Bedford Life 2021

o i t i d E y a s t h 10 Annive

Bedford Life SUMMER ’21 in sync with our community

Sports,Food,Patriotism,Family

Contents • Summer 2021

Welc e to r c muni

Features & Profiles Welcome to our community 5

Bell Buckle’s Lynfield Gardens is open 9 Gary Johnson: The Man Behind The Lens10 Judge Muriel Robinson: Bedford County’s Steel Magnolia 14 Food Mob a lifesaver for La Mattina Ristorante 16 The Hills turn wine-bottles-into biblical chapel 20 From the pasture, Jason Barber envisions life 24 Couple adapts to COVID by starting farm 26 Making magic happen: Chase Clanton & the Vintage Vibes 28 Teen Fallout seeks permanent home 30 Teresa Gill: American flag programs 34 Bedford County Weddings 35 Meet our wedding photographers . . . 35 Drew and Shelby Taylor’s Love Story 36 The wedding’s over, let’s talk ... 36 Ronald and Lynn Adcock: grief to gladness 37 Space models--hay crops--marriage Ron Adcock shares his life philosophy 38 Celebrating year 5 with Lacey and Justin Taylor 39 Muhammads choose Shelbyville as home 42 Meet Keith Churn: Life with Bedford County Boys and Girls Club 43

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Welcome to our community Editor’s Note

‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’—Bert Lance, 1970s politician

T

he Times-Gazette celebrates its 10th season anniversary with our summer Bedford Life 2021.

Inside you will see a familiar face, Lacey Landers Taylor, who has some great things going on in her life since she first graced our inaugural cover in 2016.

The saying really is true, when you have something good in your midst, leave it be. We are proud of the positive product we’ve consistently distributed to the community all these years.

There’s a lot of hard work that goes into each page.

I appreciate hearing from those dedicated readers like Evelyn Chambless Lowley—a neighbor of mine for many years when I was growing up in the Hall’s Mill community. We appreciate the feedback.

There is one thing that’s changed with this issue; I’m blessed to be the new editor. I am proud of all our staff writers and our amazing advertising team-all who stepped up to make this season’s anniversary edition so special.

We also thank our contributors and advertisers who continue to place their faith in us as their hometown news and features outlet. We thank our publisher, Adam Johnson, for allowing us to continue to print this special magazine for you.

No matter if you’re a visitor to the Celebration and picking up Bedford Life for the first time, or have lived here, maybe in Wheel, Deason or even Raus, for decades, we hope you will enjoy reading about and visualizing a small slice of our paradise. Judge Muriel Robinson will tell you more.

You will also find in this edition, among many things, how we love to “Catch a Wave” and “Food Mob.” We also love our farms—some which have been in our families for centuries. We also have features about young farmers; it’s all organic.

I grew up on a Bedford County farm so those stories were meaningful to me. From Normandy Lake to a floral glance at Bell Buckle, it’s all in the pages to follow.

In this Bedford Life, you will meet through the pages some new people, like the Sarsfields and Joey LaMattina. There are also features on hometown familiar faces like Ron Adcock of Unionville and Gary Johnson of Shelbyville; they have new things going on in their lives.

This bi-annual publication is just a sampling of what Bedford County has to offer in the way of graceful living and emerging business opportunities. Check out what Evie Winfrey, a recent Shelbyville Central graduate, plans to do in the next phase of her life.

This county will always be home. So I take comfort in sharing Bedford County sights, flavors and sounds with youthose right out of your familiar neighborhoods.

Get your tickets for the Wartrace Horse Show! Maupin Fest is something new. Check it out!

So grab a cup of coffee and nestle down into this good, local read. I have some people say they savor the pages, reading it for quite a while. That’s OK too.

We work hard in this community through our jobs and our callings. We show respect to our veterans and often salute the Red, White and Blue.

We celebrate our weddings. We support our youth--many included here.

Our faith-churches, even through the pandemic, continue to hold us together as a community.

Bedford County is full of strong survivors, which is evident from our experiences in 2020. Through cancer and the pandemic, we pull together—celebrate our blessings--when the going gets tough.

My belief is that everyone has a story just waiting to be told.

I anxiously await sharing yours.

SINCERELY, DAWN HANKINS DHANKINS@T-G.COM EDITOR

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 5

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Bedford Life is published semi-annually by the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, a daily newspaper in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

For questions or comments about Bedford Life, contact the Shelbyville Times-Gazette at (931) 684-1200.

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Bell Buckle’s Lynfield Gardens is open Pick your own summer bouquets

By DAWN HANKINS

L

ynfield gardens is a veteran-owned and operated “You-pick” farm in Bell Buckle.

For as far as the eye can see, the garden offers several varieties of thornless blackberries, pumpkins and flowers. Orchard fruits are maturing and owners, Chris and Stephanie Sarsfield, expect them to produce well in 2022.

“You-pick” hours run from June through October on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The Sarsfields also offer floral sessions that can be seen on their calendar schedule.

Contact info: Facebook- Lynfield Gardens Instagram- @farmlynfieldgardens Google maps-Lynfield gardens Call: 615-713-8215 Visit: 904 Highway 82 East, Bell Buckle, TN 37020

“If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.” –Alfred Lord Tennyson Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 9

Gary Johnson: The man behind the lens T-G Staff Report

Photo Chris Siers T-GT-G Photo by by Chris Siers

A

lot can be captured through the lens of a camera.

For the better part of 30 years, Gary Johnson has seen a lot from the sidelines.

Johnson has been a sports writer for the Times-Gazette since 1989 and has become a staple in Bedford County athletics in the process.

Johnson is a Bedford County native and has become integrated in not only the coverage of local sports, but also as a community figure.

Johnson graduated from Shelbyville Central before pursuing a mass communications degree at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

“Under mass communications, there were a lot of different ways you could go.

My emphasis was in television production. I had an offer from a small station in Alabama.

At that time, I wasn’t ready to move from home,” he said.

While his initial move didn’t land him in the journalism field, Johnson eventually found his way to the Times-Gazette when former sports editor Bo Melson approached him about an opportunity to join the staff.

10 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

“I got into a sales job and from there, it led to an assistant manager at a Shelbyville supermarket. Bo called me one day. I had played baseball and a lot of stuff and knew Bo. He hired me on and back then, we covered the police beat in the mornings, then would have a break, then covered sports at night,” Johnson said.

With a background in video production, transitioning to film production and working in darkrooms had a bit of a learning curve.

“I had a lot of video photography experience, but didn’t have a lot of darkroom experience because everything was all film based back then.”

Since joining the staff covering sports, Johnson has covered all corners of the county, from Community in Unionville to Cascade and now Shelbyville Central.

After starting his sports journalism career in Unionville, Johnson took some time away from the paper when his daughters, Shelby and Jami, were born.

During this time in the late 1990’s, he became a records manager at Arnold Air Force

Base, where he still works full time today.

After a time away from the news industry, opportunity came knocking again when former editor Mark McGee approached Johnson about rejoining the Times-Gazette staff— this time on a new beat covering Cascade.

“Mark McGee was the editor of the TimesGazette and he came to me and asked me to come back part time. When I came back, I started covered Cascade. I became really good friends with Kenny Parker and Brenda Ayers, who were coaches over there,” Johnson said.

When a change in staff came about, he found his new home covering the Shelbyville Central beat, which he still covers today.

“We went through a new sports editor and they left in the middle of football season.

From there, I went to cover Shelbyville, which worked the best for me because I had two daughters coming up. It just worked out that the Shelbyville beat fell into my lap,” he said.

Having been part of all county sports, Johnson has seen and reported on some of the very best memories in Bedford County sports history.

From former Shelbyville Central quarterback Grayson Tramel setting the single-game passing record, to the success of the Shelbyville Central Golden’ Eaglettes’ state championships, Johnson has been on the sidelines for it all.

But what stands out for Johnson isn’t necessarily watching the successes on the field, but watching the young athletes who have gone on to become successful adults and starting families of their own—many of which he has now covered their children.

Having been at the Times-Gazette for so long, Johnson says while people have come and gone, one thing that has stayed consistent is the support for local sports coverage.

“It’s such a unique experience to have four county high schools to cover. One thing I’ve always said is that the ownership of the TimesGazette has been second-to-none. If you go to any other small town, over the past 30 or 40 years, and see the space they’ve allowed for sports, for each school to get the in depth coverage they’ve gotten is unheard of,” he said.

