The pause followed by the unforeseeable climax—brilliant! On the rewrite, change the title so we don't know it before we read it. Who could've thought tongues were next?!
Sam! I only know you through our both reading Sean of the South's columns. Then read that you are an East Tennessean and write of it. An Alabamian from south of the Fall Line, I taught at Tennessee Tech 1971-73 - true, Middle, not East Tennessee - but one of most "growing" experiences of my life...Students got me into caving, climbing, backpacking. Most talented one was from Greenback. Put together a WW II Army surplus jeep, complete with winch and come along, to ford the various rivers. I heard that some churches not all that far from Cookeville handled rattlesnakes, imbibed strychnine, and spoke in tongues. Before "No Business" became part of a huge recreational area, we hikers also risked running up upon a moonshine still. Precious memories. Now, in addition to Sean, I am going to read every one of your pieces!
Sam! Humbled you were touched by my comment. (1) The Fall Line (I learned of it when taking Herpetology at Auburn 1967) is a geographic line between the hard rock of the Appalachian Plateau and the soft sediment of the Atlantic coastal plain. In Alabama, it begins going through Auburn/Opelika, then horizontal through MOntgomery, then taking a northwesterly path through Clanton, Tuscaloosa, and finally, Tuscumbia (part of the tri citities...Helen Keller...Muscle Shoals music recording studio...famous Key Underwood Coon Dog Cemetery (which I have visited and am in awe of!)
(20 Google "A hike into No Business is a hike into History." I was fortunate to hike into and camp in the remains of it...a few chimneys...while at TTU. Now, it is sadly consumed by Big South Fork Rec. area. It was apparently a thriving community, founded in the very late 1700s, and persevered until after WW II. TEch sutdents who were in the area before I was talked of the mountain people who remained. The men did all the talking to strangers, and pretty much ignored the Tech female hiker/campers. Except for the young adult courting years, the sexes were pretty much segregated, and life, of necessity, centered around work in order to survive. Some of the Tech students recalled aromas which made them suspect a moonshining operation, and they steered clear. I confess, Sam, I was once a bootlegger - my first husband and I - while attending Auburn, and to supplement my graduate fellowship. It was good...copper worm...sold for $11/gal. I was smaller then. My job - crawl down into the thumper keg to clean it out after a run, prior to cooking up the next batch. Remember, I took herpetology. Ex-hubby also had me wading the Uchee Creek banks (BELOW the Fall Line!), 8.5 months pg, using a sweet potato rake to toss cottonmouth water "mok suh kins" up onto the bank, pin them down, put into a croaker sack, and take to south Florida to sell to Ross Allen at his reptile ranch, to sell. He would milk them to make antivenin. $3 per snake. Ob delivery cost was $220. (3) Loved my East Tenn students who attended Tech. Some went on to be geologists, engineers; many works out in Nature. They had me hiking the AT in NC...IN DECEMBER...forded many rivers in that WW II jeep of one friend...now retired and back in Greenback. Yes. I've not more stories. Like Kurt Vonnegut in his recollections in "Slaughterhouse Five" of his time as a POW in WW II Germany...He claimed to have become an "Old Fart with his Memories and his Camel Cigarettes." At 80, I have earned Old Fart status; have the memories; don't do the Camels. (4) You didn't ask for this, but during WW II, many soldiers trained at nearby Fort Benning (think Columbus, GA.) My home town is Seale, AL, just down the road. The local families would entertain them with dances, barbeques, fish fries. My Daddy's sister (Daddy was 29th Infantry, Patton's 3rd Army, The Bulge and beyond) had a sweetheart in flight training there. He was from Jellico, TN...Name HOMER LAWRENCE RODEHEAVER, 1/Lt. Flew the P51 Mustang. Crashed over northern Germany. I think there was a gospel singer kin to him by the same name. "Rody" is buried in Europe, but has a memorial stone in Jellico. I visited one of his sisters several years ago, and saw all his medals. Also correspond with one of his nephews. Those Tennessee "boys" are something else. But like Kurt, I have digressed...an ole geezerette, an Ole Fart with a whole lot of memories...and still making them. Have hiked much of the AT in Ga..some in southern NC, and licking my chops to do some above the Smokies where the NC and TN state lines meander back and forth. Of note, already read your Aunt's favorite movie. I thought it was going to be Trip to Bountiful; turned out to be a very exciting football game. Made me tear up. Look forward to reading more of YOUR stories. DAMN! Don't get old folks resurrecting memories. All YOUR fault!
Home of Swamp Gravy at the Cotton Hall Theater. A Must See. Also Mayhaw berries grow in the swamps - make great jelly. She is likely too young, but if her folks were rural at all, they listened to Mr. Gene Ragan with the noon farm report, and may have watched Ann Varnum on WTVY in the mornings. Both legends. I bought my land to build on from the late Mr. Gene. (from Blakeley, GA) and have been a guest on Ann Varnum with both Psychiatry topics and rescue dogs. Small world, and I am going to start making it a morning habit to treat self to YOUR columns as well as Sean's. (and your wife can tell you, it's CAY roe GA...and BONN uh fi FL.)
The pause followed by the unforeseeable climax—brilliant! On the rewrite, change the title so we don't know it before we read it. Who could've thought tongues were next?!
