Tag Archives: Community

Soccer Americana

21 Apr

It is that time of year again. The weather is warming up. The plants are turning green. Youth soccer is cranking up. For the next several weekends, families across the country will spend Saturdays watching their kids play soccer. We are one of them, as my stepdaughter is a soccer player extraordinaire.image

The other day, I was watching the first match of the season and started looking around. Within sight of the field, there were several things dripping in Americana.

In the distance, I saw traffic going down the interstate. Trucks and cars passed by on their way to unknown places on the map.

A little closer, vintage airplanes took off from the local airport as amateur pilots took to the wild blue yonder.

On the other side of the runway, there sat a National Guard armory with an American flag flying high. Military vehicles were parked in the back.

Further on the horizon, I saw a couple of church steeples. One stood over a Baptist church, and the other stood over a Church of Christ church. Both denominations are big in this area.

As I scanned the landscape, I realized that I was looking at America. However, I was looking at America while watching a soccer game. Does that make soccer a part of this nation’s fabric? We like to talk about baseball, basketball and football as America’s games. However, there were dozens of families watching hundreds of kids playing a sport that many people consider foreign.

I admit that it felt weird. However, I think I am right in saying the following. For all of those people, including me, soccer is an American game. I say that even though I know nothing about its rules or its strategies. All I know is that you are supposed to put the ball in the goal.

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Mindful Meanderings at Music at the Mill

16 Feb

Last night, we went to Music at the Mill, a fundraiser for a local private school. Music at the Mill

A lot of people turned out to watch singers in various stages of their careers – some were searching for the spotlight while others were fading from it. Most of them did a great job, and a great time was had by all. Although, the Willis Clan stole the show. If you like Bluegrass and some old Irish tunes, then you need to check them out.

Collin Ray was the headliner. He is someone who I have heard of, but I was not sure what he sang. It turns out that I recognized several of his songs. However, it was a couple of other tunes that sent my mind on one of its meandering journeys.

Collin talked about the influence that Glen Campbell has had on his career and mentioned that he has put together a tribute album. As a sampling, he sang “Galveston“, one of Campbell’s signature tunes. It was a good rendition, although Collin Raye cannot touch Glen Campbell’s guitar skills.

Later in the set, he sang Don McLean’s “American Pie“. Most people, including me, sang along, but my mind also went into another direction. As people sang the chorus, I started connecting trivial dots.

“The day the music died” references the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper. “This’ll be the day that I die” is an homage to Holly’s song “That’ll Be The Day“. To take this thing further down the rabbit hole, Holly was inspired to write that song after watching The Searchers and hearing John Wayne, as Ethan Edwards, say, “That’ll be the day.”

So, listening to Collin Raye sing a song by Don McLean made me think of something that John Wayne said in a movie. However, it did not stop there. That is when I realized that he had just sang a song by Glen Campbell, who starred with John Wayne in True Grit, the movie that won the Duke his Oscar. These days, many critics think that he should have won the Oscar for The Searchers and that the win for True Grit was a lifetime achievement award to make up for it.

As I said, most people were singing, but my mind was meandering.

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The Evolution of a Masterpiece

15 Feb

There is this cool place in town called The Art Mill, where people can paint. It is owned by some friends of ours and has been quite successful. On top of that, it is easy. You pick out what you want to do, and they take you through a step-by-step process. Before you know it, you have become an artiste.

My wife thought The Art Mill would be a great place for us to spend Valentine’s Day as a family. My stepdaughter was not too fired up about it, but I was. I was so fired up that I picked out one of the hardest things to do. When we got there, they had to convince me that I should start off with something a little easier. That is when I spied a landscape scene that looked cool.

After a few brushstrokes, it looked like this.Art Mill 1

As I was instructed, a few more strokes were added.Art Mill 2

Now, it was time for a real color – orange.Art Mill 3

Next, I was told to add in some darker stuff.Art Mill 4

At this point, I was not sure how it would turn out. Then, the trees were added.Art Mill 5

The finishing touches were the branches, the shadows and the stars.Art Mill 6

Alright, it is not a masterpice, but it is decent coming from someone who did not know what they were doing.

