Growing up in the Shoals

Earline in Story-Land was enjoyed by many children in the Shoals Area including myself, for over 22 years.
All I remember about Earline Burns was her television show and where she lived.
Both my grandparents lived in Sheffield and one of my grandparents went to Church not too far from Earline's house.
We moved to Florence in 1962, sometimes when we would travel to Sheffield we would go by  Earline's house on Hatch Blvd., but most of the time we would travel down Second Street.
I remember seeing her blue Cadillac Convertible sitting in front of her small pink house, which had been torn down.
My parents lived in downtown Sheffield when they married and moved to Tuscumbia when I was about 2 1/2.
Entertainment was watching a movie on the big screen either at the Theater or a Drive-in.
I saw many movies at the Colbert Theater, Tuscumbia Theater, Norwood Theater, Shoals Theater, Wilson Drive-In, and Joy-Land Drive-In.
My siblings and I would walk to the Shoals Theater during the summer months and watch a movie for ten cents.
I was always small for my age and could get into the theater for the cost of a child long after I was passed that age.
I remember Buck's night at the Drive-In.
We would go around the neighborhood filling the car full of neighborhood kids.
We could all get into the movies for one dollar a carload.

I don't remember listening to the radio but we did own a black-and-white TV.
Dad worked for Mr. Hensley Jarrett hauling large power poles. Our TV Antenna was atop one of those tall poles. I remember the pole had spikes and Dad climbing to the top to install the Antenna and the wires running into the house to the rabbit ears sitting atop the TV.
We could pick up all the local channels.

We watched shows like Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Bob Hope Show, Calling All Cars, The Cisco Kid, Death Valley Days, Dragnet,  & The Lone Ranger.
Since I never listened to the radio, I did not know that many of the television shows that I watched were once live radio shows.

Many famous people came to the Shoals in those early years, but growing up in the Shoals they were just another face in the crowd.

When I was a teenager, just turned sixteen,  I worked at Shockley's Pancake House, which was across the street from Holiday Inn, where many of the famous entertainers stayed when they were in town.

I served the Four Seasons, and I  had no clue who they were.
As a working girl who never listened to the radio, I had no clue who came into our restaurant.

Now that I am older, I am learning so much about the Shoals Area that I have been a part of.

I walked the streets of Florence, Sheffield, & Tuscumbia and  I spent many hours at Spring Park.

I remember Dad bringing home a trunk that he had gotten from the Helen Keller Home, that had been thrown away.
It had several books inside the trunk, one was a Blue Hard Back Brothers Grimms Fairy Tale Book.
I read that book many times.
When we moved to Florence in the early 1960s the Fairy Tale Book must have been thrown away because I never saw it again.

I remember going to Spring Park riding the train, and playing on all the playground equipment, which was like an amusement park.
There was a swimming pool just up the street and inside the park was a large wading pool.
The park fell into disarray for many years and its glory days are gone forever.

I remember the Liberty's, & A & P Supermarkets where mom shopped, they gave S & H Green Trading Stamps, Plaid Stamps, and Top Value Stamps just for shopping at their stores.
When collected into multiple books we would take them to the Trading stamp store for merchandise.

So many things we no longer have, as time changes.
We now have a cell phone, no sharing party lines, and phones hanging on the wall.
We no longer use an outhouse, we now have portlets.
We no longer have to heat the house up to cook, we have a microwave and convection ovens.
We no longer use glass, everything comes in plastic.

Gasoline is no longer 100% and costs 25 cents a gallon.
A new Corvette fully loaded costs over 80,000 dollars.

In the next twenty years, many will be living in Space.

One hundred years sounds like a lifetime.
When I was a kid, I thought 30 was old, now one hundred doesn't sound quite that old.

2017 June 17, Saturday, RC Moon Pie Festival Bell Buckle, Tenessee🌝🍰

Cooked waffles for breakfast topped with walnuts and cool whip.
Loaded the van, programmed the GPS, and began our trip.
We traveled north on hwy 43 turning right onto hwy 64 East traveling through Giles County Pulaski, TN crossing I-65
to 244 northeast traveling through Lincoln and Marshall counties Petersburg, & Bedford County Shelbyville.

