We really enjoyed this video, thank you for creating a perfect then and now. My Husband has been coming down every year from Hillsboro OH for 54 years. I've had the pleasure for 30 years.
@@SmokyMountainFamily So neat you know our area. LOL. but of course we go to Maysville often also. Magees bakery and Pasquales !! Next time you are in our area you'll need to stop in Bainbridge OH. Paps Honey is there. They are the ones that do the Sugarlands honey, also getting ready to open their own distillery. Close to Bob's town 😃
We started going as a family in my teens in the 70's. I remember my dad coming back after his first trip saying the waitress in Pigeon Forge brought out biscuits and said "there ain't no jelly". He laughed about that until he died. I remember a futuristic moon house up about where the sky lift is now. It was really big like a mushroom and had rooms. Pigeon Forge and Sevierville were just pass thru's.
I wonder what the people of Gatlinburg in the 30's would think about the changes to their mountain home today? We often talk about all the changes we have witnessed in the 40 years we have visited. But the crazy thing is - no matter the changes - you can still feel the spirit of the Smokies and the people. This spirit is what makes us all want to return. I love the old pictures.
I remember the Lazy Susan style breakfasts at The Burning Bush at the entrance to the park, Rebels Corner before it burned down and being mesmerized by the water spigot in the air pouring water into a barrel in front of Ripley's Believe It or Not where the floating ball is now. My wife and I bought a timeshare week at Gatlinburg Town Square before it was built. Love Gatlinburg!
Great video's I've been going there all my life does anyone remember when you could feed the bears with blue ribbons in their ears. Love precious memories. ❤👍👍👍
We always stayed at McKay’s when I was a kid back in the 70s. It was across from Rebel’s Corner, more or less. My parents always took me and brother there for vacation. I’m bring them up at the end of October (2023) to see the leaves.
I've been coming since '95 and boy things have changed so much this is very interesting , great job y'all hope you and your girls are doing good, God Bless
That was one awesome video thanks for sharing…. Been going there since the 60s my mom and dad was born and raised in that area…. So much has changed since I was a kid and we went there Gatlinburg and pigeon Forge.. LOVED the VIDEO
Excellent video !!! I love seeing what it "used to be". Similar videos for Pigeon Forge and Sevierville would be fun too. Thanks for making this happen.
Awesome job! We enjoyed that video a lot. My husband and I were just discussing the changes over time, not just in Gatlinburg but even in our lil hometown. We live in eastern KY.
In the 1960s there was an amusement park toward the National park end with a rocket to the moon ride and cages that you got into and started swinging until you finally went over the top of the center pivot bar. There was popular place called “The Rock Shop” that featured natural jewelry, rocks, minerals and crystals. I remember the Greystone Lodge with the huge front yard long before the aquarium. The round building at the 321 junction was Polly Bergen’s Dress Shop. At the end of the strip around the big curve was a trout farm where you could pay to fish for the trout in the pond.
@@SmokyMountainFamily I also remember when, as soon as November 1st hit, many of the shops and motels would shut down for the winter and reopen in the spring. And the motels that did remain open would cut their rates dramatically to try to entice the very few tourists who visited during the off-season. One other thing I recall was the unbelievable traffic in the summers in the 1960s to get to the national park entrance before the by-pass was built. There was no other route to get around it back then. Even the River Road was bumper to bumper.
This was well done and very informative! I first visited Gatlinburg as a teenager in 1972. I had a picture of me riding the Skylift and it was a one seater lift. I love how over the years they have beautified the town with all of the flowers! Adding the benches was a nice touch too. I don't have any memories of the stores and shops but we always walked the strip and enjoyed looking in the stores and shop. We usually spend more time in the national park and in Pigeon Forge than in Gatlinburg.
My parents started taking us back in the 60’s. I remember that pigeon forge was a two lane road There were more local things in the stores and no foreign run/owned junk tee shirt shops.
I just have to give y'all kudos on your dedication to Mike. He was a wealth of information. I am watching your channel from Dublin Ireland. It was great to see Eric shake hands with Will on Halloween. I am from U.S. If I move home, it will be to Appalachia. Thanks. Bless.❤🇮🇪🍀
Wow! We want to get to Ireland soon! Mike was not only a class act but also a great advocate for the area and park. He is certainly missed. Thanks so much for the kind words and for watching!
Never grow tired of the Smokies🥰Been coming since the 60’s. So much has changed-I miss the slower paced Smokies, but appreciate and enjoy the modern day conveniences and opportunities. I hate that Christus Gardens has closed and miss the day that most all stores offered crafts and art created by local people vs mass produced items shipped in. I’ve collected postcards from the area, taken “back in the day”, and would be happy to send shots of some of those should you decide to do a similar video; which, would be great!!! Thanks again! Y’all do such a great job😊
We would love that. Always like seeing that old footage of the place we love. Or email is in the description if you’d like to send them. Thanks as always!
my family would visit the Smokey Mountains every summer in the 90s and 2000s, and it really didn't look too much different than the first 80's video you showed. by the late 2000s enough new attractions had come to replace many of the old ones. love seeing old footage from this era though!
