The vibrant colors of autumn make it such a special season. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all, but there’s just something extra special about fall. We haven’t had much of it yet, but those crisp refreshing temperatures, after the long hot summer are so welcome. I hope to be able to visit the Foothills Festival ( www.FoothillsFestival.com ) in Albany, KY this weekend and take part in the first annual Sgt. York Day ( www.sgtyork.org ), in Pall Mall, TN. This will also afford me the opportunity to enjoy the glorious colors along the way. They seemed to have turned rather suddenly a couple of weeks ago. It has been quite dry the last few weeks, but then we had a really good rain and the temperatures dropped for a few days. Then WOW, the colors burst out all around. I’m only guessing here, but I would expect the colors will peak this year in a week or two. The back roads throughout the region are superb with burst of foliage all around. It is raining a bit today and the temperatures have definitely dropped in the last 24 hours. That should really make them pop again. Great time for a picnic!
Happy Trails!
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( 2.9 / 29 )Dale Hollow BBQ and GT's Sports Grill organized the 3rd Annual Sgt. Wesley Tucker Memorial Ride, in remembrance of Sgt. Tucker, our local hero that lost his life in the Iraq war. Those involved have a deep compassion for the family, and the young daughter that he left behind. The original ride was put together to help the family. This year's ride signifies the strong feelings that these riders have in saluting this hero, who sacrificed his all for his country. 91 bikes showed up in the parking lot, Top of the Hill at Cedar Hill, many returning from last year, yet many new riders assembled as well, enjoying the absolutely beautiful day and ready to ride. There was even a group of 15 bikes from Nashville. Everyone was excited to get going. The ride was organized and they set off through some of the prettiest parts of the Dale Hollow Lake and the surrounding region. The ride was spectacular, with the fall foliage just beginning to show with the bright reds, yellows and oranges bursting out all over the place. Coming back to the meeting place, the riders gathered for the scrumptious food provided by Tim Kelly from GT's Sports Grill and Diane Mowers from Dale Hollow BBQ. These two entrepreneurs have worked tirelessly to bring this memorial ride together and promote it for the family and the community. Part of the proceeds will go to scholarships at the local county high school, in memory of Sgt. Wesley Tucker. There to celebrate his life and be there to honor him was his recruiter Sgt. 1st Class David Cherry and Wesley’s parents, Kim and Ted Tucker, and lovely daughter Selena Cameron, 3 years old. Make sure to be a part of this event in 2009 and take part in the fun, food and fellowship at the Top of the Hill at Cedar Hill.
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( 3 / 25 )Have you ever smelled an aroma that brought you back in time? There are certain smells that I recall from my childhood, especially of my trips to visit “Oma and Opa” in Germany, that bring a smile to me. The smell of brewing coffee on an old wood stove in my Oma’s kitchen at the farmhouse, and the smell of the old wood, damp and woodsy, over in the corner. The smell of a cake or pumpkin pie baking. Yesterday, while in Cookeville on my search for a shoemaker, I finally found the shoemaker that I had seen somewhere in the area last month. I walked into their store and smelled that distinct smell of a shoe repair shop. The first thing that I said to the friendly gentleman behind the counter was, “I am so glad that I found you!” The smell of leather, glue and all the other smells of his shop brought back memories of the old shoe repair shop in Westland, Michigan where I used to have shoes and purses repaired.
Shoe making and shoe repair are a dying art and in the Upper Cumberland I only know of this one shop, which is located on Spring St. next to the Burger King. Rob Sperle has been repairing shoes for most of his adult life, learning from his grandfather who taught him everything that he knows. Wife Kelly runs the finances and takes care of their three children. Recently moving up from Florida, the Sperle’s had the opportunity to buy the business from the McNeals, who had been running the operation for several years. Now when I say dying art that is what I mean. How many folks can take an old shoe and/or a broken shoe and make it new again? New heals, new soles, or stretching out a shoe can prolong the life of your favorite pair. Rob repairs a lot of shoes (over 3,000 pair at his store right now), purses, boots and other items. The Sperle’s also do orthopedic build-ups and dyeing and luggage repair.
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( 2.7 / 18 )Recently, a friend of mine stopped by the Byrdstown Kountry Kruisers' - Cruise In at the Dale Hollow Shell. They meet the 1st Saturday of each month at 4:00PM and stay as late as they like. People come and go as they please. She said they had some really awesome cars and trucks this past month and expect a really good crowd again in September. There were people there of all ages and backgrounds. It's a family affair. Pictured below are Robert Bond's classic Chevy SuperSport (Please overlook us if we have the make and model incorrect. To us, they are just pretty vehicles.) and Johnny Sells is pictured with his prize truck and his more greatly prized grandson. They all love their vehicles.
As I drove by during their July Cruise In, I noticed they had a bunch of speedboats up there to show. Seems some of the speedboat enthusiasts from Dale Hollow Lake decided to stop by and show off their machines. They even started them up and gave a demonstration of their horsepower.
The organizers wanted to be sure and send an invitation to all those that would be down on Sept. 6th, to stop by and enjoy all the vehicles, visit with the people, listen to the music, reminisce and have a good time. You can bring your vehicle to show if you would like. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or finished. Just come out and enjoy everything. They also have a swap meet, so if you are in need of a rare part or just some friendly advice, this is the place to be. Motorcylces are welcome too. They will have one more Cruise In this year on Saturday, Oct. 4th. This is also Roller Coaster Yard Sale (www.rollercoasterfair.com) weekend. Depending on the weather, they plan to start next season off in March - again, the first Saturday of each month. There a great bunch of folks and I can't wait to have a chance to stop by myself. (There is more information about Car Shows, Cruise Ins, and Bike Nights in the newsletter from this week/month. If you didn't receive it and would like a copy, send us an e-mail and we will forward that to you. Be sure to sign up to receive the latest information about the regions.)
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( 3.3 / 20 )I am always amazed on how creative our son Grant is. Came back from Knoxville and my son was tinkering in the yard building a pontoon boat. Now Grant is only 7 1/2, but for those of you who don't know him, he is feisty (like his mom) and can build anything. He took many hours to build his pontoon boat, which started with his purple sled and four swimming noodles. The noodles supported the boat. He also took his little beach chair and positioned it so that he could sit and row, if needed. He used about two rolls of tape and made sure that his motor was working. Now, as determined as he was to build this and have his own pontoon boat, he was equally determined to launch it.
We launched it that very evening at Obey River Campground. It was something else. Grant sat in the boat, and it stayed up for about a minute and then all the tape started to disintigrate. Disappointed, but not defeated, he brought everything home again and asked "Annie", his mom, what my thoughts were. I told him that he needed to use string and wire for more strength. So he spent all day Sunday building and improving upon his pontoon boat. The boat is now sitting on the boat trailer (his Radio Flyer wagon) and is ready for the second test launch. Reflecting on Grant's abilities and his passion for pontoon boats makes me appreciate the fact that we are at Dale Hollow Lake; where we have the opportunity to go out on our friends and family pontoon boats and swim on a regular basis. It also makes me so thankful that God has given my special needs child the talents to overcome his medical issues, and strive for more through his incredible curiosity, engineering skills and creativity. Children today need to play, build, create, paint and be outside to nurture this creativeness and this curiosity. I remember my childhood and the endless days of baseball, tennis, bike riding and playing hide and seek. I hope that we can continue to foster this in our two sons, Grant and Blake.
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( 2.8 / 17 )
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