Town of Petersburg Library

Town of Petersburg in Lincoln and Marshall Counties with a population of 580.

Our next stop was Bedford County, Shelbyville, TN, home to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.

Walking Horse National Celebration (Horse farms)
The historic Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville, TN is home to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration which takes place each year in late summer for 11 days ending on the Saturday night before Labor Day.

Veterans Memorial Plaza in front of Bedford County Courthouse

Shelbyville is the county seat of Bedford County "Courthouse"

Arrived at Bell Buckle around 10:00AM.
We found a close park, walked up to the stage, and found seats on bales of hay. Where we sat and listened to music and watched a group of young girls and women clogging.

Cloggers (stepping high)

Milking Machine

Railroad Town (several trains came through while we were in Bell Buckle)

We walked around checking out the vendors, where we saw giant corn dogs, funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, snickers, and Twinkles.
We visited Everybody's Antiques and More, Bluebirds Antiques, and Ice Cream Parlor.
We visited the Livery Stable now an Antique shop with many rooms of antiques.

Livery Stable is now an Antique Shop. 

We saw boxes of strawberry, banana, chocolate, mint, & salted caramel moon pies.
There were moon pies and RC colas for sale everywhere we looked and prices varied.

Ice Cold RC Colas 

Boxes of Fresh Moon Pies

Uncle Sam greeting the crowd at the  Parade

We met a couple from North Carolina, who had been to softball tournaments in Birmingham.
We met an older couple that had visited the festival many times.
There were people from everywhere who were still coming when we left.

We ate lunch at Bell Buckle Cafe where we both ordered a barbecue sandwich and a glass of iced tea.
It was almost time for the parade so we gobbled down our lunch.
It was the only cafe in the whole area so it was a long wait just to eat lunch.

Standing in front of the Mural of Moon Pies and RC Colas 

We came outside to watch the parade and after the parade, we started home.

Moon Pie Girl in the parade

We took a different route home, we rode through Tullahoma, Lynchburg, & Pulaski.
We stopped in Lawrenceburg for gas and to-go meals from Long John Silvers.
We stopped at the fruit stand in Lawrenceburg for vegetables and we were home by 5:00PM.
We were home about an hour when hubby got a call out from work so we loaded into the van and headed to Huntsville.
As we were entering the gate we were in a Jurassic Park jeep with a dinosaur in the back.

When the Jeep moved so did the dinosaur
Jurassic is relating to or denotes the second period of the Mesozoic era, between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods.

The sun was setting as we traveled home. (around 8:30PM)

🚙2017 June 13, Tuesday, Day Trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky

We left home around seven, it was a great day for traveling.
Hubby and I traveled north on Highway 43 to Murphy's in Lawrenceburg, TN where we filled up with gas.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Spring Hill where Hubby ordered a big breakfast and I ordered two slices of sourdough toast, one scrambled egg, and two pieces of bacon with iced tea to drink.

Leaving Spring Hill onto I-65 north traveling through Nashville to Bowling Green.
You can see the Corvette Museum and Car Plant from the interstate.

We arrived at the Corvette Museum a little before 11AM, stopping outside to take pictures of the Michelin Man, Air Tank, and Corvette on display at the entrance.

Designed especially for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta GA

Michelin Man, Coats Air Gage Tank

Hubby parked and we went inside the museum, stopping to view a few Corvettes on display before going to the ticket counter.
We were given armbands and then we were told the plant tour was across the highway.
Our scheduled time to tour the plant was 11:30AM.
Hubby let me out near the entrance and went to park the van.
I walked up the long corridor to the entrance, and once inside I got in line for tickets.
I already had our tickets and I asked for a wheelchair.
The tour is about an hour long and a lot of walking. They recommended using a wheelchair if you are having problems walking. (So I said yes)
I was wheeled inside and given a yellow time card and told them hubby was on his way.

