Migration and Resettlement
Ethan Landa paused to wipe the sweat off his brow and consider the current sculpture he was working on. Over the years he'd skimped and saved to invest and now had a formidable collection of modern tools to assist him in his work, but he still liked to work with his original hand tools for the fine finish of his carvings.
His trade had been passed on from ancestors and it came as a natural talent to him. He was skilled in producing masterpieces in stone and wood and one of the shops in Gatlinburg Tennessee took the bulk of his work though tourists had discovered his workshop on the outskirts of Gatlinburg where he'd inherited a large property from his father whose father in turn had been a pioneer in the district carving a living place out of the pristine environment which he'd tried to preserve as best he could.
So, some of his work was on display in an area in front of his home for tourists to choose from. A crystal-clear stream passed by the property and his grandfather had harnessed that to provide a water wheel which had been used for various purposes over the years. With the advent of electricity in the area this was now a tourist attraction, unused but lovingly maintained.
He thought of his wife Joslyn who was probably in town delivering to the shop he supplied most of his work to. She was talented in different ways and an expert in pottery and basket weaving. She'd received her talent from her Cherokee Ancestors. Grandfather Miller had married a Cherokee woman and Joslyn had traces of her ancestry and skin color to proudly show for it.
Joslyn also worked with leather goods and jewelry with a Cherokee flavor to them. Ethan was proud of his wife and considered himself lucky to have won her affections when the Miller's had banned him from their place as they noticed their young daughter taking an interest in him when he passed through the hiking trails in their part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
They'd tried on a few occasions to marry Joslyn off to cousins, but Joslyn had refused despite beatings from her father. Ethan had been smitten by this young woman from the first time he saw her and found ways to meet her when she made trips to the village nearby for provisions and he begged Joslyn to leave her home and come to live with the Landa family.
Ethan's father old Jeb Landa had not been happy when his son turned up with Joslyn and father and son had heated conflict over this sudden appearance of a young woman with obvious Cherokee connections. Jeb was not concerned about the fact the young woman was Cherokee, but he was concerned about the implications of the two of them absconding without permission of her parents. These hills had experienced blood feuds since the area had become settled and feuds often led to death. There was a protocol to be followed so why start another war between families even though there was supposed to be a law presence in this modern age to settle disputes.
When the Millers turned up in force sporting hunting rifles to get their sister back Jeb almost surrendered the young woman to keep the peace, but Ethan had appeared with a shotgun firing warning shots into the air to get the Miller's attention and they paused to consider their position. They had the numbers to get their way and they outclassed Jeb in guns but there was the law to contend with now and the Millers were already in trouble for their illegal moonshine stills with that law.
So, the two families sat together, and old Jeb fed them and sent them away with a cash settlement for his new daughter-in-law. It took a long time for old Jeb to forgive Ethan and Joslyn as he loved his money, but Joslyn pulled out all stops to please her father-in-law and mother-in-law and Jeb's wife Mary warmed to her instantly and became her protector. Ethan and Joslyn were deliriously happy with each other and soon began to produce a family to the delight of Jeb and Mary who doted on their new grandchildren.
The first of the children to follow were twins delivered by Mary with the help of some of her close friends. The men were banished from the scene until the two girls were born. Sarah made the first appearance closely followed by Leah and these two carried strong traces of their mother's Cherokee ancestry.
As a matter of courtesy Jeb sent a message to the Miller family a day's journey away and the whole family turned up to share the happy occasion with all traces of animosity gone. The family camped for a week in the Landa barn and celebrated loudly at night with copious quantities of their moonshine product bought with them which old Jeb took a liking too himself much to the disgust of Mary who maintained her strong religious prejudices against such destructive things in the home. When the Miller's left Mary made it known this should never be bought into her home again and Jeb who was in awe of his wife reluctantly agreed.
Jeb Landa's father was originally from the Basque area of Spain where it was not unusual to enjoy a little of the juice of the grape and learning of the discovery of gold in California had made the tortuous trip across the sea and land until he found himself in the threatening environment of the California gold rush. He was penniless on arrival but knew how to look after himself and through whatever means were at his disposal clawed his way up to being able to access the tools and provisions needed to search for gold.
