Covered wagon Trail of Tears riders pass through Barry County
July 1, 2015
Charlea Mills
It was years ago that Noqoa (Cherokee for Star) Elisi was given a vision. She shared, “About 25 years ago, I was given a vision that I was to take a long trip on horseback like my mothers had done. I was told not to worry, and everything would be taken care of.”
Noqoa planned to take the trip with her son, John, but after his death, she had to change her course. The trip was to ride the Trail of Tears, just as her ancestors had before her. It wasn’t until she met and married legendary long-rider Gene Glasscock that her vision became a reality.
She joked, “I married Papa for his mules and wagon.” But she continued, “God brought him into my life to bring us on this journey. To be given a task 25 years ago and to be put with the one person to make it happen is pretty amazing.”
Gene has made many impressive journeys by wagon or horseback. He’s ridden to all 48 contiguous state capitals, from the arctic to the equator where he then gifted his horses to the president of Ecuador, and a trip from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and back again. With the amazing journeys that Gene has made, he’s been met with much adversity, including blood poisoning, open-heart surgery and, on this trip, having a pacemaker put in. He said, “Always within six weeks, I was back on the road driving the team.”
The dynamic between Noqoa and Gene, who lovingly refer to each other as Mama and Papa, shows the love and appreciation they have for life and their work in the missions field. Gene said, “The last few years of my life, I’ve been about to live the life that many people dream about in terms of being a missionary.”
For Gene, they journeys are a reflection of his personality and outlook. He said, “I’m a bit of a practical joker. The Bible says that laughter is good like medicine, so maybe that’s why I’ve been around for 80 years.”
With two years of marriage under their belts, they journey together to complete a mission they both believe was ordained by God.
Noqoa said, “The vision was given by the Creator, and you don’t question those instructions and think, ‘why, why, why;’ you just do it.”
So with their three mules, Kitty, Kate and Buddy, and their dog, Bell, or as Gene calls her, “my ding-a-ling Bell,” the duo left Ashville, North Carolina, on April 8, 2014, toward Red Clay Tenn., where the Trail of Tears began. From there, they set out to make the journey, at a pace of around 10 to 15 miles a day, so as not to exhaust their mules.
Gene and Noqoa passed through Barry County as part of their mission to take the trip Noqoa was destined to take. They passed through Butterfield on Wednesday, June 24, and stopped to rest before making it into Cassville on Thursday, June 25, where they rested at the Barry County Museum until setting out again on Monday.
Noqoa said, “This has been one of the kindest, softest places we’ve ever been. The whole community has been so kind. We’ve been so blessed by this community.” She mentioned the number of people who have helped them locally by bringing food, shoeing their mules, or just sitting and visiting.
She continued, “We would like to thank the city of Cassville from the bottoms of our hearts to give us such a soft place to land and have a place to rest. And thank you to Butterfield, too. They were so kind and helpful.”
As Noqoa and Gene continue their journey, they will be met with trials and triumphs. It is with great joy and passion that they move on with their mission, sharing the Gospel as they go, and impacting the lives of the people who they meet along the way.
The original trail claimed the lives of an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 Cherokee of the 15,000 who began the journey and became known as “Nuahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i” or “the Trail Where They Cried.” It is a somber reality to think of how difficult the journey through the Appalachian Mountains and walk more than a thousand miles to their final destination in Oklahoma.
Noqoa is still taking the trip with her son, although it is his ashes that ride along in the covered wagon with her, Gene and Bell, but at the end of the journey, she will have fulfilled the mission she was assigned. It is with appreciation and positivity, the sharing of the word of God, and warm smiles that Gene and Noqoa make the journey that so many Cherokee did not survive so many years ago.
Charlea Mills
It was years ago that Noqoa (Cherokee for Star) Elisi was given a vision. She shared, “About 25 years ago, I was given a vision that I was to take a long trip on horseback like my mothers had done. I was told not to worry, and everything would be taken care of.”
Noqoa planned to take the trip with her son, John, but after his death, she had to change her course. The trip was to ride the Trail of Tears, just as her ancestors had before her. It wasn’t until she met and married legendary long-rider Gene Glasscock that her vision became a reality.
She joked, “I married Papa for his mules and wagon.” But she continued, “God brought him into my life to bring us on this journey. To be given a task 25 years ago and to be put with the one person to make it happen is pretty amazing.”
Gene has made many impressive journeys by wagon or horseback. He’s ridden to all 48 contiguous state capitals, from the arctic to the equator where he then gifted his horses to the president of Ecuador, and a trip from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and back again. With the amazing journeys that Gene has made, he’s been met with much adversity, including blood poisoning, open-heart surgery and, on this trip, having a pacemaker put in. He said, “Always within six weeks, I was back on the road driving the team.”
The dynamic between Noqoa and Gene, who lovingly refer to each other as Mama and Papa, shows the love and appreciation they have for life and their work in the missions field. Gene said, “The last few years of my life, I’ve been about to live the life that many people dream about in terms of being a missionary.”
For Gene, they journeys are a reflection of his personality and outlook. He said, “I’m a bit of a practical joker. The Bible says that laughter is good like medicine, so maybe that’s why I’ve been around for 80 years.”
With two years of marriage under their belts, they journey together to complete a mission they both believe was ordained by God.
Noqoa said, “The vision was given by the Creator, and you don’t question those instructions and think, ‘why, why, why;’ you just do it.”
So with their three mules, Kitty, Kate and Buddy, and their dog, Bell, or as Gene calls her, “my ding-a-ling Bell,” the duo left Ashville, North Carolina, on April 8, 2014, toward Red Clay Tenn., where the Trail of Tears began. From there, they set out to make the journey, at a pace of around 10 to 15 miles a day, so as not to exhaust their mules.
Gene and Noqoa passed through Barry County as part of their mission to take the trip Noqoa was destined to take. They passed through Butterfield on Wednesday, June 24, and stopped to rest before making it into Cassville on Thursday, June 25, where they rested at the Barry County Museum until setting out again on Monday.
Noqoa said, “This has been one of the kindest, softest places we’ve ever been. The whole community has been so kind. We’ve been so blessed by this community.” She mentioned the number of people who have helped them locally by bringing food, shoeing their mules, or just sitting and visiting.
She continued, “We would like to thank the city of Cassville from the bottoms of our hearts to give us such a soft place to land and have a place to rest. And thank you to Butterfield, too. They were so kind and helpful.”
As Noqoa and Gene continue their journey, they will be met with trials and triumphs. It is with great joy and passion that they move on with their mission, sharing the Gospel as they go, and impacting the lives of the people who they meet along the way.
The original trail claimed the lives of an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 Cherokee of the 15,000 who began the journey and became known as “Nuahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i” or “the Trail Where They Cried.” It is a somber reality to think of how difficult the journey through the Appalachian Mountains and walk more than a thousand miles to their final destination in Oklahoma.
Noqoa is still taking the trip with her son, although it is his ashes that ride along in the covered wagon with her, Gene and Bell, but at the end of the journey, she will have fulfilled the mission she was assigned. It is with appreciation and positivity, the sharing of the word of God, and warm smiles that Gene and Noqoa make the journey that so many Cherokee did not survive so many years ago.