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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 12 Apr 2013.
Memoirist recalls a different Pigeon Forge
Boyhood was filled with simple pleasures
JILL FRYE
Ron H. Rader
Lori Hill Photography
Rader: "I almost had a gnawing to tell the story."
PIGEON FORGE —
Picture a quaint town, reminiscent of Mayberry. No shopping malls or slabs of concrete. No cars or machinery to detract from the natural landscape. Where Five Oaks now sits, visualize a picturesque farmhouse. Across the street, imagine acres of fields and uninterrupted woodlands.
This is where local writer Ron H. Rader grew up, though it is a city much different than today's Pigeon Forge, where arcades and putt-putt courses line the street to compete for tourists' attention.
As a boy growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, this was Rader's Pigeon Forge, and he invites you to explore it with him in his new book, "The Blue Mountains Sing," with cover art provided by local artist Robert Tino.
What started out as a simple memoir for his children and grandchildren turned into a much bigger project, as Rader realized he had a larger story to share.
Rader, who works full time in real estate, said it was difficult to balance writing with his career and other responsibilities. But the opportunity to preserve his mountain legacy was too compelling to resist.
"It just kept growing, as I realized I almost had a gnawing to tell the story," Rader said.
Rader recounts fondly how Uncle Dave Ogle took him under his wing and taught him the ways of mountain life. His boyhood, he recalls, was filled with simple outdoor pleasures like trout fishing and catching fireflies.
Without sounding didactic or preachy, Radar contrasts the Pigeon Forge of his day with the city of today, and asks the reader to ponder at what cost we enjoy today's modern conveniences.
Seeking to preserve his heritage, Rader first considered a novel, but he felt the Smokies didn't lend itself to such a work. Instead, he wanted to preserve the city's past, while also providing background information to tourists and newcomers to the area.
Rader maintains that some of the changes we are seeing are prophetic, having been predicted by renowned nationalists and conservationists.
Although Rader has served as a naval officer in Virginia Beach, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; and Norfolk, Va., it is his hometown that entrances him. "It's hard to capture and put into words the emotions you have when you look at the Smoky Mountains," he said.
Nevertheless, when he writes about "our home folks and their mountains," that's exactly what he does.
Rader currently lives in Sevierville with his wife, Jane. They have three sons, Jeff, Mitch, and John, as well as six grandchildren.
He will hold a book signing for his newly released memoir, Sunday, April 14, 2-4 p.m. at the Pigeon Forge Library. Sarah Morgan, a renowned dulcimer player who won the 2012 National Mountain Dulcimer Championships, will play at the event.
jfrye@themountainpress.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 23 Nov 2013.
Upland Chronicles: Death of a vision and innocence lost
RON RADER
John F. Kennedy pictured with U.S. Representative Joe Evans his campaign for the White House at McGee Tyson Airport on September 21, 1960. Standing at right is Kennedy’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
John F. Kennedy’s funeral possession en route to Arlington National Cemetery on November 25, 1963.
Millions of Americans first received word that President Kennedy had died when CBS Anchor Walter Cronkite made the announcement on Nov. 22, 1963.
President John F. Kennedy was three years deep into his presidency by November 1963. He symbolized an optimistic future for those of us who graduated college in June 1960. He characterized what many of us envisioned as good for our future and America.
Leadership and the U.S. were synonymous in spirit. Both were described with words like youthful, visionary, energetic, hopeful, an effective work ethic – core values that would continue to grow our economy and yield a promising future. Kennedy projected that much needed hope and optimism. It promised us a completion of our country. Excitement was high, unlike the 50s.
By November 1963, I had served fourteen months of my four-year U.S. Navy duty tour, an Ensign assigned to a Vice Admiral’s staff, Commander of Antisubmarine Warfare Atlantic, in Norfolk, Virginia.
It had already been an eventful past fourteen months. We moved from OCS in Newport, Rhode Island to Norfolk. Virginia in September 1962. It was the Cold War era. In October 1962, after only two months in my Communications Officer Job, the world and we held our breath for thirteen days. On the verge of a potential nuclear war, Kennedy deployed the destroyer USS Joseph P Kennedy from our Cuban blockade to challenge the nuclear missile trawlers.
In April 1963, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher mysteriously disappeared in the North Atlantic. The disappearance triggered a yearlong high alert for those of us in antisubmarine warfare. It remains labeled as the world’s worst submarine disaster. In May 1963, our first son Jeff was born.
When I was ashore and had time off, I served as a substitute teacher in the Norfolk elementary school system. On this particular day, November 22, I was teaching seventh grade math in a local elementary school. We had just convened class. At 1:30 p.m., the school intercom suddenly clicked on and began to broadcast a television news alert. Walter Cronkite described the unfolding horror.
A deafening silence of unbelief filled the room. Children began to sob. Most, if not all, belonged to area active duty Navy households. I was stunned. I remember going to the board and writing – “Listen well and remember — for you are living out a very sad and historic moment in our nation.” School quickly dismissed.
America lost her innocence that day. We all lost our innocence that day. Until then we had full faith and reassurance in our leaders, our institutions and our quality of life. We felt secure, safe and protected. That act tore a hole in the fabric of our society. It was one from which we never quite recovered. Vietnam, racial unrest, more assassinations, Cold War incidents and other upheavals slowly peeled away our faith in things that mattered.
Looking back over those fifty years, Kennedy’s favorite lyric from Camelot was prophetic. “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.” Sadly, there would never be another Camelot. November 22, 1963 changed us in many ways. We never regained our innocence.
