D. Reeves Noland was honored by thankful friends and citizens for accomplishing, against tremendous odds and despite people who said it could not be done, the effort that culminated in the building of the Pigeon River Road. Over a period of thirty years, his untiring efforts and forceful presentation to the legislators and governors of both Tennessee and North Carolina helped bring the project to completion. A Haywood County citizen from 1894-1966, he was a Cornell University graduate of 1915, a Rotarian, a member of the North Carolina Highway Commission, a vice president of First Union National Bank of Waynesville, a director of the North Carolina State Fair, a trustee of North Carolina State College, a county commissioner of Haywood County, and a member of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture for twenty years.