History Hootenanny this weekend, which was themed “Music in East Tennessee.” There were several events scheduled throughout the day, many of which overlapped so I didn't get to see everything. My day started at the East Tennessee History Center, where they were having the last day of their exhibit. They sang what they experienced: The story of Carl and Pearl Butler.

Booths lined the aisles of the museum, some offering books on the region, others an ancestry database that could be used to trace the origin of one's last name, which was of course the goal of my family history-obsessed father. (We happen to know a lot about our family's history, and the information they gave was accurate and traceable back several generations.) Another booth displayed the remains of a vivisected violin. The man, a violin maker, compared modern instrument making to classical, and described how society has only recently reached the quality of the instruments made in the 18th century. There was also a Friends of the Knox County Public Library book yard sale, which my family and I took full advantage of.

When I reached the exhibit, I browsed the collection of artifacts while watching a short film about Carl and Pearl Butler. The couple sang old-style country music. Carl was originally from Knoxville and the two lived here for a long time before eventually moving to Nashville. The film showed old footage of the couple alongside Johnny Cash and a young Dolly Parton, as well as other musicians. One of their most popular songs was Don't let me go over was released in 1962 and reached number one on the Billboard Country singles charts.

Next we went across the street to the Tennessee Theater to see a short film about Dollywood. It started with grainy footage and an even grainier voice talking about the Great Smoky Mountains, which is somehow so much more charming than clean modern audio. I knew the park had once been Gold Rush Junction before it became Dollywood, but I didn't know it started even earlier as Rebel Railroad. It was opened in 1961 by the Robbins family to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains.^th Anniversary of the civil war.

The main attraction was the train ride, which is still a Dollywood landmark today. The ride began with the children being sworn in as Confederate soldiers to protect the train from actors playing the attacking Yankees. The children fired their pop guns to defend the train. Ironically, while Tennessee seceded from the Union during the Civil War, East Tennessee was heavily on the Union side – including some of my own ancestors from Campbell County who fought for the North. The theme park also included “Rebel Town,” where visitors could explore a haunted mine, pan for gold, and enjoy root beer and a show, among other activities.

The park eventually became Gold Rush Junction and the owners dropped the rebel theme so as not to scare away northern tourists who might not be so keen on pretending to fight their own ancestors. Instead, guests fought Indians and outlaws. Children played sheriff's deputies instead of Confederate soldiers. The park also added a log flume, although this was not yet the famous Daredevil Falls that would be built later.

Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, later purchased Gold Rush Junction. He moved the park away from the western theme and designed it more like a mountain town, as it is today. He also incorporated events around the Cleveland Browns – even though Cleveland is about 500 miles away. Modell later sold the park to the Herschend family and it became Silver Dollar City. During this time, the Blazing Fury roller coaster was added, which is still there today. In 1985, Dolly Parton made a deal with the Herschends. The park was redesigned around Dolly, although the Herschend family still runs it and Dolly herself has little to do with day-to-day operations.

The Tennessee Theater also hosted an open house for the History Hootenanny. I've been to the Tennessee Theater several times, but never had the chance to go behind the scenes. I checked out the dressing rooms, which were more modern and less ornate than the rest of the beautiful building. There were plaques next to many of the rooms with the names of famous people who had once used them, including Johnny Cash, Anthony Perkins, and Butterfly McQueen, to name a few.

As my stomach was getting more and more impatient, I had to skip the next short film about the Reed Sisters. Instead, I went to Not Watson's Kitchen + Bar for a delicious burger.

When I returned, I decided to check out one of the events for children – a reading of a book called The little orange T by author George A. Bove. I was sitting with a group of children and adults when Bove began story time. He obviously had a natural feel for children and was very good at talking to them. It was charming to see.

Before heading home, I had time to enjoy two more live music acts – the Old City Buskers, who played smooth jazz songs, and the New Market Train Wrecks, who played country music with a classic twang. The relaxing music allowed me to sit back and process everything that had happened that day – a day full of music and history in Knoxville, Tennessee.