Homing Pigeons and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Did you know anything about Homing Pigeons and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Someone just loaned me Draw Up a Chair by Louise Howe Bailey.

It is a book of reminiscences of growing up in Henderson county.

She shared a story I had never heard, about homing pigeons sending back messages from “the first hikers ever to attempt exploration of the wilderness area designated as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”

Ten homing pigeons belonging to James Ransom Horne would bring back messages so newspaper readers could follow the progress of the hikers.

The first pigeon was released on June 9, 1929 from Clingman’s Dome. Two parties, one from Asheville and the other from Knoxville, Tennessee, exchanged official greetings from the state governors and began the trek across the park.  The pigeon delivered the message in just 3 hours and 8 minutes. (Or this was the end of the trek across the park, depending on what you read…)

Each day a pigeon was released, keeping newspaper readers informed on the journey.

James Ransom Horne

The pigeons belonged to James Ransom Horne. He worked in the circulation department of the Asheville Times selling subscriptions in remote areas.  He brought his birds with him to send back the name an address of new subscribers. The first issue of the paper was then delivered the very next day.

(He had nothing to do with the Swiss Army, this is just to show how messages attached to a homing pigeon’s leg.)

His daughter, Bernice Horne (later called Bee Tomkins), would take the little capsule from the leg of the homing pigeon and phone in the subscription.

(This isn’t a painting of James Horne’s little girl. It’s just a girl with pigeon. But, I like it and I think it makes a beautiful illustration.)

When the messages were sent from the first official explorers of the new Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she helped.  “Bernice remembers that, when the last pigeon was released, after having remained for nearly two weeks inside a wicker cage, its flight to Biltmore was as swift as that of the birds sent earlier.”

A book was written about one of the little birds; Potluck, Message Delivered: “The Great Smoky Mountains are Saved!” by Western North Carolina author Marci Spencer. James Ransom Horne’s daughter Bernice was at the launch party for it.

Special guest will be Bee Tompkins, daughter of the owner of the original Potluck. She is now 96. She will share memories of the special day when Potluck carried the message about the Smokies.

New kid’s book ‘Potluck’ focuses on Smokies history
Karen Chávez, Asheville Citizen Times
www.citizen-times.com/story/girls-gone-outdoors/2015/08/04/new-childrens-book-potluck-focuses-on-smokies-history/31105329/

The book recounts how “newspapermen from North Carolina and Tennessee hiked from opposite sides of Clingmans Dome, the highest mountain in the Great Smokies, for an important celebration. Although the country was entering the Great Depression, residents from both states raised enough money to help create a new national park.”

Clingmans Dome

The group met at Clingmans Dome. It wasn’t long before Clingmans Dome was more easily reached.

Cars driving up to Clingman’s Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Old Postcard of Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Old Postcard of Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Now there is an observation tower.

This is the view, looking west, from Clingman’s Dome.

The view looking west from the summit of Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. Mount Buckley, a subpeak of Clingmans Dome, dominates the view in the foreground on the left. Thunderhead Mountain spans the horizon at the center of the photograph. Silers Bald is visible just right-of-center.

View from Clingmans Dome
Photo by Brian Stansberry

The same author, Marci Spencer, that wrote the Potluck the Pigeon story also wrote Clingmans Dome: Highest Mountain in the Great Smokies. She is a volunteer for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Clingmans Dome.

Clingmans Dome towers over the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains as the highest point in both the national park and the state of Tennessee. The mountain holds an ancient allure–the Cherokee treasured it, as did early settlers, and it captivates throngs of visitors today. Scarred by logging, invasive species and modern pollution, the mountain endures. Through lush narratives and fascinating detail, author Marci Spencer presents the natural and human history of this iconic destination, including Senator Thomas Clingman’s 1858 journey to measure the mountain and the 1934 birth of the park.

What is the difference between a Dove and a Pigeon?

Did you notice that these pigeons look a lot like doves? I thought so, and I looked it up.

There is actually no official difference. They are all Columbidae.

The two terms came into existence because of how common and wide-spread these birds are. Different parts of the world came up with different names for these animals. In Germany, the bird became known as the “dove,” while in France it was named the “pigeon.” Of the many names this animal has been given; these were the two that stuck.

While there is no scientific separation between the two, some parts of the world have come up with their own false distinctions between which Columbidae are pigeons and which are doves.

Difference between Doves and Pigeons
www.doveline.com/html/dove-information.html

Doves are Good
Pigeons are Bad

To some, “pigeons” are the pest-like Columbidae that live within cities while Doves are the wild cousins of these birds that live in the forests.

Doves are Small
Pigeons are Fat

Others say that pigeons are the larger Columbidae while attributing the smaller species as doves.

“None of these distinctions are scientifically recognized.”

Doves are Pigeons
Pigeons are Doves