“There are far and few in between that cover them daily. For us to have a beat writer and continue to have that, is something special in this industry. I’ve always been thankful that we’ve had an ownership through Mr. Yates, Rust Communications and Adam Johnson now, that we still have the opportunity

to cover each game and give in depth coverage. For me, that’s what it’s all about.”

With the population growth in Middle Tennessee, the population of Bedford County continues to grow and Johnson has seen much of that growth over the past several years.

Having seen that growth, he said that Shelbyville and Beford County has all the offerings of any athlete who may be moving to Bedford County.

“I think Bedford County and Shelbyville in particular would be a great landing spot for anybody, especially the way the county is growing. It’s a small community and when you look at the four schools we cover, it becomes an even smaller community within those schools. That aspect, you get that small, hometown feeling,” he said.

At the end of the day, it’s still about telling the stories of the triumphs and defeats on the field and capturing those memories in the process.

“It’s people coming up to you and saying, “Do you remember me?” It’s about being part of the community and supporting our student-athletes,” Johnson said.

Nobody has been as consistent in delivering the news as Johnson has.

“You know, when you think of Bedford County athletics, two names have to jump out at you. Former sports editor Bo Melson and Gary Johnson. If something locally is

going on, Gary is the first to be in the know and that is such a valuable asset, not only from a professional perspective, but from a community standpoint as well. Over the 10 years I’ve worked with him, I’ve been able to call Gary not only an invaluable member of the T-G sports staff, but also a great friend.

I know the quality of our sports coverage would not be the high standard as it is without his contributions over the years,” Times-Gazette sports editor Chris Siers said.

“Over 30 years, I’ve gone from covering athletes to covering their kids as well. What stands out to me the most as far as good performances is maybe not what they’ve done on the field or court, but the great athletes we’ve had over the years who are also great people become successful in life. It’s fun to see them excel like they did when you covered them, in life in general. That’s why I still do it,” Johnson said.

‘Success is where preparation and opportunity meet’ —Bobby Unser

Not pictured: Caroline Gu, Richard Li, Nancy Shi, Vivian Sun, Zia Wang, Austin Xu, Elson Zhang

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 11

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 13

Judge Muriel Robinson: Bedford County’s Steel Magnolia

By ZOË HAGGARD

P

erched high in the hills of southern Bedford County sits a contemporary cabin faced with large windows that overlook a 140-acre farm. That piece of Bedford County “paradise” belongs to Judge Muriel Robinson, the first female judge in Nashville, and her husband, Irby Simpkins, former Nashville Banner publisher.

They’ll both admit they’re type-A personalities. But sitting at home before the wall of windows, looking out over green hills and a view of a summer sky, they seem to have settled down and come home for good after leading their extraordinary lives.

“Like I’ve said many times, my husband and I believe we have moved to paradise,” she said.

Robinson, 77, and retired since 2009, said “High Meadow” is her dream home― designed to look as if “God dropped it right in the middle of a pasture.”

The couple’s 13-yearold home is filled with stories.

Their home is fashionably decorated with hand-painted antiques collected on their travels and even a bear skin

14 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

rug of a Kodiak bear Simpkins hunted that hangs above the fireplace.

It’s a paradise of memories nearly 80 years in the making.

“MARRY, BURY, AND DIVORCE” Born and raised a “farm girl” in Old Hickory and Madison, Robinson comes from a political family.

Her father, Garner Robinson, was a former sheriff and trustee of Davidson County. She said he owned a cream-colored Cadillac, and the prisoners would gladly go along with Sheriff Robinson just to ride in the back.

Her brother, Gale Robinson, was a general sessions judge in Nashville before he passed away. His son, also named Gale Robinson, is the present general sessions judge.

Robinson’s family still owns the PhillipRobinson Funeral Home, established by her father and aunt in 1929.

And like her father and brother, so Muriel― and her twin sister―followed in their political footsteps, living up to their prominent name.

“Well, I was a daddy’s girl,” she said.

“He just loved us dearly, so when we

got older, he decided that I needed to go to law school because my brother had been appointed general sessions judge by Governor Buford Ellington.”

While her sister stayed in the funeral business, Robinson attended Nashville School of Law and graduated in 1968, gaining her Doctor of Jurisprudence from there three years later.

She began practicing at the age of 25 at the renowned law office of Jack Norman, Sr., focusing on criminal law as a trial lawyer. For 14 years she said she was content, making a decent salary, making connections, and fulfilling the purpose she seemed born into.

But then Robinson’s father gave her a phone call, telling her a domestic relations judge was retiring and that she needed to go make an announcement in the paper―”right now” —that she would be running for his seat.

And she did, winning a seat in 1982 at the age of 38, as Nashville’s first female judge elected into a court of records.

“Following my dad’s advice was the best thing I ever did,” she said.

At the judicial conferences, Robinson said some of the other male judges were anxious― during a time when women’s rights and equal pay were coming to the forefront―about incorporating a female judge into their clique.

But Robinson said she brought a bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey to the first one she attended, and she impressed them―not just with the whiskey but her humility and determination.

“I never tried to, as a female, go into any organization that was all male that cherished the fact that they were all male.

I didn’t want to break down anybody’s door…I wasn’t pushy about it,” she said.

In her 27 years as judge, she earned a reputation for being a champion against “dead beat dads.” However, Judge Robinson said she was an “equal-opportunity jailer,” focusing on any dead-beat parent, especially when the law changed to make both

parents equally responsible for the children.

“I had the reputation of being really hard on the men who didn’t pay their child support. Well, it was because they were the ones paying the child support. The mothers had custody…then the law changed,” she said.

She asked lawyers who were creating expense reports lists at the time to begin putting child support at the top to emphasize for clients the importance of maintaining that payment. It’s one of the things she changed when she became judge― and one thing that’s still in place today.

AND THE KEY TO HER SUCCESS? “I used everything I had going for me to get around the county…my father had buried half the county, so they knew the name, and it was the perfect timing,” she said.

For young women today, Judge Robinson encourages them to pursue an education, to find what they love―and do it.

City to country Little did Robinson know, when she first walked in the Nashville Banner office to place a campaign ad while running for judge, that she would meet her future husband―20 years later.

It’s a long story with how they got together, but let’s just say it began with perfect timing and ended with a “four-hour cheeseburger dinner.”

Robinson spent most of her career in the urban streets of Nashville, living on West End. With frequent visits to Bedford County after marrying Simpkins in 2001; they decided to settle in Bedford, inspired by Robinson’s twin sister who had a log cabin here.

“Well, I grew up on a farm…so, I was just going back to my roots,” she said, “I don’t miss city life at all.”

And there was always something to do on the farm, like running what they called “Camp Butterfly” for seven of their grandkids, now grown, and taking care of their horses.

And when they’re not working on the farm, they’re duck hunting.

“It’s a wonderful thing to get up in the dark and see the dawn come up every morning,” Simpkins said.

“It’s a highly regulated sport. Ducks are very wary creatures and a formidable opponent.”

They usually use a

12 or 20-gauge shotgun. And when they’re out early in the cold morning, it’s Muriel who cooks breakfast. Gravy, eggs, sausage, biscuits, grits―a full breakfast cooked over a fire.

In addition to their hunting and horseriding adventures, Simpkins used to fly planes, even owning at one time a King Air Beechcraft. But after Muriel’s “subtle but kind” nudging, Irby said he traded in his private jet for tractors to use on the farm.

Future plans Between the land and the home, “High Meadow” has become a lot to handle.

Now the couple is looking to sell their $3.2 million home and move across the street, downsizing to 11 acres.

Still, they want to keep their lives going here in Bedford County.

“Where we’ve come to today is almost unbelievable to us―to be 77 years old and feel as good as we do,” Simpkins said.

“We haven’t changed a bit really,” she said.

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 15

Food Mob —a lifesaver for La Mattina Ristorante

16 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

L

ocal Italian chef, Joseph “Joey” LaMattina, has had various careers. He says ironically, he ventured into those because his late father, also a pizza chef, tried to actually steer him away from the family business.

“He said, ‘Joey, you’re very talented, very smart.

Why would you want to be in a restaurant?’”

Joey says he sort of understood. So, he worked as a volunteer fire fighter, trained as an emergency medical technician and even touched on being an electrician.

But like any good Italian boy, he chose instead to make the pasta for a living.

He was close to his Uncle Sal, he says, who gave him his blessing to open a restaurant.

Sadly, he passed before Joey was able to do that.

