May 2014
Page 17
CONTENTS
Out-N-About Publisher Scott Pratt Operations Director Dylan Pratt Managing Editor Kelly Hodge Associate Writers Trey Williams Daniel Bratton Leigh Ann Laube Ron and Anita Fink Lester Bean Don Spurrell Harrison Jenkins Advertising Sales Manager Rick Richardson Cover Design Nathan Wampler Cover Photos Dakota Hamilton
Cover story 4 Back in the Game After more than a decade without a football program, East Tennessee State University is back on the field this fall. The Bucs open their inaugural season under head coach Carl Torbush when they host Kennesaw
12 The Stage Beckons The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va., founded in 1933, continues to draw rave reviews from actors and patrons alike. 14 Whitewater Rush A rafting trip down the Nolichucky River can produce a variety of emotions, from fear to sheer delight.
State, another upstart, on Sept. 3 at Kermit Tipton Stadium.
Features 9 The Long Wait The best advice for those who are lamenting the Boone Lake drawdown: Get used to it. A remedy isn’t on the horizon. 10 Roots That Run Deep Heading into its 15th edition this month, the Rhythm and Roots Reunion in Bristol has evolved into a serious player among regional music festivals.
20 Frequent Flyers For more than 100 members of the Johnson City Radio Controllers, flying is seriously fun. 22 He’s Instrumental Dave Campbell, owner of Campbell’s Morrell Music, has set many an aspiring player on the path to enjoyment. 25 Charmed Existence The Shamrock Beverage & Tobacco Shop continues to hold its ground in the lore of downtown Johnson City. 30 It’s a Blast Despite the game’s sometimes intimidating image, paintball has a certain attraction for players of all ages. 34-35
Op-Ed, Lester Bean
Page Design Kelly Hodge Photography Grant Kerley Andy Rowe Cartoons Terry Warner Out-N-About magazine is a monthly production of Phoenix Flying Inc. We strive to be informative, entertaining and, above all, interesting. Thoughtful feedback is welcome at outnaboutmagazine@gmail.com. Read online at outnaboutmagazine. com and like us on Facebook. For advertising opportunities, call Dylan Pratt at 423-2028664.
September 2015
Out-N-About
3
Dakota Hamilton
Carl Torbush has been in many a huddle through the years, but he’s confronting a new kind of challenge in reviving ETSU’s program.
Back in the game Bucs, Torbush have new life together
By Trey Williams
E
4
ast Tennessee State football’s near-death experience has given it a new lease on life. Toward the end of the program’s first incarnation (1920-2003), coaches’ offices were moved to construction trailers. Now, a gleaming semi-trailer truck sporting a snazzy new logo and helmet can be seen around Johnson City touting a program that is finally gearing up for the long haul. In June of 2012, some five months after becoming the East Tennessee State president, Dr. Brian Noland said he believed football was part of
Out-N-About
September 2015
an ideal college experience and all the more vital in an era that includes online-education options. Three years later, those words came to mind when seeing ETSU students lined up outside the Culp Center for tickets to the era-opening matchup against Kennesaw State on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Kermit Tipton Stadium. Students hadn’t lined up since Randy Moss came to town in 1996, but the scene shouldn’t have come as a surprise. After all, a large crowd turned out to watch a snowy scrimmage on campus last fall, an announced attendance of 4,128 was at Kermit Tipton Stadium for the spring game, and a
good number of people drove from Tipton Stadium to the Mini-Dome when lightning caused a scrimmage to be moved at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. Even the unveiling of helmets and uniforms generated a buzz. Noland said athletic director Richard Sander and associate AD Scott Carter, a former ETSU fullback, are to be commended for the rousing reboot, which has included million-dollar donations from Greeneville businessman Scott Niswonger and Roadrunner Markets/Dunkin Donuts, and 500,000 See Page 5
Continued from Page 4 bricks from General Shale for a new on-campus outdoor stadium set to open in 2017. College Football Hall of Famer Phil Fulmer was brought in as a consultant and recommended former North Carolina coach Carl Torbush as head coach. Torbush, who graduated in Austin-East’s first integrated class and was an All-American in football and baseball at Carson-Newman, has also been the head coach at Louisiana Tech and defensive coordinator at such programs as Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. But he wasn’t sure what his next move would be before Fulmer called in 2012. “If you’d asked me 25 years ago one of the jobs I’d like the opportunity to have, it would’ve been ETSU,” Torbush said. “Of course, that died over the years. They dropped football and … I’d basically retired. Coach Fulmer called me. We’re very close friends. After we small-talked for a little while and he asked me if I had an interest in the job, I was really kind of shocked; I didn’t know what to say. I told him I needed to go talk to my wife and make sure she’d be comfortable with it, and pray about it.”
P
rayer and reflection brought back meaningful memories made in East Tennessee. Torbush’s Eagles were 3-0 against ETSU (1971-73) when he played for Dal Shealy, who was the NAIA coach of the year in 1971 and ’72. A long, last-minute field goal completed the Eagles’ sweep of the Bucs with a 26-23 win in Memorial Stadium, where Torbush later spent time watching Science Hill while recruiting such players as 100-meter state champion Toby Patton and Phil Stuart. And essentially, Torbush became ETSU’s coach about as quickly as Patton could run a 40-yard dash. “It was a quick romance,” Tor-
bush said. “It happened quickly and it was a good feeling, because I think they wanted me and I got excited about wanting this. It was just kind of a great marriage. … At this point in my life, if it’d been in Texas or California or somewhere else, I wouldn’t have even thought about it. But being back home where my roots are, where my friends are — heck, I’ve recruited this area all my life — it was just the perfect scenario. … “I just love the area. You’ve got the mountains, you’ve got the lakes, you’ve got Gatlinburg, you’ve got the Smoky Mountains, you’ve got good people and you’ve got a great cost of living. … I’ve been around the country and I haven’t been anywhere, in my opinion overall, that’s as nice a place for all the things it offers as this East Tennessee area.” Torbush assembled his staff mindful of continuity. The first hire was Billy Taylor, a former Morristown West player who was Buddy Sasser’s first signee in 1983 and the first assistant Paul Hamilton hired in 1997. Torbush then hired Tennessee alum Teddy Gaines, who could’ve signed to play for Torbush at UNC like fellow Dobyns-Bennett alums Mike Faulkerson and Shane Pierson had done. A proven recruiter — Stuart said he would’ve gone to Ole Miss because of Torbush if his family hadn’t minded him being so far away — Torbush raves about the first recruiting class Taylor and Gaines assembled in 2014. It was a labor of love for Taylor, who finally felt complete again after coaching at Elon, Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech during the program’s dormancy. “The whole time I was there at those different places, it never really felt like home, because ETSU’s the only place I’ve ever wanted to be in my coaching career,” Taylor
Vintage memories
Top, the ETSU defense sacks Terry Bradshaw again in the infamous Grantland Rice Bowl of 1969. Right, coach Paul Hamilton is brought to tears by an upset of topranked Georgia Southern in 2001. Below, quarterback Todd Wells scrambles for some of ETSU’s 707 yards in a blowout of Appalachian State in 1997. (ETSU photos)
See Page 7
September 2015
Out-N-About
5
We Congratulate And Support The Return of Buc Football! Breakfast served all day
Sept.
3 - Kennesaw State 10 - Maryville College 19 - @ Charleston Southern 26 - Emory & Henry (HC)
Best wishes for an awesome and safe season!
Oct.
3 - St. Francis 10 - Open 17 - @ Mercer 24 - Open 31 - Warner
Nov.
7 - @ Robert Morris 14 - @ Gardner-Webb 21 - College of Faith
BUY - SELL - TRADE BOOKS • CDs • DVDs • VINYL RECORDS • COMICS • VIDEO GAMES • BOOKS ON CD
2867 Boones Creek Road, Johnson City
4 MARK TWAIN COURT • JOHNSON CITY
(On North Roan Street Behind Sonic)
423.979.1280
610-1088
www.secfed.com 632 East Elk Avenue • Elizabethton, TN 37643
(423) 543-1000 111 Charlie Robinson Drive Elizabethton, TN 37643
(423) 543-4333
www.bankofmarionva.com
Since 1963
NEW Selection of UNIQUE GIFTS!
Delivery Available. Drive-thru Window. 222 East Watauga Ave. At I-26 Johnson City Johnson City, TN 423-926-4801
37 11 BRISTOL HIGHWAY • JOHNSON CIT Y 423-282-3221 • WWW.ETRA .BIZ HOURS: MON.-SAT. 7:30AM-5:30PM
WWW.BIGJOHNSCLOSEOUTS.COM
402 EAST MARKET ST. • JOHNSON CITY, TN • 926-8421 HOURS: SUN. 7:30 AM -10 PM MON.-THUR.6:30 AM -10 PM FRI. & SAT. 6:30 AM -11 PM
Continued from Page 5 said. “I’d rather be coaching at ETSU than Notre Dame or UT or any other place in the country. This is the place that I chose to go to school at, and I had such a great time while I was playing and forged such great relationships while I was here. And it is a privilege to be a part of watching other young men have the same experience as I did.” Taylor knows better than most how often ETSU football fumbled prosperity like a blindsided scatback. In 1969, the Bucs sacked Terry Bradshaw 12 times in a 34-14 upset of Louisiana Tech at the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge — and the University of Idaho began construction on a domed football stadium. Some six weeks later, Bradshaw was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he won his fourth Super Bowl the same year the Bucs began their fourth season in a domed home that was frugally fashioned after Idaho’s. And its novelty disappeared as quickly as those playing in it when they ran out of bounds on the near sideline.
T
aylor isn’t convinced building the dome was a mammoth mistake. Certainly, it was a recruiting tool that helped land numerous talented players. But he’s certain of one glaring screwup — not keeping coach Mike Ayers. Taylor and future NFL player Thane Gash were fifth-year seniors in 1987 when Ayers’ Bucs
Contributed
An artist’s rendering of the new on-campus stadium at ETSU, expected to be ready for the 2017 season. won 29-14 in Raleigh against a North Carolina State team that went 4-3 in the ACC and had beaten No. 7 Clemson two weeks earlier. But Ayers, feeling unwanted, resigned the following month and a multiyear contract was given to his successor, Don Riley, who was the inspiration for Jerry Van Dyke’s dingy Luther character on “Coach.” Ayers went to Wofford, then an NAIA program, where he now enters his 28th season with four Southern Conference titles (four more than ETSU) and two national coach of the year awards. Riley went 10-34 in four years before ETSU was eager to eat his fifth. “I would’ve loved to see what happened if coach Ayers stayed,” said Taylor, who named his daughter (Mikaelah) after Ayers.
Paul Hamilton was Ayers’ offensive coordinator when the Bucs beat N.C. State, and Taylor was the first coach he hired when he left Air Force to become the Bucs head coach in ’97. The season included a 51-28 win at No. 6 Appalachian State. ETSU’s offense exploded for 707 yards with freshman quarterback Todd Wells. And nearly an hour after it was over, App State coach Jerry Moore had the disheveled hair and baffled face of a beaten man. He was 58 and had just lost his second straight game to a program he’d defeated in each of his first seven seasons. In all, the Mountaineers beat ETSU 14 straight times beginning in 1982, but this blowout made App’s two-game skid seem like more of a changing of the guard. Fans at Kidd Brewer
Stadium even mentioned Hamilton, a former Appalachian State quarterback, as Moore’s potential successor. “We’ll go back to work Monday,” Moore said afterward. “We won’t quit.” Indeed, 10 years later, Moore’s Mountaineers opened the 2007 season with an epic upset at No. 5 Michigan and concluded it by becoming the first FCS program to win three straight national championships. Afterward, they landed in the Tri-Cities en route back to Boone. “And we don’t have football; go figure,” Taylor said. Yes, it was the team with 707 yards that quit, clumsily concluding a seven-year itch. Taylor said in ’97 the staff was told there was no money for office supplies. The Bucs had to play two big-money games in ’98
against excellent Miami and Mississippi State teams. “We had to go take both of those hits and not a penny of that went to football,” Taylor said. “And then three days before signing day in 1999, the (Page 1) headlines of the Sunday newspaper (Johnson City Press) were ETSU considers dropping football. It was three days before our signing day, and you talk about going into damage control. We had all these commitments and kids that were planning on coming to ETSU and all the sudden the newspaper says we’re thinking about dropping football. ... “Really, from the time coach (Paul) Hamilton got the head coach’s job (in ’97), they were de-emphasizing football even then. So we
September 2015
See Page 8
Out-N-About
7
Continued from Page 7 always felt like we were struggling just to keep our heads above water. … You don’t want to go into it as the have-nots. You just want to be on the same playing field as everybody else. … That’s why I’m so excited.” Other former ETSU players on Torbush’s staff include Science Hill alum Mike Rader, Scott Brumett and Erik Losey. “I think it’s really, really special when you’re talking … guys that played here,” Torbush said. “Some of them played on the team when they disbanded football and they had to go somewhere else. Erik Losey was an All-American at Western Kentucky when he left here the next year, which is very impressive, and then Scott Brumett went to the University of North Carolina. … Billy Taylor coached here and played here … and Mike Rader was a great player at Science Hill and came over here and had a heck of a career. “For those guys to come back here, I mean, obviously there’s a tremendous amount of love for ETSU in those guys. When I put this staff together, I wanted to make sure there was a reason for them to want to be here. The worst thing we can have right now is coaches coming and going every one or two years.”
