Deep rooted in the Black Fox community in Union County, Tennessee, sisters Lorene and Goldie Davis share a rich love for the county and an unwavering love of family instilled in them by their parents.

Parents Samuel and Sarah Kirk Davis (Sallie) moved their family to Luttrell in 1935, when TVA took the land for Norris Dam. The couple had eleven children,eight boys and three girls. Lorene is the youngest child and Goldie is five years older. Three of the brothers were in World War II - Monroe, Murphy, and Austin. Being the youngest of eleven children, Lorene had nieces and nephews that are close to the same age, and some of them were playmates. A fun time was shared by all. For instance, a niece, Beulah, once had a cat named Pete and the kids decided to put red lipstick on it. Surprisingly, he didn’t mind at all.

Growing up in the Depression Era, there was an abundance of hard work to be shared. They grew everything they ate and Sarah made all of the girls clothes. In the Davis family, there was no quarreling among siblings, and they were always a very close-knit family. They attended Black Fox Primitive Baptist Church. Sam was the clerk at the church for many years. Goldie still attends along with her daughter and son-in-law.

On June 1, the Davis sisters celebrated monumental birthdays together at a big gathering at Alder Springs Baptist Church Fellowship Hall. Goldie turned 95 and Lorene 90. Each sister had a large birthday cake embellished with decadent pink flowers. With around 75 friends and family attending, much food and fellowship was shared.

The sisters talk nearly daily on the phone, and many of those conversations now include some detail of their big birthday party celebration. They love to reminisce about times past. In the early years, the girls spent their life working on the farm with playtime only after their work was done. They cooked for farmhands, did lots of canning, and sewed, skills that are instilled in them today.

Georgia Lorena Davis Dyer was known most of her life as Lorene but in later years she was also called Georgia. She was married to her late husband Conley Dyer for sixty-two years, and the couple continued to farm for many years. They met at a party at Chesney School for a man heading into the Army. They had two children, Pat and Virgil.

She currently resides in Maynardville and says it is the first time she has ever lived in the city. A favorite memory from her childhood is of the children spending time playing in the upstairs above the kitchen in the wintertime while living on Davis Road in the two story farmhouse. Many games and giggles were shared and cherished.

Lorene’s main focus in life is her family. She is talented in cooking, sewing, and crocheting and enjoys working word search puzzles and reading as well.

When asked what has changed the most in her lifetime, Lorene says, “My relationship with God. The only change would be that it has grown stronger as the years go by. Keep Christ in your heart and be kind to everyone, regardless of how they treat you.” She reminisces being baptized in Norris Lake by Rev. T.G. Brantley when she was sixteen years old. She loves everybody with unlimited grace.

Goldie attended Woodale School when living on Black Fox, where the children had to walk about a mile each way to school. When they moved to Luttrell, she went to Chesney School, which was a two room schoolhouse.

She married Bill Gose in 1953 and moved to the Seven Islands community in South Knox County, then moved to the Fountain City area in late 1994. The couple had two children; daughter Glenda, married to Chris Parton, and son Stevie who passed away at six years old.

Goldie was a homemaker and wonderful cook for her family and friends. She lived on a farm in the Seven Islands Community where she and Bill ran a dairy farm for many years. She also took pride in growing large, abundant vegetable gardens and did much canning.

She has much talent in fine arts as she loves to embroider and work puzzles and still puts her cooking skills to use. She is well known for making beautiful stack cakes and delicious sausage balls.

As it is illustrated, these sisters are very much big-hearted, family and God-loving women with strong inner values and beauty to mirror with deep roots and love for the communities in which they sprouted.