Lake Jocassee
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Debbie Fletcher
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| I have always found it interesting when people assume that I lived at Jocassee. Did I ever say that? I'm sure I didn't. I remember saying that it felt like I could go home again when they found the Lodge in the lake. I was born and raised in Columbia. Jocassee was our summer place - but I have always felt that Jocassee was home. I was beginning to question if I was misleading anyone. But, curiously enough, I was in the doctor's office the other day. He had just returned from a 1-month trip to another country to visit his father. He commented that he was ready to come "home" after only 2 weeks. He said, "I'm FROM there, but THIS is home." EXACTLY! I guess the old adage about "home is where the heart is" is true after all. |
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Well, Dave and I honed our camping skills last weekend. I picked a lovely campsite (online, mind you) -- and it was indeed a beautiful view of the lake. But there's always a catch: hiking 1/3 of a mile from our truck to haul stuff in. I suppose that wasn't too awful, but hauling it back up? Thank God for my husband.
I remember Jocassee being cold at night in the summer. Yeah, well, THAT was in the valley, 'cause it sho' wasn't cold where we were! We were so hot our sweat was sweatin'! The lake was so refreshing, though. We didn't get to spend much time in the water because, as usual, I was on a Jocassee mission. There was a huge lake cleanup (on land and underwater) on Saturday, so I was on the registration table from 7-3 - again, sweltering so bad that I literally put ice chips in my bra to keep from passing out  . Yes, I have been known to do some odd things from time to time, but I have a strong sense of self-preservation.
I also met with Debbie Williams, a reporter from an upstate magazine about an article she is writing about Camp Jocassee for Girls. I still find it amusing that I have connected with so many CJ girls on Facebook and am in the midst of helping to coordinate THEIR reunion . . . when I hated Camp Jocassee! I only stayed a week. I'm still kinda scratchin' my head over this one! But, seriously, they have wonderful memories of the camp and of Jocassee in general, so we do have a lot in common.
The BIG deal over the weekend was about a 3-hour interview - mostly on camera - with Suzy Allman (www.suzyallman.com). Suzy is a sports photographer with the NY Times who has taken great interest in our story of Jocassee and finding the Lodge, etc. I had a great time with her - and I always click with someone who tears up when I tear up. There is a lot more to come about this documentary she is filming - and probably 2-3 more trips down here to finish it. Hopefully, there will be a dive on the Lodge soon. I can't wait to reconnect with "my divers." Right now, I'm kind of all talked out about Jocassee. I discovered something on this trip. If I am occupied with a dive or event of some sort when I'm up there, I'm OK. If I have spare time to sit, look at the lake and ponder what was lost (like I did at the campsite), I get really sad about it. But, I guess that's to be expected. You might lose part of your heart and not miss it for a while, but eventually it will catch up with you.
So . . . more on the horizon! |
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I just read a
well-written article about Jocassee, in which someone
is quoted as saying, “Jocassee is nowhere. Jocassee is gone.” There was a time
I would have agreed with this. . . until we found Attakulla Lodge and Camp
Jocassee for Girls, guarded and preserved by the dark depths of Lake Jocassee..
The valley may be gone, certainly unseen by most, but as long as we have divers
who brave the deep and bring back left-behind reels and sidelights and tales of
a river that still runs deep and keeps the rocks swept of silt, as long as
grown up little girls still reminisce about shaving their legs in an icy river
and marching 7 miles up the mountain to Salem, as long as there is an underwater buoy to
touch for 10 seconds until your lungs feel as if they will burst, as long as we
keep her alive in our tales and our tears . . . we'll always have Jocassee, at
least in our dreams and our hearts where Jocassee is never gone. I call my
beloved Attakulla Lodge “she,” much like a sunken ship. She lies in 300 feet of
water, on her side. I like to think that if the Lodge were a person, she’d be
delighted to welcome us back - overjoyed that we went to all this trouble. She
knows we are dining on fried chicken (the house specialty) on the boat some 300
feet above. She feels the kiss of the little girl, now a grandmother, who
unties the boat that has been anchored to the Lodge, kisses the rope, and drops
it in the water as she says, “See ya next time, old girl.” She doesn’t feel
forgotten. She’s a little worse for the wear after 40 years of submersion in
deep, dark, cold water. Oh, but she’s not forgotten. The Lodge and the
beautiful lands of Jocassee are still there, but just like the wrinkles on the
face of a 100-year-old woman, you can look past her facade, look into her eyes
and still see her soul. She’s not gone, just different.
