Travel: A Tennessee Inn with a Life-and-Death Past
Traveling through the beautiful Cumberland Mountains in northeastern Tennessee, we took the Caryville exit off I-75 to look for lodging. We discovered an inn that defines hospitality—and contains an intriguing memento of a very dark moment in its owners’ past.
Following the signs, we ascended a steep driveway beside an eclectic display of lawn sculptures and vintage farm equipment that once belonged to Alex Haley, the author of Roots. Llamas grazed on the hillside behind the inn. Guests lingered near bench swings with a view of pristine Cove Lake beneath a horizon of pine-covered mountains. One could imagine the place before man carved into it.
Native American mound builders inhabited the fertile valley along Cove Creek centuries ago. During the 1930s the University of Tennessee assisted in excavating the area for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Norris Basin project and uncovered the foundation of an ancient tribal council house at Walnut Cove, in what is now Cove Lake State Park. The TVA was building the Norris Dam and the Caryville Dam to control flooding and provide electricity for the area. Norris Lake and Cove Lake were formed, and the Civilian Conservation Corps and National Park Service developed parks around both.
The Hampton Inn Caryville, where we ended up, is rated first in the state and sixth worldwide by the chain. It was completed in 1994 but is owned and operated by a family who have been local hoteliers since the 1940s. Welcomed with typical Southern hospitality, we enjoyed our stay from the moment we walked into the plush lobby and were greeted by the aroma of baking cookies. Our room was quiet, comfortable, and immaculate. In the morning we were greeted by the owner, Hack Ayers, and enjoyed a complimentary breakfast that featured biscuits with gravy.
Adding to the charm of the inn are displays of family memorabilia, and hallway browsing is encouraged. We found celebrity photographs, some posed with Hack, and local-history items involving coal mines and moonshining. The display of an old leather jacket worn by John Ayers piqued my interest when I read the startling description accompanying it, and Hack graciously shared its story with me.
Jack’s father was called High Johnny Ayers, because he stood six foot four. Born and raised in the small Appalachian community of Stinking Creek, 20 miles north, he married Lassie Clepper in 1929. They had a daughter and son and then in 1938 moved 15 miles south to LaFollette, where another son was born. High Johnny worked simultaneously in mining, farming, and timber, and he was also a third-generation moonshiner. In 1942 he bought a farm just south of town, and in early October 1943 he purchased the Colonial Cottages, a 10-unit motel with a small restaurant, next to the farm, on the Dixie Highway.
On Friday, October 29, 1943, there happened to be no school in Campbell County, so Hack, who was seven, spent the day with his father. In the morning they drove to Middlesboro, Kentucky, to pick up bottled whiskey. They returned home, stashed it, and spent the rest of the day at High Johnny’s tavern in town—until Hack’s sister, Jerri, called. There was trouble, she said. Five state troopers were at the farm with a search warrant.
When Hack and his father arrived home, Jerri said the troopers had gotten drunk. Hack’s father grabbed a shotgun, told the boy to go to his mother, and headed toward the barn. Hack found Lassie in the restaurant kitchen, cooking for guests. Just then they heard shots fired. They both ran to the barn—too late.
Hack watched the hearse leave, its interior light illuminating the body of his father, still in his leather jacket. Local newspapers, including the Knoxville Journal and the LaFollette Press, reported the incident. The State of Tennessee confiscated 25 cases of moonshine from the farm. To the surprise of almost everyone, all five state troopers were charged with the murder of John Ayers. They were later cleared by the Campbell County grand jury.
Left alone to run the hotel, Lassie felt overwhelmed. Uncertain that she could support her three children, she contemplated sending them to an orphanage. Instead, she decided to rent the motel for a year and concentrate on keeping the farm going. When the year was over, she asked the children if they’d help her operate the motel and restaurant so they could stay together as a family. They promised they would.
With hard work they not only survived but prospered. Twelve units were added to the Colonial Cottages, but the restaurant seated only 35. In 1955 Lassie sold the establishment and built a larger Colonial Restaurant next door. Popular with locals and travelers, the business thrived. After her retirement she leased it for a while and then sold it in 1967.
With the construction of Interstate 75, in the 1960s, Hack and Jerri saw an opportunity and purchased five acres of land at the new highway’s Lake City exit. They built the Colonial Motel there with Lassie and R. L., their youngest sibling, as partners. It, too, was a successful family-run operation until they sold it after Lassie’s death, in 1972. The siblings then went their own ways.
“Mother raised us on three principles,” Hack told me. “God comes first; be a productive worker; and get along with people. Following those, you can’t hardly go wrong.” Soft-spoken and friendly, he shows no hint of bitterness. His first job was as cook in the motel kitchen; now in addition to running the latest place he’s a Realtor and auctioneer, and he has served two terms as a Tennessee state representative. He and his wife, Tomi, married for more than 50 years, have three married daughters and several grandchildren, and some of them work at the inn today.
In the fall of 1943, Lassie Ayers hung her husband’s bullet-scarred leather jacket in the attic, out of sight. Eighteen years after her death, Hack found it. A friend made the display case for it. You'll find the jacket beside the elevator at the inn near Caryville. The bullet holes are plain to see.
Reservations at the Caryville Hampton Inn can be made at www.hamptoninn.com or by calling 423-562-9888. The former Colonial Restaurant is five miles north and is now Hack Ayers’s real estate and auction office.