R
ader, who left a head coaching position at Maryville College, has ties that bind. He played at ETSU when the Bucs beat Paul Johnson’s top-ranked Georgia Southern in 2001. It required outstanding performances from receiver Cecil Moore and a physical Buccaneers defense that held its own against the Eagles’ usually dominant triple-option attack. Still, two years after that inspirational upset, ETSU discontinued football, and all the broken bones and bruises nine decades of football had produced suddenly seemed unhealed. But the Bucs were a band of brothers, and now they’re getting the
8
Out-N-About
‘Having the opportunity to speak and sell ETSU, sell East Tennessee and the football program and all that — it’s something that I can speak about from my heart. I believe in it.’
— Carl Torbush
band back together. Graduate assistant Ben Ezell said he feels privileged seeing the bond of the reunited Bucs who are energized by this sort of suspended state of homecoming. “They’re so happy to be back and they want to make this so special this time for the kids and the community and, you know, even themselves,” Ezell said. “It’s easy to feel that energy and that vibe off of them when they talk about ETSU football coming back.” The physical and emotional investment required for football, Rader says, produces a camaraderie that never dies. “It’s guys you spent a lot of years with in the blood-sweat-and-tears moments,” Rader said. “And to be able to come home to this program and see everything changing right before my eyes is definitely something special. When I first walked in the dome when coach Torbush was interviewing me, it was surreal. … All those memories came flooding back to me, and it was awesome. “The support we’re getting in the community is phenomenal, and I think that starts with President Noland. I think it starts with him and the administration that he’s assembled. … Everywhere I go I see the new logo and it just makes me proud to be a part of it.” Rader’s close friend and former teammate, associate AD Scott Carter, is as happy as anyone to be at ETSU. Carter left a good job at UT (Knoxville is his hometown) and surely could have landed a better job, technically speaking, with Todd Stansbury at Central Florida. Carter
September 2015
played at ETSU when Stansbury was the AD, and Stansbury, who became Oregon State’s athletic director on Aug. 1, once said Carter would probably be ETSU’s AD someday. Now, it’s all but a certainty. “Todd and I have stayed in touch through the years, and obviously I was in my home city in Knoxville in a great job there that I loved dearly,” Carter said. “This is where I want to be and this is the athletic program that I want to work for, because it’s our school. Very few of us get to do it at the place we love the most. I’m living that. We’ve got great people working for the right reasons, and I think that’s the big key about all of this.” ETSU isn’t looking for a quick fix. More than 90 percent of the players listed on the roster are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. “People are going to have to be patient,” Torbush said. “I don’t make excuses. We are what we are. … We’ve got, I think, five guys on the team right now that are 21 or older, which is not very many when you’re talking about 95 of those guys. I do believe here in two or three years, you’re gonna have a group that is, I think, tremendously tough mentally, physically and emotionally. “Probably the most important hire we’ve had since I’ve been here would be Al Johnson, the strength coach who’s done an absolutely phenomenal job in our weight room. Players love him. He’s tough on them.”
T
orbush gets a good laugh when it’s suggested that the fans will give him a two-
year honeymoon because of his new program and youthful roster. “Oh, no,” he said once the chuckling stopped. “They’ll give you about a one-game honeymoon.” Actually, Torbush couldn’t have sounded more convinced that he’ll be here until he’s righted the Buccaneers’ ship. “Everybody just needs to stay in the boat and all of us travel in the same direction and it’ll all work out,” he said. “I have no doubt that we’ll put a winner on the field, and hopefully it’ll be sooner than later.” Torbush has been as much of an ambassador as a coach thus far, and numerous people have made a point to say they thoroughly enjoyed meeting him. “It’s been exciting,” Torbush said. “It’s been such a whirlwind. Having the opportunity to speak and sell ETSU, sell East Tennessee and the football program and all that — it’s something that I can speak about from my heart. I believe in it. “I’ve got a lot of friends that played here, lived here and really got scarred here. I mean, because when they dropped football there was a lot of scar tissue. Give Dr. Noland a tremendous round of applause, because without him football would not be back. He made the commitment.” Matt Wilhjelm, a Science Hill alum, quarterbacked ETSU to that 2001 triumph over top-ranked GSU. He smiles thinking about Taylor, Rader, Brumett and Losey being on the coaching staff and Carter high up the administrative ladder. “It just feels right and appropriate in the way the university is approaching bringing football back in a top-notch, first-class way,” Wilhjelm said. “It feels like we’ve gotten back something foundational for us that was taken away. Losing football might be one of the best things that’s happened for ETSU football. … We won’t get a better shot at doing this in a firstclass way.”
THE LONG WAIT
Kelly Hodge
A fix for Boone Lake is years, not months, away
By Kelly Hodge Those looking for some good news to come out of a public forum last month on Boone Lake’s future were sadly disappointed. And that’s putting it mildly. TVA officials announced on July 30 that it will take at least five years and $200 million to remedy the leak that has left the lake at winter levels since last October. The response was mostly shock and disbelief by homeowners, business owners and boaters, all of whom have been assessing their own futures on the reservoir. Some wondered aloud if the Egyptian pyramids weren’t built in less time. Lost in the heat of the moment was indeed some good news: TVA is committed to fixing 63-year-old Boone Dam and doing it right, the officials told a gathering at the Millennium Center in Johnson City, regardless of the cost. It’s just going to take time, possibly up to seven years. “This will be a long and expensive project,” TVA
Kelly Hodge
Doug Sams is cultivating new business opportunities at Rockingham Marina. president Bill Johnson said, “and we realize the impact it will have on those who live in the area, people who want to enjoy the waterfront property on the reservoir and those who have businesses related to the reservoir and a community at
large which benefits significantly from the economics of this all. We’re committed to doing what we can to mitigate these problems.” While many boaters have scrambled to Watauga and South Holston lakes in recent months, causing unprece-
dented levels of congestion in some areas, a segment of the Boone Lake crowd has been sitting out the season with a wait-and-see attitude. Some of those folks have apparently returned to the water in recent weeks, deciding to salvage something of this strange summer. “Now that they’ve made this announcement, we’ve seen more activity on Boone Lake than we’ve seen all summer,” said Doug Sams, owner of Rockingham Marina. “It’s almost like people were saying they weren’t going to screw around with it because it’ll be back next year. Now that they know it’s going to be several years, they’re thinking they might as well get back out there and make the most of it.” The lake remains about 30 feet below normal summer levels. There is still just one public access ramp, at Pickens Bridge, though the TVA plans to extend others and build a beach area for recreation. Vegetation has begun to claim what used to be lake bottom and is getting thicker by the day. Some
of the coves look more like pastures. Unfortunately, some marinas, like Sonny’s and Serenity Cove, are high and dry. For Sams, who also operates the Carefree Boat Club out of Rockingham, the summer has hardly been carefree. He has sunk more than $100,000, he says, into adjustments to compensate for the lower lake level. The building of a 265-foot retaining wall and adjoining gangway are in the works to provide better access. Sams estimates his business is off about 10 percent from a year ago, but he has reason to be thankful. “There are seven marinas on Boone Lake, but I happen to be in a different position than others,” he said. “I have the deepest marina and my harbor is sitting in the same place as far as access. My dock is in full operation. “I’m in a unique position — the strongest of the seven.”
September 2015
See WAIT, Page 33
Out-N-About
9
<Rhythm and Roots Reunion
Contributed
Steve Earle and the Dukes will headline the 15th edition of the festival in downtown Bristol; they perform Sept. 20.
Earle adding his sound to the mix
By Trey Williams
Tennessee
Three-time Grammy winner Steve Earle is still best known for “Copperhead Road,” which is set in nearby Johnson County. However, performing his “Carrie Brown” would hit closer to home when Earle and the Dukes headline this year’s Rhythm and Roots Reunion in Bristol (Sept. 18-20):
That verse would surely draw a crowd’s roar for Earle, who isn’t from East Tennessee. In fact, the Hampton, Va., native spent much of his life living in places such as San Antonio, Houston and Nashville. But his awareness of Bristol speaks to a heritage that has helped make Rhythm and Roots a destination for artists and music lovers alike. Performing where the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers were discovered during the Bristol Sessions in 1927 seems to be part of a pilgrimage of sorts for many musicians who’ve played the festival, which is entering its 15th year
I walked around in Bristol town a bitter broken man A heart that pined for Carrie Brown and a pistol in my hand We met again on State Street, poor Billy Wise and me I shot him in Virginia and he died in
10
Out-N-About
September 2015
and still snowballing in popularity. Come to think of it, perhaps Earle should also play “Pilgrim.” Certainly Earle, who pursued Townes Van Zandt much the way Bob Dylan looked up Woody Guthrie, is rooted in reverence, as are seemingly most musicians. Rhythm and Roots publicist Charlene Baker says the historic setting is a draw that’s helped the festival land artists such as Jeff Tweedy, Jason Isbell, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Ralph Stanley and Doc Watson. “Before even a lot of our local people appreciated that history,” Baker said, “we knew that the
artists definitely understood how important the Bristol Sessions were and how influential that music still is on the culture of music even today. We’re really glad that they connect to not just the place and being at a music festival on a lineup with a lot of great bands, but they really have a sense of where they are and the importance of Bristol on what they do for a living.” John Oates, of Hall and Oates fame, perhaps best illustrated R&R’s venerable vibe when his John Oates Band played the 2011 Rhythm and Roots. “His wife and him were here the See Page 11
Continued from Page 10
The lineup Steve Earle & The Dukes • Dr. Dog • Delbert McClinton • Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band • Hot Rize • Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers • Rusted Root • Moon Taxi • John Anderson • Mike Farris & the Roseland Rhythm Revue • The Districts • Ray Wylie Hubbard • The Black Lillies • Spirit Family Reunion • Gibson Brothers • The SteelDrivers • Dale Watson • Kopecky • Strand of Oaks • Della Mae • Folk Soul Revival • Willie Sugarcapps • Balsam Range • American Aquarium • Steve Gunn • Lindi Ortega • Jarekus Singleton • Samantha Fish • Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper • Lonesome River Band • Dom Flemons • Whiskey Gentry • The Dustbowl Revival • TAUK • Quiet Life • The Suffers • Goodnight, Texas • Kripplekrunk • Wayne Hancock • Lera Lynn • Daniel Romano • Billy Strings & Don Julin • The Stray Birds • Fly Golden Eagle • Desert Noises • Swear and Shake • Girls Guns and Glory • Jim White Vs. • The Packway Handle Band • Rosie Flores • M.S.G. • The Acoustic Blues Trio • Levi Lowrey • Boo Hanks • Blank Range • Los Colognes • Ryan Culwell • Lance Stinson • The Black Twig Pickers • Ancient Cities • David Massengill • Grayson Capps & Corky Hughes • Ian Thomas: Band of Drifters • Annabelle’s Curse • Corbin Hayslett • The Church Sisters • Ed Snodderly • Hello Stranger • Dale Jett • David Childers • Margo and the Price Tags • Cale Tyson • Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts • C2 and the Brothers Reed • Christopher Paul Stelling • Banditos •The Appleseed Collective • Guthrie Brown & The Family Tree • Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats • Erick Baker • Bill & the Belles • Wise Old River • Todd Day Wait’s Pigpen • The Successful Failures • Jeff Brown & Still Lonesome • Amythyst Kiah • JP Parsons & The American Bandwagon • NewTown • Old Line Skiffle Combo • Duty Free • Suzi Ragsdale • Jeff Little Trio • Symphony Rags • These Undowners • ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band • ETSU Old Time Pride Band • MidDay Farm Report • The Corklickers • Will Kimbrough • Josh Oliver • Justin Fedor • Sigean • ETSU Celtic Pride Band • Wayne Graham • Sugarcane Jane • The Hermit Kings • Lauren Penley • Railsplitters • The Ransom Notes • Breaking Tradition • The Empty Bottle String Band • R. B. Morris • The Loose Strings Band • My New Favorites • The Farmhouse Ghost • Ron Short & The Possum Playboys • The Harlow Experience • Anndrena Belcher • The Rose Sisters • Poor Valley Girls • The Ordinary Bitters • Clay Prewitt • Chris Rose • The Honey Badgers • Dori Freeman & Eli West • Logan Fritz & Co. • Sam Gleaves • Aaron Woody Wood • Joy Blair • The Sandy Shortridge Band • Emily Roberts • Mountain Soul
< For the complete schedule, see lineup.bristolrhythm.com.