So, you see, Jocassee isn’t “nowhere.” You just
have to look harder to see her." |
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| I now have puh-lenty of books, and I'd love to put your name on one! Mention this blog, and I'll include a print of the aerial view of Jocassee Valley - only available through my website |
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| I will be placing an order for more books by the middle of November. In the meantime, if you are in the Jocassee area, you can purchase a book at Devil's Fork State Park gift shop. . . or you may order directly through www.Trafford.com. Just search for "Whippoorwill Farewell: Jocassee Remembered." You can also order through Amazon.com. It is more expensive to buy through Trafford,and Amazon, however. Sorry for the inconvenience! I hope to have books in time for Christmas shopping. Thanks! |
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| Someone has taken the treasure chest from the deck of the Chinese Junk. The treasure chest is a rite of passage, of sorts, for new divers to leave trainkets. If you know who did this, please encourage them to return it. You can leave it with Bill at Lake Jocassee Dive Shop, and he will put it back . . . no questions asked! These silly items are placed underwater for the enjoyment and humor of everyone. Please refrain from vandalizing these underwater dive sites. If you took it, all will be forgiven if you will kindly put it back! Thanks! |
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I have taken advantage of a long weekend to catch up on my scrapbooking. I have now completed 3 scrapbooks full of Jocassee memorabilia. I'm so grateful that the story of the Lodge and the girls camp continues on. Anna Simon of the Greenville News recently wrote a beautiful article on our last 2 dives. I have spent some time today re-reading the countless emails I have received over the course of the years - many from folks who knew the old Valley - and many more who never got to see it. I'm always grateful when someone takes the time to email me. I love hearing from you!
I'm headed up to Jocassee on 9-12 as the guys dive on the steel bridge and the girls camp. I think I will don my scuba gear and join them on the deco line for a bit. I have met some of the nicest people in these divers. I'm very blessed with some wonderful friends.
I was given the name of an elderly couple who might be in possession of the sign that hung under the eaves of the front porch at Attakulla Lodge. It has been confirmed that the sign was rescued before flooding. I have written them to find out if they have it. I would like to at least see it again - and would love even more to buy it from them. I just mailed that letter a couple of days ago. I'll let you know what I find out. |
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I feel such a longing for Jocassee tonight. Perhaps it's the time of year, near summer when we always headed up to the valley. More than likely, it's because I am reading a delightfully touching book by Philip Lee Williams entitled "In the Morning: Reflections From First Light." I was soaking in a hot tub a few minutes ago reading his book. He lives in the mountains of North Georgia and was describing a magnificent 12-point buck he studied for minutes before it fled. He said he cried as he gazed at the buck, and as I read that he cried, I cried. He tells of the Whippoorwill and the fact that he's never seen one. I have, but oddly enough not at Jocassee but right in my own backyard. Our house still has some woods left in the subdivision - at least it will until the final 9 lots are sold. They cut down trees, and I plant them in my backyard, an effort to block out all evidence of nearby neighbors. The Whippoorwill was calling and calling one night. I had never heard one in Columbia. Dave said that it's fitting that one should live near my house. It was dusk - too dark to really see in the trees without a flashlight, but light enough to see where I stepped. I followed the call until I was right underneath the Whippoorwill's call. As I shined the flashlight into the tree, the bird took off and soared away. To be such an ugly bird, it's so graceful. I have seen a Whippoorwill. Me! I saw an elusive Whippoorwill!
It's this time of night that we sat on the front porch of the Lodge and rocked - and rocked - and rocked. We could hear the rush of the river, the croaking of the bullfrogs, the shuffling of our feet on the wooden porch as we rocked. It was peacefully noisy. Our family connected on that porch. We talked for hours. I rarely see them anymore. We lost our gathering place when we lost Jocassee. I long to own my own place up there before I die - a place to take my grandchildren and let them feel the shivering water and hear the sounds and eat icy cold watermelon right out of the spring. I want the girls to have a pretend castle on a mountain, like I did. I want a place to regroup and rekindle. Hmmm . . . all this feeling coming from reading a few chapters in someone else's book.