In November 2019, Joey opened La Mattina Ristorante Italiano at 341 Bethany Lane, just off Madison Street.

“I like doing it. I’m very passionate about it.

It’s carrying on something in the family. I don’t like working in corporate America.”

He and his wife, Markie, married inside their Shelbyville establishment. They now live in Shelbyville in a historic home on Belmont Avenue. “I found Shelbyville . . . fell in love with it when I came here.”

Unfortunately, COVID-19 closed the doors for a while in 2020. “What saved us was Kimberly Williams and Colby Clement doing Catch the Wave. That was probably why we’re still here today.”

Catch the Wave Food Mob is a Facebook social media movement with thousands of followers. “Any restaurant you go to in town, if they were featured in Catch the Wave, has

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 17

‘I love the man that can smile in trouble . . . gather strength from distress and grow.”—Thomas Paine

By DAWN HANKINS

I

n March 2020, when the pandemic gained its strength, Jeremy Williams witnessed how restaurant and hotel owners were hurting and literally crying as they were forced to lay off employees.

Catch the Wave-Shelbyville

Food Mob was then inspired.

The rest is local Facebook history.

Well actually, it’s bigger and better than they ever envisioned.

Jeremy’s wife, Kimberly, explains, “Our family was sitting at a local Italian restaurant, Rafael’s, picking up a to-go order when Catch the Wave became more than an idea.”

Jeremy then came up with the idea for citizens to “mob” local restaurants. He said the idea was to share where locals were dining for the day and hopefully more people would support and follow the businesses.

They followed, indeed. The

Food Mob now has about 7,000 members.

Kimberly explains the idea sparked a movement, not just within the community, but as a heartfelt mission for her family. “This became a ministry for our entire family. I took the idea and ran with it, creating the Facebook page, and our four children, Lily, Sam, Eli, and Judson, started creating videos for the group.”

Kimberly said right from the beginning, she wanted to keep Catch the Wave mission-minded, shedding light and hope into what was really a dark place in 2020.

The mission continues. “I feel we have become a “Mob” family.

The community is as well on board. Colby Clements of Clements Dental has played an integral part behind the scenes as well as our moderator, Rachel Swander,”

Kimberly advises.

“We also encourage people to share the group with out-oftown guest so they can find unique eateries off the beaten path. I am thankful for our community and how this amazing group of “Mobsters” saved many of our locally-owned restaurants and food trucks.”

Those interested in promoting Catch the Wave may join the Facebook page. Kimberly remind that this is a positive movement— one just for Shelbyville and Bedford County business owners—and is aimed at helping build up, not tear down, local food establishments.

The pandemic was enough of a hit, she explains. Kimberly explains Catch the Wave-Shelbyville Food Mob continues to be a light of hope.

Click on “albums” on Catch the Wave’s Facebook page to see a listing of local restaurants.

use for the traditional amount of weight gained their freshman Meet Bocelli waitress, Evie Winfrey students year on campus.

For I know the plans I have for you. Jeremiah 29:11

C

ustomers at Bocelli Pizza and Pasta on the historic public square will soon be saying goodbye to one of their favorite waitressesEvie Winfrey. At least for a while, anyway.

A 2021 Shelbyville Central High School graduate, Evie has plans to spread her wings to new heights. She is the daughter of Ricky and Leann Winfrey.

Her supportive parents will be hugging her deeply at summer’s end as she heads to Tusculum University, an hour east of Knoxville and Greenville, where she plans to major in business administration with a concentration in accounting.

So will the Times-Gazette’s Morris Winfrey, who is Evie’s grandpa.

He’s pretty proud of her.

Evie explains she’s enjoyed working at the restaurant, as it has given her opportunity to earn college money. But she really wants to be an accountant.

So, college must be in her future.

She has been fortunate, she adds, to receive scholarships from Tusculum and a local scholarship from Shelbyville Woman’s Club.

So as to where she goes from here, Evie reasons, “God has a plan.”

While Bedford County will always be home, she says her mom has reared her to be an independent soul. You know; pray, be strong on your feet, make solid plans for the future.

E vie realizes there’s another “world” out there. She’s thankful her parents have worked to develop her strong moral character and faith so that she will be prepared to meet and handle new challenges.

“At this point, God’s got control. He will put me wherever I need to be.”

Evie’s family attends Bell Buckle First Baptist Church, where she’s worshipped since age 2.

“It’s home.”

Though Bedford County should soon be in her rearview mirror, this teen refuses to be fearful of leaving the nest. “I feel like I’m ready. There is a hint of fear . . . definitely ready. Not really scared.”

Referring to “fear,” she can relate, being a part of the recent senior class— the one which has greatly experienced the pains of the pandemic.

“It’s not every day you go through a global pandemic.”

Despite the ills associated with 2020, she remains steadfast in her future plans.

She believes her leadership opportunities at SCHS will pave the way.

Evie served as a member of the National Honor Society and three years on Student Council, serving as historian her junior and senior years. She served as class vice president her sophomore year at SCHS. This girl can play softball too. She mentions Coach Bubba Shavers (also a Bedford County native) who she says always believed school work came first.

The saying, ‘no fear,’ takes on a whole new meaning for this former SCHS athlete.

If there’s anything to be fearful of, she says that might be the “freshman 15,” which could await her first year of college. This is the phrase college

18 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

So also upon the advice of her mom, Evie’s also working on an exercise plan.

Still, her waitress duties at Bocelli’s on the historic square provides her right now with ample exercise, she advises.

By the way, Bocelli, known locally for its Italian food, is greatly followed on the Catch a Wave-Shelbyville Facebook page. So Evie will be able to keep up with all that’s going on there.

Working as a waitress has been a blessing, she says, giving her the opportunity to save college money. She is thankful to still have a job there, considering last year’s turn of events.

In addition to hard physical work, this girl excels academically too.

Evie left SCHS in May with a 4.0 GPA. She, again, credits her mom; she taught her to prioritize.

Judging from her success at just 18, Evie apparently listened to her parents. Well, as any teen, most of the time.

She laughs.

“If I ever had breaks, I was working on homework. Late nights happen; you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. You just find time to delegate what you need to do. Like when I knew that I could procrastinate a little bit, I would always give myself a little time . . . a peace of mind to get my things together.”

While she’s moving on with her life elsewhere, Evie says she is sure to share sentiments about her hometown with others she meets along the way.

“I would probably say . . . a small town, everyone knows everybody.

You can’t pass a stranger. Everyone is always willing to lend a hand . . . small wave when passing everyone on the streets. I just feel like that’s just not something you find everywhere. It’s kind people who hold doors open for you . . . southern mannerisms. I just don’t think that’s something you’re going to find everywhere you go.”

Perhaps Bedford County is the fortunate one to have nurtured such a ‘jewel’ named Evie Winfrey?

Judging from her life at this juncture, she is a woman who walks in the grace of her calling.

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@theskinproject.co Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 19

Tourism

The Hills turn wine-bottles-into biblical chapel

J

ean and John Hill’s little Bottle Chapel in Flat Creek—one envisioned a decade ago—still glistens in the sunlight and serves the purpose for which it was always intended—to provide a quiet respite for visitors as they honor God. It all started when the Bedford County residents were impressed years ago by a structure made of bottles and cement in Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, N.C.--one inspired by an African American artist Minnie Evans.

Having always loved how light reflects through glass, they set out to ‘try’ building something similar on their property on Joe Hart Road.

Recycled wine bottles, sweat and faith were eventually intertwined into a piece of local artwork.

The Hills contend how it has become a serene place of prayer and worship--one interconnected to the natural world--a hollow in the tiny community of Flat Creek.

Jean says they believe the biblically-based chapel was more than anything, God-inspired, because so many people visitors have shared those sentiments.

That makes the back-breaking part of structure meaningful, she says.

How is all came together “We began with an experimental structure--an arbor. Once accomplished, we began the chapel, which took seven years to complete.”

Each wall of the chapel (11-foot-wide by up to 14-feet-tall) depicts a Bible scripture in simple,

20 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

colored glass. Jean describes the process as a childlike bottle mosaic.

“I designed each wall on paper, taking into consideration bottles that we’d collected and sometimes asking friends or searching for special bottles to complete the scene. Beneath each bottle picture, I inscribed the scripture into the cement.”

Husband, John, is the master-builder and mason, and she, the junior mason. A foundation was poured, then 2 1/2 feet tall, Tennessee flat-rock walls and corner pillars were built. The mosaics of bottles set in cement were slowly constructed between each set of pillars, Jean explains.

