Horses, buggies to parade down Main Street Sunday

By Lynn Hotaling

Sylva's first feature event, the Sesquicentennial Heritage Parade, will bring horse-drawn vehicles, horseback riders and walkers downtown.

Gospel music by The Reflections will kick off the afternoon at 2 p.m., and the parade will follow at 3 p.m.

Several Jackson County commissioners, the designated grand marshals, will lead the cavalcade in a custom-made buggy owned and driven by Charles Cathey of Qualla and pulled by Cathey's Belgian horse, Robbie. Commission Chairman Jay Denton plans to ride his chestnut quarterhouse, Cocomo Joe.

"What we have is a parade that will reflect the heritage of the mountains," Denton said. "I hope people participate and turn out to watch. Anybody that's familiar with the history of this area understands that horses played an important role in building Jackson County."

The horse parade is the brainchild of Sylva Town Board member Maurice Moody, vice chairman of the Sesquicentennial Committee and chairman of the Heritage Parade Committee. Moody plans to be astride his Tennessee Walker mare, Chancey, on Sunday.

"I think the parade will be good for the community and good for the horse people in the area," Moody said. "I'd like to see it turn into an annual event."

Sylva's American Legion chapter will present the colors, and local 4-H Club members plan to march. At least 50 horses and five horse-drawn vehicles will participate, including several members of the Hendersonville Mounted Patrol, Moody said.

Horseback riders, buggies and wagons will gather at the Community Service Center and proceed along Skyland Drive to Business 23 and down Main Street toward the Jackson County Courthouse. Walkers will join the parade at First Charter Bank.

For additional information about Sunday's Heritage Parade, call Sylva's City Hall at 586-2719.

This weekend's other sesquicentennial event is a Saturday night fish fry at the Cashiers Community Center. The Oct. 6 event will feature music by Benny Queen and the Wild Hog Band and will get under way at 4 p.m. Antique autos will be displayed on the community center grounds.

The county's official Sesquicentennial Celebration will continue through the weekend of Oct.

19-21, when events are planned in Webster and Sylva.

"A Day in Webster, Jackson County's Hometown" is the title of the second main event to be held at the Family Resource Center (old Webster School) Friday, Oct. 19, and will feature walking tours, traditional music and a program by Asheville Citizen-Times columnist and Addie native Bob Terrell.

The culminating event will be the all-day Oct. 20 downtown festival, which will include the 4 p.m. Sesquicentennial Parade. Local churches, schools, businesses, Scout troops and others are encouraged to assemble floats and participate. County commissioners will again serve as grand marshals, and commercial floats will not be included. Vintage cars and trucks (1969 and older) are welcome. Those wishing to join the parade may call Betty Foxx at 586-2512 or 586-6777 for information or to register.

An eclectic lineup aimed at pleasing all ages and musical tastes will provide the sound track for the festival. Performers scheduled include the Donnie Cray Band, the Fiddling Dills Sisters of Cullowhee, the Willing Servants of Sylva, the Queen Family of Caney Fork, Susie Beckwith of Sylva and the Smoky Mountain Dulcimer Club.

Taking the stage at 6 p.m will be Steve Weams and the Caribbean Cowboys, a popular regional group that plays a wide variety of music. They will perform during and after Sylva Partners in Renewal's traditional pig roast, which will begin at 5 p.m. Tickets for the barbecue will be on sale Sunday during the Heritage Parade.

Other activities Oct. 20 will include the presentation of an official county flag and checkers and other "old-timey" games and contests. The day will also feature music, food and craft vendors.

Ladies of all ages should be readying their best 19th-century fashions for the Oct. 20 Sisters of the Swish fashion show, which draws its title from the name given to local women who dressed in period costumes when Jackson County celebrated its centennial in 1951. For entry forms or information about the fashion show, call Irene Hooper (293-5456), Amy Garza (631-4587) or Gail Cooper (497-9664).

Upcoming sesquicentennial musical events include a Saturday, Oct. 13, youth performance night in Sylva and a Sunday, Oct. 14, musical program featuring a brass band and bagpipers at the Jackson County Recreation Park in Cullowhee.

Sylva First Presbyterian Church will present the final sesquicentennial event - a program of Stephen Foster songs - Sunday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. Carol Lynn and Balfour Knight will perform along with guest musicians. Foster is remembered for tunes such as "Camptown Races," "Oh, Susannah," "Old Folks at Home," "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair."

All-cotton T-shirts featuring the official sesquicentennial logo are currently on sale for $10 each and are available at Jackson's General Store, Blackrock Outdoor Co., the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and the Jackson County Recreation and Parks Department and will be available during Sunday's Heritage Parade. Souvenir refrigerator magnets and commemorative newspaper sections will also be for sale on Sunday.

Volunteers are needed to help with all aspects of the monthlong celebration. Anyone interested in serving on a committee or helping at one of the planned events is asked to call Jeff Carpenter, recreation department director, at 586-6333.

Jackson County was formed in 1851 from Macon and Haywood counties. Its government was organized in March 1853 during a two-day session at the Daniel Bryson homeplace in Beta. A monument was erected last fall along U.S. 23-74 near the Cope Creek intersection to mark the site of the county's first courthouse.

Back to Archive: 10/04/01.