never worked out,” Baker said. “So it’s always great when somebody that’s been on the list for so long is finally booked. But I’m usually more excited about the up-and-coming bands like the Carolina Chocolate Drops. … The Avett Brothers played here when they were just starting out in 2007. They just blew everybody away. The Old Crow Medicine Show was here — I think it was in 2006 — and within a year they were just out of our reach. “I’m really looking forward to the Suffers. I think they’ll be this year’s St. Paul and the Broken Bones.”
whole weekend,” Baker said. “He walked the streets. He listened to artists the whole time he was here. He jumped on stage with a couple of people. He really, really took the time to take it all in and just devour the experience. And he said to me after — it was a Sunday show; the revival closed out the festival that weekend — and he came off the stage and he was so excited and he said, ‘This was the best weekend of music I’ve ever experienced in my life.’ … “There was a Southern Baptist preacher there who also played music. I think he was there with a couple of other artists. And he was sort of preaching; it was Sunday. And he (Oates) talked about how emotional that was and how just incredible the whole experience was.” It was an incredible sight for Baker, who grew up a Hall and Oates fan. “He’s a Grammy-winning pop artist,” she said. “He’s doing a lot more roots music and things like that now. But he’s someone who’s been in the recording industry … that pop-making machine, and then he comes here to sort of Contributed find and get to the botFestival goers enjoy the sounds of Folk Soul Revival at the tom of the real roots of Cumberland Square Park stage last year. music in its purest form. “He took the time to experience it. He didn’t just go up on stage St. Paul and the Broken Bones were at R&R and play and then walk away. He went all over last year. Four months later, they were on David the festival on foot and took it all in. I’ll never Letterman. And in July, Baker saw them open forget that.” for the Rolling Stones in Atlanta. This year’s lineup includes Delbert McClinBaker said Letterman was invaluable to ton, Dr. Dog, John Anderson, Josh Ritter, Rusted Americana music. Among those that played on Root and Ray Wylie Hubbard. his “Late Show” and at Rhythm and Roots were But Baker is eager to see upstarts. Rhythm Isbell, The Avett Brothers, Drive-By Truckers, and Roots was ahead of the curve on booking Shovels and Rope, Steep Canyon Rangers, Dale bands such as The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Watson and the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ RhiMedicine Show and red-hot Jason Isbell, who annon Giddens. produced an album by one of this year’s R&R “He always had his ear to the ground,” Baker acts — American Aquarium. said. “He had great musical taste, and whoever “Steve Earle’s been one of those acts that See R&R, Page 17 we’ve really wanted for a long time and it just
September 2015
Out-N-About
11
Actors embrace the challenge in Abingdon By Leigh Ann Laube
I
t’s mid-day, and Barter Theatre is empty except for a few employees. A ghost light with its exposed electric bulb sits center stage, illuminating the dark space. Because popular theatrical superstition says that all theaters are inhabited by a ghost, the light is meant to keep that mischievous spirit inside — not outside where it may bother patrons. The ghost light has a practical purpose — to ensure that no one takes an accidental tumble off the stage — but it’s more fun to believe that the spirit of Robert Porterfield still presides over the Abingdon, Va., theater he founded in 1933. There have been sightings of Porterfield, who died in 1971, as well as reports of a strong evil presence
Barter Theatre
Barter founder Robert Porterfield, right, barters with a patron. In 1933, the price of admission was 40 cents, or the equivalent amount of produce.
12
Out-N-About
in the underground tunnel that once connected Barter to the current-day Martha Washington Inn. According to Kathleen Bundy, Barter’s communication specialist, the tunnel was used during the Civil War to smuggle ammunition from the inn (which had been converted from a women’s college to a hospital) to a field behind Barter. Legend has it that a Confederate soldier was killed in the tunnel. Robert Porterfield left his native Vir ginia in 1926 to pursue acting in New York. When he and his friends found themselves out of work and hungry, they moved to Abingdon with a proposition: bartering produce from local farms and gardens for admission to see a play. Admission was 40 cents, or the equivalent amount of produce. Today, Barter is the largest yearround resident acting company on the continent. If the term “resident acting company” is confusing, Richard Rose, Barter’s producing artistic director, offers an analogy. “If I’m a resident doctor, no one
September 2015
Barter Theatre
has a problem with that,” Rose says. “It means they reside here. This is their job.”
B
arter has been Mary Lucy Bivins’ job for 11 years. She’s used to the “Where do you live? Do you live here?” questions. She’s performed with the Charlotte Repertory Theatre and the Blowing Rock Stage Company. She’s a member of the Screen Actors Guild, but repertory is what she loves. “We are in the age of on-demand. We are used to seeing movies and
Barter Theatre‘s first production was in 1933. The building that is home to Barter’s Main Stage has a grand and rich history dating back to 1831.
TV shows where a single actor does one thing — the exact type for the exact role. They forget that actor can act. Acting becomes about type and not ability,” Rose says. “This is why I’m here. I wanted to do repertory theater where I play one character in the afternoon and another at night,” Bivins explains. One way Barter’s leadership challenges its actors is through casting. Rose, along with associate directors Nicholas Piper and Katy Brown, See Page 13
of the amount of money involved and the need to get it out more rapidly, they release it to everyone at once. They’re not protecting the professional theaters, so if everyone is doing it, we’re not likely to. It’s a much more complicated issue now to get rights to shows.” Next summer, Barter will be one of a handful of theaters to present “Mama Mia!,” the eighth longest-running show in Broadway history. “That’s a big thing to do a regional premier of that,” Rose says.
Continued from Page 12 cast Bivins as Moonface Martin — a male gangster in Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.” “The more things they do outside their comfort zone, the better actors they’ll become,” Rose says. In Rose’s 23 years at Barter, choosing a season’s worth of plays has become more difficult. “It’s a complex world to choose a season. It used to be to choose a season, I could look a year ahead or a year and a half ahead, find things that speak to the times. Now it’s hard because times change so fast,” he says. Resident actors are invited to make suggestions. Sometimes those suggestions make the season, sometimes they don’t. “We are all invited to suggest things we personally would like to do or things we think would be good for Barter,” Bivins says. “Sometimes we grow old waiting and we age out.” Audience suggestions are considered, but Rose said that usually the most popular audience choices are the least-attended shows the next season. “That makes choosing a lot more complicated,” he says. “Shows
D
eciding which stage will house which production is also a very deliberate
Barter Theatre
Richard Rose, producing artistic director, is now in his 23rd year at Barter Theatre. He is only the third artistic director in the historic theatre’s 82-year history.
appear on Broadway, then do a national tour, then they’re licensed to professional theaters. Now, because
decision. Barter’s Main Stage offers a traditional perspective, with seating upstairs and downstairs. Stage II brings the action up close. The stage is small and intimate, and stadium-style seating allows for a unique viewing perspective. “Intimacy is the number one aspect audiences love about Stage II. Stage II is a more leisurely space geared to less formal experiences,” Rose says. “Main Stage is more formal and needs a little bigger, more epic plays.” Longtime resident actor Eugene
Wolf loves Stage II. “I was trained in a much more intimate space. I love the intimacy of that. I can see their eyes. I don’t care. I prefer the intimacy,” Wolf says. Wolf has appeared at Barter as Presidents Richard Nixon and Woodrow Wilson, song man A.P. Carter, Dickens thief Fagin and poisonous Iago. “I got to dig deeply in places I didn’t know existed,” he says. Wolf also had to dig deep to survive the season in which he played a lot of the same type of character. “There was one season I played a lot of bitter old men and it got old. It seeps into your psyche. You use you in all of these roles, so if that’s what you’re nurturing … You have to figure out what about this story are you serving? What is the service of this job? What am I serving by illuminating this bitter old man?” says Wolf, now in his 19th season at Barter. Shortly after arriving at Barter, Wolf traded the historic town for the Big Apple. It wasn’t long before he returned to Southwest Virginia. “I missed the immersion of this is all you do here. Your life becomes See BARTER, Page 33
Barter Theatre
Resident actor Holly Williams, left, appears as Eliza Doolittle in Barter’s production of “My Fair Lady.” Eugene Wolf, center, plays A.P. Carter in “Keep on the Sunny Side.” Resident Actor Mary Lucy Bivins, with hat, plays Moonface Martin in “Anything Goes.” Sometimes actors are cast in roles that take them out of their comfort zone. Pictured with Bivens is Barter resident actor Paris Bradstreet.
September 2015
Out-N-About
13
Navigating the Nolichucky River is a mixed bag of exhilaration, trepidation, serenity and scenic beauty.
Cherokee Adventures
WHITEWATER RUSH
Running the Nolichucky is a breathtaking treat By Daniel Bratton The mighty, scenic and treacherous river known as the Nolichucky was once used by the Cherokee Indians to transport food by canoe from their hunting grounds back to their camps. Today, thanks to outfits like Cherokee Adventures, we are able to conquer the whitewater rapids and relax through its serene, still sections, gazing at the geese, ospreys and majestic mountains that tower overhead on both sides, sometimes at an elevation of 3,300 feet. Cherokee Adventures has been in operation in Erwin since 1979, but
14
Out-N-About
ownership changed hands about six months ago when Sammy Weaver purchased the business. Weaver is eager to add to the great tradition he has admired for so many years. “We have a 12-acre campground with river access,” he says, ”in addition to whitewater rafting adventures. We also do inner-tube rentals, guided fishing trips, and we are going to be putting in a zip line that will be ready for next season.” In mid-August it was my turn to experience the Nolichucky for myself on a guided rafting tour. It was a full-day trek that included both the upper and lower runs on the river, with Class 3 or 4 rapids at
September 2015
the beginning and winding down to Class 1 and 2 whitewater at the end. Lunch was served. Weaver was a river guide for 15 years before purchasing Cherokee Adventures and has been certified on rivers all over the country and Ecuador. Rapids on the East Coast range from Class 1 to class 6. Where 1 is mildly choppy waters 6 is described as unable to be ridden at all. The Nolichucky can hit up to class 5 rapids in the springtime when the water is higher. “We can provide a variety of options for whitewater adventures for anyone five years or older,” says Weaver. “This is something the en-
tire family can do, and for younger children we can run the lower part of the Nolichucky where it is much calmer and peaceful.” Before leaving on the day’s adventure, it’s obvious that safety is of the utmost importance. Everyone is provided with a life jacket, safety helmet and a detailed description of what to expect. The commands are given by the tour guide before anyone even leaves the building to take the bus ride to the top of the river to drop in. The manager and tour guide on this adventure was a true veteran See Page 15
Continued from Page 14 of both the Nolichucky and rivers all across the country. Michael McJunkins assured the group that everyone was in good hands but was very careful to instill a sense of respect for this wild river that we were about to enjoy. The 45-minute bus ride into North Carolina was filled with commands that we would need to properly navigate the rapids. McJunkins seamlessly infused humor into the lesson, sparking bursts of laughter that set everyone at ease, but he still made it clear that this was something that needed to be taken seriously. On this particular day, there were three rafts with six people and a guide on each sturdy, red, inflatable boat. If there was anything that can build teamwork for a business, or a sense of unity for a family, whitewater rafting down the Nolichucky is it. We were all instructed to listen to our guides as we paddled, and each person was given a title in direct correlation with our place on the raft. McJunkins was the guide for our raft and we quickly learned what commands like “all forward two” or “left side back one” meant when it came to using our paddles properly. His 17 years of experience were apparent as we hit our first Class 4 rapid and plummeted down the whitewater-filled dips like a
Cherokee Adventures
The ride downriver has a bit of everything, including some Class 3 and 4 rapids. rollercoaster without the rails and handles. The ride went from serene to exhilarating within the first 30 sec-
onds; it was a rush to say the least. As we coasted along the now peaceful water, McJunkins began to
speak about the history of the great river. “This is old Cherokee land, and it is believed Nolichucky can be translated into swirling black water,” he said. “The Indians were actually the first whitewater rafters. This river is alive and should be respected; the Cherokee knew this river better than any of us ever will.” As we continued on the upper part of this journey, we were sent plummeting through multiple Class 4 rapids, and our guide navigated us all through the adrenaline-fueled drops and turns like an absolute professional. His patience and knowledge of the river assured that we were all safe and having an amazing time. After a few hours of peaceful drifting, nature watching and exhilarating rapid runs, it was time to stop and have lunch. We parked our rafts on a quiet stretch of the river and rested on an area of flat rock. “Everything that we bring, we take back,” said McJunkins, “cigarette butts and orange peels included. We camp here often and don’t want to draw any bears.” The respect the guides have for the river and the natural surroundings is profound. They make their livelihood off the Nolichucky and are very careful to make sure that it
September 2015
See RUSH, Page 17
Out-N-About
15
R&R
2001. “But I felt like it was an event that really could only get bigger Continued from Page 11 and better,” Baker said, “because of the mix of the artists that you bring did the bookings there was very, together for one venue on one tickvery smart. … And it’s been a great et and the heritage of Bristol and boost for some of these acts that the draw that has for many, many wouldn’t necessarily get any play people. … Maybe they’re not rich on radio.” and famous. Maybe their van still One of this year’s R&R perbreaks down on the way to a gig. formers that’s received recent But there’s more, I feel like, of an TV exposure is Lera Lynn, who appreciation when you can connect appeared on HBO’s “True Dewith the artist on a personal level.” Bristol’s Birthplace of Country Music Museum had only been around for a number of weeks when Rhythm and Roots was held last year. A significant increase in traffic during the festival is expected for year two of the museum, which the festival Contributed helped take root. Grammy winner Mike Farris & the Roseland “We’re really Rhythm Revue will play Sunday night. proud of the tective.” Rolling Stone is high on event and we’re really glad that R&R-booked Lindi Ortega: “Hers the community has embraced it the is a sound rooted in twang and way they have and sort of taken heartbreak, but shot through with ownership of our city’s history as the rough-edged spirit of rock & the birthplace of country music,” roll, too.” Baker said. “The success of Rhythm Baker is looking forward to and Roots Reunion really made seeing Lynn and Ortega, not to that (museum) happen. People mention rocking Samantha Fish, of all cultures — they respond to Jarekus Singleton, Strand of Oaks, music. It’s an inspirational thing, Quiet Life and The Districts. and when people come together to “And Folk Soul Revival and listen to music, it’s very personal. Amythyst Kiah — those are two … prime examples of area artists that “Americana is not making many we have every year that could be people rich. People who play this the next Old Crow or Rhiannon kind of music, it’s not about image Giddens,” Baker said. and some big machine that can Last year ’s event sold in excess spend millions of dollars to get of 60,000 tickets, and Baker said you on the radio, because that’s more tickets have been sold at how it happens. It’s about really the same point this year. Not bad making a connection with the for a festival that drew “several music and the music being really thousand” for its debut event in good.”
