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Miss Lucy's Picnic is held on the lawn of the Hedden House, now owned by Terry and Deborah Thompson, on Buchanan Loop in Webster. Elisha Caylor Hedden built the Queen Anne-style house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, about 1910. Hedden House was the boyhood home of the late Gov. Dan Moore, who served as North Carolina's governor from 1965 until 1969, and the structure is included in the "Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina." By Lynn Hotaling and Rose Hooper A 57-year-old tradi- tion continues this Fourth of July weekend with Miss Lucy's Picnic at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 6. This year's picnic will be held on the lawn of the Hedden House, now owned by Terry and Deborah Thompson, on Buchanan Loop in Webster. Elisha Caylor Hedden built the Queen Anne-style house, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, about 1910. It is "Jackson County's best example of a frame house built by a mountain family who moved to Webster to take advantage of the rising industrialism of Western North Carolina," according to the National Register. Elisha Hedden was in lumber business, and the National Register terms the house a "tribute to the business of lumbering and the art of woodworking." Hedden House was the boyhood home of the late Gov. Dan Moore, who served as North Carolina's governor from 1965 until 1969, and the structure is included in the "Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina." Joe Rhinehart, president of the Webster Historical Society, has organized the picnic for the past 21 years. He said the Hedden House lawn was known as the "big lot" when he was growing up in Webster during the 1940s. Miss Lucy Hedden started the picnic in 1946 to commemorate America's victory in World War II. She, with her Campfire Girls troop and her co-leader, Louise Buchanan, led a parade down Main Street to the Webster School for a picnic, softball game for all ages and games for the children. Lifetime Webster resident Rhinehart was on hand for that first picnic. "Miss Lucy had me dressed up as Uncle Sam, and Marilyn Shuler, who now lives in Florida, (granddaughter of the late Irone Coward), was Miss Liberty," Rhinehart said. "We led the parade down Main Street, and Mrs. Coward made our costumes." The late Lewis Cannon, one of the owners of Cannon Bros. Hardware Store in Sylva, was the pitcher for one of the softball teams who competed that day, Rhinehart said. "It was a real community picnic - everybody brought food. The whole town - about 70 people - participated. Even babies in baby carriages were pushed down what was then a dirt road," Rhinehart said. For the past 21 years the Deitz Family and the Ginn Brass Band have performed concerts of traditional and patriotic music at the picnic, and both groups will be back this year. Brothers Joe and Bill Deitz, along with Bill's wife, Delores, and daughter, Crystal, offer traditional string band music. As the Country Cousins, they played for years with legendary Sylva fiddler Harry Cagle, who died in 1997. Horn player Tommy Ginn of Sylva brings together various members of his musical family to entertain at the annual event, Rhinehart said. Miss Lucy's Picnic also opens Webster Historical Society's popular summer evening series of entertainments. "Everyone is invited to come with a dish to share and a lawn chair or blanket and join the fun at this year's picnic," Rhinehart said. |