“It was very slow work because you can only build about a 3-foot-tall section each day, due to the weight of working in wet cement and glass. The daily prep work and clean-up is tedious.”

Also, you can only work in the hottest, driest days, so it is brutal. But worth every ounce of sweat, she contends.

Visitors have the luxury of seeing each wall of the chapel now illuminated by day as the sun travels from east to west. At twilight, spot lights turn it into a brightly lit stained glass jewel that glows against the night sky.

Bottle Chapel is circular in design, with eight walls-one of which is an outdoor fireplace with an arched hearth.

The Hill’s son built the log altar and benches.

A pair of huge wind-chimes adds soft bass melody

to the surrounding sounds of creek, rustle of leaves, and bird song.

A bronze statue of Christ stands above a reflecting glass dish of glass pebbles.

A part of tourism, the community “When we began building the Bottle Chapel of Flat Creek, we expected that we were doing it for ourselves and no one would notice. Wow! Were we wrong! When friends, church members, and even strangers found out about our crazy plan for a chapel made of colored glass bottles... boxes of bottles began to appear at our gate.”

Jean recalls how churches, bars, restaurants, wedding events and country clubs offered donations.

They had collected 5,000 bottles in no time at all.

The Hill’s son found wine glasses shaped like a trumpet, sax and bass at New Orleans Jazz-Fest. This was befitting for their “Spirit Wall of Joyful Musicians following the Holy Spirit.”

Touching their hearts was how people donated special treasured keepsake bottles. One widow brought her husband’s cordial glasses, recalls Jean.

She adds, “A lady donated a cross she had prayed with since childhood.”

Drive by Bottle Chapel to view at 183 Joe Hart Road, Flat Creek. Watch for the nearby sign.

Call 931-695-5411 for more information on visitation times.

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 21

Photo By Melissa Dickerson

Jason Barber (standing front;left) cherishes this photo taken on the family farm in Longview. On the tractor is his brother, John and his son, Jake and his late father, Gale, who passed away last year, is shown at right.

J

ason Barber of Unionville is pretty much your typical third generation farmer, with the exception that he’s legally blind.

He has been since 2007, but there’s no slowing him down. There’s lots of work to do every day.

Jason is 50 years old and presently owner/operator of his Longview farm-one that has been in his family since 1866.

“This farm has been handed down seven generations,” Jason

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From the pasture, Jason Barber envisions life

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says. “It began with the Damron family then. Then to my great grandmother’s Blankenship family . . . now passed along to the Barbers.”

Jason typically raises about 50 plus head of beef cattle, and as much hay as he can take in during the summer.

It’s something he’s done on the same farm, well, since “Duck,” as he’s most affectionately known in Unionville, could walk.

“I was basically my grandfather’s shadow for all these years . . . he passed away in 1997. For many years, it was my grandfather, John Luster Barber, my father, Gale Barber and me . . . working as a team to keep the farm going. Since my grandfather‘s passing, my dad and I worked together and kept the farm producing.”

Jason sadly lost his mother, Nancy, in a tragic accident in 2018. His dad, a retired Bedford County Commissioner, was in the same accident with his mom, but did not pass until last August.

With some sadness, he admits the team is now dwindled down to one—“Duck.”

One of the primary obstacles Jason is having to contend with on a daily basis is being diagnosed in 1998 with that rare vision disorder called retinitis pigmentosa. It’s an inherited condition, which can skip different generations.

He was not so fortunate.

Just like his grandfather, Jason says he’s learned to cope with his condition. “It is a very slow process, so I have learned to adapt. I do my best to maintain my independence.”

He says thankfully, over the past couple of years, he’s been able to obtain assistive technology through the help of agri ability, vocational rehabilitation, and therapy centers.

At the moment, he’s been utilizing technology such as an iPhone, as well as a specialized camera.

As things progress, he’s hoping for newer technologies, literally on the horizon.

“Maintaining the farm by myself is a difficult task. But I have managed to adapt to each circumstance as they appear. I am a very independent person, however, I have been blessed with great family, friends, and neighbors! I know, at most any time, when I need assistance, I can call on them when necessary.”

Jason’s always lived in Unionville, specifically, Longview, all his life. That’s where he plans to stay.

“I do not see myself living anywhere else. I am very rooted in the heritage my family has passed along to me.”

Some just don’t get it, he says.

“I have attempted to explain how a person can become emotionally attached to property that [has] belonged to our family. Many people do not understand how that works. However, there are very few that actually still have a farm that has been in the family as long as mine has.”

He explains further how Bedford County has been very good to him. “I have been involved in the fire service since I was a young teen, which at the time, my dad, Gale Barber, was the first fire chief in Unionville.”

His mom, he says, was also involved in a lot of community projects. “I have attempted to give back as much as I can to my community. I am very rural in nature, so it is hard to except the progress that is growing in our particular area. It is sad to see so many of the area farms slowly disappearing into development.”

Jason says he’s also been blessed with a very special person in his life; his girlfriend, Melissa. Disabled due to Spina Bifida, he says, she is his rock.

“She is a very amazing person . . . single mom, and has raised a great son since he was very young. She sees the importance of

our farm to me.”

He says how Melissa gets his way of life. “Also, she knows it is a coping tool for me. Meaning, since the loss of mom and dad, and also dealing with my vision disorder, the farm is great therapy for me. She knows at any given time, she can call and I will be on the farm doing even the simplest of tasks.”

The Unionville farmer says even though he’s of course limited on many things he can do, he believes his life is planned out right on his family farm.

That gives him great comfort.

“I would like to think, when I leave this earth, I can leave here knowing . . . people can think of me, and think of all the positive things I’ve done in our county. I think people know [that] I will do anything and everything that I possibly can for anyone.”

He isn’t fond of selfish people.

Jason says unfortunately, selfishness is becoming more of the societal norm.

“Thankfully, I was raised different. I was always taught to work hard, be frugal with your finances, and do onto others as you would have done to you.”

So, you may be asking just how did this young, strong farmer get the nickname “Duck?”

“I have had that nickname since about 1984. Chief Phillip Douglas at the Unionville Fire Department christened me with that name back then. I used to waddle when I walked. He told me, ‘I was the only one who could walk between two rows of corn, and knock them both down!’”

He prefers to this day to be called “Duck.”

“If someone calls me Jason, they are either mad at me, or don’t know me!”

Duck, it is.

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Summer 2021 ● Bedford Life 25

Couple adapts to COVID by starting farm

By Terence Corrigan

I

n March 2020, during the heightening uncertainty of the COVID pandemic, Mathieu Legrain and Kelsey Tucker put down new roots for a new business in Bell Buckle and called it Belle Fleur Farm.

They’re not newcomers to Bedford County.

Mathieu’s family has farmed on the land they lease for Belle Fleur Farm (French for beautiful flower) since 1978, when they immigrated from France. Mathieu’s grandfather, Michel Legrain, who invented and patented an automated calf feeder in 1962, grew crops and raised cattle on the 170-acre piece. Mathieu’s uncle, Francois, nowadays runs the calf and lamb feeder manufacturing business, Biotic Industries, on the family’s Bell Buckle property. Mathieu’s grandmother, Marie Clotilde Legrain, still lives on the property. Mathieu calls her Bon Mama.

“I’m the third generation farming on this land,” Mathieu said. The farming bug skipped a generation in Mathieu’s immediate family. His father became a computer programmer and developed and sold Radio Frequency Identification Scanners Kelsey Tucker, Mathieu’s life partner and business partner, grew up in Flat Creek. Her grandparents live in Unionville. Her grandparents and mom “always had a big garden,” she said. While she was completing an English degree at MTSU Kelsey started working at Five Senses Restaurant in Murfreesboro. Five Senses is a fine dining restaurant specializing in locally produced “fresh and healthy” foods.

The experience of working at Five Senses, a “farm to table” restaurant, refined Kelsey’s understanding of the difference between foods “you care for yourself and get out of the garden yourself and the stuff you get at the grocery store,” she said. Food produced by industrial growers, using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, she said, “doesn’t taste the same. I’ve always been in love with good food, stuff that comes from the earth.”

Mathieu’s journey, after graduating from Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, led him to the mountains of the West Coast. He loved backpacking and hiked 2,100 miles of the 2,600 mile Pacific Crest Trail, from Southern California to northern Washington. When he got off the trail he wan’t ready to leave the mountains of the West so he settled for a few years at the southern end of the Cascade Mountains near Mount Shasta in California.