Rush
Continued from Page 15 is kept exactly like it was before any humans stepped foot on it. After lunch we boarded our rafts again, and the peaceful, relaxing portion of the ride began. Finally able to fully appreciate the beauty of the towering mountains on both sides of us, watching flocks of geese glide by and ospreys soaring overhead, nature was at its purest and most beautiful. The river was clear and we could see the rocks below, with schools of fish darting all around. McJunkins continued to explain what the Nolichucky means to him personally. “I trained on the Nolichucky and I can read water,” he said. “The technicality of this river has allowed me to go to any river in the country and get my foot in the door when I tell guides that I trained here.” Having recently returned to this
area, McJunkins says “it is great to be home, this is where I want to be.” As we coasted down the final stretch on our way to park the rafts, we were able to reflect on the incredible time this had been. Boarding the bus and heading back to Erwin, everyone was laughing and feeling a sense of camaraderie after what we all had just shared. Full-day whitewater trips are about $75 a person; group rates are available for large parties. There are also shorter runs that cost less. (Age requirements vary depending on the difficulty of the river.) Being able to take a day away from the cell phones and work schedules was priceless. On so many levels this was an amazing trip and something that needs to be enjoyed first-hand. The spring to late summer are usually the best times to experience the whitewater, but Cherokee Adventures has multiple activities that can be enjoyed almost year round. For more information, visit www. cherokeeadventures.com.
September 2015
Out-N-About
17
Calendar oF events SEPTEMBER 1 — Tri-Cities Trail Runners group run, ETSU woods; meets every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the upper parking lot on Southwest Avenue; all levels welcome 1 — The Beaver 10K; starts and finishes at the top of South Holston Dam; 6 p.m.; bring bag of pet food as “entry fee” to be donated to local animal shelters 1 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 1 — Tour of John and Landon Carter Mansion, Elizabethton; noon to 3 p.m.; state’s oldest frame house; led by historic interpreter Ramona Invidiato 3 — Johnson City group run; meets each Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Wellness Center 3 — Turtles at Tipton; meets at 6:30 p.m. at Tipton Street Pub, Johnson City; 3-6 mile run; all levels welcome 3 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 4 — First Friday (Main Street America), Downtown Johnson City (downtownjc.org) 4-5 — Comedy Zone, Holiday Inn, Johnson City (shows at 8 and 10:15 p.m.) 5 — Movie Night at Thomas Stadium; 4 p.m.; free; bring blankets; popcorn and drinks will be provided; gates open at 3:30 5 — Faith in Motion 5K; 10 a.m. at Warriors Path State Park, Kingsport; $25 registration; proceeds benefit Highlands Outdoor Adventures Christian Wilderness ministry 6 — Brews and Tunes, Jonesborough, 1-5 p.m. 7 — Barbaritos Fall Triathlon, Warriors Path State Park, Kingsport; 8 a.m.; $55/65 for individuals, $99/109 for relay teams 8 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 8 — Tour of John and Landon Carter Mansion, Elizabethton; noon to 3 p.m.; state’s oldest frame house; led by historic interpreter
18
Out-N-About
Ramona Invidiato 10 — Turtles at Tipton; meets at 6:30 p.m. at Tipton Street Pub, Johnson City; 3-6 mile run; all levels welcome 10 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 11-13 — East Tennessee Celtic Festival, Elizabethton (uppereasttncelticsociety.org) 11-12 — Comedy Zone, Holiday Inn, Johnson City (shows at 8 and 10:15 p.m.) 12 — Eastman Road Race, Kingsport; 10K begins at 8 a.m., 2-mile run at 9:30, 2-mile walk at 10:15 12 — Watauga Lake Triathlon, Butler (wataugalaketriathlon. com) 12 — Tomorrow’s World Today Expo 2015, Greene County Fairgrounds, Greeneville; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; free parking and admission. 12 — Opening of The Three Musketeers, Barter Theatre, Abingdon, Va. 13 — Brews and Tunes, Jonesborough, 1-5 p.m. 13 — Reedy Creek Adventure Run presented by Cleek Farms; 6 p.m. on Cleek Farms property, Kingsport; 5K with hay bale obstacles, creek crossings and finish in corn maze; $20/25 entry fee 14-19 — Washington County Fair, Abingdon, Va. (washcofair.com) 15 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 15 — Tour of John and Landon Carter Mansion, Elizabethton; noon to 3 p.m.; state’s oldest frame house; led by historic interpreter Ramona Invidiato 17 — Tri-Cities Tortoise and Hare 5K, Johnson City; free “handicapped” race based on runner’s height/weight ratio, gender and age; begins at Founders Park 17 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 18-20 — Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Downtown Bristol (bristolrhythm.com or 423-573-1927)
September 2015
18-19 — Comedy Zone, Holiday Inn, Johnson City (shows at 8 and 10:15 p.m.) 19 — Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion 5K and 2-mile walk 19 — The Gathering, Sycamore Shoals, Elizabethton; 10 a.m. 19 — SuperFly Fabulous 5K — Run for the Stars, Part 2 20 — Brews and Tunes, Jonesborough, 1-5 p.m. 20 — Mud, Sweat and Cheers Runs, Kingsport; 5 p.m. at Domtar Park 21 — Taste of Johnson City, JCCC 22 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 22 — Tour of John and Landon Carter Mansion, Elizabethton; noon to 3 p.m.; state’s oldest frame house; led by historic interpreter Ramona Invidiato 24 — Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center, Bristol; 7 p.m.; free 25 — ETSU Homecoming; parade begins on campus at 6 p.m. and ends at Founders Park; pep rally
and concert by The Breakfast Club to follow at the park 25 — Opening of Curtains, Barter Theatre, Abingdon, Va. 25-26 — Comedy Zone, Holiday Inn, Johnson City (shows at 8 and 10:15 p.m.) 26 — Bays Mountain Trail Race, Kingsport; 15-mile race beginning at 8 a.m. at Bays Mountain State Park 26 — Illusionist Mike Super, Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville; 7:30 p.m. 27 — Brews and Tunes, Jonesborough, 1-5 p.m. 29 — Tour of John and Landon Carter Mansion, Elizabethton; noon to 3 p.m.; state’s oldest frame house; led by historic interpreter Ramona Invidiato 30 — Northeast State Honors 3-Mile Glow Run, Northeast State Community College, Blountville; 8 p.m.; runners use glo-sticks, glopaint and anything to light up the night
BUY - SELL - TRADE BOOKS • CDs • DVDs • VINYL RECORDS • COMICS • VIDEO GAMES • BOOKS ON CD
4 MARK TWAIN COURT • JOHNSON CITY
(On North Roan Street Behind Sonic)
610-1088
Concert Schedule SEPTEMBER Johnson City The Down Home (downhome.com) 2 — The Rough and Tumble; 8 p.m.; $5 4 — Roy Book Binder; 8 p.m.; $16 advance 5 — Malcolm Holcombe; 8 p.m.; $14 9 — Hans Rottenberry; 8 p.m.; $5 10 — Addie Browlee; 8 p.m.; $12 11 — Sideline; 8 p.m.; $16 12 — The Brother Boys; 8 p.m.; $16 advance 16 — The Honey Chasers; 8 p.m.; $5 23 — Joey Tucciarone; 8 p.m.; $5 25 — David Mayfield Parade; 8 p.m.; $16 advance 26 — Jill Andrews; 8 p.m.; $20 advance Acoustic Coffeehouse (acousticcoffeehouse.net) 1 — The Plate Scrapers, 8 p.m. 2 — Mike Preslar, 8 p.m. 3 — Cameron Sutphin, 8 p.m.; Strangled Darlings, 10 p.m. 4 — Jas Patrick, 8 p.m. 5 — Michael McFarland, 8 p.m. 6 — Jared Minnix Music, 8 p.m.; Barnyard Stompers, 10 p.m. 8 — La Capitana, 8 p.m.; Cousin Curtiss, 10 p.m. 9 — Bo DePena, 8 p.m. 10 — Ohioan, 8 p.m. 11 — The World of Wendel Werner, 8 p.m. 12 — MERWIN, 8 p.m. 16 — Lucca Soria, 8 p.m. 17 — Joe Cat, 8 p.m. 18 — Lost Fiddle String Band, 8 p.m.; Hart Strings, 10 p.m. 19 — Tokalos, 8 p.m.; Empty Pockets, 10 p.m.
