7 Generations of Peeks: How Chatt Hills Neighbors Make Community

3:56 - Rural Reminiscing
Many who have visited Serenbe know of the Waterfall. Rodney Peek remembers meeting Steve when he'd ask Steve for waterfall access, and he'd take a tractor full of kids down there to play in the woods. Ned remembers even visiting the waterfall when he was a boy with his Father, then taking Rodney there as a child for picnics. They've seen it in sunny summers, when there was pasture on either side, and when it was wooded and snow covered.

The Peeks have lived in Chattahoochee Hills for generations. It used to be only farmland, and his father raised corn, beans, peas, watermelons and would take them to the West End Farmers Market. The house he grew up in was built in 1854, and he had 9 siblings who have all stayed in the area. Steve jokes that there's a Peek in every direction. Rodney thinks he has anywhere from 20-30 cousins, though there are so many he doesn't know all them. Some of Rodney's earliest memories are of going to that old house, and now Rodney's children are the 7th generation of Peeks, and Rodney's niece is pregnant with the 8th generation.

11:56 - Coming Together For Chatt Hills
The Peeks joke about Steve going from City Mouse to Country Mouse pretty quickly, and they were endeared to him and the Nygren family. So when Steve was worried about their rural paradise being developed, the Peek's were the first people he went to. They agreed that they wanted to protect their land, so they were with him. They were "team leaders," helping talk with small groups of other neighbors talking to them about what was going on and what was being planned.

Chatt Hills passed their land use change in 2002, and the Nygrens, the Peeks, and many other community members drove to the Fulton County Courthouse together as a show of solidarity and support. Serenbe broke ground in 2003, and after that was when the community was ready to push to being a city. The coffee talks with neighbors started again, led by Steve and the Peeks, and they succeeded in that as well.

Rodney remembers being on the city council during the recession when the City's finances weren't doing well. There were talks about going back on some of their previous rural zoning decisions, but the citizens of Chattahoochee Hills showed support once again. They voted to raise local tax rate by 98% in order to keep the City moving. Another group even raised enough money to buy the local parks from Fulton County so they could maintain. They were in control of their own destiny.

23:45 - The Neighborly Way
Ned speak highly of Steve, and recalls times that are examples of how much Ned appreciates Steve as a neighbor. Rodney remembers talking with his sister before Serenbe was there, and they joked that their parents were losing their minds talking about restaurants and stores going in behind their house. One of the Blue Eyed Daisy's first events was a fundraiser for Race for Reilly, and it was packed full of neighbors in support.

Steve says one of the greatest rewards is continuing to see all the old families that have stayed in Chatt Hills through generations. Janice agrees, and is glad they've voted to keep their home rural. They joke about how even one tree that is cut down breaks her heart, but she says she trusts that more remain that would have otherwise, and she's grateful. She's even taught Steve about trees and contributed to his love for White Oaks, which he's planted all along the Inn's property.

Rodney remembers growing up in the country and wanting what he thought at the time was "more." Now he says he doesn't take the life here for granted, and he enjoys sharing it with visitors.

35:26 - Remembering Past Stories
Steve and the Peeks reminisce about the many stories they've heard and told over the years, the same way memories were past down before they could be recorded. They even talk about legends that go back to the Creek Indian era of the land that's now Chatt Hills, and Janice even mentions that they wouldn't have known quite as much of that history if Steve had not looked into it. He believed it was important to know the land you're on, and he wanted his children and their children to know too.

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