Mathieu loved the mountains but in the rural region of Northern California work was hard to find and his long, deferred dream to grow and sell produce on the family farm in Bell Buckle tugged at him.

When Mathieu came back East, he was employed for a while with a grower in Chapel Hill. While working there he met Kelsey. “We both love plants and love nature,” Kelsey explained. They share a passion for producing healthier, “high quality vegetables.”

When the pandemic arrived both Mathieu and Kelsey were essentially left jobless. They decided they would build their own future security and prove to themselves and their community that small farming operations, without using herbicides and pesticides and chemical fertilizers, could be successful.

26 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

FORGING A CHANGE IN THE FOOD LANDSCAPE Kelsey and Mathieu consider their farming practices part of a growing trend. “People are realizing (the value) of being closer to the earth,” Kelsey said. “Having small food systems that are sustainable instead of mass dairies and industrial vegetable growing operations that are not good for the earth.”

Spraying crops with pesticides, Mathieu said, kills not only the bugs that damage crops but it also kills the beneficial insects that prey on pest bugs. “UT (University of Tennessee) says for every pest bug you have 60 species of predator bugs (that help control the pest species). If you spray pesticides you kill all those bugs.” Instead of spraying pesticides, Kelsey and Mathieu, are using a technology that was in use before the invention of chemical poisons — they spray their crops with sugar water (molasses, white sugar or sorghum) which attracts beneficial insects like lacewings which consume pest bugs like aphids.

“I just want to let people know there’s another way of doing things instead of listening to companies that want to sell you fertilizer,” Mathieu said. “They say you need these products but you don’t.”

TIME FOR CHANGE? Kelsey thinks agriculture practices will have to change. “I think we’re at a point where we don’t have much of a choice,” she said.

“If we keep on with conventional farming practices for another 50 years we’ll have no topsoil left to grow food on for our grandchildren.

I think people are starting to wake up and realize that we have to do something different.

“We envision a future with small farms dotting the landscape,” she continued, “taking care of local communities, working together to supply everybody with clean, healthy food that tastes 10-times better than what you can get at the grocery store.”

Kelsey is passionate in her belief that the production of food needs to get back on a healthy, sustainable track. “With the industrialization of agriculture everyday people have gotten really removed from where their food comes from,” she said. “I would love to see people come to realize that humans and the earth have evolved together over thousands of years to work together. We take care of each other.”

Kelsey said she and Mathieu have already made a difference in the health of their families on the half acre they are currently farming.

“If 50 more people in our community did the same thing,” she said, “Shelbyville and Bedford County would look entirely different foodwise and health-wise.

“Fried okra and fried chicken, and chicken and dumplings; all that is wonderful and I love it,” Kelsey said, but it’s not the healthiest diet.

Kelsey grew up eating those foods but she said she paid a price. “I was very unhealthy as a kid but over this last year and a half, growing things, picking them and figuring out how to cook them, my health has turned around 180 degrees for the better.”

THE CROPS As Kelsey and Mathieu guide a visitor around their half acre of cultivated land they point out the wide variety of food they’re growing. High on their list of what’s important is their lettuce crop, both head and mixed greens. They sell much of their lettuce to Five Senses Restaurant in Murfreesboro. They have also had tremendous demand for carrots.

As we tour their high tunnel, Mathieu points out the dusty white coating on some of the plants. It’s Kaolin clay, he explains, the same clay people use as a facial skin treatment. Kaolin clay is an effective non-toxic way to repel insects, it irritates them, he said.

As we move further along, Kelsey and Mathieu point out the various plants: bok choy, mustard greens, watermelon radish, rouge vif détampes ( a French “vivid red” pumpkin especially suited for pies), Carindale pumpkins (an Australian variety), basil and onions, and Aunt Hettie’s red ochre (a Tennessee heirloom variety. They are also growing heirloom tomatoes, a variety, black in color, called indigo rose. Consumers are having a hard time accepting non-red tomatoes, Mathieu said, despite the luscious flavor.

WHERE TO GET BELLE FLEUR PRODUCTS They can be found online at www.facebook.com/bellefleurfarm/ or reached by email at bfleurorganics@gmail.com.

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 27

Making magic magic Making happen: Chase Chase happen: Clanton & the Clanton Vintage Vibes Vintage

By ZOË HAGGARD

A

self-ascribed “shy, perfectionist redhead,” Chase Clanton, 21, discovered his talent for music only a year after he won best performance in a talent show at age 9.

Soon after, he began learning guitar from Randy Saddler, who owned the Shelbyville Record Shop, all while listening to music legends with his dad.

Today, the Shelbyville-native plays in his own band called Chase Clanton and the Vintage Vibes―a band with four other experienced musicians: Kevin Syler, keyboard; Scott Macleod, bass guitar; Jimmy Reed, guitar; and Daniel Logan, drums.

An old soul The songs they perform are “vintage” rock, blues, and country classics from the 60s all the through to today. For the “vintage” part of the band (the four older members), it’s no surprise these songs come naturally when it comes to practice time. They’re songs they grew up on.

And even though Chase is only 21, he too feels that the music comes naturally to him.

“Yeah, I haven’t been playing for 50 years, given I’ve been alive for 21,” Chase said.

Still, his band members think otherwise....

“You’d think he has though,” guitarist Scott Macleod said. “He just fit right in... He’s an old soul when it comes to music.”

Chase has his parents to thank for that.

“I didn’t grow up listening to Green Day. I grew up listening to The Beatles,” said Chase.

Even though it was 2002, his dad was still listening to a cassette tape filled with Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and, of course, The Beatles.

Practice for semi-perfection What listeners should keep in mind is that the song versions heard on the radio are the best versions―the ones perfected note by note. So, it keeps bands like Chase Clanton and the Vintage Vibes, who keep this

“He’s an old soul, when it comes to music.”

28 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

music alive today, on their toes and striving toward perfection.

But to get the most consistent version, the band members said they usually listen to the live versions― which help them reproduce an authentic live performance.

“Everybody in this band is really good at learning their parts,” said Macleod, who’s been in music retail for 30 years.

Some like to study each chord, line by line, while others just listen to the song 50 times.

“I don’t read music,” said drummer Daniel Logan. Instead, he said he just listens to a song over and over.

“Yeah, it’s in his DNA,” Macleod joked.

“At the end of the day, we all have different methods, but we come up with the same product... and it’s all because we’re obsessed with music,” said Chase who prefers going over chord sheets and lyrics until its committed to memory.

It’s dedication the other band members feed off of, said guitarist Jimmy Reed. Eye contact and always following the lead singer are key to a performance.

“For me, it’s all moving parts in one machine,” said Chase.

And when those different parts come together “magic happens.”

Still, it takes a talented and determined individual like Chase to get to where he is today.

“Chase can not only play the lick correctly, but he can sing it correctly...he can do the guitar and the vocals,” said keyboardist Kevin Syler.

Forming the band At the ripe age of 15, encouraged by his teacher, Chase began performing at different open mic gigs around Bedford County, carrying along his Fender stratocaster guitar and amp, amazing the crowds and highlighting attention to his talent.

Performing at these gigs is where he met Logan, Macleod, and Syler.

But he said he has the 2016 41A Music Festival to thank for the forming of the band today. In order to AM 650 for his “15 minutes of fame” in 2019.

Today, Clanton is majoring in audio production play, Clanton needed to form a band. at Middle Tennessee State University while But he had little problem recruiting members.

“When the call came to me to ask me if I was completing his summer internship at Top Track interested, it was a little intimidating because I knew Studios in Nashville―among performing at his many how good Chase was. And so, I had to polish up on bookings.

What he wants to do exactly for a career is still up myself...for a 15-year-old kid,” said Reed.

Chase met his drummer at Daddy Billy’s Restaurant in the air.

But no matter which path he chooses, Clanton has and Bar in Tullahoma. He told Logan at the time that he was doing a small performance in Shelbyville in an arsenal of talent through pursuing audio production front of the courthouse―that there was “no money while maintaining a live performance background. It gives him an edge to make the “magic happen.” in it.”

“Music is not what he does; music is what he is,” “And I said... ‘yeah!’” Logan retold. said Syler.

Milestones Clanton, along with his band, has come a long way.

In February 2018, a song Clanton co-wrote and played electric guitar in, called “Count on Me,” was played on CBS’s daytime soap opera Young and the Restless.

