McCoy Farm & Gardens Newsletter

Volume Nine: Issue Sevenxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx July 2024

Fourth of July activities: Where will MFG be? Come see us at Althaus Park behind the SM Country Club. The Signal Mountain Fourth of July Parade begins at 9am and the Lions Club BBQ follows from 10am to 2pm at Althaus Park. MFG will have a booth there selling honey, our new t-shirts, and Emma Bell Miles merchandise. 

Once again, a generous foundation has provided a grant allowing McCoy to hire college students for the summer. They are working tirelessly to remove the ever-returning invasive plants, mulching and weeding our gardens, learning about our local flora and fauna, and expanding the capacity of our infrastructure and grounds. 

Students Chris Knight (Furman University), Hayden Woodrow (University of New Mexico), Laine Jenkins (Auburn University), Wesley Johnson (University of Tennessee), and Lottie Miller (University of Georgia), who is returning for her second summer, are working under Maria Holder and Rob Johnson to further their education and make connections within the community for their future careers. Except for one, this year's interns grew up on Signal Mountain and are returning home to improve upon the well-known community asset utilized by family and friends. “I like the local aspect of it. It’s nice to see the actual change that we can bring about in our hometown,” said Jenkins. This was echoed throughout the group as they all listed their connections with other volunteers and leaders. Even mountain newcomer Wesley Johnson echoed that it was the community and natural beauty of the mountain that drew him to this opportunity over others. 

This summer, the interns have already built a stage to host musicians and possible movie nights. The natural shape of the land below the Children's Garden lends itself to be a sort of amphitheater, perfect for hosting smaller events. They will add a few finishing touches like stairs, railings, and wiring for a sound system. They have also done endless work managing the invasive plants along the trails, bleaching the fences, and reaffixing the labels to many of our arboretum trees. 

To further their education, they are conducting experiments with board member Elizabeth Hamilton on the most effective way to kill weeds and invasives as well as participating in weekly “enrichment activities.” A few weeks ago, Alison Hoffmann visited to talk about the Chattanooga Bluebird Society's bluebird trail at McCoy, and this past week they met with a local falconer. Mother Nature offered another beautiful moment when the interns spotted a crow attempting to fly off with a snake in its beak. 

Each of the interns noted how unique this opportunity is and how much they enjoyed getting to work outside all summer. Johnson stated, “I’m a forestry major. I like working outside. All of my summer jobs since high school have been outside, and I wanted to keep it that way.” Knight agreed by adding that this internship goes beyond simple resume-building. This job gives a taste of what future employment might look like for these students as well as valuable experience. “Even if I don’t choose to pursue a career in environmental science, I would still have this experience that could help in other aspects of life,” concluded Knight. Jenkins added that her experiences this summer might lead her to a slightly different career field. “I’m interested in, potentially, local government and environmental regulation, so I think having experience at a public area like this where you have to consider that kind of city planning aspect in combination with the field of activity planning, that’s really cool.” Despite their different majors, all five agreed that this experience will be invaluable while being a joyous excuse to spend all summer in the sun. 

As the five interns gathered around to answer my questions, a sense of community extended beyond the property and beyond the mountain. Each of these interns was attracted to McCoy by a passion for protecting the local environment. So, if you see five hard-working college students in the gardens, make sure to thank them for keeping our beloved McCoy beautiful this summer. 

MFG Merchandise Available

Do you love supporting McCoy Farm & Gardens? Do you want all your friends to know about the wonderful amenities and events offered here? There’s no better way to do both of these things at once than to purchase one of our beautiful t-shirts or metal water bottles emblazoned with our logo featuring the native Bigleaf Magnolia flowers that cover our property every spring. 

We also have prints of paintings by Emma Bell Miles for sale, as well as local honey from Mary Aho’s bees, and bluebird houses made by Terry Knox. 

The shirts come in green, cream, and blue in sizes S-2X and are $20. The insulated stainless steel water bottles have a powder-coated finish of forest green, hold 25 ounces, and are priced at $25. They are on display at each of our events—including the 4th of July celebration put on by the Signal Mountain Lions Club at Althaus Park where we will have a booth—and can also be purchased by contacting Melissa Nimon at 423-598-1658 or melissa@mccoywalden.org. 

