Tag Archives: Barbecue

Childhood Memories – French Fries and Jukeboxes

28 Oct

It is interesting to watch our surroundings change. As time passes, places come and go. Looking back at my town, I can think of places that used to be. There were stores, restaurants and other popular places. They were locations where you could find people who you knew. They were places that helped define the community. It is sad to think that younger folks and newcomers do not know where and what those places were.

For me, the places from my childhood pop into my mind on occasion. I might be riding by where they used to be and remember being there. I could be listening to a song and have the memory of a place come to my mind. In fact, there is one song that always brings a certain place into focus.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite songs was “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. I have no idea why I liked it, but it still brings a smile to my face when I hear it. The tune is great. The words are great. When I was a kid, I could sing the entire thing.

As an adult, I realize that the song is all mixed up. It is about West Virginia, but the words describe Virginia. It does not matter because I can look past all of that. Instead, this song makes me look back at a restaurant that is long gone.

El Rancho sat on the outskirts of town and specialized in barbecue. For me, it was always an adventure to eat at El Rancho. through the eyes of a child, it was like going on a long journey to a far away place. In fact, it was only a few miles away. I think that it being on the other side of town made it seem further.

There was also the food. I cannot tell you if the barbecue was good, but they always made the best french fries. What kid does not like french fries? On top of that, these were the best french fries ever cooked. I can still see them, smell them and taste them. They were awesome.Jukebox

You are probably asking yourself a question. What does a song about one of the Virginia’s have to do with a barbecue restaurant in Tennessee? the answer brings me to the other adventurous part of the restaurant. The booths had tabletop jukeboxes, and they were the coolest things I had ever seen. I could pick the music in the restaurant by dropping a nickel in the slot and flipping through the pages. Just push a letter and a number and the song would play.

I always picked “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” I would have played it over and over if my parents had let me. After all, who does not want to hear the same song multiple times?

I do not remember when El Rancho closed, and I do not remember the last time we ate there. However, I still remember the french fries, and I still remember playing that song on the jukebox.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Scenes From a Cattle Sale

29 Apr

My dad grew up on a dairy farm, and he has always liked having cattle around. In fact, they have been around for as long as I can remember. For years, he has owned Angus, a breed that can be traced back to Scotland. The are black cattle that have become the staple of the beef industry.

For many of those years, my dad had several head but was not that serious about it. Then, he and a partner started the Horn Springs Angus Farm. With hard work and a lot of investment, this became not only one of the top herds in Tennessee but also one of the top herds in the nation. HSAF cattle have won some of the biggest shows and have been praised for the quality of their offspring.

You see, the animals are not for slaughter. They are show cattle that are used to enhance the breed. In 2000, my dad and his partner decided to hold an annual production sale. Although my dad is not as involved as he used to be, he still hosts the sale on his land, and cow people come from all over to buy. This year, there were folks from as far away as Montana and Canada.

This past Sunday marked another day of auctioning cattle, and I thought it would be interesting to chronicle the scene on this blog. I took photos with my iPhone, which my wife and stepdaughter claim I am not very good at doing. I do not know if the pictures are of good quality, but you may find them interesting.

When people arrive, the first thing they want to do is check out the cattle that are going up for auction.

image-3

Of course, there is more than one way to look at a cow.

image-5

These guys look serious about it.

image-11

You may have noticed some people sitting at tables. The sale is almost as famous for its lunch as it is for the cattle. This year, they had barbecue (beef, of course), barbecued bologna (baloney in these parts), brisket, baked beans, cole slaw, and some of the best pecan pie you will ever eat. The only thing missing was vanilla ice cream to put on the pie.image-6

People get in line as fast as possible to get to the vittles. In this picture, my wife and stepdaughter are making their way through.image-8

Once the plate is piled, it is time to eat.

image-10

Of course, the whole point is to buy and sell cattle, and that takes place in this ring.

image-9

The barn sits empty while people browse and eat, but, when it is auction time, people get ready for business.

image-12

Introductions are made. Cattle are brought in. The auctioneer starts talking. The ring men start taking bids. The beginning of the auction is actually pretty exciting.

image-14

However, important work is also going on behind the scenes as people are getting the cattle lined up to go in the ring. There cannot be a delay in the action.

image-16

Here is another view of the ring as cattle are being sold.

image-19

Eventually, the cattle are loaded onto trailers and taken to places throughout the United States and Canada.

image

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed a few scenes from a cattle sale.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Journey Among Kings

21 Feb

This weekend, my girlfriend and I decided to get away for a few days and took a short trip to Memphis. Ordinarily, this is not a city that ranks high on my agenda of places to visit. However, there were a couple of sites within its confines that I wanted to visit – one place that I had never been to before and another that I have been to numerous times.

