The answer to the second is simply that the mountain men of Tennessee are smart. You can’t make anything else out of it. They’re just natively smart, that’s all.
FIVE FAMILIES DOMINATE
If you go up into the old graveyard on the hillside just back of town, you’ll find at least half the names on the gravestones divided among five families. Those families are—Ogle, Whaley, Maples, Reagan and Huff. The first four have been here for generations. The Huffs came 40 years ago.
Four of these five families control Gatlinburg. They reap most of the profit, and they likewise take the responsibility and do the good deeds.
There are four key business establishments in Gatlinburg. They are the three big hotels and the huge general store. The Ogles own the store. And the Huffs, Whaleys and Maples each own a hotel. And every one of the four, in addition owns numerous tourist courts, filling stations, gift shops, saddle-horse concessions, restaurants.
These four families, working together, competing but friendly, have been almost super-wise in their development of Gatlinburg.
Their building has been tasteful. Largely inexperienced in running hotels, they have created three delightful places.
And wisest of all, they haven’t taken unfair advantage of the flood of tourist gold which has descended upon them. They aren’t killing their golden geese. They have deliberately agreed among themselves to keep prices down.
Hotel rates in Gatlinburg are amazingly low. At such prices you’d expect shoddy service and poor rooms. But everything is modern, clean and pleasant.