McMinn Life - Fall 2016

FALL 2016

SHULTZ FARM

Shares Their Best Apple Recipes

PUMPKINTOWN

13th Annual Celebration

The Flying Millers A Family Love For Model Planes

Volume 2, 2015

A magazine for the people of Farragut, West Knoxville & surrounding communities.

Seasonal Culinary Inspirations Truffle Ricotta Cheese Recipe With Chef Deron Little

KIPPY BROWN Behind The Scenes With

Seattle Seahawks Coach Kippy Brown And His Amazing Life Story

THE MUSCADINE FESTIVAL &

HOT AIR 20 BALLOONS

Tsali Notch Vineyard The Largest Muscadine Vineyard In The State Is Also The Prettiest!

DR. HAROLD BLACK

One Of The First African-Americans To Attend The University Of Georgia

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MONROE LIFE MAGAZINE’S 5TH ANNUAL

Benefiting CASA Monroe

T E N N E S S E E

HUNTING & TRAPPING GUIDE

EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 2015 - JULY 31, 2016

» New White-Tailed Deer Buck Bag Limit: see page 25 » Hunter/Landowner Permission Card: see page 67 » New Hunter Education Field Day Exemption: see page 12

www.tnwildlife.org Follow us on:

Includes 2016 Spring Turkey Season

MARKETING • MEDIA • WEB DESIGN • TELEVISION

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Community Health Services

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YEARS OF BRANDING EXPERIENCE

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YEARS OF IN-HOUSE TELEVISION PRODUCTION

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CUSTOM MAGAZINES A YEAR

250

LOCAL AND NATIONAL ADDY AWARDS

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NATIONAL BROADCAST TELLY AWARDS

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McMinn Life Photo By Greg Moses

Letter from the Editor Fall is finally here after a summer that was the hottest since 1954! The fresh, cooler air is invigorating and re-energizes your body. It’s a good thing, because there are so many things to do in McMinn County in the Fall. Like festivals … in every town in the county. The Etowah Craft Festival and Pumpkintown are coming right up. Shultz Farm is a great place to visit in the Fall. Readers will love the fact that Cecilia Shultz has shared a few of her favorite apple recipes, including one for apple pie that was handed down from her husband’s grandmother.

I chose the photo to accompany this letter to give support to the McMinn Regional Humane Society’s dedication to finding homes for shelter animals. There is a big MRHS Adoptathon at Pumpkintown every year, which is where we found Jake six years ago (3rd dog from left, sitting with my husband, Bruce).

Historic downtown Athens has been designated as a Main Street Program in Tennessee.

The significance of this is detailed in an article. There is also an article about the important ways the United Way supports education in McMinn County.

The featured interview in this issue is with Linda Caldwell. She is an amazing woman.

Without her, would there be a Tennessee Overhill? Maybe. But it sure wouldn’t be the organization it is today without her determination and thinking outside the box. Another example of dedicated and amazing people is the Charleston/Calhoun Historical Society. In 2008, they raised close to $200,000 to purchase and renovate the Hiwassee River Center. This August, a ground breaking was held to double the size of the Center and begin the first phase of a National Historic Interpretive Trail. It will go from the Center to the banks of the Hiwassee River. The incredible people of the historic society raised another $300,000 to accomplish this! This issue also includes an article written by a member of that society, Laura Spann, on the celebration of a century of education in Calhoun.

Also, history buffs will appreciate the story done by Mark Cochran on Sarah “Tinker” Martin’s home in Englewood that was built 211 years ago.

Gayle Fisher, McMinn Life’s Master Gardener, shares the virtues of a perennial plant called Sedum that is tough enough to make it through hot, dry weather like what we’ve experienced this summer.

She has also penned an article on “3 Tenors,” a well-known trio of local talent.

Ron Clayton, retired Chattanooga Free Press reporter, has written an article featuring the “Flying Millers,” a family that loves to fly remote planes and drones. Ron enjoys communicating the unusual and unique things people do in this county and intends to write in many issues of McMinn Life.

I appreciate all the ideas and support given to me by our readers. Contact me anytime at chari@binghamgroup.com, or give me a call at (423) 435-1650. Thank you.

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PUBLISHER

The Bingham Group President Lisa Atkins Bingham Local Editor Chris Hari Graphic Designers Lisa Bingham Abby Swabe Contributing Writers Ron Clayton Mark Cochran Gayle Fisher Missy Ford Chris Hari Greg Moses Laura Spann Contributing Photographers Ron Clayton Mark Cochran Bruce Hari Chris Hari Renee Nicolo Copy Editor Jennifer Porterfield Advertising Sales Mignonne Alman Tel: 865.523.5999 mignonne@binghamgroup.com Chris Hari Tel: 423.435.1650 chari@binghamgroup.com Subscription or Editorial Inquiries Tel: 865.523.5999 Fax: 865.523.0999 www.mcminnlifemagazine.com The Bingham Group, Inc. 11921 Kingston Pike, Suite 201 Knoxville, Tennessee 37934 www.binghamgroup.com www.mcminnlife.com

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Contents features

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58

Calhoun Celebrates A Century of Public Education

A Peaceful Place To Be

Experience the Martin Home

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12 Linda Caldwell

Preserving Etowah’s History

36 Historic Downtown Athens Revitalization Begins

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McMINN LIFE FALL 2016

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Our Three Tenors From McMinn County

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38 Shultz Farm

Shares Their Best Apple Recipes

departments 6 From The Editor 16 Gayle Fisher: Sedum 18 AACA Presents: Big Time/ Small Town & Black Box Performance Series 30 United Way Education 44 Old Fashioned Downtown Christmas

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46 Happenings 48 We Love It! Facebook: GeoCaching

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FLYING FALL 2016 McMINN LIFE

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Hot Tubs Swim Spas Chemicals

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Planning your event at Tsali Notch The vineyard hosts weddings, receptions, reunions, civic clubs and other events. In addition to the vineyard grounds, we also offer the following facilities: • The Tasting Room • The Upper Barn (for large events) • The Jackson Lounge We can also arrange for a tent for your event.