A strange thing happened while I was painting this landscape. I began imagining someone living within it. Maybe a person coming from a distant place over the horizon. As the night passed, they moved closer to the dark forest. I pictured them moving slowly on horseback while they sensed the world around them. Where were they coming from? Where were they headed? I am not sure, but I think it is a strange world in which they navigated.

Is that what art is supposed to do? Bring out our creativity and imagination?

Anyway, we all had a great time painting, talking and laughing. That included my stepdaughter who wanted to know when we could go back. Next time, though, I do not think I am invited. It will be a girls only thing.

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A Lebanon Institution – Snow White Drive-In

8 Feb

Today, I had lunch at a local institution – Snow White Drive-In.Snow White

Being by myself, I made my way to the lunch counter. On the way, I talked to a few people who I know. I also scanned the grease board that lists the meat and three selections. There were also some homemade pies to check on. However, I already knew what I was going to get. It has been my favorite thing at Snow White since I was a kid. Other people can have their pinto beans and barbecue. They can also have their milkshakes and banana splits. I will take the long chili dog and french fries every time.Chili Dog

As I sat at the counter and ate my chili dog, I began to think about the place in which I was sitting. Snow White Drive-In opened in the 1950s and has seen a lot of changes through the years.

In the beginning, it sat on the outskirts of town on the two lane highway from Lebanon to Nashville. It was probably a destination for the people who lived in town and was definitely a place where teenagers could hang out without being under the watchful eyes of their parents.

Now, Snow White is in the city limits. There are neighborhoods all around it, and a Publix sits across the street. There is also a Taco Bell just down the road.

Snow White has seen a lot of changes, but it has also seen a lot of challenges. Taco Bell sits on the site where another drive-in used to be. I would imagine the competition was fierce between the two businesses, and only one could make it.

When I was a kid, the owner of Snow White was robbed and murdered behind the restaurant. It was a shocking crime, but the business survived as other owners took over.

Snow White has also seen chain restaurants come to town and provide competition. I will not list them all because they are the ones that are in every town. However, a few are close enough to Snow White to be seen.

There was a time when Snow White closed, but other owners knew how important it was to the fabric of our town and reopened it. Now, it stays busy all of the time. It has also doubled as a setting for music videos and movies. Through all of the changes and challenges, Snow White Drive-In has survived as a small bit of Americana.

However, that could be about to change. A few weeks ago, the newspaper reported that the landowner is working on a deal to bring another business to the location. The report did not say what that business was going to be, but I have heard that it is going to be a convenience store, which we already have a million of.

The article quoted the owner of the property, and he went on and on about how he loves Snow White as much as everyone else. In fact, he promised that the restaurant would still have a place on the property in a new building. After all, it is the food that makes the place successful.

I am not sure about that. People can get the same food at a bunch of places. I think it is the building that makes Snow White Drive-In different. People can walk into a place that has been around since the 1950s and imagine a different time. They can feel the nostalgia in the air.

I think eating in a place that people have been going to for six decades is cool. However, I have no illusions that I am experiencing the “good old days”. As a historian, I do not really believe there was a “good old days”. I believe that people were eating in this building when they heard about that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I believe that those people were white because of segregation. I believe that some people were there the night man landed on the moon. I believe some people were there when they first heard Elvis on the jukebox.

Snow White is like other historical places. Its existence connects us with the past, both the good and bad parts of it. That is why I have taken history students there to eat. It gives them an idea of how things may have been.

I do not fault the landowner for getting value out of his land. Heck, I also develop land and own the property directly behind Snow White. I just feel that he is wrong when he says that Snow White will be the same in a new building. It will be a restaurant just like all of the rest. The food will be good, but the history will be gone.