Ron Rader is a commercial real estate advisor with Sperry Van Ness-RM Moore, LLC. Sevierville office. The Pigeon Forge native has a newly released book, “ The Blue Mountains Sing of rivers, old men, trails, and trout.” A 1940s and 50s boyhood and coming of age in the Great Smoky Mountains, Pigeon Forge and Elkmont. Join him at Wilderness Week in January and learn more about our area’s local heritage and culture of the 1940s and 50s. Contact him at ronrader@live.com.
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 email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 25 Jan 2014.
Ron Rader shares tales of the Smoky Mountains
JAKE OLD
Rader: "There’s a big difference between the then and now, and are the tradeoffs worth it?"
PIGEON FORGE —
Local author Ron Rader is passionate about the Great Smoky Mountains. That led to his book “The Blue Mountains Sing of Rivers, Old Men, Trails and Trout,” a memoir that shares a title with a presentation he will give Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the LeConte Convention Center, as part of Wilderness Wildlife Week.
“It’s a coming of age,” Rader said. “It’s about the ‘then.’ What Pigeon Forge was like, what Gatlinburg was like, what Elkmont was like. There’s a big difference between the then and now, and are the tradeoffs worth it? I address that by weaving some fictional stories in there with it, some poems, stories about a grandfather and a grandson, some trout talking.”
His father worked with the national park service when he was younger, so Rader had an opportunity to hike many of the trails in the Smokies. It was there that he developed a passion for the mountains.
“I say in the book that I’m part of the mountains and the mountains are part of me,” Rader said. “I want to see them nurtured and maintained. Growing up in Pigeon Forge, it’s not just 200 families and a couple of general stores anymore. The road came through, and everybody’s back door became the front door.
“I’m not knocking progress at all, I love the economy and quality of life, to a degree,” he added. “We got a lot of modern things that we wouldn’t have. But when does it get out of hand and when is it over with?”
Though he supports conservation of the Great Smoky Mountains, Rader is hesitant to label himself as an environmentalist.
“I hate to use that word, because I’m not a tree-hugger,” Rader said. “But you look around 40, 50 years, look around and you can see the difference. I’m not there to beat a drum and that sort of thing. I love the mountains, and I wrote a book for people who love the mountains.”
Rader will be available for book signings at midday each day during Wilderness Wildlife Week.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 25 Jul 2014.
Local author Ron Rader’s memoir is honored with publishing award
A Smoky Mountain boyhood
KENNETH BURNS
Local author Ron Rader's memoir of his Pigeon Forge childhood, "The Blue Mountains Sing," recently earned a silver medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
Ron Rader's father, Al Rader (right), served in the Civilian Conservation Corps. With Ted Davenport and Mel Price.
“I was just stunned,” said local author Ron Rader, of learning that his book had been honored in the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
The awards were presented May 28 at the BookExpo America convention in New York City, where a silver medal in the South-Best Nonfiction category went to Rader’s memoir, “The Blue Mountains Sing: Of Rivers, Old Men, Trails and Trout.”
“I was overwhelmed,” said Rader, who retired from the University of Tennessee and is a commercial real-estate advisor. “I had no idea.”
Rader’s book, which came out last year, tells of his boyhood in Pigeon Forge, where he came of age in the 1940s and 1950s. There are numerous photographs of family members and local landmarks.
“I was fortunate because my dad worked for the park service, which gave me entree to lots of areas and people others didn’t enjoy,” said Rader.
Rader’s mother owned Pigeon Forge Shopping Center, a grocery store. “The only way to Gatlinburg was in front of our store, so all the tourists went,” Rader said.
“The Blue Mountains Sing” combines reminiscence with family history. The book also offers reflections on topics including hunting, fishing and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“People who looked at the book for me (before it was published) said, ‘Really, you have four books here,’” recalled Rader, chuckling.
The Independent Publisher Book Awards are presented in dozens of categories, and judges evaluate up to 5,600 entries. Some awards go to books from nationally prominent publishers, such as university presses, and others are given to self-published titles, like “The Blue Mountains Sing.”
“I entered the book to try to get a little exposure,” Rader said, who called his memoir a labor of love. “I’m unfamiliar with publishing in general, pretty much a neophyte.”
Rader has received good feedback. “People say, ‘I’ve been so blessed to read this book,’” he said. “I get emails from people who grew up in the same area, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge. They’re buying it and giving it to their kids.”
“The Blue Mountains Sing” is available at Sevier County outlets including Walgreens, national park visitor centers, the Old Mill, Applewood Farmhouse and Ole Smoky Distillery, Rader said. In Knoxville, it is for sale at the East Tennessee Historical Society and Union Avenue Books.
For Rader, writing the book was, partly, a family affair. “I wanted my three sons and my grandkids to appreciate what was there,” Rader said, referring to the “small, Mayberry-esque-type town” that was the Pigeon Forge of his boyhood.
Sevier County has experienced dramatic growth since Rader was a child. “Obviously, the economy here is better, and lots has improved,” he said. “But just to drive through Pigeon Forge and envision what it was before – it’s bittersweet.”
kburns@themountainpress.com
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name: Ronald Rader
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1940
Event Place: Civil District 5, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 2
Marital Status: Single
Race (Original): White
Race: White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Son
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
Birthplace: Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated): 1938
Household Role Gender Age Birthplace
Alvin C Rader Head M 26 Tennessee
Louise Rader Wife F 25 Tennessee
Ronald Rader Son M 2 Tennessee
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