Please give us a call at 423-506-9895 for availability and to inquire about rental rates.

Try some of ou r

award winnin g wines!

423.506.9895 • 140 Harrison Rd. • Madisonville, TN 37354 • www.tsalinotch.com 423.506.9895 • 140 Harrison Rd. • Madisonville, TN 37354 • www.tsalinotch.com

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Pumpkintown Fall Festival is back again!

October 8th, 2016 Written by Chris Hari | Photography by Bruce Hari

O

ne of the region’s favorite fall festivals is back on October 8th for the 13th time. Pumpkintown Festival in historic downtown Athens celebrates the history, heritage and harvest of our colorful area with an event that is packed with fun and entertainment for the whole family.

Over 150 food and craft vendors will create an atmosphere charged with excitement and the wonderful wafting smell of festival foods. The air will be filled with the sound of entertainment all day long on two stages. The Bluegrass Stage features Shane Lowe, Stormy & Adrian, Reliance and Maaziah Mountain.

In Market Park, performances include September Song, Old Millennial, Athens Area Children’s Choir, Dream of Kinds and Maclsaac School of Highland Dance.

The sounds of drums and eerily beautiful flutes will permeate the air as the Scott Crisp Memorial Pow-Wow takes place in Market Park. The living history will include demonstrations of traditions that date back over 150 years ago. Native American dancers in brilliantly colored regalia will perform a variety of dances, including the highly entertaining “Potato Dance.”

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“Until there are none, adopt one” is the mission of the McMinn Regional Humane Society, and to this end, each year they sponsor a Pumpkintown Adoptathon of shelter pets. There is no better pet than a rescue, and many of those lucky former shelter pets will take part in the annual Mutt Strut and Doggie Costume Contest.

Children will enjoy other animal events too, such as pony rides and a petting zoo.

New in 2016 is an interesting combination of an Arts Crawl and Greatest Pumpkin Hunt. Carved pumpkins will be entered in a contest that will be judged by Pumpkintown visitors. Arts Crawl refers to the numerous local artists that will be showing their work and demonstrating their talents. It is at these booths visitors can pick up and turn in ballots to vote for their favorite pumpkins. There is a first, second and third cash prize for the best carved pumpkins.

The Living Heritage Quilt Show is ongoing during Pumpkintown. Transportation to the Museum as well as to Mayfield’s Corn Maze will be available at the festival. For information, visit pumpkintownfestival.com or visit our Facebook page.

PUMPKINTOWN

Celebrating History, Heritage & Harvest SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8th 10:00am to 5:00pm

Entertainment Schedule

By Stage Bluegrass Stage

10am - Shane Lowe 11am & 2pm - Stormy and Adrian Noon & 3pm - Reliance Bluegrass Band 1pm & 4pm - Maaziah Mountain

Market Park Stage

10am & 11am - Dreams of Kings Noon - Athens Area Children’s Choir 12:30pm - Madsaac Highland Dance 1pm - Old Millennial 2pm - Brittany McLamb 3pm & 4pm - September Song

The Pumpkintown Festival will feature live music on 2 different stages, so you are sure to discover good music and new talent all day long.

The Festival will also include a historical Native American Pow-Wow, as well as hosting McMinn’s Regional Humane Society Adoptathon.

Visit www.pumpkintownfestival.com for the complete event schedule and additional details.

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Pumpkintown

2016 Schedule Of Events 7:30am–11:30am or until the pancakes run out!

Dr. Burkett Witt Habitat for Humanity Pancake Breakfast at the Habitat Home Store on 5 S. White St. $5.00 per person. Come have some pancakes and see the new Home Store opening soon across from Grace House and Maddi Mas Restaurant! For more information, email habitat.of.mcminn@gmail.com

10am - Dedication of Pumpkintown in Memory of Scott Crisp in Market Park 10am - Mutt Strutt

Line-up at Market Park Pavilion

10:15am–10:30am Mutt Strut

Around Courthouse and back to Market Park for dog biscuits & cool water. *must be preregistered

10:45am - Doggie Costume Contest

Judging begins at Market Park For more information, email mrhumane@gmail.com

10am–4pm - Pumpkin Plinko On N. Jackson St. Sponsored by Athens Youth Council. Proceeds to United Way

10am–5pm - Little Creek Petting Zoo At Market Park

10am–2pm - McMinn Regional Humane Society Adopt-a-Thon At Market Park. For more information, email Barbara.Brakebill@tcatathens.edu

10am–5pm - Christian Motorcyle Association

Trinity Warriors CMA #994, Athens TN (booths 178-179) Bring your motorcycles for a bike blessing!

11am - Living History Reenactments and Pow-Wow At Market Park near Pavilion

11am - 4pm The Greatest Pumpkin Hunt & Art Crawl Sponsored by The Arts Center and The Downtown Business Association

11:45am - Doggie Costume Contest

Winners announced at Market Park Pavilion Stage

2pm - Historical Walking Tour With Sheriff Joe Guy

Visit www.pumpkintownfestival.com for the complete event schedule and additional details.

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A Peaceful Place to Be. Written and photographed by Mark Cochran

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L

ocated on a quiet county road in the Zion Hill community just outside the Town of Englewood exists one of those rare objects that has successfully endured the eroding waves of time.

Through 211 years of fair weather, fierce storms and even a Civil War, Sarah “Tinker” Martin’s house has stood as a testament to the pioneer spirit, American ruggedness and the importance of building one’s home on a firm foundation.

