Decoration Day In Cades Cove
When our lives on earth are completed, our remains are treated and “laid to rest” in methods which are individually specified or as those which may be established by family and friends. Cultural and religious practices often influence those methods. The alternatives of today are certainly more numerous than those practiced by our ancestral roots but one thing remains consistent, independent of the method implemented, memories remain with those “left behind”.
Our Cades Cove heritage generally respected their departed family members, loved ones and friends, selecting internment sites influenced by church affiliation, family associations or as dictated by geographical and seasonal circumstances. At least fourteen recognized burial grounds are contained within the Cades Cove community, with many individual grave sites distributed throughout the hills and hollars. Early pioneers were often buried at or near their home place or where death occurred otherwise. Life was harsh in this early, primitive, isolated community and many of the early and later burials included those of babies and youth, victims of childhood diseases, epidemics and the limitations of available medical care. Family burial plots developed within the “settlements” and later community burial grounds at the organized churches. Death was often communicated to the Cades Cove community through the tolling of the church bell, each mournful toll signifying one year of life. Cove residents could generally identify the deceased through this method and would respond appropriately to assist the grieving family in preparation of the body for burial, to build the coffin, to assure appropriate dress, to provide food or essential farm labor, and to “sit with the dead”. Oftentimes, dependent on the season of death, paper flowers were lovingly made to decorate the burial plot. These were “neighbors” in the truest sense.
Memories did not stop with death. Year after year, family and friends would celebrate and recognize the contributions provided by and affection felt for departed loved ones by placing fabricated or picked flowers on individual burial plots. Decoration Day in Cades Cove, and in other communities, was established as a specific date on which the respect and love for departed individuals was displayed through grave decorations. Memorial services at church buildings were conducted as well as “eating on the grounds”. This was a day of community respect, celebration and “remembering”. The tradition continues today in Cades Cove as well as in other active Southern Appalachian communities whose cultural roots placed value on the significance of Decoration Day.
There is no more appropriate time than Decoration Day for the CCPA to recognize and honor the contributions of our Cades Cove heritage. Since formation of the organization in 2001, the CCPA has planned, procured flowers and assembled in Cades Cove to decorate ancestral graves. Our objective is to assure that all graves in Cades Cove are appropriately recognized on this special day. Admittedly, we fail to completely satisfy this objective, particularly for those few isolated burial spots beyond the confines of the Cades Cove settlements. Many of the grave sites in the Cove continue to be recognized by family members, in addition to those receiving attention of the CCPA. We respect and applaud the values of those families and individuals who continue to observe this very special day. Our efforts are intended to supplement those and to compensate for others who are unable to respond for a variety of circumstances.
The CCPA sponsored a Decoration Day service at the Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church in 2004. Descendants of the Lequire and Oliver families provided the leadership on that special day. Many ancestral roots were represented by others who participated. Other individuals and groups provide annual services in the Cades Cove churches. Decoration Day in Cades Cove is a special time when tradition and values have not been displaced or muted by “modern” priorities and practices. May it continue until the end of time!
ANNUAL DECORATION AT CADES COVE 1942