The great majority of hopeful miners failed in their endeavors and drifted into any kind of work that provided a living but he often starving persevered and struck it rich. He took his riches and made the tedious return to the east coast of this new land of opportunity and found property in the new state of Tennessee where he established himself working hard to clear the land and build a log cabin then look for a suitable wife whose family had been pioneers in the area during the days of the Cherokee tribes. His first two children died at birth but eventually Jeb was born to grace their home.
Jeb had a hard upbringing. His father demanded a lot of himself and sought to teach his only son life was hard and one had to exercise effort and brain to survive. His wife was of hardy pioneer stock and worked along with her husband to establish a place for their children to survive. The town of Gatlinburg began to develop during grandfather's time and was a thriving center today because of the spirit of pioneering families who'd moved in over time. Grandfather had passed on the skills in trade that made the Landa family prosperous in this era. The Landa family had vineyards in Spain, but they also had traditionally provided the sculptures and artwork that graced cathedrals and the homes of the idle rich. These skills had provided a hobby for old Jeb until Gatlinburg became a center for the arts and Ethan realized it could provide him a source of income and his wife Joslyn had skills from her Cherokee ancestry that could be equally profitable.
While he never wanted to leave the ideal living of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area, he was beginning to toy with the idea of supplying his artwork in a wider commercial environment. Each city in the US now hosted specialty shops selling the kind of items he and his wife produced and the affluent cities were awash in apartments with sculptures and carvings to grace living rooms. They were already rich enough, but he wondered what it would be like to be even richer. Joslyn had no interest in expanding and was satisfied with the simple life they lived.
The twins Sarah and Leah were followed two years later by a son who they called James. James had the features of his Grandfather Jeb and Ethan marveled at how genetics worked in providing a link with the past in body shape and features.
As the children grew and attended elementary and high schools Ethan wondered what his children would choose to do in life. Each of them had been introduced to the skills of their ancestors at an early age and they found those forms of expression came naturally. Sarah and Leah learned the skills of running a home along with their mother's trade with pottery and weaving and were good at it. They also worked part time during vacations in the various shops and restaurants and were encouraged to bank their earnings rather than spend them like the other students their age did.
Sarah had taken an art course in high school as an elective and blossomed into a good artist painting some of the scenes in the national park which were good enough to exhibit in one of the shops in town. Leah took an interest in her father's work as a sculptor and Ethan surprised and delighted patiently took her through the rudiments of these skill developments until she was beginning to produce some of her work perhaps not good enough to display in the shops in town but at least she was developing this extra skill and Ethan felt that over time he could bring her to a much higher skill level.
James was a placid child from birth and quite happy to learn all the skills the family were noted for but to the disappointment of his parents showed little interest in continuing those skills for a living when he grew up. His grades through elementary and high school were excellent and one day the head of the high school paid Ethan a visit. He strongly advised Ethan to send James to the nearest university Johnson University in Knoxville.
Ethan was surprised and distressed he'd imagined his children would grow up and locate with their families in this general area so they could enjoy the company of grandchildren as he and Joslyn grew older. He'd imagined the girls would continue to follow the trade of their parents even in marriage and that his son James would take over the property and business. Now it was suggested James was destined for a higher education than Ethan had thought necessary and may not be even interested in inheriting the business he and Joslyn had worked so hard to establish. The university would be more than twenty-five miles from Gatlinburg. Would that mean his son would be leaving home to live in Knoxville?
He tried to keep his anger under control as she spoke with the head of the high school and made a non-committal promise to think about it. The family had more than enough money to finance this but why the hurry when James was not even finished his high school years and the girls had just completed their last year. Would the girls be now asking to proceed to university? The family was falling apart!
That evening he sat with Joslyn to discuss the matter and she shrugged it off. Her reasoning was if the boy was not happy to follow in his parents' footsteps why prevent him from doing what bought him happiness in life. He'd only be resentful for the rest of his life. As for the girls, she'd talk with them and gauge their thinking on their future as they would have to think about it now, they were finishing their high school years.
To be continued.
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