Martin first moved to the house in 1966 with her husband, Wayne. When the couple had begun dating years earlier, Wayne told his future bride that he would one day “have a house up there” as he pointed in the general direction of his Uncle Bill Ferguson’s cabin that had been constructed around 1804. What he most likely did not envision, however, was that over ten years later he would actually move into Ferguson’s cabin and make it his own. The couple would spend the next several decades raising their children and grandchildren and turning the house into a source of memories for another generation of their family.

After Wayne’s passing in 2013 and the home sitting vacant for some time, Tinker had to make the tough decision of whether or not she could restore and preserve one of McMinn County’s oldest standing structures. Martin conferred with a certified home inspector, who determined the house was not only salvageable but it was also structurally sound. Martin admits that at this point she became particularly overwhelmed by the renovation process and the many complicated decisions it entailed.

To tackle this seemingly impossible task, Martin enlisted the services of someone who had vast experience in home remodeling, Macey Holden Garkovich, Vice President of Nickel Plate Properties and Management. Luckily for Martin, Garkovich also happens to be her granddaughter. “If it hadn’t been for Macey, I wouldn’t have done it,” Martin admits. “There came a point when I told Macey to just do it, and I would move in when the entire project was finished. I walked out the door that day and didn’t come back until it was done.”

According to Martin, when she returned at the completion of the project, she could not have been more pleased. She found the perfect mixture of 19th century ruggedness and contemporary styling.

Hand-hewn logs that had not been exposed for nearly a century now perfectly accented her freshly painted living room walls and new eucalyptus wood floors.

FALL 2016 McMINN LIFE

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Wood ceilings in the upstairs bedroom that had been covered by sheetrock were now exposed and painted white.

Finally, a renovated kitchen and bathroom along with new modern lighting throughout the house brought everything together. “I had always dreamed of restoring the house for Nana and Papaw Martin,” says Garkovich.

“With the help of our great friend Buck Yates, owner of Yates Construction, we were able to transform the cabin back into a beautiful home. At the end of the journey, a masterpiece was restored, and we were very excited to start hosting holiday celebrations there once again.”

Martin’s home is now one that not only has a story to tell, but it also has an exciting setting from which to tell it.

While she acknowledges that she was somewhat nervous about opening her home for the publication of a magazine article, the story was just too great not to convey. “I’m very blessed to have this home,” Martin said. “I guess I need to share it.” Whether one is considering the impressive engineering of the structure itself or the immense amount of history contained within its walls, the house that began as a simple log cabin over two centuries ago is certainly extraordinary.

Perhaps what makes it most exceptional though is best summed up by Martin herself: “It’s just a peaceful place to be.”

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FALL 2016 McMINN LIFE

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SEDUM is truly an

Autumn Joy Written by Gayle Fisher

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I

’m still waiting for the autumn rains.

We have had some cooler nights, but the lack of rain has me depressed. I have stopped walking through the yard since every plant needs a drink of water.

I do have a few plants that still look okay: Cosmos, Golden Rod and Sedum.

Sedum should be on everyone’s list that needs a tough and drought tolerant perennial. Sedums, also called Stonecrops, have fleshy leaves that are oval and somewhat flattened. This family has only a handful of plants tall enough for use as a bed or border plant. The majority of these succulents are low-growing ground covers that are perfect for rock gardens.

The reason that this plant survived this dry summer is that succulents are members of the cactus family, and as the name implies, it has thick, fleshy tissue for storing water.

This is a tried and true perennial, so your mother, grandmother or garden center will be able to show you this hardy plant.

The best-known sedum for borders is ‘Autumn Joy,’ a hybrid also sold as ‘Herbsfreude.’ This plant gives us three seasons of interest in the garden. In summer, the gray green foliage produces a two-foot tall and two-foot wide clump. Late summer, it will produce a broccoli-like cluster of flower buds that open in the fall. The flowers start out as pale green buds, open to dark pink and gradually age to bronze. I leave mine holding their red-brown, eight-inch-wide heads until early spring.

They dry perfectly in place so that you can enjoy their color all winter, even peeking through the snow. Then in the early spring, I cut the flowers and foliage back to the ground.

combine late blooming sedum with other fall blooming perennials such as asters, coneflower and ornamental grasses. All of these plants are basically undemanding and are ideal for a low-maintenance landscape.

The best time to plant tall sedum is in the spring. Space the clumps about two feet apart; you can plant them closer if you want them to fill in quickly. I had a single clump of ‘Autumn Joy’ given to me.

After it became established, I continued dividing it until I now have an entire bank that welcomes fall each year. Sedum likes full sun and well-drained soil. They can also make it in dry, poor, soil but cannot adapt to a wet spot. The wet ground tends to rot the crown or the roots. A dark, shady spot will also kill this plant.

As I stated earlier, sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is carefree except for the one that grew in my late mothers’ yard. She had a large clump beside the front porch of my childhood home. Disease and insects were not a problem, but children and dogs were. The location must have been cool, because she forever had to run a dog out after it had dug a bed and broken part of the stems off. This plant does break easily. Another problem she encountered was that we liked to jump off the end of the porch across the top of the sedum plants. Unfortunately, some of us were poor jumpers, and she lost parts of the sedum to a child’s butt. The last peril that the sedum faced was that grandpa showed us how to make a frog tongue from the leaves. You break off a leaf, bruise it carefully with your fingers without breaking the top membrane, then you can stick your tongue inside and blow, and you have created a frog tongue.

If you penetrated the membrane, you had to start Gayle Fisher over, which used up even more of her leaves. When childhood friends came to visit, they had to be instructed in this frog-tongue art. Even with these extra adversities, Mom’s Autumn Joy sedum continues to perform today.