We left late on Friday, which meant that we arrived in Memphis, a city with one of the highest crime rates in the nation, after nightfall. I was not comfortable with this prospect and was even less comfortable when we missed our exit. You see, the interstate system is strange in the fact that there are no signs saying “Downtown” or “Beale Street” or anything else that might be familiar. Even a GPS, which we had, leaves questions. Things got worse when we found streets blocked to allow the NBA crowd to get out-of-town. We talked to a couple of policemen who sent us on detours through neighborhoods with blown out windows and people wandering the streets. Finally, we made a turn and happened upon our hotel.

On Saturday morning, we slowly arose and visited the site that I had never been to before, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel.

The National Civil Rights Museum

Normally, I am not a fan of museums (strange for a historian I suppose). To me, the places where history happened are a lot more interesting, and that is what made this a place I wanted to see. The Lorraine Motel was the location of one of the great tragedies in American history, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Most people have seen the photographs of him lying on the balcony, so I will not reproduce them here. I will say that powerful emotions emerge when you walk around the corner and see the balcony ahead.

Unfortunately, I did not get the same feelings about the museum. First, there were few authentic artifacts. The struggle of African-Americans from the beginnings of slavery to the assassination was told through photographs, audio and reproductions. I really believe that a story as important as this would be well served to have original pieces of history.

Second, I felt like a Japanese tourist at Pearl Harbor. To explain, when I was last at Pearl Harbor a lot of Japanese tourists were also there. World War II ended a long time ago, and we should be past hard feelings. But, something hit me as I watched them look around, and I thought to myself that they had no business being there. Stupid, I know. As a white person at the location of King’s assassination, I got this feeling that I had no business being there.

Third, it bothered me that the history had been gutted. The Lorraine Motel holds an important and haunting place in our history, but the facade is all that is left. I wish they could have kept more of the building intact. Granted, I have no idea of its condition when the museum was created, but I had the sickening feeling that a historic site had been demolished to build a museum. On the inside, the hotel rooms were recreated, but they were at the edge of a larger room. The sense of history had been erased. The same happened with the building that James Earl Ray fired from. A cramped, dirty boarding house was gutted and opened into a museum loft dedicated to the murder. The one part of history that was not changed and I noticed immediately was the short distance between the two. I never realized how close they were.

When the tour was finished, we had a late lunch at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous, the most famous barbecue joint in Memphis and one of the most famous in the world. If you are in Memphis take a walk down the alley and head in. You won’t be disappointed. After that, we had drinks in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel and watched the ducks march from the fountain to the elevator on their return to the roof. Don’t know the story of the Peabody ducks? It is something to behold, and the lobby becomes packed when the Duck Master appears.

On Sunday, we got up and headed to a place that I have visited countless times, Graceland.

Graceland

I have written about Elvis Presley before and must say that any fan should take a trip to his house, the second most visited private home in the country. It is an homage to 70s decor and the style of a man whose tastes had few bounds. He had money and would spend it on almost anything outrageous. The Jungle Room is probably the most famous, but the TV Room is my favorite. ALERT! ALERT! TRIVIA QUESTION AHEAD! Can anyone tell me what 70s era movie is always playing in the TV Room? Hint: It’s a western.

There are three tv's. I left out the one showing the trivia answer.

After touring the mansion, the private planes and the other attractions at Graceland, we headed back to Nashville. We both agreed that visiting these sites was a great experience and everyone should make a point to go to each one. They play different roles in our history, but, as we know, all history is important. I have read extensively about both people and the events of their lives, but leave it to my girlfriend to ask questions that I could not answer.

1. Did Elvis Presley and Martin Luther King ever meet? After all, they were contemporaries and two of the most famous southerners in the country.

2. Was Elvis at Graceland the night of King’s assassination? If he was, then he wasn’t too far away. Knowing his fascination with police work, Elvis could very well have been following the events closely.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,