Something else will be gone. Snow White Drive-In is a part of the fabric of Lebanon. When it goes away, a small thread of the town’s history will go with it.

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In Memory of Meacham’s

27 Dec

Tonight, we struggled to make dinner plans. My wife wanted to eat at home. My stepdaughter wanted to go out. I didn’t care what we did. We decided to dine out and made our way to one of the chains. That’s when my stepdaughter spoke up and said that she wanted to go to Los Compadres, one of the local Mexican restaurants.

Apparently, everyone else wanted to do the same thing. This place was packed. There were tons of people, and we knew a lot of them. A couple of people dropped by the table. Other people were sitting in the bar. On the way out, we stopped at a few tables. Everybody was there, and, with the kitchen being backed up, we had plenty of time to talk to them.

I started thinking about two things. First, people must have been tired of staying home and eating traditional Christmas fare. They had to get out and eat some chips and dip. Second, I started thinking about a place that used to be in town where you would see everybody. It was our local version of Cheers, where everybody knows your name.

Meacham’s Italian Cafe was owned and operated by Meacham Evins, whose father started Cracker Barrel. It sat at one end of a strip mall and served basic Americanized Italian food. The food was good, and it gained popularity because it was the nicest restaurant in town. We had the usual interstate chains, but this was something different. It was convenient and was a place where you could feel at home. Meacham was always there to ask about your meal and ask about your family.

Lunch was one of the peak times at Meacham’s. All of the movers and shakers could be found there around that time. My friend Robert and I were not movers and shakers by any means, but we had lunch there countless times. We saw all kinds of people, but we always looked forward to seeing one particular waitress.

Meacham’s became more than a lunch place when it was expanded into the neighboring space. That’s when the bar became the most popular hangout in town. There’s no way to know how many times I saddled up to the bar to get a drink from James, the bartender who knew everyone and knew what they drank. The place was always packed.

Lots of action took place in Meacham’s. Most of that action involved fun and frivolity. People went there on dates, and people went there with their friends. People dropped in for a quick meal or drink, and people sat on a bar stool all night. Meacham’s had something for everyone. And, that leads me to a story.

I was at the bar when a local preacher walked in. He wasn’t there for a drink. He was on his way to a dinner in the private room and had to walk through the bar to get there. However, this wasn’t just a preacher. He preached at the church where my dad was raised and had known me since I was a kid.

I escaped to a dark corner when I realized that someone else in the bar needed to know. A local man who frequented the bar quite a bit also grew up in this man’s church. I eased up to him and told him that the preacher was walking through the door. He looked at me like I was crazy but realized that I wasn’t joking. To make sure that he wasn’t seen, he got off of the bar stool and laid down flat on the floor. The preacher walked by and never saw him.

Meacham’s has been closed for a long time, and a few restaurants tried to take its place. None of them worked, and the location now looks something like this.

Despite its demise, a bunch of people in my town spent a lot of time in Meacham’s. Some of it is fun to remember, but, frankly, some of the memories are fading with time.

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Counting on the County Fair

8 Nov

Allow me to do some bragging on my community. I am a member of the management committee of the James E. Ward Agriculture and Community Center, which is the official name of our fairgrounds. Annually, it hosts to Wilson County Fair, the largest fair in Tennessee. It is even bigger than the state fair. In my mind, that’s bragging rights.Wilson County Fair

At this meeting, we were presented with the final statistics of the fair. I thought a few of you might find them interesting.

The fair was attended by 589,229 people. While there is no accurate way to determine where all of those people came from, some folks scan the parking lot to check license plates. They found cars from 5 countries, 35 states and 51 Tennessee counties. This is a fair that is known far and wide, but it wouldn’t be possible without the 905 volunteers who take vacation from their real jobs to operate the fair successfully.

The people who oversee the fair like to highlight the agricultural aspects of our community because that’s what county fairs were originally designed to do. With that in mind, there are all kinds of agricultural exhibits judged for their quality.