Sedums are ideal for the low maintenance landscape. Once established, their water needs are minimal. They don’t require an annual feeding or staking. Pests or disease do not trouble them. A little mulch will help with the weeds, but it isn’t necessary for sedum to thrive. Dig and divide the clumps if they outgrow their space, but otherwise they don’t need regular division.

Propagation is easily achieved either by division or cuttings. Divide the clumps in the spring or fall, or take cuttings anytime that the plants are not in flower. They will root easily in a 50-50 mix of perlite and vermiculite (Potting soil available at local stores).

You can

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AACA ANNOUNCES BIG TIME/SMALL TOWN & BLACK BOX PERFORMANCE SEASONS

A

thens Area Council for the Arts introduces an all-star lineup for its 37th performance season. The three concerts in the 2016-2017 Big Time/ Small Town Performance Season are at Athens City Middle School Auditorium, 200 Keith Lane, Athens, Tennessee. The Black Box Concert Series takes place at the Sue E. Trotter Black Box Theater at The Arts Center, 320 North White St., in downtown Athens, Tennessee. All show times are 7:30 pm. All Big Time/Small Town Performances are sponsored by BB&T, Citizens National Bank, Crescent Sock Company-The Sock Shop and Madison Avenue Compounding Pharmacy. The Black Box Concert Series is sponsored by Financial Guidance Partners, Mayfield Dairy and Tennessee Wesleyan University. All AACA programs are supported by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

The Big Time/Small Town Performance Season began Thursday, September 8, 2016, with an encore performance by the Annie Moses Band. The ensemble of six instrumentalists and vocalists presented their new show, “The Art of the Love Song,” after an overwhelming response to their performance last season. The Band’s innovative sound has delighted audiences in record-breaking numbers of airings on PBS and on stages as diverse as Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry.

Award-winning composer, Bill Wolaver, weaves musical styles together into

cinematic arrangements while the virtuosic siblings bring Juilliard-honed chops to Nashville-styled music-making. “The Art of the Love Song” is old-school elegance in the mold of Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.

The band keeps a classical aesthetic in these archetypal love songs, while flavoring them with retro strings and gypsy-jazz violin. The ultra-creative members of the band plucked repertoire from the Great American Songbook of the ‘40s and ‘50s, then borrowed from such soulful folk/rock songsmiths of the ‘60s and ‘70s as Don McLean, Paul Williams and John Lennon.

“The Art of the Love Song” is a tribute to the most treasured love songs of the last century.

AACA celebrates Black History Month with Masters of Soul continuing the season on Friday, February 3, 2017. In the early ‘60’s some of the most iconic names in the history of popular music were discovered in the Motor City of Detroit, MI, better known simply as MOTOWN & SOUL. Masters of Soul celebrates these artists, their music and their style. The show features stylishly costumed, fully choreographed tributes to both men’s and women’s groups backed

by a live band. The artists perform hits by the Temptations, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Four Tops, Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, the Commodores and many more. The audience will take the ultimate stroll down memory lane as they re-live (or discover for the first time) the incredible harmonies and smooth moves made famous by many of the greatest recording acts of all time.

The performance season closes with Tiempo Libre on Friday, April 7, 2017. Three-time Grammy-nominated Afro-Caribbean music group Tiempo Libre is one of the hottest Latin bands today. Equally at home in concert halls, jazz clubs, festival stages and dance venues, Tiempo Libre is celebrated for its sophisticated tropical music featuring an irresistible, exhilarating mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sonorities and seductive Latin rhythms. Throughout the past 14 years, the band has appeared around the globe and has been featured on television shows including “The Tonight Show,” “Live from Lincoln Center” and “Dancing with the Stars” as well as many entertainment programs on Univision and Telemundo. Since the group’s formation in Miami in 2001, its members have been on a mission to share their Afro-Caribbean heritage with as wide an audience as possible, reinterpreting and reinvigorating music born from the meeting of their musical origins with their new American experience.

Masters of Soul

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Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Amanda Shires performs on Friday, October 14, 2016 as part of her national tour supporting her new album “My Piece of Land.” Shires began her career as a teenager playing fiddle with the Texas Playboys. Since then, she’s toured and recorded with John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Todd Snider, Justin Townes Earle, Shovels & Rope and most recently, her husband, Jason Isbell. Along the way, she’s made four solo albums, each serving to document a particular period in her life. “My Piece of Land” represents an artistic milestone for Shires, which was inspired by a series of milestones and realizations in her personal life. Shires contemplates love, fear, stability, self-esteem and even anxiety, which she beautifully articulates through her thoughtful lyrics and emotive vocals.

The series continues Friday, November 11, 2016, with Canadian folk trio Good Lovelies.

Audiences all over North America are falling in love with the funny, upbeat Good Lovelies. Winners of the 2010 Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) and a nominee in 2012 for Roots Album of the Year, as well as being awarded Vocal Group of the Year in 2011 at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, Good Lovelies are making waves across Canada, the United States and now in the UK and Australia. Since joining forces in 2006 and quitting day jobs in 2008, their tireless rain or shine outlook and undeniable mutual respect have helped the trio weather years of constant touring. Lighthearted songwriting and irresistibly buoyant dispositions have made them the darlings of the summer festival circuit and brought them through countless theatres, folk clubs and house concerts. The aptly named Good Lovelies are Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore, all of them best friends.

Part folk-roots, part Western Swing, the Toronto-based trio relies on unerring threepart vocal harmonies, clever songs and, on

Amanda Shires

stage, funny repartee drawn from a seemingly endless succession of comedic adventures on the road.

The Black Box Concert Series closes Friday, January 20, with Joshua Carswell. A winner of the American Traditions Competition in Savannah, GA, one of the nation’s most prestigious vocal contests, and a graduate of Elon University, Carswell is a singer’s singer. Disney soundtracks, crooner legends like Tony Bennett and pop innovators like Billy Joel and the Carpenters, as well as the Great American Songbook shaped his artistic sensibilities early on. Carswell’s performances include a diverse collection of Duke Ellington jazz, Hank Williams classics, pop originals and European influenced standards. For the Athens show, Carswell will be backed by some of Nashville’s most in-demand musicians.

