Enduring ties of friendship across space and time……

In the 1920’s Hubert Bebb, architect of the Buckhorn Inn and brother of founder Doug Bebb, became fast friends with my father, Walter R. Humphrey. They were students at the University of Colorado.  The friendship continued all their lives, and when my family took a vacation from home in Fort Worth, Texas, the route always included a stop in Gatlinburg with these dear friends. This began in the 1950’s.  We would stay at Buckhorn and visit both Bebb families.  In 1968 I married a native Knoxvillian, Henry Henegar, and part of the initiation into Tennessee life was a visit to Buckhorn the summer of our marriage. We stayed this time with Hubert and Louisa Bebb, walking from their home to dinner at the Inn, where I found my parents’ names in the guest books in that magical main room.  We continued to visit Buckhorn Inn for special occasions.  One of those was a family trip where we photographed two of our our almost-grown children as they walked away from us, down a leafy Buckhorn road, into their adult life. 

The enduring ties of friendship across space and time. . . the love of a particular place because of its beauty and the family memories it evokes. . . the example of a green, warm hospitality and magnificent meals:  these are Buckhorn’s reminders for me and mine.  Jane Humphrey Henegar