What's in a Name?

According to Janet Vardaman, the name "Tater Patch Players" has a rich and historic background. In the late 1920's Sam Tate decided to start a resort for the wealthy in the Burnt Mountain region of Pickens County.

His timing was worse than a bad vaudevillian comic, however, because the onset of the Great Depression stymied the development of his grand project, which he named Tate Mountain Estates. It was designed to become a summer retreat for the wealthy elite of Atlanta.

One idea that took root in the early days of the summer resort, however, was the tradition that the residents would come together at the end of each summer season to produce an entertainment or play for their neighbors in Pickens and Dawson counties.

In the early 1970's, both Bent Tree and Big Canoe were launched as premier mountain communities plus Pickens County, Lake Arrowhead, and others met and revived the grand scheme of producing a summer entertainment for the good people of Tate and Jasper every year.

The new troupe adopted  the name of Tater Patch Players as tribute to its orgins in the creative vision of the Tate Mountain Estates.

Excerpt from the book, Break A Leg! The Story of Tater Patch Players: The First 30 Years.