Individual tickets are on sale for the Big Time/Small Town Performance Season online at athensartscouncil.org, by phone

at 423-745-8781 and at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee 37303. Individual tickets are $20 for adults ($25 at door) and $10 for students and may be purchased by phone, online, at The Arts Center or at the door, pending availability.

Concert-goers for the Black Box Concert Series save more than 15% when purchasing a Black Box Concert Series ticket package.

Each package includes the three remaining concerts and is $150 for family, $75 for a couple and $37.50 for an individual.

Individual tickest are $15 for adults and $10 for students and may be purchased by phone, online, at The Arts Center or at the door, pending availability .

For more information about these and other programs of Athens Area Council for the Arts, go to athensartscouncil.org, call 423745-8781 or stop by The Arts Center at 320 North White Street in Athens, TN. All AACA programs and performances receive support from The Tennessee Arts Commission.

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SHultz SHultz

Farm

shares their best Apple Recipes Written and photographed by Chris Hari

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It’s Fall, and that means the apples are ripe and ready at Shultz Farm. Shultz Farm is well known not only for the variety of apples available, but for the delicious baked goods made out of apples. Cecilia Shultz was kind enough to share her favorite apple recipes.

Maw Shultz’s Apple Pie (Grandmother of Wade Shultz) 3 cups peeled and cut apples 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup margarine 1/2 cup sugar

Combine orange juice, margarine and sugar. Bring mixture to boil, cook until apples are tender. Take off heat and add an additional 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour. Place in unbaked double crust pie (top and bottom).

Vent the top with knife slits. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until brown.

Apple Bread 3 eggs 2 cups of sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 2 cups grated apples 3 tsp. vanilla 3 cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. salt 3 tsp. ground cinnamon

Beat eggs until light and foamy. Add sugar, oil, apples and vanilla. Mix lightly, but well. Combine the flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to the egg-apple mixture. Blend. Pour into two greased loaf pans, 9x5x3 inches. Bake in preheated oven for one hour at 350 degrees. Cool on rack.

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Fresh Apple Cake given to Cecilia by Carroll Ross 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 2 cups sugar 3 cups flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. soda 2 tsp. vanilla 3 cups diced fresh apples 1 cup black walnuts 1 cup currants or raisins

Blend oil and sugar with beaten eggs. Add salt, soda and vanilla. Add two cups of the flour. Coat apples and currants with remaining one cup flour, then add fruit to the cake mixture. Bake in tube cake pan for one hour and 12 minutes.

Place cake on serving plate and cover with Buttermilk Topping (if desired).

Buttermilk Topping 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 stick butter 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. soda

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and boil rapidly for two minutes. Pour over cake while warm.

Apple Dip 8 ounces cream cheese 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. milk

Beat cream cheese until creamy. Beat in sugar; add vanilla and milk. Beat until mixed thoroughly. Serve with sliced apples.

Cecilia Shultz with some of the Shultz Farm apple goods.

Visit Shultz Farm at 245 County Road 603, Athens, for apples, jams, jellies, baked goods, cider, fall decorations and so much more!

For products in season, or to order a gift basket or stack cake, call (423) 745-4723.

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An Interview With

Linda Caldwell Written and photographed by Chris Hari

L

inda Caldwell, Tennessee Overhill and Appalachian History are synonymous in the minds of most people from our region. I was very excited to have the opportunity to interview someone with so much knowledge of the place I have considered home for over 30 years. My first big surprise was that Linda isn’t “from here,” either!

Linda Caldwell was born and raised in Narrows, Virginia, so named because it is located where the New River (one of the oldest rivers in the world) cuts through the rugged Allegheny Mountains in western Virginia. Her husband, Jim, was raised on a farm on the banks of the New River, and the two were high school sweethearts.

They eloped in 1960 during Jim’s homecoming at Emory & Henry College.

Jim joined the Air Force soon after, and the ensuing years were adventurous and challenging.

The Caldwells were first stationed in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1961 and 1962. It was a time of civil unrest, marches and protests and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Says Linda, “A very interesting time to be there.” One upside was Jim’s time playing semi-pro football for the Montgomery Confederates. Next stop,

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Carolina, which was the place to be in the 1970s for a career in research and development.

Jim and Linda Caldwell

Anchorage, Alaska, in 1963. Linda was a stay-at-home mom until Jim got hurt ice skating and was unable to work his second job for a few months. Linda’s first job as a married woman was taking Jim’s place delivering bundles of the Anchorage Daily News to paper carriers to deliver. Her toddler daughters, Ann and Paige, rode with her. Linda will always remember Alaska!

They were there during the great Alaskan earthquake. It was followed by a month of severe aftershocks, so Linda and the girls returned home to Narrows before Jim’s tour of duty was finished. It was quite the trip. They rode with a retiring Air Force man over 1,200 miles of dirt road on the Alaska Highway then across the US for a total of eight days. He took them as far as the Chattanooga Choo Choo Depot, where they boarded a train for home. Jim stayed in Alaska until 1965.

Fast forward to 1969, Etowah, Tennessee.

Jim was recruited by Beaunit, an industry that made yarn for carpets, to set up a new manufacturing process. The plan was to be here five years and then move to the Research Triangle Park area of North

When the realtor showed them the home they are still in, Linda didn’t like it. Jim said not to worry, though, because they’d only be here five years…that was 46 years ago! Just so you know, they stayed here by choice, although Jim didn’t stay at Beaunit and instead went to work for the railroad.

Not long after moving to Etowah, Wes was born, and Linda was again a stay-at-home mom until Wes went to kindergarten.