Bowling Green Plant outside (no electronic devices allowed inside)

We watched a video and the 11;15 tours were called.
When the 11:30AM tour was called we lined up.
We had two tour guides one in front and one at the end of the line.
Before we went inside we were all given safety glasses to wear.
We followed our guides and were told to stay behind the yellow lines.
We stopped along the way for the guides to tell us about the assembly of the Corvettes.
The tour took about one hour.
We then rode back to the Corvette Museum.

Entrance to Corvette Cafe 

Entrance to Corvette Museum 

Inside the Corvette Cafe, we ordered a bowl of Strawberry Ice Cream from Chaney's Farm which we shared.
We ordered a Peanut Butter cookie full of peanut butter chips and Heath toffee.
We ordered one Oatmeal Cranberry full of plump cranberries, buttery oats, and Heath toffee.
We also ordered one Snickerdoodle Cookies butter cookie topped with Saigon cinnamon all came from Christie's Bakery.

Eating Strawberry Ice Cream from Chaney's Farm 

Snickerdoodle Cookie & Strawberry Ice Cream

Inside the Corvette Museum building, there was the Corvette Cafe, Corvette Archives, Corvette Store, and the Corvette Museum.

What a perfect ride

Our picture was taken driving or standing next to a Corvette before we went inside the museum.
We took our time to view the Corvettes (many on loan from individuals).

Picture inside the Archive's 

Mini-Corvette inside the Archives

Our next stop was the Woodland Cemetery in Nashville,  where several famous people are buried.
Hubby took a picture of me in front of "The Possum" by George Jones.
He stopped loving her today.  Around 4:00PM

"The Possum" by George Jones
"The king of broken hearts"
He sang of life's hardships and struggles, in a way somehow lightened our own.
His voice was effortless and unforgettable.
He brought unsurpassed emotional eloquence to every song he sang. 
He was and is the soul of country music. No one will ever fill his shoes. 
He is at rest, but his music is alive and ageless. 
He gifted it to all of us, the joyful and broken 
"Walk Through This World with me!"

Driving through Woodland Cemetery we stumbled upon the Carper Homestead and the Hospital Water Source.

Hospital Water Source 
Because of the Generous pure water supply available this spring the area surrounding it was selected as a hospital site for the treatment of soldiers wounded in the Battle of Nashville which took place during the War Between The States.

Water Source for the Hospital 

Carper Homestead
Known to be one of the oldest houses remaining from the early American era. Originally located on Cane Ridge Road in Antioch, Tennessee. The materials were removed piece-by-piece and rebuilt exactly as they stood when occupied by the Carper Generations. 
Donated to Woodland Memorial Park for Historic Preservation by the children of William Washington and Susie Black Carper
William Herman Carper
Ruth Carper Chasteen
Estella Carper Quest
Louella Carper James
Thelma Carper Ellicott
Kathleen Carper Huddleston
Irene Carper Chahoc
Mary Carper Pulliam 
Dedicated 1969

Carper Homestead

We stopped at Panda Express in Spring Hill, Tennessee around 5:00PM.
We ordered Cream Cheese Rangoon, Egg Rolls, Broccoli Beef, and Honey Walnut Shrimp.
We stopped in Lawrenceburg at Mapco to fill up with gas.
We were home around 6:30PM

Another great day of adventures.

🎈🎈🎈2017 May 27, Hot Air Balloon Festival Decatur, Alabama

You have to get there early if you want to see the balloons ascending into the sky.
I hurriedly dressed and left home right behind hubby, on his way to work.
He was going to Huntsville and me Decatur.
I took highway 72, to highway 101 turning left on the highway went past the paper mill (now being torn down) to hwy 20 which took me to Decatur.

The sun was just coming up and it was a beautiful site so I pulled over on the side of the road to take a couple of pictures. 

Traffic was already lined up going into the park, which took quite a while. I did get a park in the parking area on the concrete.

Twitty Bird Balloon

People everywhere waiting for the balloons to ascend into the sky 

Balloon being filled with Helium

Preparing the balloons

Walked over to the park and watched the balloons being filled with Helium
I was walking around the park taking pictures of the balloons when the announcers said the balloons would not be going up because of the weather.

