2023 July 7, Day trip to Savannah and Shiloh, Tennessee

 We started our day at the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah. 

A true air-breathing MOSASAUR

The City of Florence, a St. Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company boat, was named to honor the fast-growing city at the foot of Muscle Shoals. Upbound near Coffee Landing on February 8, 1913, she got out of control and was lying cross-stream when the towboat Tomahawk, down-bound and loaded with crossties, rammed and sunk her. One member of the crew and a young passenger lost their lives in the accident.

The picture below is the ship of 2 girls.

12-year-old Ruth Tarbet (left) was one of two casualties of the sinking ship. The daughter of a prominent Saltillo merchant, Ruth, and her daughter had boarded the doomed steamer for the short trip to visit relatives in Savannah.

We saw this picture in the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah

US GRANT HDGS

We stopped to get pictures of the cannons and cannon balls before crossing the Tennessee River and heading to Shiloh. 

HAGY'S CATFISH HOTEL 

We ate fried catfish, coleslaw, hush puppies, and grilled veggies. Ava ate fried chicken fingers and fries. She said that was the best chicken fingers she ever ate and she told our waitress she rated the food at 100. She ate every bite. We took several pictures at the restaurant and near the Tennessee River. 

Garfield's Cabin 

The History of Garfield 
Garfield's Cabin 
If the walls of the cabin could talk they would reveal the intriguing story of an extraordinary yet wonderful, resident for many years, Garfield Luster.
The story begins on a hot summer day around 1920 when Garfield is given a ride by Mr. Narvin Hagy, a local traveling salesman.
During this time, Garfield worked for a family that had mistreated him for many years. He decided to flee from this harsh environment at which time he met Mr. Norvin Hagy on an old gravel road. 
Mr. Hagy lived on a large farm bonding the Shiloh National Military. His parents were Frank and Mary Hagy. Frank, who had grown up on the farm, was a young boy of 13 when the "Battle of Shiloh" took place around their home in April 1862.
Garfield eventually planted his roots with the Hagy family and over the years developed a close bond with them.
During the many decades, he lived with the Hagy family, he helped care for four generations.

He not only cooked, but also laundered, and did other basic chores around the house, but also helped raise the youngsters... a duty he enjoyed the most. He nurtured the young family of Norvin and Dorothy Hagy, showering upon them devotion and care as if they were his own children. 
But Garfield did more than comfort, console and when necessary scold the children, he could also entertain them as well. 

Many years before the fables of Uncle Remas were popularized by Hollywood, Garfield charmed the young Hagys with his folktales of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Another of his talents was acting. He could dress up as a comical character called "Aunt Emiley" and play her so convincingly that the c children momentarily would forget that they were watching Garfield in disguise.


One of Garfield's favorite stories was his explanation of how he got his name. Garfield always chuckled when he told how Garfield was bestowed upon him following the assassination of President Garfield.

Like his namesake, Garfield had experienced hard times: he refused to dwell on the past, only occasionally recalling his unhappy childhood. Garfield was born and raised in the small rural community of Red Bay in North Alabama, probably the son of a former slave.
Garfield was deprived of a formal education although he was highly intelligent and could have done well in school if he had been given the opportunity.

Even though he was not articulate, his speech was peppered with homespun, folksy southern colloquialism, slow as molasses, dead as a doornail, hot a blue blazes, sharp as a tack, strong as an ox, to quote a few.

King Kong 911 1h
Garfield lived a long and happy life in Shiloh with the Hagy family.
However, he suffered much bereavement at the death of Norvin Hagy in 1960, never fully recovering from the loss of a man who had provided a sanctuary for the greater part of his life. 

Shortly after Mr. Hagy's death in 1961 Garfield was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During the last weeks of his life, Norvin Hagy Jr and his wife Teke took Garfield home for a final visit with his relatives who at the time were living in Mississippi.
After his funeral at his church, Saint Rest in Guys, Tennessee attended by the Hagy Family, Garfield was laid to rest nearby in a small grove of trees. 
The Hagys will always remember Garfield with much love and gratitude as a person who embraced and enriched their lives.

By: the Hagy Family
Dr Don Hagy/Dean Hagy

Next, we stopped at Shiloh Battle Field. The Museum was closed for repairs but you could watch a film. We did not stay to watch the movie. We heard gunfire and went to check it out.  

Young Park Ranger giving a demonstration 

There was a young man (Park Ranger)doing a reenactment and was finishing up when we arrived. But he did show Ave the bullet, and let her feel the weight of the gun ( I think he said it weighed 10 lbs.) When we stopped at the Tennessee River Museum there was a gun ball behind glass that you could put your hand through to see if you could pick it up with one hand, that weighed 7 lbs. So she compared the two. 

Park Ranger talking to Ava about being a nurse in the Civil War

We stopped at the Book Museum where we bought her a book about not being a Nurse in the Civil War. We walked to the National Cemetery where a young woman was giving a talk about the battles between the North and South at Pittsburg Landing.

Ava had read several pages about the Civil War in her book and was asking several questions about the War.

