The Holy Grail of LeConte's Centennial

Orpheus Schantz
 (University of Waterloo)

 Orpheus Schantz was one of the first Smoky Mountain tourists and is remembered as the first paying guest at LeConte Lodge. His 1951 obituary in The New York Times described him as "one of the group instrumental in establishing the Old Smoky Mountain National Park."
 As Mike Hembree and I researched our book, LeConte Lodge, I contacted Schantz's institutions in a quest for his journals, letters, or photographs. I even considered a wild-goose-chase road trip to Chicago.
 I had no luck before the book was published in January. Then I stumbled across Schantz's old scrapbook right here where I live in Boone, North Carolina—in the library at Appalachian State University. I'd spent days in the special collections there, dredging up LeConte material and helping Mike research the university's NASCAR collection for his book, Petty vs. Pearson.
 Meanwhile, the Holy Grail of LeConte Lodge, acquired by App State in 2021, was keeping Schantz's secrets in an adjacent room.
 Schantz was a native of Canada who was raised on the shores of Lake Huron. He made his first pilgrimmage from Chicago to the Smokies in 1918, and was widowed in 1922. He and his son set up a travel agency and advertised "Springtime in the Smokies" to nature-loving friends from Chicago. Over the years, he climbed Le Conte at least 10 times. 

 In the book, we documented how Schantz met Paul Adams in 1924. Both were members of the Audubon Society, and they met at a scientific convention in Nashville. Adams gave a presentation from his August 1924 climb with the Southern Appalachian National Park Commission: "Trips with the National Park Commission and Bird Check Lists Obtained." 

 The Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association had chosen Adams to operate a guest camp atop Mount Le Conte. Now that we know Schantz had been there in 1923, they would have had plenty in common. 

 In June 1923, Wiley Oakley guided Schantz, Frank Freels, Gertrude Schwass, and Jennie Russ up Mount Le Conte. Schantz, 49, wrote:

This is the tale of the jolly four
who spent the night on a balsam floor
on top of Leconte in Tennessee
above the clouds 'neath a balsam tree.

 They might have camped in the same lean-to that Adams and the federal commission occupied in August 1924.

Hikers at the lean-to used by the 1924 federal national park commission (Photo by Dutch Roth)

 When I first read Schantz' description of the balsam bedding, it sounded so much like Adams' cabin that I wondered if Schantz might have gotten the year wrong in his scrapbook. But the fact that he doesn't mention Adams indicates that these are two separate trips.

 On July 16, 1925, Schantz led a larger group up to Adams' brand-new tent camp, paying $36 for 12 guests and two guides (Oakley and Will Ramsey) to spend two nights on the mountaintop.

This July 1925 photo probably includes Schantz and his group. Paul Adams is holding the ax. (Jim Thompson photograph)

 The lodge's Centennial celebration will be low-key. The national park has not announced any plans for ceremonies at the lodge. I am planning to visit on July 17 (which will correspond to the second night of Schantz' 1925 trip), and we'll celebrate with guests and crew. 

Schantz signed the lodge logbook after his 10th climb in 1938.
 Notice how many of the early guests were from the Midwest.