Beautiful photos of the Soque

Submitted by:  Walter Matlock

Mollie - "I only drink from the Creek"

Mollie - "I only drink from the Creek"

The Monroe's adopted Mollie (pictured below), a part Beagle part Australian Sheperd mix - many yearss ago from the shelter, and she's now 16 years old, completely deaf and a tad senile. A small creek, a tributary to the Soque just below Hardman Bottoms, runs behind the house. Recently Mollie decided the only place she wants to drink water is from the creek behind the house, so three times a day they walk her through a little fence and let her drink her fill from the flowing water. They've tried to bring a pan of creek water back up the hill for her to drink but she says no. A good old dog is entitled to a few privileges at the tail end of life and Richard said it reminds him that water is important not just to people but to all living things, including our animals.  

Submitted by Richard Monroe

12 Weeks of BIKING the SOQUE

Each week for the next 12 weeks the SRWA is going to explore every SUB-BASIN of the Soque Watershed as part of our SOQUE RIVER DAYS project!

To EXPLORE these sub-basins were jumping on a BICYCLE! Each Monday and Friday we'll head out to see the  landscapes, geography and people that make these areas unique. It's a very ground level way to find the special features of each basin, visit project sites we've worked on, projects we'd like to work on, and get to know the people who care about these areas, and their stories.

SCHEDULE
• Yellowbank Creek – June 2, 6
• Beaverdam Creek – June 9, 13, 16
• Hazel Creek – June 20, 23, 28, 30
• Deep Creek – July 4, 7
• Main Stem – July 11, 14
• Shoal Creek – July 18, 21
• Raper Creek – July 25, 28
• Headwaters – August 1, 4
• MAKE UP DAYS – August 8, 11

We hope you'll suggest places for us to visit by e-mailing soque@windstream.net. And perhaps even come out for a ride one day.

Extensive photos, maps and stories will be posted to http://soqueriverdays.blogspot.com/

THIS WEEK - June 2-6 were traversing the YELLOWBANK CREEK sub-basin. So far we've already seen a little known gristmill, and hung out with the fella who caught the state record rainbow trout in the Soque River back in 2004.

Click image to download map

We'll share our experiences with you if you'll share yours with us!

Please tell us a story, submit a photo, or otherwise convey your experiences on the Soque River and all her numerous tribs. If you think you don't have a story, think again. Take for example this quick list of stories we could tell right off the top of our heads:

• First time going to Mark of the Potter, seeing the enormous trout, and falling in love with the sinuous curves of 197 which follows the Soque the whole way to Batesville.
• Catching a large trout, so big it hung down in the middle. Took it to be dissected in a fish anatomy class and to show off a bit the enormous trout of the Soque.
• Canoeing in the Soque for Memorial Day and skinny dipping in a quiet, secluded spot
• Took some of the staff from El Jinete to see Raper Creek Falls for the first time and swam in the pool beneath.
• Finding yellowfin shiners in their brilliant red and yellow mating colors.

Don't be shy, share a quick tale, or photo. It'll help us all understand and enjoy this incredible resource even more.

Tomorrow we'll post stories and photos from our YELLOWBANK CREEK travels. If you'd like to suggest people and places to see in each of these basins, please let us know. 

Thanks,

Justin Ellis

Executive Director

SRWA

706-754-9382

soque@windstream.net

"At the far end of the Soque"... a remembrance

Submitted by: Avanelle Ivester

1930 – 1940

At the far end of the Soque – between Habersham Mills and where the river meets the Chattahoochee – Our family had many good times. My Dad loved the river – he fished and we played all up and down. He built his own boat, no motor, just paddles and poles. Down we would go over the shoals, what great fun! But it was hard to get back up over the shoals. He would get out of the boat and pull us up over the shoals. What memories!

"Soqee Life Water"

Submitted by:  Clarence Mason

Soquee Life Water

            As I grew up it took several years before I learned the true spelling of Soquee. Reading history books brought my attention to the double e's in Soquee. This makes better understanding on how to pronounce the word as many people just do not correctly pronounce it. The double e's seem to give Soquee a special ring when speaking the word. Spelling Soquee gives recognition to the many ancient people over this land. Many other places and people end their names with the double e's. All over Georgia and many surrounding states spell names ending in two e's.