The Park Ranger finished her talk but Ava kept asking her questions. It began to sprinkle so we hurried back to the car. We rode around the park stopping for a few pictures. 

Shiloh Log Church 

We stopped at the old log cabin church to take a few pictures.

We started for home and the sky got darker and darker and it began to rain. The closer we got to Alabama the harder it rained.

Our last stop was at Wendy's for a Strawberry Frosty. That's what Ava wanted and I had never tried one. We all ordered a Strawberry Frosty and it was good. Ava and I played a game all the way home in our Imaginary worlds.

🎢1972-1997 Opryland Theme Park

Opryland Theme Parked opened June 30,1972 and the park closed December 31,1997 

Our family would visit Opryland Theme Park at least once or even twice a year, until the park closed in 1997.

When we first started going to Opryland the boys were too small to ride the big roller coasters.

We would ride the Flume Zoom a log ride that would seat up to six people in Hill Country. No one wanted to sit up front because they would get wet.

In Big Hill Country we would hop aboard the Thunder Switch train and ride to El Paso Station to the American west. 

Sometimes we would take the New Orleans Sky ride which travel from one side of the park to the other.

We spent the majority of the time at Opryland Theme park watching Country Music Shows

As the kids got older they would ride the timber topper coaster. In 1979 the coaster was renamed the Rock n’ Roller coaster. This coaster shot out of the station into a single loop, climbing into a double loop and back to the station with a quick stop. There was always long lines for this ride.

The boys always enjoyed driving the antique cars called the tin Lizzies. The car would hold up to four people and the boys always wanted to be the driver so sometime we would ride in separate cars or ride over and over so each could get a chance to be the driver. The tin Lizzie was on a track so no matter what kind of driver you were you were always coming back to the station safely. 

The kids also enjoyed the little deuce cope it was an enclosed float ride. The lakeside area was home to the kiddy rides and the old millstream where we would get into a boat that took us around the lake it was on a track. 

The barnstormer was a Bio Airplane sky ride and it was next to the old millstream. 

In the state fair was the petting zoo where the kids could pet and feed the animals. 

We also enjoyed The Tennessee Waltz swing, which was my favorite. 

The kids love the bumper cars where they could run into each other. 

There were endless carnival games for the kids to play and I always tried to steer them away from this area because it cost more money. 

The Wall-Bash cannon ball was one of the kid’s favorite coasters. 

It flipped over twice. 

We would always get soaking wet on the Grizzly River Country.

This ride was a large raft that seated up to twenty people. It went down the raging river passing several waterfalls twisting and turning.

Water was coming at you from all sides as you were carried down the raging river. 

In 1984 the Scream n’ Delta Demon Coaster was added in the New Orleans area. It was an intamin wheeled bobsled coaster. 

In 1989, the Chaos was added in the Grizzly River area and it was a Vekoma Steel coaster. 

In 1995, the hangman was added in the American west. 

We rode every roller coaster repeatedly, screaming, holding up our hands, in delight with every ride.

There was a building called the Angle Inn that was builds on a slant and as we walked through it, we felt like we were going to tip over.

Throughout the park there were people performing country music shows.

Along the lake we would visit Country Music USA where various country singers would sing and dance for one hour. 

Rocking around the clock was the 50’s area where songs were performed from the 50’s era.  

We would visit the Roy Acuff’s museum that housed many of his musical instruments. There was a museum for Minnie Pearl, Roy Acuff’s theater, Nashville Network Studio, WSM Radio Broadcasting booth, and the Grand Old Opry house.

There was a large boat ride called General Jackson. There was a kennel for your pets, restrooms, and telephones throughout the park.

There were gift shops: Jewels and Gems, The music Box, Ragin Cajun Shirt Shop. 

There was Professors Bloodgood’s photography, Emporiums, Hill Country Arts and Crafts Shop. 

There were many food places throughout the park: Chubby’s drive-in, Julio Pizza, Zack’s frozen yogurt, Mrs. Winery Chicken and biscuits, Grizzly kitchen, Chos Concessions, Seafood Wharf, Café Mardi Gras, La Fudgeries, Country Kettles, Ruby’s Country Kitchen, Funnel Cakes and old fashion ice cream. 

Opryland USA 

2802 Opryland Drive

Nashville, Tennessee 37214

615-889-6611

1989 the cost to get into Opryland theme park was $18.95, for children younger than three was no cost.

One trip to Opryland was with two of my sisters, and my sisters friend, in my sisters Mustang.

It was a wild and crazy ride; I was slung from one side of the car to the other side.

It felt like we were in a Race Car or riding up and down a roller coaster. 

We went to Opryland Theme Park with our church group many times.

We took my dad’s blue van several times because it would hold several people. 

One year we went with Nina, Billy Michelle, Shana, OL, Ann, Chris, and Craig Wallace.

We were all going to Opryland Theme Park and the Nashville Speedway. 

We all stayed in a Nashville Motel that had an outdoor swimming  pool.

Before the Nashville Speedway race we all enjoyed riding the large roller coaster that was in the park near the speedway

Before Opryland closed it had a Christmas theme with ice-skating, and it was beautifully decorated for the Christmas Holidays.