Sam! I only know you through our both reading Sean of the South's columns. Then read that you are an East Tennessean and write of it. An Alabamian from south of the Fall Line, I taught at Tennessee Tech 1971-73 - true, Middle, not East Tennessee - but one of most "growing" experiences of my life...Students got me into caving, climbing, backpacking. Most talented one was from Greenback. Put together a WW II Army surplus jeep, complete with winch and come along, to ford the various rivers. I heard that some churches not all that far from Cookeville handled rattlesnakes, imbibed strychnine, and spoke in tongues. Before "No Business" became part of a huge recreational area, we hikers also risked running up upon a moonshine still. Precious memories. Now, in addition to Sean, I am going to read every one of your pieces!
This was the loveliest comment. I have so many questions:
1) What is the fall line?
2) did the moonshine stills offer free samples?
3) I love hearing about Cookeville. I’m sure you’ve got more stories.
Good to hear from you!
Sam! Humbled you were touched by my comment. (1) The Fall Line (I learned of it when taking Herpetology at Auburn 1967) is a geographic line between the hard rock of the Appalachian Plateau and the soft sediment of the Atlantic coastal plain. In Alabama, it begins going through Auburn/Opelika, then horizontal through MOntgomery, then taking a northwesterly path through Clanton, Tuscaloosa, and finally, Tuscumbia (part of the tri citities...Helen Keller...Muscle Shoals music recording studio...famous Key Underwood Coon Dog Cemetery (which I have visited and am in awe of!)
(20 Google "A hike into No Business is a hike into History." I was fortunate to hike into and camp in the remains of it...a few chimneys...while at TTU. Now, it is sadly consumed by Big South Fork Rec. area. It was apparently a thriving community, founded in the very late 1700s, and persevered until after WW II. TEch sutdents who were in the area before I was talked of the mountain people who remained. The men did all the talking to strangers, and pretty much ignored the Tech female hiker/campers. Except for the young adult courting years, the sexes were pretty much segregated, and life, of necessity, centered around work in order to survive. Some of the Tech students recalled aromas which made them suspect a moonshining operation, and they steered clear. I confess, Sam, I was once a bootlegger - my first husband and I - while attending Auburn, and to supplement my graduate fellowship. It was good...copper worm...sold for $11/gal. I was smaller then. My job - crawl down into the thumper keg to clean it out after a run, prior to cooking up the next batch. Remember, I took herpetology. Ex-hubby also had me wading the Uchee Creek banks (BELOW the Fall Line!), 8.5 months pg, using a sweet potato rake to toss cottonmouth water "mok suh kins" up onto the bank, pin them down, put into a croaker sack, and take to south Florida to sell to Ross Allen at his reptile ranch, to sell. He would milk them to make antivenin. $3 per snake. Ob delivery cost was $220. (3) Loved my East Tenn students who attended Tech. Some went on to be geologists, engineers; many works out in Nature. They had me hiking the AT in NC...IN DECEMBER...forded many rivers in that WW II jeep of one friend...now retired and back in Greenback. Yes. I've not more stories. Like Kurt Vonnegut in his recollections in "Slaughterhouse Five" of his time as a POW in WW II Germany...He claimed to have become an "Old Fart with his Memories and his Camel Cigarettes." At 80, I have earned Old Fart status; have the memories; don't do the Camels. (4) You didn't ask for this, but during WW II, many soldiers trained at nearby Fort Benning (think Columbus, GA.) My home town is Seale, AL, just down the road. The local families would entertain them with dances, barbeques, fish fries. My Daddy's sister (Daddy was 29th Infantry, Patton's 3rd Army, The Bulge and beyond) had a sweetheart in flight training there. He was from Jellico, TN...Name HOMER LAWRENCE RODEHEAVER, 1/Lt. Flew the P51 Mustang. Crashed over northern Germany. I think there was a gospel singer kin to him by the same name. "Rody" is buried in Europe, but has a memorial stone in Jellico. I visited one of his sisters several years ago, and saw all his medals. Also correspond with one of his nephews. Those Tennessee "boys" are something else. But like Kurt, I have digressed...an ole geezerette, an Ole Fart with a whole lot of memories...and still making them. Have hiked much of the AT in Ga..some in southern NC, and licking my chops to do some above the Smokies where the NC and TN state lines meander back and forth. Of note, already read your Aunt's favorite movie. I thought it was going to be Trip to Bountiful; turned out to be a very exciting football game. Made me tear up. Look forward to reading more of YOUR stories. DAMN! Don't get old folks resurrecting memories. All YOUR fault!
I loved this. You’re the first real bootlegger I’ve met. The honor is mine.
Also my wife’s family is from down south of Columbus, GA in Colquit. CALL-quit. You have to say it right or they’ll chirp at you.
Home of Swamp Gravy at the Cotton Hall Theater. A Must See. Also Mayhaw berries grow in the swamps - make great jelly. She is likely too young, but if her folks were rural at all, they listened to Mr. Gene Ragan with the noon farm report, and may have watched Ann Varnum on WTVY in the mornings. Both legends. I bought my land to build on from the late Mr. Gene. (from Blakeley, GA) and have been a guest on Ann Varnum with both Psychiatry topics and rescue dogs. Small world, and I am going to start making it a morning habit to treat self to YOUR columns as well as Sean's. (and your wife can tell you, it's CAY roe GA...and BONN uh fi FL.)
She said her grandfather LOVED Ann Varnum. Never missed it. The South is a small, beautiful world ain’t it?
Sam - middle name LOGAN, not Lawrence...google for bio.