I wondered how one goes from a stayat-home mom to practically creating Tennessee Overhill, a huge undertaking that has successfully driven tourism to this region of Tennessee. Right place, right time? Hand of God? The hard work and dedication of a particularly savvy people person? How about all three.

Linda worked for a few years as an insurance agent and enjoyed it. Thank heavens when the part-time position for Director of the Etowah Arts Commission opened up, she took it. The EAC did a great job of promoting Etowah and the arts, eventually outgrowing its space.

They moved to the upstairs of the L&N Depot rent free on the condition they continue to provide public art programs.

In the late 1980s, the state library & archives asked EAC to hold a “copy day” for people in the area with historic photographs. Says Linda, “We expected just a few folks, but dozens lined up with the line extending outside and down the sidewalk.” EAC realized at that point that

something must be done about Etowah’s history. Linda turned to Humanities Tennessee for grant money to fund the project. The year-long community effort resulted in a book and an exhibit in the Depot. What happened during this effort was that they got really interested in their neighboring communities, such as Englewood and Ducktown that were also working on exhibits. The idea of combining tourism with history was born. Right place, right time. The other contributing factor to Tennessee Overhill’s success at this point was that Linda became aware of the fact that Heritage Tourism Initiative was looking for four pilot projects in four different states. The only thing was that the application and all its requirements were due in two weeks’ time. The Etowah Arts Commission applied for the three counties to be one of the pilot areas and created Tennessee Overhill as a temporary branch of EAC, providing its first funding and creating an advisory council with members from McMinn, Monroe and Polk Counties.

Linda got on the phone and in the blink of an eye had people on board in three counties and got it done…and, they were selected. This meant $60,000 to $70,000 per year worth of free training. In turn, she had to maintain an office, phone and person and had to pay for it.

Three County Mayors pledged financial support, and Etowah provided free rent. Tennessee Overhill became a separate entity from EAC and was in business!

The goal of the three-year pilot project was to demonstrate that it was possible to marry preservation, arts and business to develop sustainable tourism, not only for the economic impact for the region, but as a catalyst for preservation of the region’s enormous environmental assets and unique history. They are forever grateful to the Heritage Tourism Initiative for the opportunity to provide workshops on several important aspects of the huge undertaking and to have been able to learn together with people from three counties.

Linda is proud of the partnership that came together and the open-minded, creative and supportive people that have served on their board. She would be remiss in not mentioning how important the USDA Forest Service, the National Endowment for the Arts, Humanities Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, SouthEast Tennessee Development District and the Tennessee Arts Commission have been to the success of Tennessee Overhill.

They started out with a budget of $21,000.

When Linda retired in 2013, their budget was $300,000, and the Overhill owned 47 miles of railroad that is home to annual train excursions.

Linda retired to pursue the arts she enjoys, such as painting and printmaking. However, much of the time her easel, paints and brushes sit idle in the glassed-in porch Jim remodeled for her studio. Too many organizations know of her ability to find and successfully apply for grants. There will be time for painting later. Maybe.

Above left is Linda’s “idle easel” in the studio Jim created. Top is a frame that hung in one of the gift shops in Ocoee during the Olympics. Above is a West African Granary Door seen by Linda in Charleston, South Carolina, in an African art store. She fell in love with it, didn’t want to spend the money, but did tell a co-worker. A few months later at a party to celebrate the Overhill Olympic Project during the 1996 Olympics at the home of late Nancy Dender, Nancy asked everyone to stay for a moment before they left. She brought out this door and said, “I want to say something – since you have opened so many doors for us, here’s you a door!” Left are Linda’s brushes and painting utensils.

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Calhoun Celebrates a Century of Public Education

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Written by Laura Spann, photographed by Renee Nicolo and Bruce Hari. Old photo from 1916 provided by Ruth Anne Maddox Myers.

Old building photo 1916: The December 8, 1916, dedication of the new Calhoun School.

he nostalgia of Calhoun Alumni for a 1916 brick school building sparked an interest in celebrating the century milestone since its construction. On August 5th & 6th, a community-wide event was dedicated to over 1,000 graduates who proudly claim Calhoun High School as their alma mater, an additional 1,500 eighth-graders who have graduated from Calhoun Elementary School and to current

and future children with the good fortune to attend school at Calhoun.

Education in Calhoun began well before the public school system was organized.

The first school in the county, Hiwassee Academy in Calhoun, opened around 1823.

Later known as Hiwassee Masonic Institute, this school provided private educational services as late as 1874.

Public education in Calhoun actually dates back to an early 1900s two-room grammar school. In 1915, the Sixth District, which included Calhoun, was the only district in McMinn County without a high school. A citizens’ group intent on ensuring an equivalent and quality educational opportunity for the town’s children formed the Sixth Civil District School Improvement League.

Hiwassee Meadowland Park was transformed to accommodate over 40 vendors for a festival on day two of the celebration. Two hundred alumni and guests dined, danced and reminisced in the decorated school gym. Alumni joined in a friendly co-ed softball competition. School children enjoyed games and

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From community donations, the Improvement League established a fund of $3,000, and on January 3, 1916, presented a request to the McMinn County Court to establish a high school in Calhoun.

The High School Board approved the subsequent Court’s recommendation and ordered that a high school be established.

The new three-story brick building was dedicated on December 8, 1916, at a ceremony attended by an estimated 1,500 citizens. For 43 years, the building served as the home of both the elementary and high schools and played an integral role in providing academics, vocational training, nutrition and social services to the community.

Town population growth following construction of the Bowater paper mill (now Resolute Forest Products) resulted in the need for a larger facility, and a new high school located on Sherwood Avenue was dedicated on August 23, 1959.

