| Sources |
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 17 Sep 1997.
Fontella Lunsford Williamson obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 19 Sep 2011.
Upland Chronicles: Magic World attraction remembered fondly
By Brandon Barnes
As the summer nears its end in Sevier County, it is hard not to take a moment to reflect on one’s own childhood memories in the Smokies as well as our numerous attractions.
To the many guests, there is nowhere in America that captures and embodies the family spirit than Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Nowadays, each city has its own incredible attractions.
For lifelong residents of Sevier County, or those who spent a considerable amount of childhood here, it is remarkable to see how many attractions have made Sevier County a premier destination: Fort Weare Game Park, Porpoise Island, Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus, Mountain Ocean, Fairyland, the Water Boggan, Bunnyland Mini-Golf (and later renamed Nightmare Mini-Golf) and Ogle’s Water Park, to name a few.
It is important to look back on these attractions that are no longer part of our community. Each of them left an imprint on our childhoods and summers while also serving to illustrate the things that are successful in Sevier County today.
While growing up in the late 1980s and 1990s, one place where I could always have an amazing summertime adventure was Magic World. Located in the center of Pigeon Forge where Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf is today, Magic World always represented to my childhood eyes a summer’s worth of amusement and fun.
As I was a child with an active imagination, the sky was the limit for the amount of fun I could have as Magic World was the only place I knew of that prominently featured dinosaurs, magicians, devils and countless other creatures. One aspect of visiting Magic World that was mandatory in the eyes of a youngster was going to see the magician, Merlin Rainbow, practice his magic tricks and arts.
Merlin Rainbow’s Magic Show kept my curious young mind pondering and wondering how his many magic tricks and illusions were possible, such as his trademark of sawing a woman in half and putting her back together.
Merlin Rainbow and his magical skills were only the beginning of an adventurous day at Magic World for me. One of the most fascinating and daring aspects of Magic World was taking a ride through the Haunted Castle.
Inside the Haunted Castle, young children and parents rode in metal carriages clanking past various terrifying sounds including creaking doors, frenzied chords played by the phantom organist, and the screams of those bound and chained to the walls awaiting their fate at the hands of the Mad Headsman.
While those were a few of the aspects that made Magic World a real life fantasy, it is important to look at a place from the perspective of a parent.
My father, Ronnie Barnes, worked in the construction industry and was often unable to go on journeys to Magic World as the summer was, and still is, the busiest season for workers in that field. With him working, my mother, Diane Barnes, always took me to Magic World as she was also a big fan of the amusement park.
My mother’s favorite activities while visiting the theme park were Merlin Rainbow’s Magic Show and watching the Confederate Critters, an animatronics show depicting General Cornelius Bearpatch playing guitar, Colonel Stonewall J. Fox strumming a banjo and Major Mosby Greyhound III pounding out tunes on a tiny piano.
Another thing my mother enjoyed was the Magic Carpet Ride in the Land of Arabian Nights. The Magic Carpet Ride, as I remember, featured two basket chairs on each carpet big enough for two people to sit in as the ride took each child on a magic journey to meet Aladdin and his Genie.
Other popular sections for children and adults at Magic World included the Ball Swim, Ferris Wheel Ride, Bumper Boats and the Mountain Glider Ride to name a few.
Throughout Magic World’s 22 year history, a number of various rides and attractions found there included the Dragon Coaster Ride, Crawling Maze, Haunted Castle Ride, Red Baron Ride, Magic Carpet Ride, Mountain Glider Ride, the Pirate Ship, Antique Car Ride, Net Climb, Air Bounce, Super Slides, Ball Swim, Crawl-a-pillar, the Confederate Critter Show, Tilt-a-Whirl Ride, Bumper Boats, Volcano Walk, Ferris Wheel Ride, Teacup Ride, Dinosaur Museum, Punching Bags, Live Fish Pond, Pony Cart Ride, Clyde the Camel, Giant Spider Ride, Mr. Frog, Dragon Train, Flying Saucer, the Haunted Castle, Land of Arabian Nights, Merlin Rainbow’s Magic Show, the Earth Auger, an 18-Hole Magic Carpet Golf Course, as well as musical shows.
Sadly, Magic World’s run ended in 1994. I was 9 years old at the time the attraction’s doors closed. By 1998, the property where the attraction served as a summertime haven for young families was mostly cleared though it would not be long until the arrival of Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf in 1999, where it has served countless families with one of the most unique and successful miniature golf experiencesin Sevier County.
Though it has been 17 years since Magic World ceased operations, I cannot help but look back at the numerous summers and recall the days I spent enjoying the many rides, activities and shows found there. Even now, as I pass by the location of the defunct attraction, I can still see remnants of Magic World as Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf uses a pirate ship and a waterfall mountain much similar to those Magic World used during its existence from 1972-1994.
You have many remarkable places to visit and enjoy. You should make every effort to record and share your memories with friends and family for many years to come. Maybe these will be the best times you spend with the generations that follow so that they may know the activities and places you have cherished in Sevier County.
— Brandon Barnes is a special events coordinator for the Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or e-mail cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or e-mail to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 2 Jul 2012.
Upland Chronicles: Independence Day reminder of family, freedoms
by BRANDON BARNES
As Independence Day nears, it is important to celebrate the freedoms we have as Americans that the Bill of Rights grants each American.
Throughout the amendments of the Bill of Rights, American citizens are guaranteed many liberties and rights, including freedom of religious worship, being able to possess firearms and the protection of property by limiting the United States federal government. The Bill of Rights also places limits on what the federal government can regulate, whether it is in regards to personal property or liberty. While these natural rights are important across the United States, in Sevier County they hold an importance all their own.
