Pigeon Forge marks its 50th year as an incorporated city in April and is planning a day of reminiscing and celebrating on April 4.
The featured speaker will be former Pigeon Forge city attorney and now Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court Gary R. Wade.
The afternoon will be filled with “Golden Memory Hours,” panel discussions with a variety of Pigeon Forge residents. The reminiscing will carry the town’s history from the days of cattle and hayfields along the Parkway to today’s bustling tourism mecca that attracts more than 10 million visitors a year.
Pigeon Forge Commissioner David Wear will be the evening program’s emcee. That program will include Wade’s speech, comments from the other current city commissioners, music from students at Pigeon Forge Middle School and Pigeon Forge High School, the Pigeon Forge Primary School Cloggers, the Pigeon Forge Police Department Color Guard, comments from City Manager Earlene Teaster and entertainment from Matt Cordell, Marcia Nelson, Don Huskey, Fred McClure and Jimbo Whaley.
There will be a preview showing of an anniversary DVD, “Cornfields to Condos,” during the evening. Pigeon Forge Historian Veta King and the staff of the Pigeon Forge Public Library produced the video history.
The afternoon sessions are from 1-4:30 p.m., and the evening program begins at 5 p.m. All activities are at the Pigeon Forge Community Center. Admission is free.
Topics of the afternoon sessions are
· Old Town Pigeon Forge, featuring Jane Whaley Scott, Julia Householder and Ron Rader
· The 1950s, featuring Gwen Cody, Donna Allen and Herman Adams
· The 1960s, featuring Jackie Barnes, Butch Helton and Rev. Dan Suttles
· Old City Hall, featuring Earlene Teaster, Dan Conner and James Householder
· Call the Law, featuring Police Chief Jack Baldwin and former officers Steve Huskey and Ronnie Whaley