20 — Magpie Thief, 8 p.m.; Renee is a Zombie, 10 p.m. 21 — Clay Parker, 8 p.m. 23 — Annette Conlon, 8 p.m. 24 — Joe Dunn, 8 p.m.; Jeremiah and the Red Eyes, 10 p.m. 25 — Polly Panic, 8 p.m. 26 — Rachel Solomon, 8 p.m.; Zach Miles, 10 p.m. 27 — Dustin Tolley, 8 p.m.; Fish Fisher, 10 p.m. 29 — Lauren Nicole Heintz, 8 p.m. 30 — Crystal City, 8 p.m. Willow Tree Coffeehouse and Music Room 1 — YARN, 8 p.m. 4 — Christopher Paul Stelling, 8 p.m. 5 — Johnson City Zine Fest, 8 p.m. 12 — Get It Right Band, 8 p.m. 24 — Holy Ghost Tent Revival, 8 p.m. 26 — Angel Snow and Scott McMahan, 8 p.m. Founders Park Founders After 5 Free concerts; sets at 6 and 7:25 p.m. 4 — ETSU Bluegrass Band 11 — Jake and the Comet Conductors 18 — Big Daddy Love 25 — Breakfast Club Capone’s (caponesjohnsoncity.com) 15 — Otherwise, 7:30 p.m. 21 — Avatar with special guests Gemini Syndrome and Huntress, 8 p.m. 29 — We Are Harlot, 8 p.m. ——— Jonesborough Music on the Square
(Free shows at 7 p.m.) (musiconthesquare.com) 4 — Appleseed Collective 11 — Lugnuts/Rhythm Brewers 18 — Sarah McQuaid 25 — Sol Driven Train ——— Bristol Downtown Bristol (bristolrhythm.com) 18-20 — Rhythm & Roots Reunion; weekend passes $75 through Sept. 17, $85 at festival gate Full Moon Jam, Downtown Center (Free concerts begin at 7 p.m.) 3 — JB 5 N Dime 10 — Shooter 24 — Southern 76 Birthplace of Country Music Museum (birthplaceofcountrymusicmuseum.org) 4 — Russell Moore & IIIrd Time; 7 p.m.; $20 Quaker Steak and Lube 4 — Billy Crawford Band; 8 p.m. 5 — Jimi D.; 8 p.m. 10 — Retroville at Bike Night; 6 p.m. 11 — Catfish Frye Band; 8 p.m. 24 — Below 7 at Bike Night; 6 p.m. 25 — Marcus Boyd; 8 p.m. 26 — Borderline Band; 8 p.m. 620 State 11 — Lefty Williams; 9 p.m. Foundation Event Facility The Pickin’ Porch Show (Shows begin at 7 p.m.) 7 — Steve and Ruth Smith, Carolina Blue
———
Greeneville
Niswonger Performing Arts Center (npacgreeneville.com) 19 — Kansas, 7:30 p.m. 26 — Mike Super, 7:30 p.m. ——— Asheville, NC
The Orange Peel (theorangepeel.net) 3 — The Wailers; 9 p.m.; $20 advance/$22 day of show 4 — G. Love & Special Sauce; 8:30 p.m.; $20/25 5 — Waka Flocka Flame; 9 p.m.; $25/28 8 — The Orb; 9 p.m.; $15/18 11 — Heartless Bastards; 9 p.m.; $15/18 12 — Rock Academy Benefit for Give to the Music; 6:30 p.m.; $15 15 — Purity Ring: Another Eternity Tour; 10 p.m.; $22/25 19 — El Ten Eleven; 9 p.m.; $12/15 20 — The Lone Bellow; 9 p.m.; $20/22/109 (VIP happy hour with The Lone Bellow) 22 — Steve Earle & The Dukes; 8 p.m.; $25/27 25 — Greensky Bluegrass; 8 p.m.; $17/20 27 — Moon Taxi; 9 p.m.; $21/23 28 — Sylvan Esso outdoor show; 7 p.m.; $22/25 29 — Lord Huron; 9 p.m.; $18/20 ——— Knoxville Tennessee Theatre (tennesseetheatre.com) 7 — Mighty Musical Monday with Dor L’Dor; noon 17-18 — Knoxville Symphony Orchestra presents American Masters: Gersh-
win & Bernstein; 7:30 p.m. 20 — SoMo; 7:45 p.m.; $27.50 advance/$30 day of show 25 — The Dirty Gov’Nahs: The Farewell Four; sold out 29-30 — The Illusionists: Live from Broadway; 7:30 p.m.; $77/67/52/37 Bijou Theatre (knoxbijou.com) 10 — Steve Earle & The Dukes; 8 p.m. 15 — The Milk Carton Kids; 8 p.m. 18 — The Lone Bellow; 8 p.m. 19 — The Dirty Gov’Nahs; 8 p.m.; sold out ——— Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion (pncmusicpavilion.org) 4 — Jason Aldean, Cole Swindell and Tyler Farr 9 — 5 Seconds of Summer OCTOBER Johnson City The Down Home (downhome.com) 2 — Andrea Zonn; 8 p.m.; $20 advance Founders Park Founders After 5 Free concerts; sets at 6 and 7:25 p.m. 2 — Sam Lewis 9 — Dark Water Rising ——— Greeneville Niswonger Performing Arts Center (npacgreeneville.com) 8 — Peter Frampton RAW: An Acoustic Tour, 7:30 p.m. 10 — Rick Springfield; 7:30 p.m. 20 — Foreigner; 7:30 p.m. 24 — Josh Turner; 7:30 p.m.
September 2015
Out-N-About
19
Flights of Fancy
Photos by Mike Starnes
JCRC members expand their horizons regional and national competitions. Most simply enjoy the challenge of building something airworthy and watching it do its stuff with friends and family.
By Kelly Hodge
20
Out-N-About
September 2015
Vic Koenig has the trained eyes of a pilot, and on this sunny morning they are fixed on his red and yellow plane, Dirty Bird-E, as it soars above the airfield for a series of intricate maneuvers. Koenig used to be into speed, but now he likes the patterns — loops, rolls, stall turns and such, all performed in sequence in perhaps a six-minute routine. In his hands is the transmitter, the link between his brain and the precise 6½-pound aircraft in the distance. “Not too bad, Vic,” he says as his thumbs deftly complete a difficult move that would likely impress competition judges. Moments later, room for improvement. “That’s not very good,” he says. With his battery time running short, Koenig circles once again and quickly descends to the asphalt strip. Dirty Bird-E follows instructions and taxis back to its owner, finally coming to rest in the grass nearby. Another safe return is in the books. Such is a typical adventure for Koenig and his fellow mem-
Vic Koenig keeps a close eye on Dirty Bird-E as he puts the plane through its paces. bers of the Johnson City Radio Controllers. The club, about 125 strong, has been operating at the former Bowser Ridge landfill site in Washington County for several years now, sharing in the thrills and chills of the flying experience. A few, including Koenig, the club’s treasurer, occasionally take the show on the road to various
The model planes come in all shapes, sizes, colors and materials. You can get one in the air for about a hundred bucks, or several thousand. Some fly very fast and some very slow. Fuel engines, gasoline or nitro, used to be the standard, but battery power has been coming on strong. The governing body is the American Modelers Association (AMA), which spells out a range of rules and regulations for competitions and safety. There are annual dues that include $1 million in insurance, if worse comes to worse. You can buy planes ready to fly, or almost ready to fly, but most of the JCRC members enjoy building theirs from scratch. Falling into several scale categories — all the way up to the “40 percenters” — they typically include some combination of balsa and plywood with carbon-fiber parts. See Page 21
you’ve spent, say, a hundred hours building a plane, the last thing you want to do is see it fly into the woods, plummet to the ground or simply disappear on the horizon. You have to pay close attention at all times. But, as Koenig says, the odds invariably catch up to any flyer. “There are two kinds of planes,” he says. “Those that have been crashed, and those that will be.” That draws a chuckle from Danny Rudy, a Washington County deputy who is sitting nearby. “It’s not if,” he said. “It’s when.”
Continued from Page 20 The transmitters and receivers provide sophisticated communication. Like most everything else, the technology is advancing rapidly, but the rules of flight are fairly consistent. “There’s a basic truism: You can make anything fly if you have enough power,” said Koenig. “You can take a brick straight up.” No one has tried that yet at the JCRC airfield, but there was some talk of seeing a flying Snoopy doghouse and a flying lawnmower. The only constraints, it appears, are time, money and imagination. Mike Starnes got into flying the planes back in the late 1980s at a club in Kingsport. The Mount Carmel resident has been coming to the Bowser Ridge field for about 20 years; some weeks he’s there every day. Starnes has built about 15 planes through the years but said he was once skeptical about his future as a modeler. “It always amazed me
An aerial view of the JCRC airfield off Eastern Star Road in Washington County. when I first got into it that I could actually building something that would fly,” he said. “You’re scared to death the first time you fly a new plane — knees knocking and you’re looking for an experienced pilot. ‘Hey, fly this thing for the first time.’ There’s always a little something wrong; it’s not going to fly perfectly and
has to be trimmed out. For a year, I was scared to death anytime I was flying.” Starnes was quick to share the feeling, handing a second transmitter to a beginner, offering a few basic instructions and then sending his black and yellow plane skyward. Once safely aloft, Starnes said, “It’s yours.” The joysticks appreciate
subtlety with the thumbs and a clear mind. Do I want to go left or right? Why does it seem to be stalling? And how far away are those trees, anyway? More than once, Starnes had to take back control of his plane to avert disaster. The fear of flying doesn’t go away completely for any of the veterans. When
While some modelers get the most satisfaction from flying the planes, others enjoy the construction phase. Koenig, 71, would fall into the latter category. “I was always a mechanic and curious guy,” he said. “I see things work and want to know how.” Koenig’s love of aviation began as a boy and really took off when he was in the See FLIGHTS, Page 33
September 2015
Out-N-About
21
Music man Campbell stays in tune with what people want By Kelly Hodge Dave Campbell remembers doing a little drumming back in high school, but he never considered himself much of a musician. Yet Campbell has been in the middle of the music scene in Johnson City for the last three decades. His business, Campbell’s Morrell Music, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year on West Market Street. The rhythm downtown is changing quickly, but in many ways a pass through Campbell’s doors is very much the same as always. You can expect to be greeted by a friendly face as you enter. That sea of shiny guitars, the drum sets and amplifiers all around still beckon you for a closer look. The staff scurries about, restringing instruments, offering insight or technical advice to customers, talking about something musical. There’s a synergy going on behind the scenes that may not be apparent. “It’s ever-changing, all the new stuff that comes out,” says Campbell, 59. “It’s difficult for me to keep up with all of it, but a lot of the younger guys do it. They read the books and magazines and follow the
22
Out-N-About
Dave Campbell has been in charge of the music store his father founded since 1994. trends. I think we all enjoy the interaction with people, whether it’s parents who want their kids to learn or serious players. Musicians, of course, are a unique bunch.” Many a picker has gotten the first hands-on experience with music here. And many of them keep coming back for lessons with their new instruments, setting the stage for what could be
September 2015
a lifetime of playing enjoyment. Campbell shrugs off the notion that he has played any major role in propelling aspiring musicians in their pursuits. “A lot of the kids that really get involved, it’s just natural to them,” he said. “From the get-go, they take off with it. I don’t know if we have a whole lot to do with it, but I’m glad if we
do.” The music store actually got started across the way on Main Street. The place burned and the owner decided not to rebuild. Campbell’s father, Don, then teamed up with his friend Joe Morrell to give the business new life. “They both played pedal-steel guitar, and they decided to look for a new location for Dad to open
Grant Kerley
up,” said Campbell. “They chose a little itty-bitty place across the street and opened in ’85. There was a bar behind them, and it went out, so Dad took that space and expanded the store a little. “In 1991, this building became available and we bought it. It was Powell’s Department Store, and then it was Bailey & Ferguson See Page 23
Continued from Page 22 Furniture and Appliances.” Campbell, a Bristol native, had joined his father four years earlier after working for Sperry. He would take over the business when Don Campbell died in 1994. There are eight employees now and five teachers. Campbell guesses that “a few hundred” instruments are scattered through the store’s 10,000 square feet of space. The inventory is heavy on stringed instruments. “Guitars and bluegrass instruments,” said Campbell. “Acoustic guitars mainly, banjos, mandolins, an upright bass every now and then. Those instruments sell well, too.” Keeping the instruments in good condition, through old age and accidents and neglect, often falls to Connor Williams. Anyone who has ever visited the store probably remembers him. He’s the guy who is usually bent over a guitar or violin, staring intently through those glasses, trying to make that connection with yet another piece of wood in need. Williams came on board in 1992, a couple of years before Don Campbell passed. He was an Elizabethton resident who played all sorts of stringed instruments, was a teacher and at one time owned his own
Grant Kerley
Connor Williams, the resident luthier, figures he’s had more than 20,000 instruments pass through his hands.
music store. He also developed quite a knack for fixing things that go wrong. Ask Williams what his credentials are and he smiles. “Carpenter, machinist, musician,” he says. “Started out doing carpentry work, drafting, and got into machine shop, took some training in that for awhile. Then I opened up a business to teach music back in the ‘80s. People started coming in with their instruments that were badly set up and hard to play. I didn’t know anyone in the area at that time that did repair work on them, so I just said I’ll start working on Grant Kerley them myself. It kind of develA rack of mandolins makes for an inviting display.
oped into a full-time job for me.” Williams figures he’s probably had more than 20,000 instruments pass through his hands. He says there are “maybe three or four” people like him within a 50-mile radius. Being a luthier does have its challenges, and its limits. “I’ve had about everything with instruments,” Williams said. “If people drop it in the mud and back the car over it, they bring it to me. Sometimes they’ll bring it to me in bags.” At 65, Williams expects to handle a few thousand more instruments before he’s done. He still has a deft touch with wood. “My craftsmanship hasn’t deteriorated with age so far,” he said. “I’m sure there will come a time when I get shaky and my work isn’t what it should be and I just lay it down and forget about it.” That time is hard for Williams to imagine. He can’t remember when music wasn’t an integral part of his life. He gave up teaching long ago
but still enjoys the feel of an instrument in his hands. On special occasions, he’ll perform at his church in Elizabethton. He says the musical roots run deep throughout the region, where any number of people can step up and play a guitar or sing a song, and do it well. “I lived in Cleveland, Ohio for two or three years,” he said, “and no one played up there. I always thought this area back years ago was a depressed area and you had to make your own entertainment. I think that’s where a lot of the music came from … we didn’t have a big city around and everybody lived out in the country. If you wanted entertainment, it was probably music, and you had to do it yourself. That carried on through the children.” So music stores like Campbell’s have stayed popular, though Internet sales continue to cut into their bottom lines. Collin McHenry, who has worked at Campbell’s for the last 14 years, says the personal touch still goes a long way when it comes to instruments. There’s nothing like holding and hearing for yourself. “We do have a niche in the fact that people who know the difference realize that every instrument is different,” said McHenry, who plays guitar, bass and drums. “Every time you pick up a guitar, it can be the exact same model, but it’s not the same. You can have 10 guitars of that model that all sound and play differently. That helps us, just the fact that you’re not dealing with a consistent product. You have to see and hear it for yourself.” McHenry is one of five employees who have spent at least a decade at the store. There’s a camaraderie that has been built through the years, and it shows. “I think that’s what has kept us all here as long as it’s been,” he said. “We not only work together, but we’re all friends. You don’t wake up every day dreading going to work, and that means a lot.”