Awesome video. I appreciate the hard work you put into this. Very good and more informative than anything else I’ve seen on the history of Gatlinburg. We visit a couple of time every year and I often wondered how it all looked long ago.
Much appreciated. However I cannot take much credit for this. Many folks worked to capture and collect this excellent footage. Kevin Tierney was a huge contributer. We have another much like this one as well. Thanks so much for watching!
We are working on a couple different short films similar to this. They take a little longer to put together but love doing them. Thanks for watching Nicole!
I remember the wax museum it was cool they had famous people like Abraham Lincoln , Neil Armstrong, the Alamo seen with Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie, also the best western next to Graystone
Here is a chronological list of when we stayed (when we had a digital camera) and also when we first went there together: 1988 - October - Remember a lot less people and a lot of different businesses then as well. Stayed in a cabin with the Tram passing over. 1989 - July - Open Hearth Restaurant, All the Gatlinburg Wedding Chapels (we got married at the on on Reagan Drive - gone now). Stayed in a cabin in Cobbly Nob (still there but made larger). 2006 - October - Stayed at the Park Vista, more people but not as busy as it is now. 2007 - April - Could park behind the area behind Pancake Pantry, Easter Weekend and it snowed. 2008 - December - Stayed in Pigeon Forge area near where the Island is now. 2009 - July - Just remember bears in Cades Cove 2013 - July - Stayed in a condo overlooking town, gone now. Hard Rock Cafe was there where Ole Red is. Also remember where Anakeesta is now. 2021 - September - A lot has changed since we have been there last. We will see what changes occur when we return next year.
Grew up outside of Knoxville in the 80’s and was in Gatlinburg all the time. You might be too young to remember when Gatlinburg had Xanadu, Home of the Future on the park end of the strip. I remember taking a tour of the house a couple of times and it’s something I still remember to this day. Great job SMF!
My first remembrance of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg was in the late 80's early 90's. Great job I absolutely love history and this one was a grand slam! Thanks for sharing 🙏
WOW. Loved it! such a humble history. this past week was my 2 time visiting Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg and i gotta say i cant wait to go back next year and do more things. Beautiful views walking down the main street and seeing the mountains and the buildings in the mountains. You will be in AWWWeeee
I visited Gatlinburg back in the late 80's, and to see it now saddens me. It has gotten so much more commercialized since then. I learned to my dismay that Christus Gardens was demolished for condos, what a crying shame, it's like God was kicked out of Gatlinburg for money. Well done video, thanks.
I assure you there is plenty God here in Gatlinburg and all points in every direction here in East Tennessee. Christ in the Smokies had been off and on for the last couple years and eventually gave over the lease to Skybridge. Much of what was there and still be found at Biblical Times in Pigeon Forge.
Great video! I’ve been going there since the early 80’s, my mom & dad have been going there since the early 70’s. They can remember some of it. We all loved this video. Thanks again for the memories.
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting to see the changes there. This area holds my heart. I love almost everything about it and enjoy learning about and seeing the history of it all.
Wife an I r going beginning of April, the last time I was there was a kid 10 yrs old about 1988, we left my little sister on the mountain,(Ober Gatlinburg ) it was the last cart of the night we were a big group family reunion . My mom was so scared ,She blamed Dad lol my old sister and I were like one gone who's next ? Lmao . Can't wait to see how much it has changed, to be honest I don't remember to much of it 🤔 thanks for the video of the past and future pretty cool
@@SmokyMountainFamily Probably not until Spring .... We are planning a trip to Disney World in February of 2022...my 3 grandkids have never been their....:) So looking forward to that and the holidays coming up...!! My grandkids live here in Virginia where I live....so I am blessed to be able to be with them and be able to be an active part of their lives....they really enjoyed the Smokies when we were there in September...:) So Disney next...then hope to visit the Smokies again soon after.... their ages are 9...6...and almost two....so gotta keep em busy..lol 😁 ❤️
Loved this video.Started going there in the 60's,so much has changed,some good and some bad.We would stay at Whaley's right next to the Gatlinburg Inn.My mom loved sitting in the yard watching people.Loved Rebel Corner gift shop,we ate the Pancake pantry,Lums, and many other places.Went there almost every summer from Indiana and then i got marred in 72 and never made it back till about 78 and we stayed at the Midtown lodge,really nice place closed to the sky lift.Both motels are gone now,which is a shame because they great location on the strip.You did a great job with this video,and enjoy your family videos,
Well done! Love that you did the research and shared. Area has changed so much, even the past 10 or 15 years. Sure wish some things could stay the same.