Let’s see. There were:

403 beef cattle

572 dairy cattle

657 sheep

141 swine

196 mules

681 goats

378 poultry

470 rabbits

193 jars of honey

50 hams

821 fruits and vegetables

954 flowers and plants

Of course, what’s a fair without beauty pageants.

198 babies were signed up for the Baby Show.

24 young ladies competed in the Fairest of the Fair, which was sponsored by Beauty Boutique.

On top of all that, the winner of Ms. Senior Wilson County went on to win the state competition.

There were also cooking contests, antique tractors, school exhibits, horse shows, dog shows, photography contests, art contests and an arm wrestling competition. The list goes on and on. The thing is so big that it can’t all be seen in one visit.

We are all proud of the Wilson County Fair. If you are in this area next August, then you should check it out.

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The Luck of the Night Rain

21 Sep

It rained last night. Usually, that is a great time to sleep and is even better if it is thundering. I didn’t sleep, though. I listened to the rain. Necole was sleeping next to me. That was the best part. I could hear her breathe and feel her when she shifted in her sleep.Night Rain

While lying there, I started to think. That’s one of the things I am prone to do at that time of night. In fact, that’s when I do my best thinking. I wonder how I would do teaching a class that late. My mind ran through all kinds of things, but it settled on the idea of how lucky I am.

I am lucky to have Necole as my wife and Isabella as my step-daughter. I never thought I would have a family, and, now, I have one.

I am lucky to have been raised in a good family and to have joined another one. I love them all.

I am lucky to have great friends who are fun to be around and would do anything to help me.

I am lucky to have the opportunity to travel and see things that others may never get the chance to see. I have been to all of the states, and I wish everyone could do the same thing. It’s hard to understand this country of ours if you haven’t seen it all. Every place is different.

I am lucky to have been a teacher for the past 12 years. Hearing a student say that they never liked History until my class is a great feeling. A lot of the students have gone on to be teachers, and I hope they have forgotten the times when I told them the wrong thing.

I am lucky to have grown up in Lebanon. It receives many complaints, but it is a good place to raise a family. Like other towns, it is filled with mostly good people.

I am lucky to be named after my father. As a kid, I hated having his first name. Now, I am honored to be named after someone who everyone admires so much.

I am lucky that I have not had any major health issues. Knowing people who have battled health problems, this is truly something to be thankful for.

That’s a lot of luck, and, at no point, will I ever forget how lucky I am.

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What Happens When a Settler Says, “Look At All Those Cedar Trees.”

24 Aug

A few days ago, our school, the School of Humanities, Education and the Arts, held a retreat at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, located a few miles south of town. As we sat in the assembly hall and talked about the upcoming academic year, my mind kept wandering toward our surroundings and the times I have spent in the park.

On one side of the hall, there is a playground and some picnic tables. That’s where we had a picnic for my grandfather a few weeks before he passed away. He had a brain tumor, and everyone knew his time was short. Picnics were one of his favorite things, so we had one while he was still able.

On the other side of the hall, there is a softball field in need of much repair. In the past, our university’s intramurals have been played there, but it was built for a different purpose. Years ago my dad sponsored a professional softball team, and he had the field built as a home park. Everything was donated, but some government agency refused to put up the lights. I noticed that there are now lights.

The Dixon Merritt Nature Center is located just past the field.Nature Center

Named for a local historian, the center presents the wildlife that can be found in the park. When I was a kid, we would take field trips to the nature center. I always wondered why a center dedicated to nature would have stuffed animals on display.

There is a short trail behind the nature center that I always thought was cool. It leads into a gully that contains a cave. I never got up the courage to go into the cave, but legend says that it ends underneath the town square. That’s probably not true, but it was the home of a whiskey making operation.

