Christy begins her journey leaving her home in Asheville, NC on the Olde Buncombe train. She arrives at the closest stop of El Pano, and journeys on foot seven miles in the snow to her destination: Cutter Gap, an isolated cove in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.
In The Galax Gathers: The Gospel Among the Highlanders (1910), Dr. Edward Guerrant, the individual who inspired Leonora Whitaker’s own journey, wrote about the need for teachers, doctors, and preachers to come to the remote Appalachian Mountains. He rode on horseback to visit many communities from Kentucky to Tennessee and encouraged those who were establishing churches and schools in outlying Appalachian Mountain communities. He described this work as “the regeneration of a race of Highlanders, long neglected, and worthy of a better fate.”
On one such trip, he visited Ebeneezer Mission in the Great Smoky Mountains, “seven miles back of Del Rio, on the French-Broad River.” This photograph, titled New Chapel at Ebenezer (circa 1910), the real setting for the Cutter Gap school and church, is included in his book.
According to Dr. Guerrant in The Galax Gathers: The Gospel Among the Highlanders (1910), it was not easy to get to the Ebenezer Mission:
“ . . . we had to descend to the river, down a roaring cataract, which an enterprising Highlander had harnessed to a little mill, where his few neighbors could get their grinding done. My guide informed me the mill cost ten dollars. Money is scarcer in these rugged mountains than the courage and industry that make a living for the hardy people.
“At Del Rio, near the North Carolina line, I left the railroad, and with Rev. Dan Little, boarded a lumber-wagon for our Ebenezer Mission. As there was no bed nor boards on the wagon, we had to ride on the axle, seven miles over a terribly bad road. I had to ride backwards, as Brother Dan was not well, and had to occupy the seat on the axle with the driver. It was a rough experience, but an old soldier should not complain. At Del Rio we met a warm reception by the noble ladies who conduct the Ebenezer Mission – Miss Alice Warren . . .
“Appointments for preaching had been made for that night, and twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday. The people came day and night with commendable zeal, though the roads were rough, and they had to walk. On Sunday, the chapel was crowded.”
Later, Dr. Guerrant comments:
“Is it a wonder God loves the mountains and the mountaineers? Nearly every great event in the life of Christ is connected with some mountain, from His first sermon to His crucifixion and ascension.”
— Excerpts from The Galax Gathers: The Gospel Among the Highlanders (1910) by Dr. Guerrant.