Calhoun Elementary students continued to attend classes in the old building until 1971, when a new elementary school was completed next to the high school. When students and teachers moved into the new building, leaving the conventional old

building on the hill abandoned, it marked the end of a 55-year era in the town’s history.

The 62-year history of Calhoun High School ended in 1979 when the school was consolidated with McMinn County High School, and the entire facility became Calhoun Elementary School. For an additional 37 years, Calhoun Elementary School has continued to provide Pre-K through Eighth Grade educational services to the children of southern McMinn County.

A frequent question asked of Calhoun students is the origin of the “Minks” as the school mascot. The unique name began around 1950 when a group of Calhoun boys who played on a youth baseball team were swimming in the Hiwassee River.

Someone challenged them to “swing off the rope or slide down the rock like a Mink,” and the nickname was carried into high school.

And the celebration continues…

Calhoun, founded in 1819, is the oldest town in McMinn County and was the location of the original county seat. In just over two years, the town at the core of McMinn County’s history will have a key role in the 2019 bicentennial commemoration of the county’s establishment.

Prom celebrators at the Friday night event.

Calhoun alumni baseball players from the 1940s through 1960s. Royce Mcride, Dean Erwin, Jimmy McBride, Dillard Smith, Danny Long, Jake Carr, Mike Myers and Coach Harriel Lawson.

received free school supplies. A highlight of the prom was an auction performed by Representative John Forgety to raise money for new lockers for the school. The festival featured live entertainment.

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Photo By Karen Shaffer 28

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the

FLYING

Written and photographed by Ron Clayton

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McMinn County flying adventure began in the 1950s when, as a young boy, Bob Miller saved his pennies to buy a small gas-powered plane, one that would fly while attached to a line and connected to a simple controller. He spent hours flying that plane in circles, imagining what it would be like to rise like a bird, high in the sky, with no tether limiting his flight.

“There was a store in Athens, the Corner of North White and College Street where they sold tires. But in the back of the store, they sold model aviation airplanes,” said Bob. “I bought that line control type plane and ran it wide open.”

Now, years later, the retired Athens Fire Chief’s flying dream has become a hobby that, over time, has drawn in his three sons and three grandchildren. They are all avid fliers with remote control planes, drones and even an eductive fan-powered jet.

As members of the McMinn County Radio Control Association, the family often travels with their model aircrafts, remote controllers and trailers to an air field across from Etowah’s Conasauga Baptist Church. Club members gather there to fly planes and drones, brag about their aeronautic skills and just have “plane” fun. All MCRCA flyers are members of the Academy of Aeronautics.

bounds.” Once a year, the family travels to Woodruff South Carolina for the Joe Nall Week Event, the world’s largest outdoor model radio control aviation flying meet.

Upwards of 10,000 fliers gather at the site that sports a 7,000-foot landing strip, several lakes for amphibian planes and a huge campground located at the Triple Tree Aerodrone.

Eldest son Robby began flying when he was eleven and is still interested in line control flying.“I have remote control planes, but I’m vintage. My interest is still in control lines,” said Robby. “You really have to focus on the plane or you can get dizzy.”

“This is something we can do together,” said Bob of the week-long event. The family travels with two large trailers to store their planes, a workbench for repairs and air conditioning for hot conditions.

Middle son Tommy’s favorite flying is quarter scale airplanes. He said learning to fly can often be accomplished in as little as a month, especially if they are being trained by an experienced flyer. But he worries about the future, specifically a flying field.

“It is just a matter of time until we lose our flying field near Etowah,” said Tommy. “We need support from our local governments to get a place to fly. If we could localize it in Athens instead of east of Etowah, this club would take off.”

What is in their future? Bob expects his grandchildren to get more involved. All four say they are looking forward to new technology, but even more, to simply enjoy their family’s hobby. After all, they are the flying Millers – a unique family flight affair.

Currently the club has more than 50 members with nearly half teenagers. They work with Boy Scout troops, have a display at the Living Heritage Museum and appear at various area events.

Youngest son Randy often flies using goggles that actually project a view from the plane and allows the flier to see from the plane’s view.

“It is like flying yourself in the cockpit,” said Randy. “It is new technology by leaps and

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If your child can read this sentence, United Way may have helped.

Written by Greg Moses | Photographed by Chris Hari

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ducation has long been one of the three key components of the United Way of McMinn & Meigs Counties’ vision along with promoting good health and stability in the family.

With those three things, everyone has the opportunity to attain a good quality of life.

Jennifer Hershey reads to her daughters from a book provided by the McMinn County Imagination Library. Free books are provided for children from birth to age five.

Among the many educational initiatives United Way has funded in McMinn and Meigs counties are: • Let’s Read 20 – a new community initiative developed in partnership with the McMinn County Education Foundation, United Way of McMinn & Meigs Counties, Athens City Schools, Etowah City Schools and McMinn County Schools to inspire and encourage families to read together for 20 minutes a day. Approximately 70 percent of the children in the McMinn County area are classified as economically disadvantaged by state standards, and their families have limited resources for providing print-rich environments in their homes. Researcher Susan Neumann has documented that students living in poverty virtually live in “book deserts” where their families have few, if any, options for purchasing low-cost books. While several retail locations in McMinn County sell books, the low-cost options are very limited. Neumann’s report questions, “How do you become literate when there are no available resources?” Let’s Read 20, which will kick off in October, aspires to collaborate with other community partners to educate our families on the importance of reading, to provide books and materials for their

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Let’s Read 20 Program students.

homes and to increase the overall literacy of our residents.

• Athens-McMinn Family YMCA Summer Learning Loss Prevention – With more than 60 percent of local children meeting poverty guidelines – well above the national average – that means many children are in danger of falling two to three grade levels behind by middle school.

The Athens-McMinn Family YMCA’s Summer Learning Loss Prevention program works to boost reading skills both after school and during the summer months while also providing a safe environment for at-risk children.

