Les Jones

East Tennessee > Tellico Dam

Jack Neely revisits the history of Tellico Dam for Metro Pulse. Via SouthKnoxBubba. Bonus: Neely interviews David Etnier. I thought this was interesting.

The pronunciation of that mysterious old name has become an indicator of personal allegiance. Most locals say VON-ore. Northern newcomers—and some TVA officials we spoke to—say von-ORE. Locals are used to mispronunciations—after all, nearby Lenoir City’s correctly pronounced that way—but they’re not used to being overwhelmed with it.

“There’s been this outcry,” says Hendershot. “At meetings, local people shout, ‘It’s VON-ore!’” She likes the old pronunciation, but she thinks it’s changing. It may be that a majority of the people who live on Tellico Lake now pronounce it von-ORE.

So Yankees are using the hoity-toity pronunciation for a town that has three restauarants: a deli, a Hardee's, and the place inside the Shell station.