A very interesting view from then and now. The past simple time seems very relaxing but both views was great. Enjoyed this video very much. Like to see more like this.
Awesome Jeff! We have more of this type of content planned. Wasn’t sure how it would do as it is different from our normal stuff. But glad you liked it!
I love this !! I'm a history lover , I've been reading about the history of Gatlinburg , Pigeon Forge area..and the families living in the smokies before the park was established. Great Vlog 👍 ❤🙌👏
From, Lexington, But now live in Northern Kentucky, Yes I moved in the wrong Direction. Been going to the Smokeys for over 30 years. I was there 2 weeks ago, Sure miss Pre Covic Days, I didn't even attempt to go In Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg. Stayed out 321, Ate Dinner, Crystal Creek, Greenbrier!!! Did some hiking back in Greenbrier. When I seen the 80s video, Made me remember what I thought was crowded 😅 ,Really wasn't.
I live in Seymore in the 60s and 70s I remember that Pigeon Forge was very empty only a few places and Gatlinburg was so easy to find parking and alot of places but not like today W went to places like the skylift and if I remember right it was 2 seater last time I went the places I knew then are gone and so much added my granddaughter and I went few years back and they were building The bigneedle thing and a big silver ball in Pigeon Forge I didn't know what it was the traffic through Gatlinburg was nothing in the 60s as it is today We loved the mountain most(still do) we hiked alot, would go rafting and swimming alot in Mountains specially at the Y and loved The loop hiking to the old cabins We were once photographed in Cades Cove for Look Magazine We went every Weekend as long as roads were opened Ive been to top of Mountain in June and played in Snow with shorts on So much fun
Great video. Graystone was actually Howard Johnson’s for a while. Also in the 80’s clip you can see the old Baptist church across from Mountain Mall. Polly Bergen was at the corner of 321.
Think the newest car i seen was a 88 89ish grand prix! Also a chevy truck about the same year! Grand prix pontiac was at the start of the video and the car behind was filming! Its white 2 door!
The movie A Walk In The Spring Rain was filmed in Gatlinburg. Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman were the stars. They wanted to stay in The Gatlinburg Inn but Mrs. Maples told them no.
I think we remember seeing someone as we pulled out. Please excuse us as we still think when someone waves in our direction they are waving at someone behind us lol. Next time just come on up to us! Thanks for watching!
Last time I was in Gatlinburg I was actually staying in Waland which must be 45 miles away. I had dental work done before going to Waland to stay in my Aunt's family cabin and a tooth ache developed. Called my dentist and he said use hydrogen peroxide to clean my mouth, I I went to the Townsend IGA and found out that there was no hydrogen peroxide because the Sheriff had confiscated it all to keep the meth makers from using it. At that point it might have been easier to go to the Maryville Walgreens but I ended up driving to Gatlinburg and to that first drug store where I was able to find it. Having family in Maryville, I used to go there enough during the years to call it second home and we would take trips into the mountains or go to Gatlinburg, one of the other because you can't do both the same day and really enjoy yourself. I remember the simple places which I still love a lot more than the pancake houses, one of which would seat 500, and the old attractions like the wax museum of American history (Im still a history hound!) and the Art and craft school plus cabin, and the Cliff Dwellers. One really cracked me up even at 11 years. It was called HELL and used cast off Shell gasoline station signs, and advertised for miles before you got to the park via Townsend. One of the big draws it listed was "See the invisible hand," I did not see the Pioneer Inn Restaurant which was there in the 50s and still there at least through about '90. It had a section in the back which was built so that you could look out the window down into the river, watch fish and ducks and see the cool little house that was built on the other side of the river and the occupant had to walk across a personal bridge to get to the house. I have photos of my bride looking very happy in that restaurant, we took a road trip through the mountains for our honeymoon, driving by interstate into West Virginia and then working our way down along the Blue Ridge Parkway, then over the Smokies to get to Maryville so I could introduce her to my Maryville family. All stoid Scots, they were amazed at how much fun an Italian brings to life!
Always thought Mountainview Hotel was a great place to stay. Also had LOTS of fun years ago at the German restaurant in Ober Gatlinburg (because of the area it was in, dry county maybe, we had to buy a license to drink alcohol at the restaurant).
We use to stay at that Quality Inn on the strip when I was a kid. Later turned into Smokey Mountain Lodge. Was back this weekend (last time was 2019) and I noticed the hotel is gone. What happened?
Anakeesta is on the mountain on the other side of town from the sky lift. You can see the sky lift , in the shape of a 7 on the opposite mountain as we descend. Thanks for watching!
