Tractor Driving Lessons Offered at Buckhorn Inn

A long time ago, the mid-50s and early 60s – my family would spend spring vacations at the Buckhorn Inn. My parents – Frank and Janet Warren – were old friends of the Bebbs having lived for years in Hinsdale, Illinois. We would make the trip down to Harrodsburg, KY from Hinsdale on the first day, stay at Aspen Hall and eat dinner at the Beaumont Inn. We’d eat breakfast at a diner and get lunch made there for the trip to Norris Dam and then into Gatlinburg. We would also stay in the first or second cottage. The Bebbs had a VW bus and a VW convertible and I would ride with Doug into town to get supplies. I’d play with Molly at their house on the hill around the bend from the Inn. I learned to drive a tractor at Buckhorn Inn! I would occasionally bring a friend with me and my parents would drop us off at one end of town and we would play putt-putt golf, visit every junk store, and get a hamburger somewhere until we reached the other end of town. Pigeon Forge was just a little pottery then. We would play golf at the Gatlinburg CC. What great times we had there.  My mother bought her first Jim Gray sketch at Buckhorn and subsequently acquired several other watercolors. Happy Anniversary Buckhorn Inn!  John W. Warren

Always the Same but Always Changing

At the time of my first visit to Buckhorn in 1947, my mother was the secretary at the Knoxville Tourist Bureau and had gotten to know Mrs. Audrey Bebb (mistress of Buckhorn at that time). We were comparative newcomers, fresh from the cornfields of Iowa. We had fallen in love with the Tennessee mountains, lakes and people (I married a girl from Jefferson County in 1951 and we have been coming to Buckhorn Inn ever since, just recently to celebrate our 62 wedding anniversary).

At the time of that first visit, I was visiting my folks from Iowa State College and going up to the mountains for the Buckhorn Lunch (yes, they served lunch in those days) was a special treat for me. We sat outside with Mrs. Bebb after lunch and talked—mostly about the mountains. At one point, Mrs. Bebb said that she always enjoyed just sitting and watching the mountains, “always the same but always changing.” That comment has remained in my mind all these years because I received a letter from mother several months later with the news that Mrs. Bebb had died from brain cancer. She had gradually lost her sight beginning several months before our visit. Bob Holsaple, Knoxville TN

The Perfect Hosts

During our three previous visits at the Buckhorn Inn, we stayed in the beautiful, premium rooms at the inn. On this fourth visit and during the 75^th anniversary of the inn, we stayed at Bebb House. Bebb House is the former home of Buckhorn Inn founder Douglas Bebb and his wife June. Turns out that Doug and June are still there; something to keep in mind for anyone who decides to book the house in the future. They can be found resting just outside the back door in a cool, shaded area. Although the house has been renovated and decorated much the same as the rooms in the inn, many original features remain. In the kitchen an old, built in oven is embedded in the back side of the rock fireplace, push button controls for what must have once been a state of the art range remain in the wall, and the cabinets are surely original to the house. The wall paneling was cut in Doug Bebb’s own sawmill. I guess only so much can be changed when the original owners are still hanging around. The house was designed and the site chosen by Doug Bebb. And the very best part of Bebb House is the breathtaking view of the mountains from the covered patio in the back of the house.

More than any other part of the property, at Bebb House you can really sense the presence of Buckhorn’s former innkeeper. Partly because he never left, and partly because of knowing that his hands were laid to so much of the creation of his home. At night it occurs to us that a long, wide hallway running along the bedrooms presents a perfect pathway for the passage of ethereal spirits displeased with our invasion. But no haunting occurs during our stay. As ever, the Bebbs are still the perfect hosts. The Beaubiens

Happy Thoughts

Memories of Buckhorn Inn are always happy thoughts for us. God created a beautiful setting here with awesome mountains, trees, flowers and cheerful birds. It may just be heaven on earth!  For sure, Buckhorn has been and will continue to be a place for us to come to clear our minds and rest our bones. Thank you and all the precious people who keep the inn for caring and offering hospitality to all for the last seventy-five years. Joyfully, Nancy and Sherold