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Karen Marcus and Henry Chambers place flowers on a grave
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
A group dedicated to maintaining the North Shore cemeteries that are no longer accessible by road, had their monthly decoration this past Saturday for Mitchell Cemetery.
The trip began by boat from Cable Cove boat dock near Fontana Village and continued across the lake to an area near Pilkey Creek.
Once stepping off the boat, the ¾ mile hike began on the red clay shore of Fontana Lake and passed by the old site of Jim Mitchell’s home, barn and fields where the Mitchell family grew corn and other crops to be self-sufficient.
The halfway mark of the trek was called the “Cascades,” a series of trickling waterfalls surrounded by laurels and “paw paws,” an oddly shaped green fruit that is said to taste like bananas.
At the top of the mountain, was Mitchell Cemetery, where there were several marked graves with tombstones that the genealogical society placed from generous donations. There were also several unmarked graves that were marked by rocks.
Henry Chambers, chairman of North Shore Cemetery Association, said that recently they discovered more graves at the site but are still trying to figure out who they belong to so they can place stones or markers. There is believed to be about 16 graves at this site that sit in the clearing and stretch out to the corner in the woods.
James Calhoun demonstrated how they find the graves with an iron rod that when held loosely turns toward a grave. They said the rod turns toward the head of a woman and the feet of a man, so that is how they determine the sex and help identify the person. This technique is known as grave dowsing. If using two rods they will cross when you get near a grave.
The group brought along bags of flowers and carefully placed each one on graves to honor those who had gone before. Chambers also prayed and said when they have larger groups they often sing hymns and read a short devotional at the site. About 11 people attended but only six made the hike to the top of the mountain.
Karen Marcus, programming and publicity chair of the Swain County Genealogical Society, said these trips are sponsored by donations from the community and that is how they keep the tradition going.
The North Shore Association in cooperation with the National Park Service holds decorations every month during the summer and have cookouts and potlucks to celebrate the get-togethers.
Their next decoration will be Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. Go to Facebook/NorthShoreCemeteries for the latest information.