McCoy Trees Need TLC

Carter Cook and Esteban Galleto of Tree Worx use an air spade to combat compaction around the littleleaf linden. Many thanks to Hannes DeWet and Tree Worx for their generous donation. 

You may have noticed some disturbance around our most popular arboretum specimen, the little leaf linden (Tillia cordata) near the Children’s Garden. Not to worry, it simply had a spa day! Tree Worx, a local tree care company and generous supporter of McCoy, used an air spade to help reverse soil compaction around the roots. Soil compaction occurs most often in a location of high foot traffic, like our popular Children’s Garden, and prevents the trees from reaching their fullest potential since there is no longer space for the soil to hold air or water around the roots. The air spade works much like how it sounds by spraying compressed air into the soil and loosening it. It does this without harming the roots. 

While you are enjoying this area and our orchard, please help us maintain the trees’ health. It is important to remember that McCoy is a historic site, and many of the trees on the property are alive today due to the efforts of many volunteers. We strive to take the best care of our arboretum trees and our historic orchard so that they continue to thrive for generations to come. While we expect people to walk in and around these trees, please refrain from putting unnecessary strain on the limbs of any of the trees within our gardens by keeping children from swinging or climbing on the branches and avoiding hanging anything from them. Please also take care around the weeping hemlock located just outside the front driveway circle.

Meet Your Newsletter Staff

Juanita Wade, Editor

Alyssa Neuhoff, Contributor

Our newsletter has recently changed hands. For the past nine years, it has been written, edited, and shared by well-known mountain writer Karen Stone. We extend our most gracious thanks to her for all of her years of hard work and for now teaching a new group how she keeps the newsletter running smoothly. Alyssa Neuhoff has taken over writing articles while Juanita Wade is editing and formatting the newsletter. 

One of our volunteers has a history with the McCoy property that has lasted most of her lifetime. Alyssa Neuhoff started volunteering at McCoy Farm & Gardens before there was even a newsletter. While in her sophomore year in high school, she volunteered with her mom Linda Neuhoff as a greeter once a month. During this time, she was able to provide information about the trails and the single garden in place at the time, as well as, historical facts about the property, house, and previous inhabitants. In college, her senior project was inspired by the life of Emma Bell Miles where, together with another student, she conducted several oral history interviews which are now in the UTC archives. “I am happy to have had so many opportunities to give back to my community and share the greatly significant history of the Bachman, McCoy, and Miles families.” Growing up down the road, she notes that she always wondered about the mysterious house amongst the trees. Neuhoff said “it has been a joy to watch the progress at McCoy from my first tour around the newly donated property in the mid-2000s to volunteering in high school to writing newsletter articles now. It has been a wonderful organization to give my time to through the years, and I hope to see it continue to be a focal point in our community throughout my lifetime.” 

Our other volunteer is a rather new addition to McCoy. Juanita Wade initially heard of McCoy Farm & Gardens through the Master Gardener program and the gardens they currently maintain. She began last summer working on a small project to edit PDF's that were then used on the updated website. From there, she joined the recently created docent program to be able to learn more about the property as well as being able to share with others. When the call for assistance for the newsletter was put out, she quickly answered and volunteered to do whatever was needed at the time as she is also the editor of the Master Gardener newsletter, The Grapevine. "I feel so excited to be on this new journey at McCoy and look forward to all that I can give to this organization and its integral role in the community on Walden's Ridge. Even if it is just a small part of behind-the-scenes work, I am very happy to contribute."

What's Coming Up

• Open House Tours will be on Sunday, July 14 from 2-4 pm.

Contact McCoy Farm & Gardens

at melissa@mccoywalden.org

to learn more about renting space at McCoy for your next event.

Or mail your check to McCoy Farm & Gardens, P.O. Box 443, Signal Mountain, TN 37377

McCoy Farm & Gardens covers 38 acres and features the Bachman-McCoy home, gardens, and several outbuildings including the Pavilion, Carriage House, Barn, and Blacksmith Workshop. The perimeter walking trail is 1.1 miles.