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 29

Group winners

Winners of the Memorial Day fishing tournament, which benefits Teen Fallout Center, were: 1st prize $1000--Nolen Spencer and Matt Allen; 17.44 lbs.; 2nd $500--Jason Jones and Mike Layne 14.72 lbs.; 3rd and Big Fish $500--Daniell Hughes and Damon Merler, 13.06/5.16; 4th--Big Small Mouth $100--David Bryant and Terry Nichols 4.28.

Teen Fallout seeks permanent home

By DAWN HANKINS

W

hy would a public high school teacher who works very long instructional hours want to spend Saturday nights with more teens? For director Kathy Gregory, the Teen Fallout Center is a ministry.

Gregory said when she and other faithful volunteers began this ministry 11 years ago, there just didn’t seem available a lot of good social outlets for local teens.

“God just impressed upon me that I needed to do that . . . be older when my kids were grown, later.”

The Fallout Teen Center is sponsored by the non profit Bridge of Hope.

Lunch is served

Jewel Hewitt and Hunter Norman serve lunch prepared by the Cason’s from The Experience church.

Gregory said there are always needs when trying to maintain a youth program of this magnitude. But she admits that her greatest need right now is to find a good building―one which is reasonable in lease price.

“I would hope someone is sitting on a place. I checked on a building this week . . . $1,500 a month. I can’t pay that.”

Right now, there are a lot of recreational games and pool tables that are in storage. She hopes something comparable to her previous gym size might come open and be offered to her group.Gregory says she’s fortunate to have many churches, businesses and individuals who extend help throughout the year.

But the Teen Center needs its own home.

A fishing tournament is the local non profit’s largest fundraiser and is held each Memorial Day at Barton Springs on Normandy Lake.

The fishing tournament is about the only time the community is asked to contribute financially to the center, Gregory said. A bass tournament, there were 40 boats in the tournament this year.

Gregory said the most exciting part of the event is when they go out in flights of 10. “It’s really neat when they all take off,” she said.

Take off time

Barton Springs at Normandy Lake is the picturesque backdrop for the annual Memorial Day fundraiser for the Teen Fallout Center.

30 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

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Thanks For Your Support Of The The Teen Center had previously met at the former El Bethel Baptist Church. It has recently closed. So too the Teen Center moved on and is now at Living Stones Community Church, 304 Old Nashville Dirt Road, where she is a member.

Many of the teens who participate in her Teen Center are from Community High School, Gregory said, but all local teens are invited to play games and be with others in a wholesome way.

The teens meet for the summer on Saturdays from 7 to 10 p.m.

Students grades 6-12 may participate.

Gregory said she has a lot of people in the community who help support the program. But she is really looking for dedicated volunteers right now, that is, taking applications.

“The people who volunteer need to have a background check.”

Gregory has a strong faith―one which she shares when able during time with her teens. She offers Bible studies and other faithbased programs to try to help the teens in their daily walk.

As a teacher, she realizes teens experience a lot of peer pressure.

There’s no drugs, alcohol, swearing or fighting on her Saturday watch.

As long as there’s breath in her body (being a teacher deflates that sometimes, she says with a laugh) she will do all she can to provide local teens with a place of security and fun.

“I have no plans to retire, but I can use help―those who are willing to dedicate time, and perhaps a physical building, to help the youth of our county.”

2021

23rd Bedford County Fair A Hometown Tradition Shelbyville, TN

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 31

Upcoming Bedford County Events One thing summer brings in Bedford County is the showing of beautiful animals.

• The 115th annual Wartrace Horse Show will be held 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, at Jennings Field. A $100 prize will go to the trainer with the most entries. Bobby Sands will be announcer. Judge will be Chris Zahnd of Jonesboro. Admission is $5 per person and children under age 12 are admitted free.

• The 83rd Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration will be held Aug. 25-Sept. 4 at the Celebration Grounds.

We also love our dancing and music.

• Maupin Fest, Aug. 13 & 14, on Coopertown Road in Unionville. The festival was presented with a special Tennessee Arts Commission grant recently for its success. The event features bluegrass music and buck dancing.

Chill out with ice cream floats

M

any Bedford County residents grew up learning to churn their own ice cream on hot Sunday afternoons.

The younger generations have grown up with more modern conveniences for making cream.

Whichever way you prefer to prepare your favorite dairy treat, ice cream is certain to rock the Dog Days of Summer.

As for flavors, the Dairy Alliance suggests

32 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

to go with an old standby like the black cow (chocolate syrup, root beer and vanilla ice cream). Or adults can jazz things up with a splash of vodka, bourbon or liqueur.

Mix and match different ice cream flavors. For syrups, go beyond chocolate and try caramel or maple syrup.

Don’t get confused by the terms “soda” and “float.” They’re often used interchangeably. Traditionally, sodas contain syrups and cream, while with a float the ice cream “floats” on top of the soda water.

Here’s the Dairy Alliance’s step-by-step guide for making the perfect ice cream soda.

For each soda you’ll need a tall glass (16 to 20 ounces), a straw, a long spoon, an ice cream scoop, 3 tablespoons syrup, 1 to 2 tablespoons half-and-half, soda water, ice cream and whipped cream.

Chill the glass in the freezer. This will help keep your soda ingredients cold.

Make the soda. Pour the syrup into the bottom of the glass. Add the half-and-half, and blend the syrup and cream together well. Add the soda water threequarters of the way up the glass. (Don’t fill it all the way or it will overflow.)

Add 2 to 3 scoops ice cream. Stir all the ingredients. Top your soda with whipped cream, and garnish it with a maraschino cherry, mini marshmallows or sprinkles.

Serve your soda with a straw and a longhandled spoon.

If this is just too much work for you, just “mob” your favorite ice cream parlor or truck.

BEYOND THE SUNSET . . .

Jeffrey McGee captured this brilliant sunset recently over the historic public square and First United Methodist Shelbyville.

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 33

Teresa Gill: American flag programs

By DAWN HANKINS

T

eresa Wheeler Gill, an active member of Shelby Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recently presented a flag-folding-ceremony for the United Methodist Women’s Circle at First United Methodist Church- Shelbyville.

She had presented a similar program earlier to the Shelby Chapter DAR on Flag Day. With military family background, the respect, and all that’s contained, when referring to the American Flag, means a lot to Gill.

Gill told Circle members about the three colors of the American Flag are red, white and blue. There is a deep meaning, she said.

Red represents hardiness, valor, bloodshed and courage. White represents purity and innocence. Blue represents vigilance, perseverance and

justice.

Just as important is how to fold a flag, she says.

“The American Flag may be folded for a number of reasons. Since the flag code specifies that the flag should not be carried flat, folding the flag may be necessary for transportation, storage or display. The flag is also folded by members of the armed forces after it is lifted from a casket at a military funeral.

It is then given to the next of kin.”

During her presentation, Gill explained a standard flag will have 13 folds. To specify, there should be two length-wise folds and 11 triangular folds.

“Through the years, the public has attributed meaning to each fold. Most of these meanings are religious and all of them reflect the ideals of the country.”

Teresa Gill (left) presents a flag folding program for Circle members at First United Methodist Church Shelbyville. Ardis Rittenberry represented the Circle.

34 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

Photo by Zoe Haggard

Meet our wedding photographers . . . ank you

ZOEY GRISSOM

CHLOE THOMAS Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 35

Wedding of Shelby Sudduth Taylor and her wedding party

Drew and Shelby Taylor’s Love Story Drew and Shelby Sudduth Taylor married in March.

We talked to them about their journey thus far.

N

Shelby writes: ot that I am a typical dramatic female, but our relationship definitely started with a really big drama.

That is the drama of our first grade Christmas play when Drew was selected to play Santa and I was Mrs. Claus. Fast forward to our junior year of high school when neither of us had prom dates. Drew’s best friend, Aaron, talked Drew into asking me to prom, as friends, right before geometry class one day. Not quite as dramatic as Santa and Mrs. Claus and not very romantic but we were just going as friends. And... the rest was history.

We started officially dating about a month following our junior prom. That was 7 years ago, and a lot of life has happened between junior prom and now. We both graduated high school, continued our education at Motlow State Community College and Middle Tennessee State University.

We graduated with our college diplomas and got big boy/girl jobs. As we went through college, our families faced many battles. My mother and father, Debbie and Brad Sudduth, both battled cancer; (her mother is in remission.) We lost Drew’s great grandparents who were dear to us, and individually grew.