September 2015
Out-N-About
23
From classic to cool, an eventful fall awaits The August winds of Squonk Opera’s Pneumatica have blown past, leaving a fall season of classic country, the Harlem Renaissance, world-renowned vocal music, literature, cutting-edge quilting and films documenting change and freedom in three countries. “Our seasons are always eclectic,” says Anita DeAngelis, director of Mary B. Martin School of the Arts at ETSU. “We have a lot to offer many different audiences in our community. To me that is part of the reason why I think every season is exciting.” Fall 2015 at the School of the Arts is not only eclectic, but it also presents a dichotomy of classic and cool arts and artists and, in some cases, a mix of both in one event. “I always think we’re classic and cool,” DeAngelis says, “but this fall, we certainly run the gamut from historic and classic to very, very cool and maybe a little crazy.” The season kicked off Aug. 28 and 29 with what Time Out New York calls “a blazingly unique spectacle” of music, machinery and mayhem – Pneumatica by Squonk Opera, a family-friendly “event about air, made of air and powered by air.” Balancing the early blast of chaot-
24
Out-N-About
September 2015
ic “coolness,” will be the fall’s first ticketed event, the completely classic Malpass Brothers, who “don’t just sound retro. They are retro,” says Dan MacIntosh of Roothog Radio. Christopher and Taylor Malpass and band will bring their early-Elvis hairstyles and authentic mix of country, rockabilly and honky-tonk to ETSU’s Martha Street Culp Auditorium Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m., with the ETSU Pride Band opening the show. Hailing from Goldsboro, N.C., the duo toured with the late Don Helms, former steel guitarist for Hank Williams, and have opened for music legend Merle Haggard on multiple tours. Not only classic, but historic is Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey on Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., at the Wellmont Regional Center for the Performing Arts at Northeast State. Starring award-winning actress Jasmine Guy with music by the Avery Sharpe Trio, Raisin’ Cane celebrates and honors the legendary voices of the Harlem Renaissance through text, song, music, movement and imagery. One reviewer termed the retrospective “exquisite edutainment.” “The Harlem See EVENTFUL, Page 29
Pneumatica
Kelly Hodge
Squonk Opera made an extravagant appearance — five appearances, actually — at Founders Park in August and wowed the crowds with its Pneumatica show. The Pittsburgh-based group was the opening act of the fall season for the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts at ETSU.
A charming place from way back
By Kelly Hodge
Jack Cox told his mother he’d do something with the Shamrock once he graduated from college. Somehow he never got around to it. Fifty years later, the iconic Johnson City beverage and tobacco shop is still humming along at the corner of West Walnut and Buffalo streets. Customers still pull up to its drive-thru window to buy its trademark lemonade, sandwiches and ice cream. Old friends still gather daily for lunch downstairs. And Cox can still be found behind the counter at closing time most days. At 73, the owner jokes that he’s still trying to figure out what to do with the place. He’s been in the real-estate business for more than four decades now, but he’s never put the Shamrock up for sale. Where would he go? Cox eats lunch and spends most of his evenings there, as he always has. “I’ve always been spread a little thin, but I enjoy both,” Cox said on a recent evening, sitting at a table in the storage area downstairs where those intimate lunches are served. “Real estate is fun and everything is different. It gets me outside, and I love the outdoors. I work here in the evenings because that lets me do real estate during the day. If I’m in Johnson City, I’m here. I enjoy being here.” The Shamrock has evolved, of course, since opening its doors on St. Patrick’s Day in 1929. But not too much. It still has the feel of a soda shop/newsstand that makes old-timers want to stop and simply soak up the atmosphere. Cox’s father, Lafe, bought the business just two years after it opened, with the founders heavily in debt. The stock market had crashed and the Great Depression was taking root. Still, Cox wanted to get into business and convinced the Shamrock’s
Grant Kerley
The Shamrock staff includes owner Jack Cox, left, Kim Campbell, Robbie Turner and Sarah Turner. creditors that he’d pay them off if they’d work with him. And that’s what happened. He had worked as assistant manager at Liggett’s Drug Store just down the street, where he apprenticed under a pharmacist. Filling prescriptions would be a mainstay at his new business well into the 1940s. Jack Cox was a first-quarter freshman at East Tennessee State University, all of 18 years old, when his father died suddenly at 52 while they were on a hunting trip. He dropped out of school for a quarter, found a man to manage the store
Kelly Hodge
and pondered his future. “Everybody in the family wanted me to get back in school,” he said, “but I still kind of checked on the Shamrock. The manager was a character, but he kept it going. I finished school and got married. “I had told my mother I’d do something with the Shamrock when I got out of school. I didn’t know what I was doing … I was 23 years old. I didn’t know what to do with the business. Still don’t know what to do with it.” The Shamrock has maintained a momentum of sorts through the
decades, or at least held its ground. While Cox carved out a pretty nice career in real estate — his business is called Shamrock Real Estate, of course — he found a manager for the long haul. Daryl Fox came in 1966 and worked there for 26 years. Robbie Turner has managed the store for the last decade. “The staff has always been so important,” says Cox, “because I’m out trying to sell or manage or lease property during the day. They take care of the place. We really strive to find somebody that becomes part of the family.” In 1971, Cox decided to buy an adjoining dry-cleaning business and expanded the place a bit. He also added the drive-thru window that has been frequented by most everyone in town at one time or another. Drivers, in fact, used to come to the window from both directions (and still do), off West Walnut and Ashe. Beer was often their purchase of choice and fueled some good-natured competition between Cox and Jack Seaton. “We were selling beer pretty good before I did that,” said Cox, “but the window really helped the business. I always called us the watering hole for the university, because we were the closest beer store. Well, Jack had two or three beer places, the Beacon and something else. My uncle, Dick Cox, had the Gables and the Hole in the Wall, down by Humphreys Trophies. “Jack built this shopping center up here, and he had this beer store that wasn’t doing good. He decided to move to the end of this shopping center so he could have a drive-in window. He didn’t know that I was planning to do that here, and it killed him. Jack said, ‘You cannot have a two-way drive-in window. That’s crazy.’ I said, ‘We’ll see.’ I kid him that 40 years later it’s still
September 2015
See Page 26
Out-N-About
25
Continued from Page 25 two-way.” With the influx of convenience markets, Cox sold his beer license in 1994, but people still drop by regularly looking for a six-pack. He wasn’t sure the Shamrock would survive long without beer. “We had a lot of nice college professors that came down here and bought Heinekens and Guinness,” he said. “I didn’t know if we’d lose other sales by not having beer. I didn’t know if the Shamrock could make it.” No need to worry. The store has always found a niche. The staples these days are fine cigars and tobacco, which accounts for about 60 percent of total sales, Cox says, along with lemonade, the classic sandwiches — chicken salad, egg salad, pimento cheese — and Blue Bell ice cream. The tobacco products, including pipes, started taking hold two decades ago. “In ’96, I believe it was, this premium cigar fad came about, and it took the place,” said Cox. “The sales went past our beer sales; it was unbelievable. We had men calling us, stores calling us, and we kept adding and adding and adding. “The customers have always told us what they want. You learn so much if you listen to your customers. Being a small store, they can walk in the door and tell you what they think. We’ve always tried to have little niches.” Lemonade would be one of the most popular, though perhaps not so little. Cox estimated years ago that Shamrock employees had
26
Out-N-About
Grant Kerley
Tobacco products began to surge in the mid-90s and remain front and center.
Kelly Hodge
The sign above the drive-in window touts the Shamrock’s history downtown.
September 2015
squeezed over 700,000 lemons while selling eight to 10 gallons of lemonade a day during the 1970s. The drink has always held a special place in Cox’s heart. “Tom McKee and I had a lemonade stand in Gilmer Park, as all kids do,” he said. “I say now that the Shamrock is kind of like a glorified lemonade stand. It goes back to the mid-70s, and then we started making homemade tea. We have another good product that we haven’t marketed well. We take the lemonade and we squeeze a quarter of a juice orange in it. The sweet orange juice in that tart lemonade … it’s a good drink.” Cox and his wife Sheila have been married 50 years now and raised four children. All of them spent at least a little time working at the Shamrock — “long enough to learn what it’s all about,” said Cox. It has been a family affair from the start. “My dancing wife of 50 years has been very supportive, mainly of me working 10 or 12 hours a day. Not all the time,” said Cox. “Of course, sometimes I think she’d rather me work 15 hours a day.” Sheila has made her own contributions to the business. For years she’s made the slaw that goes on the hot dogs but has resisted expanding her culinary involvement. “She’s a wonderful baker,” said Cox. “I’ve said, ‘Sheila, if you really want to put the Shamrock on the map, you can make those wonderful cinnamon rolls. We’ll go over about 7:30 See Page 27
Continued from Page 26 each morning and you can go home by nine o’clock.’ She said, ‘I know you. It’ll be nine o’clock, then 10 o’clock, then 11 o’clock.’ She’s a smart lady.” The Shamrock plays host to a lot of smart people. The lunch gatherings, in particular, can yield all sorts of knowledge. “Everybody says it’s just a bunch of guys getting together, eating lunch and having fun — kind of like Tom Carr’s roundtable was (at the Red Pig),” said Cox. “There will be four and sometimes more that come in. They’re here every day, and come back on Saturday.” Cox chuckles. “A lot of them are retired now and they stay too long.” After 86 years in business, there’s no doubt that Lafe Cox’s little drug store is firmly ingrained in the lore of the downtown. Its décor, including the neon sign on the side of the building that Cox said was hung “before my time,” offers glimpses of many bygone eras. Cox pointed out a couple of plywood
signs that still hang on the wall. One features an ETSU football schedule from sometime in the 1970s; Cox isn’t sure when. Another welcomed the Atlanta Falcons, who trained at the university from 1967-70. “Those football players would come in here, and we’d cash their checks,” said Cox. “The rookies got $50 and the veterans got $100. Tommy Nobis was one of them, and that (Claude) Humphrey. I was 6-2 at the time, and he was up here (raising his hand well above his head). They would come in and get 12-packs of beer on Fridays. I guess they had the day off, or meetings instead of practice. They’d get bags of potato chips and all those snacks, and we got to know them. “Stuff like that has made the Shamrock. Maybe that’s a good way to sum up my time here; it’s just been real fun stuff.” After all these years, Cox still holds on to a maxim he found scribbled on a piece of paper in his father’s billfold after his death. It reads: Keep Thy Shop and Thy Shop Will Keep Thee.
The Shamrock is still a picture of a bygone era.
Hampton Pharmacy
BROOKSIDE Pharmacy
339 Hwy 321 Hampton, TN
Pharmacist Paige Overton, Pharmacy Manager
725-2327 Pharmacist Wayne Copp, Pharm D, Manager
Grant Kerley
Pharmacist Chester Blankenship, Founder
Since 1963 222 E. Watauga Ave. @ I-26 Johnson City
926-4801
Pharmacist Lanny Peters, Pharm D, Manager
1901 Brookside Drive Kingsport, TN
We now carry Case Knives
246-2424
September 2015
Out-N-About
27
Happy Campers
‘Scouting trip’ yields some nice prospects for cooler weather By Ron and Anita Fink It has been a warm, humid summer. I only mention that to say that the “Happy Campers” haven’t been out camping very much this summer. One of us (won’t call any names) is not a happy camper at all when it is hot outside. The Camp Lite is equipped with air conditioning, but who wants to sit inside a camper at a campground/state park/natural wildlife area? Therefore, a week or so ago we got “Out-N-About” on a scouting trip. Remember, scouting trips are for checking out the places you may want to come back to and camp when the weather is tolerable. Also, to rule out the places that you don’t ever want to see again! Keep in mind that our goals are few: finding parks with some hookups, nice bathhouses, a sense of privacy, and beautiful nature. We will use the bathhouses to keep our tanks (gray and blackwater) in the camper from getting full, but both of us are a bit squeamish if the facilities are old, poorly lit or in disrepair. That probably sounds crazy coming from backpackers, but both of us would rather “use” the wilderness woods than some of the decrepit bathhouses we have seen. We choose camping mid-week in spring and fall, when fewer people will be out. We love meeting and talking with new people, but we don’t want them camping on top of us! We want to explore and hike during the day, then come in and be able to use the microwave, heater and running water in the Camp
28
Out-N-About
Lite. Sometimes the areas surrounding the parks will offer other perks, like arts and crafts, wineries, or foodie venues, but these amenities are not necessities. They just add to the experience. We also shun bright lights, and street lights, wanting instead dark skies for optimal stargazing. Here are some great places we found, and one we will avoid. New River State Park is in North Carolina, and the others are just up the road in Virginia. New River State Park. We accessed this from I-81 in Southwest Virginia, dropping south into North Carolina. Very small park, with no more than 30 sites. Most all of the sites were acceptable and even desirable. Great, almost new, wellkept bathhouse. Defined camping spaces, level, and gravel surface. Hiking to the New River and outfitters were in the area. Bathhouse has very low outside lighting, so dark night skies. LOVE IT. This will be our first trip out this fall. 30% full mid week, last week. Not a lot of shade, which is fine as high temperatures abate heading toward fall and winter.