At the other end of the trail, there is a New Deal era recreation building that used to have a ping-pong table. On the other side of that is a playground with a great slide and a great swing set. When I was a kid, I would see how high the swings would go. Some kids jumped out of them. I always dragged my feet on the ground until it stopped.

In the same area, there are a bunch of picnic tables. These fill up the fastest because they are the first ones that people drive past. Unfortunately, my memories of this area aren’t positive. Sitting on one of the tables, a girlfriend and I had one of those discussions that always ends in a breakup.

If people drive past these tables, then they will find other things in the park. Like any good state park, there is a camping area. There are also some pretty cool trails. A swimming pool is located at the far end of the park. I think that I went there once as a kid. It’s a nice pool, but we had one at home.

There is also a frisbee golf course that a few of us played. That’s when I discovered that I am no better at frisbee golf than I am real golf.

Cedars of Lebanon is named for the grove of trees that it encompasses, and our town, Lebanon, is named for the same reason. When settlers first moved into the area, they saw all of the cedars and got all Biblical. You know, the Bible talks about the cedars of Lebanon, so that seemed like a good thing to name the town.Lebanon Flag

These days, Lebanon is known as the “Cedar City.” Although the park is officially named Cedars of Lebanon, most long-time Lebanese call it Cedar Forest. There are “cedar” things all over the place. There is even a Cedarstone Bank that combines the two things we have most of – cedars and rocks.

The rock part is accurate. You can’t dig anywhere around here without hitting them. However, the cedar part presents a problem. One day, I was talking to one of our biology professors who is an expert in plants, and he said something along the lines of:

You know all of the cedars around here. They aren’t cedars. They are junipers.

So, the settlers were wrong. There are no cedars to inspire the name of Lebanon. Now, the city with the wrong name uses a slogan that is just as wrong. The park that has been part of my life and the lives of many people in this area has the wrong name. We thought we were playing amongst the cedars when we were really should have been calling it Juniper Forest.

All I can say is welcome to “Juniper City.”

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How I Ate My Way Through the Wilson County Fair

22 Aug

Wilson County, of which I am a citizen, is the home of the largest fair in Tennessee. Hundreds of thousands attend every year to see what the fair has to offer. It has something for everyone, which is too much to write about in one post. In fact, I don’t think I could fit the Wilson County Fair into several posts. It is truly an amazing event that would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers who make it happen.Wilson County Fair

Over the past two nights, my wife and I went to the fair. On the first night, we watched the Fairest of the Fair pageant, which was sponsored by Beauty Boutique – my wife’s business. On the second night, we took her daughter to the midway. They were two different experiences, but one theme held throughout both nights. Food!

I can’t write about everything we saw at the fair. People. Animals. Rides. Contests. It’s a long list. Therefore, I am going to tell you how I ate my way through the Wilson County Fair. My wife was by my side, but I’ll leave her part out of it. If she wants you to know about her food experiences, then she can guest post at some point.

The first night started innocently enough. I had always heard about the great roasted corn. Hey, corn is healthy. I go up to the booth, and they pull out the biggest ear of corn that I have ever seen. The husks are pulled down to form a handle. Then, they stuck it in this big container of melted butter. It came out greasy, shining and completely delicious. Whoever came up with the idea of butter should go down in history as one of the all time greats.

The corn served as a good appetizer before going to the Rotary booth for a cheeseburger. Honestly, I was supposed to spend a night working in the Rotary booth, but I have missed a bunch of meetings. In other words, I missed the sign up sheet. It seemed like a good idea to make up for that by buying some food. Plus, Rotary has the best cheeseburgers at the fair.

While watching the beauty pageant, I got restless. Friends kept coming by, and I took those opportunities to get up and talk. Eventually, I needed to walk around. That’s when I headed to the general store to get a Coca Cola in one of those old-time bottles. Coke tastes a lot better from a glass bottle. I should mention that the general store sits in Fiddler’s Grove, a village that represents the history of our community. They play Bluegrass on the back porch.General Store

Back at the pageant, my wife said that she wanted to try a Three Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich. It suited me, so I went next door and got a couple. Honestly, it wasn’t the best grilled cheese that I have ever eaten.