2020 brought its own individual trials, but God has continued to be faithful to us through it all. We were able to keep stable jobs through the pandemic, I have bought a house that is now our first home, and we recently bought our first fur baby- Ridley.

We look forward to sharing this new adventure.

The wedding’s over, let’s talk ... K Newlyweds: Kelcie Marie and Zebulin Travor Williams.

36 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

elcie Marie Seibers and Zebulin Travor Williams were united in marriage on the afternoon of May 23.

How did you all meet? I (Kelcie) work with Zeb’s cousin, Brandi; she set us up on blind date.

Was it a long engagement? No, we were engaged in August 2020 and married May 2021.

What attracted you to him? From the beginning, it was like we had been best friends forever. He was easy to talk to; he was very caring. At the end of our first date, I knew he was the man that God had intended for me to marry.

Zeb says: We hit it off right off the bat. She was goofy and beautiful at the same time! On our first date, we went bowling, got tattoos and sat in the Sonic parking lot for hours, just talking.

Living in Bedford County? Yes, we bought our first home together about a month before our wedding.

What do you like about living here? Kelcie—I was born and raised here. Bedford County is where all my family and friends live. It will always be home.

Zeb . . . I’m from Orlinda,TN. It’s smaller than Shelbyville, so I like not having to drive 20 minutes just to go to the store or eat out!

What was the most sentimental thing about your wedding and the funniest thing that happened? Kelcie – Sentimental --I had a piece of my late grandfather’s shirt sewn into my wedding gown so that he could be with us that day and also we wrote our own vows. Funny – Zeb put my wedding band on the wrong finger and he “Rick Rolled” me in his wedding vows at the end.

Zeb – Sentimental – Seeing Kelcie in her wedding dress for the first time and having all of our family and friends together in one place at the same time. Funny – watching my best man, who was my brother, and one of my groomsmen dancing – one spilled his drink on the floor, the other slipped and fell and when the one who spilled the drink tried to help him up, he fell, as well. They were the Three Stooges.

Ronald and Lynn Adcock: grief to gladness

By ZOË HAGGARD

R

onnie and Lynn (Bell) Adcock’s marriage all started with a sympathy card.

Ronnie’s wife, Juanita, passed away from cancer five years ago after 52 years, four months, and three days of a blessed and happy marriage.

He woke up one day shortly after her passing. As he began feeding his dogs, a thought struck him: he was now completely alone.

“I bet I cried for probably 30 minutes,” he said.

Having married Juanita at age 22 and having maintained a busy, successful career with 3 children and 6 grandchildren being born along the way, the almost 80-year-old realized that without his life partner, he was simply alone. The loneliness crept in.

Until one day he received a sympathy card from a lady named Lynn Bell—a widow whose husband of 50 years (also named Ronald) had also passed a couple years before from cancer.

Ron knew Lynn from his career at Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT)-Shelbyville. She was a teacher and counselor; he was a director. The timing was right, he said, and before they knew it, they were dating.

Gaps and years of loneliness were filled with their union.

Together, the couple has experienced grief that stretches over seven decades. Through the death of beloved spouses, grandkids, and close in-laws, it’s safe to say Ron and Lynn know the importance of being together.

“If you live long enough, you’re going to face hardships,” he said.

“If you don’t have hard times, you don’t appreciate good times . . . .

If it was summer all year long, you would never know what winter’s like.”

So, it was Valentine’s Day when Ron proposed. The proposal was nothing dramatic―nothing over-the-top. It was as simple as a conversation between two close people.

They were married May 2, surrounded by their blended family, at Hickory Hill United Methodist Church, where the Adcocks have been members for many years.

The bride wore a long white dress, decorated with lace, and a pearl necklace―a picture of simplicity.

It’s been quite a change for Lynn who was a teacher most of her life. Now married to Ron, she’s also married to his 400-acre farm, his two dozen or so Black Angus cattle, and his John Deer tractors. Now, she’s driving pickup trucks, hauling hay and looking to the sky to see whether the weather will permit the day’s to-do list.

“I’m adjusting,” she said with a laugh.

But in and out of those bouts of labor, the couple love country drives, eating out at restaurants, and attending church.

“He keeps me going,” she said.

And faith, of course, has kept them going through it all.

“It would be difficult to go through what we did without faith,” he said.

“I just have to trust the Lord that He has me here for a reason,” Lynn said. She played piano at the Methodist Church in Manchester for 50 years, until her husband died. Now she still plays at the Hickory Hill Church, singing her favorite hymn of “Amazing Grace.”

On a recent summer day, Ron read from one of his favorite anonymous poems, “When the things of this world seem to wear us away, we can bend, but we must never give up.”

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 37

Space models--hay crops--marriage Ron Adcock shares his life philosophy

E

ven with a bad knee, Ronald “Ron” Adcock, 79, still tends his family’s 400 acres with the same fervor of a young man starting out in life.

And in many ways, he is starting a new chapter in his life―one with his new wife, Lynn, by his side and hay season in full swing.

He’s living out his motto: never quit, never give up.

“So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit/ It’s when things seem worse that you must not quit,” Ron read from the anonymous poem he would reference while speaking to students he taught at TCAT. Ron said he acquired his work fervor from his late father, Herschel Adcock, a farmer and carpenter who lived as a young man through The Great Depression. Adcock still owns his family’s land, which was purchased before 41A was built, so the deed does not recognize the road.

Adcock is an only child. And between his late mother Beatrice’s education as a schoolteacher at Community School in Unionville and his father’s skills as a carpenter, Ron said he had the best of both worlds.

Inspired by a high school teacher at Community, where he graduated in 1959, Adcock discovered an interest in drafting for model building.

His background served him well when he majored in industrial management at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, graduating in 1963. He said he was the only one in his architectural class who knew how to build a house.

After graduating MTSU, he worked for contractors under NASA at Marshall Base in Huntsville, Ala., as a draftsman and model builder.

He went from working with bolts to working with finite screws; from milking cattle, to drawing copies of Saturn 5.

The Bedford County-native continued to professionally succeed.

In 1972, Ron moved back to his hometown of Shelbyville and worked at Tennessee College of Applied Technology, then known as the State-Area Vocational/Technical School, as a drafting teacher for over four years. He eventually became one of the board members who was fundamental in making what TCAT-Shelbyville is today.

38 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

The Unionville native retired from public employment in 2000. But he’s far from living the typical retired life.

“At this stage of life, people fuss at me, including Lynn . . . that you need to slow down, and you need to quit. But my philosophy is that at this age in particular, you’ve got to stay active.”

He is OK with being like his father, who stayed active, working up until the last six months of his life, before he died in November of 1999 at the age of 91.

He speaks of him often as he walks the farm.

A typical summer day on the Adcock farm consists of checking on his Black Angus and mixed breed cattle, especially during calving season. On dry days during hay season, he has to cut, rake, and haul hay, mostly round bales.

Then, there’s always checking, repairing and oiling equipment, like is 1969 John Deere tractor.

And, of course, there’s bush hogging and fixing creek crossings for his cattle. The tasks never seem to end.

But the weather has to cooperate, with Ron waiting most days ‘til the dew gets off’ before he can begin.

His kids and grandkids help out too, as well as his recently wed wife, Lynn, who drives his red pickup truck and even his “Mule,” an old stick-shift ATV. “When you can do things, that you can either do with your hands or see it done… always satisfying to me to see the fruits of your labor,” he said.

The manual labor of a farm―though not foreign to this Bedford County native―is a change from decades spent in an office, managing people.

But Ron contends that working with cattle is not so different from working with people. “You’ve got to lead them, not just drive them.”

The core of the “retiree’s” life is never quitting--a trait he wants students and younger generations to acquire.

“Number one: have faith in God. You need to be ethical. And never quit,” he said.

Celebrating year 5 with Lacey and Justin Taylor Couple sharing big news By ByZOË ZOËHAGGARD HAGGARD

L

acey (Landers) Taylor was featured on the first edition front cover of Bedford Life, which showcased local brides and their dream weddings in 2016. She and her husband Justin celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on June 5.

They also announced they are expecting their first child, a boy, by mid-December.

There’s been a few other changes, Lacey said, including her recent graduation from nurse practitioner school and her new job working at the surgery center in Murfreesboro.

For the past year, she’s worked in the ER at Murfreesboro. That on top of attending school presented challenges for the young married couple. However, in just the five years they’ve been together, they’ve learned how to handle the stress and arguments that come.

“I would really say it’s gotten better, just because you get more comfortable with each other and you’re able to talk about different things that maybe you weren’t able to beforehand,” she said.