FSSP was 30% full mid-week.
Fairy Stone State Park and Philpott Lake: Both are within 30 miles of each other. FSSP is all of the above, great park and facilities. A bit older than NRSP. It was under dense foliage, so all shade during the summer. Great bathhouse here, too. Small park, 30-40 sites tops, some OK, some pretty darn good.
Philpott Lake is an Army Corp of Engineers lake, similar to our TVA lakes. The difference is that the shoreline is owned by the ACE and generally there is no development on these lakes, just pristine shoreline. We LOVED this place, and when we go back we will do 3-4 nights here and may spend 2-3
September 2015
Ron Fink
Philpott Lake in Virginia has a scenic beach area and excellent campsites.
at FSSP. The sites directly on or above the water were spectacular. Bathhouses may be dated, as those at Kerr Scott Lake were; we made do with them. Hoping to find this campground sparsely populated in mid- to late October. Mid-week last week it was 70% full on the lake loop, the wooded loop was barely See Page 29
Continued from Page 26 used. Beach with lifeguards. Very nice place. Do be aware of late-summer thunderstorms that come quickly and with a terror. We talked to folks that use this area a good bit and it is to be respected. The day before we drove through scouting, they had such a storm, which downed a big tree, tore out limbs and damaged camper awnings. We will wait till the summer heat and storms have passed. Do note that the ACE also has a lake in North Carolina, just southeast of Boone, called Kerr Scott Lake. We were there last fall and it is very similar and desirable. NC wineries near this lake. Also, we only explored Goosepoint Campground at Philpott Lake. There are three other campgrounds on this lake, and Kerr Scott also has four campgrounds. On up past Lynchburg,
Va., we found three of parks reasonably close to each other, and near civil war/ historical areas. Great history and learning experiences abound so these two of these are also on our “must camp” list. Holliday Lake State Park. Very nice SP, clean, defined level spaces. New section for large campers has six spaces and brand-new bathhouse. Older section has 30 or so sites, and acceptable bathhouse. Mostly open, little shade. Swimming area and canoe rentals year round at the main office. Very lovely little place. We will go there and walk the 100 yards to the new bathhouse. 30% full during the week. Probably late October into November, mid week ... I expect less than 10 campers in the entire park. The day we were scouting, only one RV plus the host was in the large site loop that had
Eventful Continued from Page 24
Renaissance is a period of artwork, writing and music I’ve always found to be very powerful,” DeAngelis says. “This combination of music, dance, literature and visual art should have something for a lot of different tastes.” Rather than focusing on one period or genre, the fall’s other ticketed event, on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. in Culp Auditorium, will feature a spectrum of music – from Renaissance to Gershwin and Queen – performed by Chanticleer, a 12-member men’s chorus known as “an orchestra of voices.” Since 1978, Chanticleer has sold more than a million recordings, won two GRAMMY® awards, been inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, started its own National Youth Choral Festival and been recognized for its education programs with young singers.
eight sites. Bear Creek State Park. Had 60% of the spaces closed during the week, due to low occupancy. The reasons? Very old bathhouse in disrepair and leaking, terrible layout of sites, all packed on top of each other, very rough, unlevel camping sites. We knew in two minutes this was not the place for us. Our opinion: Virginia should close this one and divert the funds to other parks. James River State Park. Oh, my goodness, if you want to see Sasquatch, this is the place to be. Our Garamond took us on miles and miles of unpaved roads in this tri-park area, so disregard this and stay on paved roads. The gravel roads were in great shape but got everything dusty. One 11-mile stretch had state signs to watch out for
“This is really an opportunity to bring the community together for something very special,” DeAngelis says. “I’m very pleased that the ETSU Chorale, directed by Dr. Matthew Potterton, will perform in a pre-concert at 5:30 that evening.” September at Mary B. Martin School of the Arts will feature a talk and reading by another multi-faceted artist, Marcos M. Villatoro, best known for his Romilia Chacón crime fiction novels, poetry and essays in media. Villatoro grew up in Rogersville and has since won two Emmys and moved to Los Angeles, where he teaches literature and writing. He will read from a selection of his work on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. in Ball Hall Auditorium. Rounding out the fall will be three of the annual series of six independent films from South Arts Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, in which the filmmakers travel with the films and hold Q&As after each screening. All three films screen at 7 p.m.
pedestrians! Really? Someone walking five miles from anywhere! I believe I would have noticed a walker. Sites were huge, flat and had the most area between as any park we have seen. Great bathhouse, low lights, no streetlights, well-kept and newish. It is definitely out there in the woods. 20% full at best, mid-week, last week. I imagine that when leaves are gone, before the early snows, one could be the sole camper in this big, big country. Indeed, it may be a bit intimidating. Will get here hopefully in new moon phase, and the Milky Way will be easily visible. Lots of trees, but also lots of big, wide-open spaces to view the stars. In many of the above parks we made notes about our favorite
sites. Here there was no need; all are great! In most Virginia parks, you cannot reserve specific sites. Any of the sites here are desirable. Looking forward to this one for sure. Sasquatch, here we come! Our scouting trip proved to be very productive. We saw beautiful country, stayed in air conditioned/ pet friendly hotels, ate some good food (though not as good as camp food!), eliminated one undesirable location, and found at least five other very nice state parks or Army Corp of Engineer camping areas to try. Hope this gives you some good ideas and that you will plan to get out and go. Only, do not get our best spot.
Register Now! 282-2540 studiodancejc.com
September 2015
Out-N-About
29
Andru Miller/P8ntgrind Photography
Paintball is a fast-paced game of trust and teamwork for serious players. For beginners of all ages, it’s just fun.
The colorful appeal of paintball By Trey Williams
Andru Miller/P8ntgrind Photography
30
Out-N-About
September 2015
Wes Morrell has been playing paintball some 25 years and knows it’s a game for all ages. “I started playing when I was around 15 years old,” said Morrell, the owner of The Alternative Sport Paintball in Blountville. “If you’re not a kid, it’s like being a kid again. If you are a kid, it’s like getting to play Call of Duty in real life.” But paintball can leave a mark, and not just the type that makes the defeated appear to be hemorrhaging Skittles. The .68 caliber paintballs pack too much punch for some potential players’ taste, and a .50 caliber alternative has begun gaining popularity.
“The paintballs are .50 caliber and the markers are spring powered,” says paintball player Andru Miller, who also photographs the sport (P8ntgrind Photography). “So the impact is very minor and makes it fun for people to try the game and fall in love with it before moving up to the regular equipment.” It also makes it feasible for businesses to insure children as young as eight. “It kind of got developed into a product to get new players and younger players in the game,” Morrell said. “Most commercial fields’ minimum age is usually around 10 years old. It allows younger guys and girls to be able to come in and play without See Page 31
Continued from Page 30 the kind of intimidation factor that standard paintball can sometimes have. That’s definitely a great tool to help get new players in and peak the interest.” Of course, Morrell will tell you that potential pain, even if it’s essentially the equivalent of getting popped with a towel, is part of the appeal for many. “Yeah, it’s definitely a part of the adrenaline out there,” Morrell said. “Players that have never played before and don’t know what to expect are usually a little hesitant about it. But once you kind of get out there playing and get a little adrenaline kicking in, you really don’t notice it that bad.” Morrell played tournament paintball nine years. He reached the Division 3 level on a 1-6 scale. “I never played on the pro level; that was never really my goal,” he said.
‘There’s really no right or wrong way when it comes to how you’re enjoying playing as long as you’re following the safety rules.’
— Wes Morrell
The camaraderie of team competition was the draw, especially on a stage such as the World Cup of Paintball in Orlando, where Morrell has played with players such as Joshua Horne and Jeff Short. “We placed pretty well in it a couple of times in our division,” Morrell said. “That was always a big goal, to do well in that event. We won a couple of regional series
Andru Miller/P8ntgrind Photography
Working together is a key component of competitive paintball. ‘You pretty much know what your teammates are thinking,’ Morrell says. a couple of years in a row.” Morrell’s business has sponsored East Tennessee State University paintball when it fields a club team. ETSU won the Class AA title in the National Paintball Collegiate Championship in Lakeland, Fla., in 2010 thanks to Gary Wills, Aaron Roberts, Austin Rhudy, Cameron Lawrence, Charlie Smith, Robert Young, David Pauley and Justin Henard. The players trust one another for cover while dashing and diving in search of better angles for shots. “Playing as a team is such a key component in paintball,” Morrell said. “You pretty much know what your teammates are thinking.” There are professional paintball teams such as the Edmonton Impact, Los Angeles Infamous and San Diego Dynasty, and the NXL streams live webcasts. But the sport has uncommon diversity. Many recreational players probably don’t even know there are pro teams. “You have scenario games, large format games,” Morrell said. “A really cool thing about those is they can be based on video games or actual war battles or just something
totally made up off the top of someone’s imagination. There’s really no right or wrong way when it comes
to how you’re enjoying playing as long as you’re following the safety rules. “We have a wooded course, which is very popular. A lot of people like the wooded fields. We built a new field which is a little bit more tactical-based field with a lot more angles and small buildings and different styles of structures … to kind of appeal to a new range of customers.” Avid players will spend significant dollars, but the sport has become more affordable in recent years. “Paint is cheaper now,” Morrell said. “Quality has gone up and prices have come down. You get a lot more bang for your buck with equipment now. … Now, if it’s your hobby, it doesn’t matter if it’s fishing or hunting, snowboarding or bicycling, you’re gonna spend a certain amount of money on it. … “We had a 60-year-old player today and a 10-year-old player today. … And they both were having fun.”
Saturday - September 12, 2015 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Greene County Fairgrounds Greeneville, TN
Featuring: Local & Regional Industries • Retailers • Gardening Experts • Arts & Artisans • Agricultural Groups • Kids Corner Activities and Food Vendors! September 2015
Out-N-About
31
Winning combo
Downtown Johnson City picked up two new destinations under one roof in August. The opening of YeeHaw Brewery and White Duck Taco Shop at the old Free Service Tire Company location has proven to be popular with customers.
Kelly Hodge
Libation Station offers plenty of supplies for home brewers Libation Station, located at 4471 N. Roan St. in Johnson City, Tennessee, has long been revered for having the largest craft beer and fine cigar selection in the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas. The next logical step could only be supplying the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seasoned home brewers and upstarts with all the supplies needed to make their perfect brews. Everything from beer, wine and cider kits to fresh hops and yeast are now available at Libation Station. Whether you are just starting to delve into the exciting world of home brewing or already have countless batches under your belt, the staff at Libation Station can assist you with getting the needed supplies and ingredients to have you brewing like a professional. It stocks a large supply of grains from respectable brands such
32
Out-N-About
as Briess and Weyermann that can be ground on site to fill the recipe needs of the all-grain brewer and the brew in-bag, or partial-mash brewer. Dry and liquid malts are also available from Briess and Muntons to fulfill the needs of the extract brewer. Libation Station has a wide selection of both pellet and whole hops and stocks a variety of dry and liquid yeast that is sure to please even the most selective home brewer. If you need kegs, hop bags, fermentation buckets, carboys, cleaning supplies, wort chillers or a propane cooker, you now only need to come to one place. So next time you are thinking about brewing in any capacity, just stop by Libation Station and pick up all the supplies and instructions needed to complete your personal brewing experience. Cheers!
September 2015
Barter
Continued from Page 13 your job and I love that. Here, it’s what you do,” he says. Holly Williams also gave New York a try, but moved to Abingdon when she grew tired of working three jobs just to pay rent. She joined Barter in 2011. What she found was a freeing feeling of not being typecast. Williams says while she’s never been cast in a role she didn’t like, she often gets her casting assignments and thinks, “’Huh? They want me for that?’ It’s out of my comfort zone. It’s scary, but it’s a good scary.” Wolf, who directs as well, says he watches newer resident actors like Williams grow, and he understands what growth means. But he needs to be pushed as an actor as well. “In a company like this, you sit back, you don’t need to be here. You can’t just be at the top of your game and glide through. There’s no gliding here,” he says. Wolf says he loves keeping stories alive. “Storytelling is the essence of the human, and through other’s stories you understand yourself. I love telling stories, whether through songs or a script or I just stand up and tell a story,” he says. For Williams, acting is teaching. “I get to teach people something unique about the human condition. It’s a platform. To teach on that stage is something I feel like I get to do,” she says. For more information about Barter Theatre, visit www. bartertheatre.com.