Get the book. You have to. |
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I'm often asked how it felt to drive up to Lake Jocassee for the first time. I watched the last half hour of "Deliverance" yesterday, which, I know, has caused my mind to drift back to this event. Even though I watched them build the dam - and the coffer dam that is at Devil's Fork State Park - the absence of water certainly softened the real blow I would later experience. The first time I went to Lake Jocassee was about 11 years ago, I guess. My husband and I were in the area, so we took the meandering road that once led into the valley to see the lake. I was not prepared for the emotions that I would feel when suddenly the road curved sharply to the right, whereas once it continued straight down the mountain into the valley. We parked the car and looked out over the water. A real sense of sadness enveloped me. At that point, I had to decide if I was going to be bitter about this for the rest of my life, or try to "reconnect" with the Jocassee I loved so much. I chose the latter. My immediate family, for the most part, has never laid eyes on the lake. It's a painful reminder of what once was. My uncle recently put it very aptly. He said, "You know, Jocassee wasn't just a house - or a piece of land. We had a love affair with that place." Finally, someone was able to express in a concise sentence why we loved it so. I was quoted on a CNN piece as saying, "I don't know what it was about Jocassee that just got into our souls . . . but it did."
I remember my first boat ride on the lake. I had a good sense of where our property was in the lake, and we purposely boated across "our" land. I glanced back at the dam, knowing that it spanned the mountains over which Uncle Buck made his final landing approach as we flew into the valley. Sad. Just sad. But I was determined to make peace with our loss, so we boated over to a quiet cove and anchored there for a while. I jumped into the water, fully expecting to feel the sensation of ice cold water, but the water was warm. It felt unnatural. I surfaced (crying a bit) and pleaded for help to get me out quick. "I feel like I just jumped into someone's grave!"
Well, a lot has happened since then. Attakulla Lodge has been located, mostly still intact, and divers have visited her a dozen times. I've learned to scuba dive, and I've met the divers on the way back from the Lodge in order to "hang on the line" with them as they decompress. We always celebrate another successful, safe dive to 300 feet by having a picnic on the boat: homemade fried chicken, sandwiches, brownies, trail mix. Fried chicken was the house special at Attakulla Lodge, and I tell the divers that you're not going to vist MY house and not get fried chicken! It's not just a dive - it's an event!
We are hoping for a good diving season this year, as many things affect the dive. The visibility at 300 feet is affected by so many things (recent rains, temperature, even whether or not they are generating electricity at Bad Creek). This year we are hoping for some near-perfect conditions, so we can finally get that picture that everyone is waiting to see: a panoramic picture of the Lodge in her present condition. Here's hoping! She was discovered on August 4, 2004, with the first dive by Jackie Smith and Charles Johnson on August 7, 2004. This was the dive in which they brought me what I refer to as my "Jocassee treasure" - the sidelight from the front door. I've recorded the whole story in a revision to my book.
Please check back, and I'll keep you posted! Dive season may begin around July. Here's hoping!!
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Dot Jackson (author of Refuge and co-author of Keowee) is very near and dear to my heart. She is on the Board of Directors of the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife, whose mission is to preserve and promote the arts, folklife, history and conservation of the Blue Ridge region by providing classes, workshops and retreats. Birchwood instructs in matters of practical and artistic value, so that others may become proficient in these areas and perpetuate them for future generations.
You know me: I'm all about preserving the past of South Carolina's Blue Ridge mountains for future generations!!
Birchwood owns the early 19th century Sutherland-Masters house on the old stage coach road in the shadow of Table Rock, BUT IT NEEDS MAJOR RENOVATION!!! The South Carolina Arts Commission will help them stabilize the old place with a rare "bricks and mortar" grant. To benefit most they must match the dollar award 2:1 before the end of May. They've raised about a third of the money, but time is running out. IF YOU CAN DONATE DURING THESE DIFFICULT DAYS, PLEASE KNOW ANY AMOUNT WILL MULTIPLY THEIR FUNDS AND YOUR GIFT DOLLARS WHILE SUPPORTING BIRCHWOOD'S MISSION.
Birchwood is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization. Your gift will be acknowledged.
From my heart, I ask you to send your contribution, no matter how small, to:
Birchwood Center
187 Birchwood Road
Pickens, SC 29671
864-898-1418
www.birchwoodcenter.org
On behalf of all of you who love the Jocassee area, I thank you!!!
Debbie |
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