Special Feature Celebrating 33 Years On the Mountain In the summer of 1978, three couples who did not know each other left their busy lives up north for an idyllic setting, hoping to enjoy a serene, somewhat solitary, and most definitely independent lifestyle in what is now Fairview Forest. Back then, the entrance to our Mountain was marked by a large carved arrowhead that heralded Arrowhead Hideaways. On both sides of the main road, which was lined with saplings, brilliantly colored wildflowers poked above the tall, swaying unmowed grass. In keeping with the Arrowhead theme, the side roads — all unpaved — were named after Native Americans like Blackhawk and Falling Waters. Behind the sales center (now our clubhouse) and the tennis court (which hardly anyone ever used) Trantham Creek was a much bolder stream that teemed with crayfish. There were about two dozen homes at the time, mostly owned by seasonal residents who kept to themselves. Among the newcomers that year were Ray and Pat Reynolds from suburban Philadelphia, Larry and Trudi Peters from Michigan, and Guy and Julie Ratcliffe from Long Island. Pat, Ray, Larry, Trudi and Julie are still here, earning them the distinction as the current residents who've lived on the Mountain the longest — 33 years and counting. "If you wanted a country club atmosphere, this wasn't the place," said Pat, whose husband built their home on Black Oak Forest. "People came here for the peace and quiet and especially the beauty. From April through October, it was just a succession of wildflowers like Asters, daisies, Queen Anne's lace, blue chicory and ironweed, which is a tall purple flower. There was no grass mowing." Trudi, who lives on Dogwood Forest, said what she remembers most were the wildflowers. "They were amazing. You've heard of pink lady slippers? Well, there were yellow lady slippers here. We used to see them on a walk from our house to a meadow where cows grazed above Laurel Creek and Ballard Creek Roads. On still days, you could hear the cow bells. We also would go to the top of the mountain in our four-wheeler to a beautiful field full of trillium. That was pretty cool. It's not there anymore because of all the houses now." There were no association dues back then, basically because there was no active association. "If you didn't do it yourself, it didn't get done," said Ray. "People were in charge of their own road. You pooled your money with your neighbors to get anything done." Added Trudi, "The people who lived here then were really independent. Larry had a tractor with a blade and graded the road. And when we had a big snowfall — like the blizzard of '93 when we had ten-foot-tall snowdrifts — he would plow us out." Although most everyone was friendly on the Mountain, people tended to keep to themselves beyond their immediate neighbors. However, said Trudi, "There was once a big Halloween party at the clubhouse. It was one of the few times when we all got together." The Mountain was a tranquil place until the clubhouse was rented out to a rock band for the summer in the late 1980s. "They pretty much trashed it," said Trudi. "I can't imagine anyone living there. There wasn't a shower or a bathtub. We could hear them practice at night, and naturally the music carried up the mountain. I think they slept during the day. We were all glad when they left." As for crime, said Julie, "About the only problem we had were kids knocking down our mailboxes." Julie, whose husband passed away in 1994, said the best time for her to meet fellow residents was when she walked down from her house on Weeping Cherry to get the paper in the morning. The newspaper tubes and mailboxes were on Wrights Cove Road, which wasn't paved until the mid 1980s. "Our address back then was Rural Route 6, Asheville," said Julie. The post office was located near All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village before it moved for a brief time into the building on Highway 74A now occupied by the Hot Dog King. "Although there weren't many kids here, it was a great place to raise a child," said Trudi, whose son Tim grew up here. "Oh, my gosh, what a place for a boy to play. He was all over the mountain. When he was about five, he took my mom for a walk in the woods to his favorite rock. He told her, 'Grandma, this is my thinking place.' And she asked him, 'What do you think about, Tim?' He replied, 'How to get back home.' Trudi said most everyone who's lived here a long time has a snake story. "We had a big rattler under our deck on the wood pile. He was four feet long and had 11 rattles. Larry came home and shot it. That was spooky. He once stepped on a copperhead. That's how he got his gray hair," she joked. At the time, 74A was a narrow, somewhat steeper two-lane road canopied in places by lush trees. Known as a sleepy farming community, Fairview was blessed with rolling flower-filled meadows and rippling green pastures. There were no grocery stores like Ingles or Food Lion in the area. Food items and hardware supplies were available at a store at the intersection of 74A and Cane Creek. Residents filled up their cars (at 63 cents a gallon in 1978) at the little convenience store on the corner of Old Fort and 74A or at the gas station off Reeds Creek and 74A. The locals did not like the Arrowhead Development people, said Pat. "They were typical Florida developers who wanted to get in and get out. They alienated a lot of people because they didn't want to listen to the locals about anything, including using the logging roads rather than cutting in new roads. The developers thought the locals were dumb." Plagued by Arrowhead mismanagement, the Mountain was eventually taken over by yet another Florida developer, Fairview Forest Trust, working with the late local realtor/developer Gerald Dean. They changed it to Fairview Forest and named the side roads after trees. Shortly thereafter, Dean bought the Florida group out. Dean, who lived here at the time, became a lightning rod for residents' outrage for his attempts to log his properties, construct small stickbuilt rental homes and dump organic trash like stumps and old logs on one of his properties. His actions helped spur residents to become more active in homeowners' association activities. "Dean made a lot of enemies," said Pat. "He owned a local real estate agency and had put up a big billboard. Someone chain-sawed it down. At the next association meeting, Dean offered a thousand dollar reward for information leading to the person's arrest. Someone at the meeting whispered, 'I'll pay a thousand dollars to the guy who did it.'" Dean left the Mountain after residents adopted new covenants that strengthened the homeowners association and offered the community greater protection. Now Fairview Forest has more than 120 homes. And that's both good and bad, according to the long-timers. "It's not as adventuresome anymore," said Trudi. "There are so many more people. It's more like a regular development." Complained Pat, "There's a lot more traffic, which means a lot more noise. People have moved in who want everything neatly trimmed and mowed, and there went the wildflowers. We convinced the board not to trim the sides of our road until the wildflowers are gone. I miss the wildflowers." Fairview's population has mushroomed, which has encroached on wildlife habitat. "We never saw a bear until they started building the Cliffs and South Cliff," said Trudi. "Only last year did we see a deer on our property for the first time." Julie said there have been several good changes here. "The roads on the Mountain have improved tremendously," she said. "Now everything is paved and in good condition. The people who run the association are very helpful and know what they are doing. They are much more astute in running an association than it used to be. Also, we have a lot fewer power outages because they do a better job of cutting trees. "I love living in the woods because it's like living in a tree house. As long as I stay healthy, I want to remain here. There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Fairview Forest Homeowners' Association   •   101 Fairview Forest Drive   •   Fairview, NC 28730