It would be easy to go through the entire Bill of Rights highlighting historic scenes from Sevier County’s past that tie into each amendment. Instead, I will only focus on a few today as there are hundreds of detailed examples throughout Sevier County’s storied history.
Having been born and raised in Sevier County, with generations of family members who have called these mountains home much longer than I have lived, there are many accounts that easily relate to the freedoms we as Americans often take for granted.
Take, for example, the First Amendment. With the First Amendment, Americans are guaranteed freedom of speech, religion and assembly.
The freedom of being able to worship God without regard to denomination is something Sevier County residents can be proud of as there have been many different congregations who have worshipped God in the Smokies for more than 200 years. In my short life, I have already been to too many funerals to count.
Recently a great friend of mine, Wesley Isaac Hensley, passed away at the young age of 25. His death was untimely and even now, with over four months having passed, it is still hard to believe one of the best friends I could ever hope to have is gone.
Known to most by his middle name, Isaac was a conservative Democrat and did not care who knew it. In the 12 years I knew him, he would often get into political debates and discussions with anyone who wanted to challenge his opinions.
I respect not only the time Isaac would take to research an issue, but the fact he would always look back to America’s founding fathers and the documents that came about as result of their actions and beliefs. Without the founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights, good-natured political discussion such as the kind Isaac promoted would not be possible.
It is only in hindsight that I can appreciate that in many places across the world there are no guarantees when it comes to the state allowing the public to mourn. Thanks to the First Amendment, everyone living in America has the right to mourn those who have left an impression upon their life.
In some countries, the federal government mandates each citizen has to publicly mourn the country’s leader when death takes him. Neither our nation nor our government tells us how we can or cannot mourn.
Consider to the Second Amendment and its guarantee for each American having the ability to possess a firearm. In effect, the Second Amendment protects the rights provided in the First Amendment, as well as the rights of each subsequent amendment. While the Second Amendment has been interpreted many ways by the Supreme Court, the people of Sevier County have always held onto this amendment with great pride.
My father, Ronnie Eugene Barnes, has often told me stories of how he and his brother, Freddie Dale Barnes, and their father, Ted Garland Barnes, would go hunting together.
Like any family, there have been countless other experiences my father shared on his parents’ property, located off of Sharp Hollow Road. He and his siblings spent many years working the various crops. As a young boy, I recall times when my father would take me to my grandparents’ home on a Saturday morning. I, like all the Barnes family grandchildren, simply called my grandfather Papaw while we called our grandmother, Millie Ann Suttles Barnes, Mamaw.
With each visit, Papaw would always have Mamaw fix me a bag of candy to take home. In hindsight, I suppose this is how many people around the world view America, in that we are a country that has many great liberties we often take for granted.
Owning land and being able to work with it has always held a special significance to Sevier County. My father’s family settled in the Sharp Hollow area shortly after their home in Maryville burned in the early 1950s. His parents purchased an 11-acre tract and built a small home.
The family of my mother, Sheila Diane Williamson Barnes, resided in Jones Cove for over 100 years. Her parents, Carroll Herman “Red” Williamson and Fontella Lunsford Williamson, lived on that land as did her father’s parents, Alex Luther “Alce” Williamson and Ruth Katherine Carver Williamson.
Carroll was born July 4, 1933, and his father’s birthdate was April 22, 1884. For a parcel of land to remain in family hands for such a long period of time is amazing. The right to own land is a freedom the Bill of Rights grants.
Known to many in the Jones Cove area as “Red” from his old moonshine running days and his fiery red hair, I simply knew him as Paw. I always knew my grandmother Fontella as Maw. I remember many Independence Day celebrations at their homestead. With Paw’s birthday being Independence Day, family members and neighbors would take part in cookouts. As the sky began to darken, there would be fireworks.
Through research, I discovered that Paw had a family connection to this area dating to the early 1800s. Maw, like Paw, had family roots going just as far back connecting her to Sevier County.
With grandparents on my mother’s side deceased, I look back at those days as a privilege. Though drafted hundreds of years before I had any family connection to this area, brave men from the original 13 American colonies declared independence from England through the Bill of Rights.
If not for those men who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, who is to say we would have the right to own land or to worship God in whatever denomination one desires? Also, we have freedom to mourn those we have lost and to celebrate their lives.
Being a native of Sevier County, I know there is a great depth to the history of our area. Whether you come across the personal connections of a lifetime resident like myself or look at some of the events that have left a defining mark on Sevier County, the freedoms provided each American citizen have shaped Sevier County into what it is today.
These very rights protected many families in the early 1930s, as hundreds were asked to sell their farms and homes in order to create Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thanks to eminent domain, these people received proper treatment and reimbursement for their land.
Things have changed a great deal in how I view the history of my own family. Growing older and the consequences associated with it have taught me it is best to celebrate the lives of those who have passed.
Independence Day was always a day my mother’s side of the family set aside to celebrate my Paw’s birthday. This year marks nine years since his passing and to this day, I have not had the desire to celebrate the Fourth of July. With this being my second year as a special events coordinator with the City of Pigeon Forge’s Office of Special Events, I have witnessed thousands of people coming out to Patriot Park on July 4, to celebrate the holiday. I have recently rediscovered how much the holiday means to me.
— Brandon Barnes is a special events coordinator for the City of Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or e-mail cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or e-mail to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
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Abt 1985 - (~ 39 years)