I stopped at McDonald's in Rogersville for a bagel, with bacon, cheese, and egg but McDonald's no longer serves bagels so I ordered McGill with bacon, egg, and cheese.

No balloons going up!!! No bagel!!! Should have stayed in bed!!!

🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

2017 June 10, Saturday, Sacred Indian Stone Wall Florence, Alabama Guide Tom Hendrix son

My sister, dad, and great-niece attended the Dennis family reunion at Walnut Grove Fire Department where we enjoyed a delicious fish meal.
On our way home, we decided to stop and visit Tom Hendrix's Wall.
Tom built this rock wall(which took over 30 years) in honor of his great great grandmother who was one of many Indians that walked the TRAIL OF TEARS.

I let my dad and sister out at the entrance(my dad is ninety years old and cannot walk very far without his walker) and parked the van.
Dad walked a short piece and sat down on one of the benches.
My sister, great-niece, and I walked the length of both sides.
Dad had walked back up front and was waiting for us sitting on his walker.

Dad told Tom's son that he had visited the wall many years before and that he knew Tom.
There was a group of people when we arrived and a couple of people on motorcycles when we left.

Rock Faces 

Tree Roots 

Tom would be glad to know that the Legend will never Fade as long as people want to see and hear the story of why he built the wall for Te-lah-nay.

stopping for a picture

Tom's Wall 

Sister and great-niece

Tom's Wall 

Tom's Wall 

Tom's Wall

I was amazed by how cool it was walking among the rock.
An amazing place, representing many souls, an echo, and a longing for home!

🚗2017 May 30, Tuesday, "A sportsman paradise" & Pink Palace Museum Memphis, TN

Hubby and I rode to Memphis Tennessee which took about three hours.
I had a runny nose and I sneezed the whole trip.
We stopped at Walgreens in Corinth MS bought some Flonase Nasal Spray recommended by the Pharmacist.

Bass Pro Shop 

Bass Pro Shop at the Pyramid on Bass Pro Drive in Memphis was our first stop.
Once inside we saw a sign that said, "Welcome to Paradise"! A sportsman paradise!
Swimming in the water below us we could see schools of a variety of fish, and swamp-covered trees everywhere.
We stopped to see the alligators, they were behind glass walls, and they were staring at us.

Swamp Covered Trees & Elevator

We saw a 27-foot elevator that was lit up with red, green, and blue lights.
We paid ten dollars to ride the elevator to the top while listening to a pre-recording about the store and catching a big fish.
We exited the elevator into a restaurant where we were greeted by a hostess. She asked us if we wanted to eat at the restaurant or if we just wanted to take the breathtaking view of Memphis.
We said we just wanted to walk out onto the balcony and see the view below.

View from Balcony 

Once outside we could see downtown Memphis, the roaring Mississippi River, Mud Island, The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, and the train bridge. There was another balcony with a view of the Mississippi River, houses, apartments, and piers.

View from Balcony 

We visited the Ducks Limited Museum where we saw a variety of guns, ducks, trophies and etc.
We saw the Big Cedar Lodge, wildlife creations taxidermy, & aquarium full of fish.
The smell of cinnamon-glazed roasting pecans, cashews, and almonds filled the air.

Our next stop was the Pink Palace Museum.
You can visit the Museum on Tuesdays at 1PM for free.

Hubby and I walked up the grand staircase to the third floor to see the animatronic dinosaurs exhibit.
This was a great area for children to touch models of dinosaurs' claws, bones, teeth and play with rubbing stamps and watch a video.

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs

We saw the first Americans, the History of Memphis, log Cabins, slavery, the Civil War, the first automated grocery store (Piggly Wiggly), Yellow Fever, from saddlebags to science, Clyde Parke's Miniature Circus, cotton and Thomas Harwell's mummy casket.

It was after 2PM we were hungry so we rode to Joe's Crab Shack.
Hubby ordered the Crab Legs bucket and I ordered fish and chips we both ordered water with lemon to drink.

Fish & Chips at Joe's Crab Shack Memphis 

In Memphis, we also rode passed several old historic homes, & the Liberty Stadium.
Around 3PM we started for home, arriving around 6:30PM.