            I made friend with John and Nancy when I told them I was glad they used the old spelling of Soquee. I could see her eyes sparkle. Some of my ancestor McClures worked for the Kollocks in the 1800's and are buried in that area. My mom was born up on the left fork of the Soquee near Chimney Mountain before moving to south of Clarkesville in 1919 where I still live today. I played along the Soquee and Mines Shoals where the old early 1800's Soquee Woolen Mill was before it burned. I fished much of Habersham Mills Lake.

            The Soquee is beautiful on up above the silted muddy part above town. The spelling may never be changed back like it used to be. Many people of influence could begin to spell Soquee if they would and change signs but many are not the local people and don't care. 

Baby Fox Photos from Clarkesville Greenway

Photo Submission from
Julie Marie Doublet
May 20, 2014

Baby Fox Photos from Clarkesville Greenway

SRWA launches “Soquee River Days” Contest and Book - May 1st

“Sukym, Skwiyi, Sakwi, Suki, Sukee, Soque, Soquee…it has been spelled many ways since the time of the Cherokee.” This is the first sentence of the essay by John Kollock that accompanies the “Soquee River Days” painting.

SRWA launches “Soquee River Days” Contest and Book

The Soque River Watershed Association is hosting a summer event in honor of artist John Kollock who inspired several generations with his paintings of the natural world. The event is called “Soquee River Days”, the title of one of Mr. Kollock's greatest paintings, and is a contest to submit stories, artwork, poetry and photographs that depict people's experiences on the Soque River and her feeder streams. The entire collection of photos, kids art, oral histories and more will be featured on a website, and the best of those bound into a book this fall which will also be titled Soquee River Days.

“The idea is to capture our community's experiences of people and the river,” says Justin Ellis the director of the SRWA. “The Soque River has touched the lives of every single resident of and visitor to Habersham County in some way. We can honor two of our region’s greatest treasures, John Kollock, and the Soque River, by sharing our experiences and stories with one another.” 

From May 1^st to July 31^st submissions are encouraged in five categories, photos (both current and historical), artwork (all forms), story (written or oral), poetry and kids art. Each individual who makes a submission will receive a free map of the Soque River and have their work posted on a website. In August, five winners, one in each category, will be selected by a panel and awarded $100 and a print of Mr. Kollock's “Soquee River Days.” Dozens of submitted works will also be selected for publication in a hardbound book available to the public this fall. Submissions do not have to be new, they can be from long ago, or even by artists and individuals no longer with us. Helping to collect stories from others, such as family and friends is also encouraged.

During the three month contest SRWA staff will take a kayak and bicycle tour around the entire Soque Watershed, writing stories, interviewing people and taking photographs. The purpose of the tour is to demonstrate where the lands of the Soque Watershed are and the types of stories and people that help shape our understanding of the landscape. Nancy Kollock, John’s wife, described how, “once you’ve had an experience of the river, you care more,” and in that spirit new experiences interacting with the river this summer are encouraged.

The SRWA will begin collecting submissions during an open house at their new offices located at 1387 Washington Street, across the street from Habersham Community Theatre on Saturday May 17th, during the Mountain Laurel Festival, 9am to 3pm. Those with photographs or other works you’d like to submit are encouraged to bring them to be scanned that day and to receive a free map. Submissions will also be accepted on a continuous basis through July 31^st.

Since the event is more about sharing experiences with one another, than about winning a contest, all submissions great and small are encouraged. “A few years ago elementary age students drew pictures of colorful signs that read “You are now entering the Soque River Watershed,” says Ellis. “We put those signs up all along the foyer of our old office to inspire people. Even though those little treasures were lost in the Clarkesville downtown fire in March, we’re certain that the treasures that people still have in their attics, in their minds and hearts, in their family histories and in their passion to get out there and explore can build an incredible legacy for this River that we’ll all be proud we helped create. It’s a chance for each of us to become a part of Habersham history.”

Details on the contest, the book, the blog and the tour are available at the website www.soque.org, e-mail soque@windstream.net or call 706-754-9382.