Robert Brault is credited with the thought: “Opportunity is a parade. Even as one chance passes, the next is a fife and drum echoing in the distance.”

John Brady Large, Jr. loved sharing Elizabethton’s history, and when the opportunity presented itself, Large was there. Whether it was leading the Watauga Valley Fife and Drum Corps, conducting a tour through the Historic Carter Mansion, or simply gardening at the Carter Mansion, Large made himself available. He truly was a patriot and one of Sycamore Shoals State Park’s hardest-working volunteers.

John grew up just a stone’s throw from the Carter Mansion and when a young boy had roamed the grounds of the historic old house, looking for arrowheads and Indian artifacts and playing cowboys and Indians with his friends. He also enjoyed exploring the old graveyard located on the property. When the Thomas sisters lived there, Large often mowed the lawn for them.

“John had spent a lot of time at the Carter Mansion and had acquired a deep appreciation for local history. He became my right-hand man at the Mansion and was a really good steward of the Mansion,” said Bogart.

John often conducted tours of the Mansion, especially at Halloween and Christmas and at other times when there was no one available from the park to do so. He was a volunteer gardener at the Mansion, tending the vegetable garden each summer. “He loved to grow things,” said his wife, Lynda.

At home he had a container garden, growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

Albeit, his greatest love was the Watauga Valley Drum and Fife Corps, which he resurrected several years ago. Large and his fellow members performed on fifes and wooden rope tension snares and bass drums. To learn as much as he could about the traditions of fife and drums, Large visited Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia to observe the fife and drum corps there. While under his leadership, the Watauga Valley Fife and Drum Corps was as much about educating visitors about the importance of Northeast Tennessee played in the formation of the nation as it was about the music.

“He lived and breathed the fife and drums,” said Lynda. “Every Saturday was spent at the park practicing with the fife and drum corps. He would be so excited when he would get a new member or when they would get an invitation to play for an event.”

John played both the drum and the fife. And, he even stitched their uniforms — a white shirt and red waistcoats. “He was an excellent seamstress, had his own sewing machine. He would do the measurements, and cut and sew their uniforms. He had yards and yards of material, and often used white sheets to make the shirts. He not only made the uniforms, but repaired them, sewed on buttons, whatever needed to be done,” Lynda shared.

In addition to the Fife and Drum Corps and his work at the Mansion, John often participated in the summer drama at the park, “Liberty! The Saga of Sycamore Shoals.”

“John liked anything old, old,” said Lynda, who noted he often visited antique stores in the region, looking for old pieces of furniture and hardware. One of his treasured pieces of furniture was his Grandfather Holly’s rolltop desk.

John’s pride and joy were his daughter, Julie Hartsook, now a teacher at Westside School, and her two children, Sadie Mae and Aiden Cash.

Martha Laws, a city educator, wrote on John’s “In Memoriam” page: “Only father that was a room mother.” Lynda explained that she was a room mother, but worked during the day. “John worked second shift at Snap-on Tools and would often fill in for me. He loved it,” Lynda said.

“He was a wonderful grandfather,” said Lynda. “He enjoyed taking Aiden to the park and sharing with him about local history.”

In addition to his historical work, John had formerly served as PTA president at T.A. Dugger Jr. High, was a member of the First United Methodist Church, the Elizabethton Planning Commission and the Elizabethton-Carter County Public Library Board.

At one time he had offered himself as a candidate for the Tennessee General Assembly.

There was only one John Brady Large, Jr., but he served in many different capacities during his adult life. He was an educator who made local history come alive for so many people.

John Large, Jr. died August 1 at Holston Valley Medical Center. A memorial service for him was held August 5. No doubt the fife and drum echoed in the distance at his passing.