After the pageant, it was dessert time. Luckily, Clayborn’s Bakery, a local establishment that has the second greatest donuts in the world, had a booth. In that booth were fried peach pies, one of my favorite desserts. Awesome does not come close to describing it.

Once that was over, I rolled to my car and mentally prepared myself for our impending return to the fair. However, I convinced myself that I was going to take it light. That meant making dinner out of a Walking Taco. This is where they cut a Frito bag in half and filled it with stuff. Fritos. Chili. Cheese. Lettuce. Salsa. Jalapenos. I reckon that’s it.

That one required some walking to work off what I had ingested. This meant checking out the model train display in Fiddler’s Grove. There was also a swing through the rabbit exhibit. Also, we looked at the photographs that had been entered into competition. Oh, I almost forgot the car giveaway.

With that much activity, nourishment was needed and was derived from the Red Velvet Funnel Cake. I am not a big fan of regular Red Velvet Cake, but putting it into a deep fryer improves it tremendously.

There are a lot more food options at the Wilson County Fair, but a fella can only take so much.

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A Brief Look at the Historical Legacy of Lebanon, Tennessee

19 Aug

I just started a new book by Andrew Carroll called Here is Where, about a journey to find historic places that have been lost to, well, history. Although I am only a few pages in, it promises to be a good read about his journey to find these places and the people he met along the way.

It has also made me think about the history of my town. In class, we talk about the big events and people who took part in them, but history is local. There are a lot of amazing stories about people and events that we have never heard of. They are important to the towns in which they lived, but their notoriety doesn’t go past the city limits. My town is full of history.

Of course, some people don’t believe that. Several years ago, I was in a meeting, and a lady said that we had no history. That’s when I rattled off a list that included some of the following.

My workplace, Cumberland University was founded in 1842. Thousands of students have passed through its doors, but none are more important that Cordell Hull.Cordell Hull

Never heard of him? Well, he was Secretary of State under Franklin Roosevelt and known as the “Father of the United Nations”. He was also a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Of course, his time as Secretary of State was in and around World War II. During that time, Cumberland University also played an important role as the headquarters of the Tennessee Maneuvers, a series of war games to prepare for the invasion of Europe. Soldiers fought battles and captures town all of Middle Tennessee. General George Patton was in charge of the Maneuvers and spent some time in town. I have heard that his private plane was still at the local airport when he was killed.George Patton

Another military leader started his career in town. Sam Houston opened his first law office on the square.Sam Houston

He went on to become governor of Tennessee, an office from which he would resign under mysterious circumstances. It was then that he went to Texas and became one of the leaders of the fight for independence from Mexico. After victory, Houston became the president of the nation of Texas and the governor of the state of Texas.

I always thought it was fitting that the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans. They were just coming back home.

Following the military theme, Castle Heights Military Academy opened in 1902 and was a top private school for decades. Kids were sent from all over the world for a regimental education. The local girls loved them. The local guys didn’t care for them all that much. Thousands of students marched the grounds of Castle Heights, and some of them became famous. Can you imagine Gregg and Duane Allman in a military school?Allman Brothers

Me neither. However, they spent time at Castle Heights.

Another famous rock star spent time here while he was doing some recording in Nashville. Paul McCartney showed up with Wings and stayed at a local farm.Paul McCartney

He even wrote a song about it.

The farm was owned, and is still owned by Curly Putman, who wrote “He Stopped Loving Her Today“, considered by most to be the best country song ever recorded.

Oh, there’s one more thing that is of some historic note. Cracker Barrel was founded here by Danny Evins, who started serving food to attract people to his gas station.Cracker Barrel

The next time you get Uncle Herschel’s breakfast you should remember that Uncle Herschel was from here, too.

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