One of the biggest things she’s learned―and one of the biggest challenges―has been to not be selfish, learning how to make decisions together. Lacey said Justin is the “level-headed” one—most of the time.

“He’s been super supportive throughout school

and with me working part-time and with the baby coming,” Lacey said.

Justin works with Lacey’s dad, Warren Landers, drilling water wells and inserting pumps. Summertime hours can include 12-hour days, and with Lacey working more and more at the hospital, setting aside time together has become important to both, she said.

“Just make time for each other and don’t take that for granted.... when you’re married it’s easy to fall into not spending time together,” Lacey advised.

She also said they look to keep God front and center in their relationship and not let the small things get in the way.

“The stress and arguments are going to come, but just remembering how you felt the day you got married . . . . Love doesn’t always equal feelings,” she shared.

Even though they’ve celebrated five years, Lacey said it “feels like both forever and a short time.”

But Lacey stands by what she said in the first addition, hoping to be like her grandfather―who passed away shortly before her marriage―and his 61st anniversary.

Adding another 50 years to their 5, well, that’s very “surreal,” Lacey said.

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 39

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Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 41

Muhammads choose Shelbyville as home

By DAWN HANKINS

T

aha M. Muhammad’s typical email greeting is: “Good morning and God bless you and America.”

Taha worked as a math teacher of Kurdistan, northern Iraq, before coming to the United States 30 years ago. Taha openly discusses how his family escaped then dictator Saddam Hussein. (Later sentenced to death by hanging.)

After fleeing their homeland, the family arrived on American soil on Sept. 25, 1991.

That was the beginning of their new start, Taha notes. “My wife and I are happy and lucky to make accidentally Shelbyville our little home and U.S. our big family.”

Life had only begun for the Muhammads.

Taha received a bachelor of arts degree and a master’s in the United States and taught high school math for seven years. Taha was also a linguist for six years with the U.S. Air Force and Special Forces and Civilian Army for three.

Taha advises how his family also escaped, maybe slightly lesser than a dictatorship, but still annoying, while living in Minnesotathe dreaded winter snow. His wife also suffered there with heart problems, he advises.

He was determined to find their special home-one which would accommodate their health issues and progressing age.

They decided to buy a house in Tennessee online and of course that wound up being in Shelbyville. “I had no idea about the city and its spelling, but I did know that it is one hour away from Nashville. It is a city in America and has no snow shoveling anymore . . . I am 77 years age.”

Taha says he is glad he chose Shelbyville as his home last April. He and Malika can now finally experience living within four seasons.

He’s not finished with life accomplishments at this point.

You guessed it--Taha’s written a book, “We Survived Iraq and Turkey: Long Road to Freedom.”

Wife Malika has written, “Mama Malika’s Iraqi Cookbook” which are both available on Amazon.com.

The Muhammads have four grown sons--three of whom live in America and one who lives in Germany.

Taha is proud of their new home. So much so, he brought Bedford County Mayor Chad Graham a painting a few weeks ago to hang in the historic courthouse. He plans to send another personal painting to Gov. Bill Lee. Bedford County Government officials note that State Rep. Pat Marsh is working to facilitate delivery of Taha’s painting to the governor. Taha says he drew inspiration from Minnesota, Montana and Kurdistan for his painting.

The donation is the couple’s way of saying how much they love America, Tennessee and now, Shelbyville. They hold sacred their American citizenship and say they look forward to many years of happiness right here in Bedford County.

42 Bedford Life • Summer 2021

Meet Keith Churn Life with Bedford County Boys and Girls Club

By ZOË HAGGARD

S

ome of us may remember that Boys and Girls Clubs of America commercial with Denzel Washington where he reminisces about the club and his mentor Billy Thomas―a man who stood at 5 foot 9 but made the impact of a “giant.”

Well, standing at 6 foot 3, Keith Churn, 32, also makes the impact of a giant at the local Boys and Girls Club, located on Madison Street in Shelbyville, for the kids of Bedford County.

Previously, he worked at the Smyrna and Nashville clubs but said, “This is where my roots essentially are, so I felt the need to come back.”

Churn has served as the site director for the Bedford club since November 2019, and he can say today, “I don’t regret it. It’s a very fulfilling and rewarding job in and of itself.”

With a background in math education from Middle Tennessee State University, Churn said he enjoys seeing kids “at their rawest . . . not in a structured school setting.”

And the Boys and Girls Club on Madison Street is a great place to make an impact on young kids that’s outside of the traditional classroom.

“Our mission here at the club is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as caring, productive, and responsible citizens,” he said.

The club accomplishes that through what Churn said are “five key elements of youth development”: providing safe environment; positive and supportive relationship with caring adults; providing opportunities and meeting expectations; recognition of the kids and their needs; and, of course, fun.

And what does that fun include? Anything and everything from video games to gardening to drones.

Churn said the club is providing drone and computer coding classes for its enrollees this summer through a company called Drone Legends with the purpose to supplement work through STEM. “[It’s] extremely important, but the kids love it,” Churn said.

But when the club kids aren’t handling the latest technol-

ogy, they’re planting seeds―literally―in garden beds to grow okra, jalapenos, carrots, tomatoes, and strawberries. Churn said he’s applied for a grant through Whole Foods to add more raised beds and a rain barrel.

In addition to their many opportunities, what makes the Bedford club unique from the other clubs Churn has served at, is the community support―which the organization couldn’t survive without.

“It’s almost overwhelming how much love and support the community shows for organizations such as this,” said Churn.

In addition to community and individual family support, other organizations― such as Leadership Bedford, Cooper Steel, Inc, United Communications, and United Way―have helped the club just in the two years Churn has been there.

This support, in addition to “every second of the day being funny,” keeps Churn going even through the difficult moments.

He said the hardest part of his job is to watch kids struggle with serious life situations.

“Parental instinct comes over you. Even though I’m not a parent, I just want to shield them from that stuff. Some of that stuff is extremely heavy,” he said.

Churn said the hard moments have taught him empathy and patience outside of solely dealing with young kids, and into everyday life dealing with adults.

And, like the Denzel Washington commercial, Churn says one of the best parts of his job is seeing some of his past kids, all grown up, come back to the club to say hello or thank you.

Churn mentioned he recently attended the high school graduation of a student who was at the first club he worked at.

“I realize that the future of our community―the future of our world―is solely resting on the backs of our kids,” he said.

The Bedford club has around 50 kids currently enrolled for the summer. Last year during the pandemic shutdown, that number went down to 25. But Churn said the kids learned to adapt and make the most out of the situation.

“Kids are probably the most resilient people I know,” he said.

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 43

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Let’s get ready to . . . cheer and tumble!

By SYDNEY SEGROVES

S

imone Biles, one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, once said, “If you’re having fun, that’s when the best memories are built.” Well, some great memories are being built right here at Shelbyville Cheer and Tumble, a business that has been open since February 2020.

This fledgling business offers tumble and cheer classes for children ranging from three to eighteen years. There are currently 20 overall classes with 130 children enrolled, and the coaches are Abby Burton, Anna Corum, and Dakota Corum. Classes are based on age and skill level, and the coaches give guidance as to the perfect class for each member.

The Tumbling Tots Program is for children ages 3 to 4, and it is divided into five classes where the children learn hand-eye coordination, eye-tracking, loco-motor movement skills that will challenge the child’s growth in both mind and body, along with social skills that can greatly impact their learning

and maturity. Along the way, the child works on basic tumbling fundamentals with a goal of progressing into other classes as they get older.

There are 12 tumbling classes from ages 5 to 18, which are divided from introductory to advanced.

In these classes, the children will also be placed according to their age and skill level.

The cheer program has only been introduced in the past month and has three classes. These classes have been designed to work on skills that are not introduced in the tumbling classes. Those skills include cheers, cheer motions, chants, dances, jumps, and stunt working. This class is perfect to prepare an athlete for school or any sideline cheerleading programs, as its purpose is to perfect cheerleading fundamentals.

Enrolling at Shelbyville Cheer and Tumble is easy.

Simply phone, email, or contact them on Facebook.

(931)735-6561 shelbyvillecheeer@gmail.com FB @ shelbyvillecheer

Aledra De La Paz is working on her backbend with a little help from Coach Dakota Corum.

T-G Photos by Sydney Segroves Left to right: Nyimah Brown, Destyni Santiago--handstand friendships that will never be broken!

Summer 2021 • Bedford Life 45