Richardson joins staff as ad sales manager
Out-N-About magazine would like to welcome Rick Richardson as the company’s new advertising sales manager. Rick is a 1978 graduate of East Tennessee State University and worked as an advertising sales executive for the Johnson City Press for 37 years. He is the proud father of two adult children and has two lovely granddaughters. He is a member and deacon of Borderview Christian Church in Elizabethton, a member of the American
Flights
Continued from Page 21 Navy and began working on aircraft. He went on to a 30-year career with Xerox before retiring back in 1999. Building the radio-controlled planes was a natural for him. And he’s taken it to the next level, traveling to compete. “Some people like the speed,” said Koenig, who held his club’s speed record (127 mph) for a while. “I was really into that, but at the end you had about a two-second moment of glory and the rest was all support. “The cycle goes like this: The beginner is happy to bring it back alive. The second step is you become competent flying. You get in trouble, you can fix it and get back. Then you get into speed or something else. I got into pattern after several years; it’s a chal-
Rose Society, and a charter member and past president of the Watauga Valley Rose Society. He is also an executive board member of the Elizabethton Baseball and Softball League. Rick’s best buddy is his miniature schnauzer, Snowflake. We’re proud and excited to have Rick, and our best wishes go to him in hopes that he will have a long and satisfying career at Out-N-About. — Scott Pratt, Publisher
lenge I enjoy now. It’s the pursuit of perfection.” Koenig was a national champion in the Novice division in 2013. JCRC also has the reigning Senior Expert champ in Jerry Black of Johnson City. Another club member, Rod Snyder, has taken the hobby to extreme heights. He reportedly was in Europe in late August with his model jet, which flies at over 220 miles per hour. “We all have different interests, but there’s a common bond between us,” said Koenig. “It’s a great group of guys and a camaraderie out here that we all enjoy.” Visitors are welcome at the TCRC airfield anytime the gates are open. To get there, take the Eastern Star exit off I-26 and follow the signs to the tire recycling plant. For more information, see flyjcrc.com.
Wait
Continued from Page 9 That position is getting stronger as new opportunities arise out of crisis. Sams, a chemical engineer by trade, has partnered with a contractor to build a mobile platform to “extract” boats left stranded on owners’ lifts scattered around the more than 130 miles of shoreline. The TVA estimated in July that about 170 boats were in such positions, some more precarious than others. “We’ve got a 40,000-pound crane with a 60-foot boom,” said Sams. “There’s $250,000 in liability insurance that’s costing us $12,000. We’ve got a barge to put this crane on that we can maneuver to get these boats. It’s $2,500 apiece and you get a slip for one year at my marina in the deal.” Sams had almost 50 boats on his schedule in mid-August and was sure the number would rise as word got out. “Everybody that has called, we’ll be able to get,” he said. “Some are really nice boats. Some others, the $2,500 is worth more than the boat, but they want to be able to use what they’ve got. We’re going to build some more slips at the marina.” Overall, Sams admits it’s been a summer like no other on the lake. “The market is adjusting,” he said. “We’ve got Boone Lake property owners that normally wouldn’t use the marinas, and we’ve lost customers who have this irrational fear of using Boone Lake.
“The best thing people can do is explain how boatable the lake really is.” Meanwhile, some homeowners are choosing to have portable docks built at the new water line. They’ll move them back up when the time comes. “Permits are usually 500 to a thousand dollars, and now they’re being offered for free,” Sams said. “We can build a dock immediately, and when the lake comes back up either demolish the old dock or tie it into the new one. I think you’re going to see more and more property owners with docks on the lake again.” As far as the actual treatment of the dam, it won’t start until sometime in 2016 because of the permitting process and completion of environmental studies. Sams and the other marina owners got to engage with TVA officials in “intimate conversation” before the public heard the report last month. “They brought an engineer into the room, and he said the actual window of work on the dam will be 18 months to three years,” said Sams. “He said the limiting factor is as they’re injecting treatment into the dam, they have to make sure they don’t blow the dam apart. “The other thing is there just aren’t a lot of contractors that do this work — three in the world. Some of the equipment is one of a kind, so if it breaks you could be dead in the water for weeks at a time. Bottom line, we’re all just going to have to be patient.”
September 2015
Out-N-About
33
Take the emotion out of women’s abortion rights
By Don Spurrell
Here on the Capital steps where mothers are voicing their disapproval of Mr. Hukabee's proposal of evoking the 5th and 14th amendments in rights of protection for zygotes. This zygote seems to growl at the mother's comments, though this mother says it is yet another movement carrying a similar message. Updates at 6 and 11......Back to you Bob
Snuffing out real lives By Harrison Jenkins A federal judge in Nashville has issued a preliminary injunction barring two district attorneys from enforcing a pro-life law requiring abortion facilities in their districts to meet updated safety standards passed by the legislature last year. U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp stopped district attorneys in Davidson and Sullivan counties from requiring facilities that perform more than 50 abortions annually to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers. The stricter requirements regarding abortion clinics came about after Tennessee voters passed Amendment 1 in 2014, which gave the state legislature more power to regulate abortion clinics. The injunction is largely symbolic, since the district attorneys involved have said they had no intention of enforcing the new law anyway. The clinics in question both say they simply have not had enough time to upgrade their facilities to meet the legislature’s requirements, especially since the legislature did not include any funding with their new mandate. To me, all of this legal maneuvering is simply a waste of time and money. Because
34
Out-N-About
September 2015
to me, despite all of the emotional uproar that surrounds the issue, abortion legislation should be simple. Once an egg is fertilized by sperm, it becomes a life. I don’t care what the legal analysts and judges have said. If the fertilized egg is left unmolested, it will, in nine months, present itself to the world in the form of a living, breathing human being. If that human being is poisoned, drugged, removed with an implement, or otherwise interfered with by some artificial means, then it has been killed, and whoever killed it has committed the crime of murder. If the mother consented to this killing, then she is part of a conspiracy to commit murder and should be punished accordingly. Should there be exceptions? Of course. If the mother’s life will be endangered somehow by the birth of the child, an exception should be made. If the mother was raped and does not want to carry the child to term, an exception should be made. But the exceptions should be few and far between. The argument that a woman should have the right to decide whether an unborn child
See JENKINS, Page 35
Few words in our language are as emotionally supercharged as “abortion.” By political design, the word alone is atomic. Macabre, brutal and revolting images slam shut the hope of rational discussion concerning the enormously complicated issue of reproductive freedom. I believe we should take a moment to put emotion aside and consider both what being “against” abortion means as well as the practical effect of outlawing the termination of pregnancy in all cases. At present, the law is quite clear that no state may outlaw a medical procedure to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester. In the second trimester of fetal development, states can enact more restrictive laws, but only in the third trimester can states outlaw the procedure altogether. This is a rational and practical solution that was carved out by the Supreme Court in 1973, and it has become an ingrained part of the rights of women to privacy in their reproductive choices. The argument against abortion rights always devolves into a sclerotic and simplistic pronouncement that abortion is a moral wrong and, therefore, any law prohibiting the practice, at any stage, is just and righteous. Herein begins the problem. History, like facts, is stubborn. Today, as in millennia past, certain powerful men, and to a lesser degree powerful women, have relentlessly
exercised an arrogant monopoly on morality. Prior to 1972, abortion was illegal and many young women suffered injury and death as a result. Thousands of abandoned children were brought into the world to face poverty and lack of opportunity. Unfortunately, many of those powerful voices today advocate a return to punitive and coercive laws as a moral masquerade to control women in their most private and agonizing decision. Many go so far as to demand “personhood” under our law from the moment of conception. Let’s imagine the legal consequences. Have you heard of the Middle Ages? When a human being dies in this country, the government takes an interest in making sure the death was from illness or accident. Personhood of a group of cells — in a state where they are incapable of living outside the uterus — would require a legal mechanism to insure that every single pregnancy in America is monitored by law enforcement. Specially trained law enforcement officers would be dispatched to every corner of the country to every medical facility and doctor’s office. Women and their doctors would be stripped of any right to medical privacy. All pregnancy tests and their results would have to be reported to a national database. All miscarriages would have to be investigat-
See SPURRELL, Page 35
Lester Bean
H
A march that didn’t matter
omer Jones and I were sitting on our barstools at Miss Kitty’s Honky Tonk and Laundromat when a news story came on the television about the Black Lives Matter rally that was held in Johnson City. The Black Lives Matter rally was supposed to be part of a nationwide observance of the one-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was unarmed, but a police officer shot him dead and they left him lying in the streets for four hours. The police officer wound up not being charged with a crime, and there were riots and protests in Ferguson and in a few other places around the country. Then, not too long after that, a white police officer in North Charleston shot an unarmed black man in the back eight times while the man was running away. That incident was filmed by a person standing a couple hundred feet away, and the officer wound up being charged with murder. There have been other instances of white police officers shooting unarmed blacks, so this Black Lives Matter
Spurrell
“movement” began to take root. Its purpose, I suppose, is to make people aware that unarmed black males are being shot in disproportionate numbers by white police officers across the United States. The news lady was practically gushing about the enthusiasm of the 300-plus people she said were in attendance and the resounding message that was being sent out that we can all live together in peace and harmony. “Looks like that was quite an event,” Homer said. “There weren’t 300 people there,” I said. “How do you know?” “Because I went.” “You went to the Black Lives Matter rally?” Homer said as he lifted his beer to his lips and his eyes narrowed. “I sure did. I got there thirty minutes before it started. They were supposed to gather in the parking lot on the ETSU campus right across the street from McDonald’s. When I showed up, the only two other people there were two chubby white guys sitting on a curb in the shade, and you know what the first thought that
entered my mind was?” “That you were in the wrong place?” “No, I thought the indifference was palpable.” “So you thought maybe black lives don’t really matter here in good old Northeast Tennessee?” “Black lives matter as much here as they do anywhere else. White lives matter, too, and so do brown lives and yellow lives. Human lives matter. I guess I was just sort of disappointed with the turnout. By the time the actual march started — they walked down Walnut Street and wound up at Founder’s Park — there were about a hundred people there by my count. There were a few more once they got to the park, maybe a hundred and fifty, but you know what was the strangest thing about it?” “What was that?” Homer said. “There were only about fifteen, maybe twenty black people in the whole crowd. The rest of them were older white liberals, the kind of people that will go to a sit-in or a march or a protest just because they think that’s what old hippies do. I’ll bet the
Continued from Page 35
ed for evidence of volitional termination. All biological material would have to be preserved and subjected to careful forensic testing. In the event a miscarriage is determined to have been accomplished, either by the morning-after pill or a woman resorting to using an unsterilized coat hanger, she would face first-degree murder charges. In the event a physician decided that a woman was likely to die in childbirth, he/she would face first-degree murder charges for assisting in a termination. The mother’s death would be “God’s will.” All parents, siblings, boyfriends or anyone transporting the pregnant woman to an underground abortion clinic would face charges of first-degree murder as an aider and abettor. You see,
Jenkins
last time they saw each other was at the Occupy Wall Street rally a few years back.” “One of the newspapers wrote a story that there was going to be big trouble from white supremacists who were going to protest the protesters,” Homer said. “More hype and bunk,” I said. “Two redneck skinheads waving rebel flags showed up and strutted around the park making fools of themselves for a few minutes.” “Didn’t anybody confront them?” “A hippie girl offered them flowers and a couple of people chanted at them. Eventually, everybody ignored them and they went away.” “So, I guess the question I have to ask you then, Lester, is, after having witnessed what you witnessed, do black lives matter?” “Like I said, of course they do. But they don’t matter enough to black people around here to get them off their butts and come in public to show it. I found the indifference on the part of black people perplexing, but who am I to judge? I’m just an old white guy sitting on a bar stool.”
Continued from Page 35 legislating morality is a fantasy horse born of a desire to control and dominate, and in the end a fool’s errand. A better approach is to keep it real. Put away the moral outrage over the original sin and accept that only through reproductive education and accessible birth control can women make what should be the ultimate rational and informed decision. Shame, derision and punishment will never be the answer and as long as the voices of emotional outrage win out over the call for reason, more unwanted children will be born and the progress of our society will continue to stall. Stand out of the doorway if you cannot lend a hand.
lives or dies simply because she has the right to decide what happens with her own body is ridiculous. A woman shouldn’t be allowed to kill her own child because she doesn’t want it or because the child will be an inconvenience or a burden. She made the decision to have sex, she knew the risk if she didn’t use protection, and she should not then be allowed to commit this warped form of legalized murder that has been developed by (largely) male judges who have taken sophistry to places the
original sophists could never have conceived. So just to recap — and please take notice there isn’t a word about religion in this line of reasoning — man and woman have sex, conceive life. Left unmolested, the life they conceived will become a human being. Aborted, the life has been intentionally taken, or, in crueler terms, murdered. There are laws in this country against murder. And why should the murder of an unborn child be treated any differently than the murder of an adult?
September 2015
Out-N-About
35