• McMinn County Education Foundation – a group of local volunteers who administer and raise funds for such

programs as the McMinn County Imagination Library, which provides free books each month to all children, regardless of family income, from birth to age five; grants for teachers to purchase needed classroom supplies; youth recognition programs such as the Youth Leadership Awards for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students; Eighth Grade Career Day; Ready To Read, a cooperative effort with United Way to provide books to all local first- and second-grade students at the end of each school year; Newspapers In Education through The Daily Post-Athenian to provide newspapers as supplemental textbooks in local classrooms; and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Camp Scholarships for area students. For adult learners, MCEF aids in funding two days of classroom time for River Valley Adult Education through the help of United Way and also provides scholarships to allow students to take the high school equivalency exam.

Kids from the Athens-McMinn Family YMCA’s Summer Learning Loss Prevention Program.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Scouts Shelby Roberts and Debbie Crews with On TRAC Abstinence Education Program.

• Boy Scouts – With 18 units in McMinn County (including six Boy Scout troops, seven Cub Scout packs and one each of Venture Crew, Explorer Post and Sea Scout Ship), the Boy Scouts of America mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes.

Through the new STEM Scout program (which boasts two labs in McMinn County at North City and Westside schools in Athens), the program introduced both boys and girls to various aspects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in an after-school enrichment program.

Women) exists to have a consistent, encouraging presence in the lives of students in all schools of McMinn, Meigs and Polk counties.

The goal is to reduce the number of pregnancies and other high risk behaviors among our youth. The focus of the On TRAC program is not to lecture kids, but to engage them and have their own “light bulb” moments in which they discover for themselves that becoming

• On TRAC Abstinence Education Program (through Full Circle Medical Center for

For more information about how you can support these and many other efforts to aid our community, call the United Way of McMinn & Meigs Counties at 745-9606 or visit www.uwmcminn-meigs.com.

sexually active while a teenager is not a healthy choice for their mind, heart or body. A lot is at stake when a teen becomes sexually active. This program is about personal responsibility and accepting that we will become the outcome of the choices we make. It is natural for teens to focus on the here and now and lose sight of their future dreams. On TRAC brings the future to the forefront and engages them to think of what can be for them in the future, and it is a future that is bright.

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OUR THREE TENORS Written by Gayle Fisher | Photography by Bruce Hari

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The Three Tenors was a popular operatic singing group during the 1990s and early 2000s; the group consisted of two Spaniards: Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and the Italian Luciano Pavarotti. The trio began their collaboration with a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy, on 7 July 1990. It was held to raise money for the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation. It was also a way for his friends Domingo and Pavarotti to welcome Carreras back into the world of opera after his successful treatment for leukemia.

The concerts were a huge commercial success and were accompanied by a series of best-selling recordings, including Carreras-Domingo-Pavarotti: The Three

Tenors in Concert (which holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling classical music album).

Travel from Europe back to the new world, and we find Our Three Tenors. These East Tennesseans are: Mike Simmons, Rusty Patterson and Tim Frazier. Their names are much easier to say than their international counterparts. They began singing together in 2010. They have favored us with their beautiful voices performing at our civic clubs, churches and art productions. As an added bonus, they give us an annual spring concert at The Arts Center in Athens. It’s a magical night where their tenor voices thrill us singing rock and roll, show tunes and the oldies.

Last year, they dressed in tuxedoes on December 8th and wowed the audience by performing with the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra. It was a magical evening where you were transported to some sophisticated location while your auditory senses enjoyed the music from “The Skaters’ Waltz” to “O Holy Night,” finishing with an audience sing-along and finally “Sleigh Ride.”

It was such a wonderful night for our community, The Arts Council and Our Three Tenors. Now that I think about it, Frazier does look Italian and both Simmons and Patterson, if you squint, could look Spanish. Could there be a recording contract in their future?

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REVITALIZATION OF HISTORIC DOWNTOWN ATHENS BEGINS...

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he Athens Main Street Program revitalization is officially underway after months of laying the groundwork. The initiative began with a steering committee who believed that historic downtown Athens could be so much more than it is. They envisioned a place where the empty buildings would be filled with new businesses and those occupied, but in need of repair, got the work needed to make them vibrant again. They envisioned a place where people want to work, play, eat and feel comfortable and proud without having to go to Knoxville or Chattanooga to fill these needs.

The steering committee, comprised of Mayor Ann Davis; Downtown Business Association President, Patti Greek; DBA Vice President, Missy Ford; and Yvonne Raper, Athens City Council member, organized a group of DBA and Chamber of Commerce members to visit the people responsible for Sweetwater’s successful Main Street Program.

Subsequently, a public meeting was held for the Sweetwater director, Jane McGuire; Jessica Morgan from City of Sweetwater; and director of Main Street Cleveland, Sharon Marr, to explain the process to interested

parties. All of the approximately 50 attendees were in favor of seeking Main Street designation.

energy and enthusiasm. She and her husband, Tyrone Lisa Dotson, Executive Director “Tony,” are both from here but of the Main Street lived for a time in Nashville, where there was an abundance of things to Following approval from the Athens City Council, Ann Davis, Patti Greek and Missy do. Says Lisa, “Too many young people leave Athens right after high school because Ford undertook the unwieldy endeavor of there is nothing to do here. The downtown completing the application to the National Program for Main Street designation. Their is the heartbeat of the community, and if it’s dead, we’re in trouble. Our goal is to efforts resulted in National Main Street make the downtown vibrant, preserve the approval in March 2016. history, build the economy, and enhance the aesthetics. We want a place where the With funding commitments from the City college students will be proud to visit and of Athens, Chamber of Commerce and the hang out.”

Downtown Business Association in place, things began to happen at a rapid pace. By To achieve these goals, Lisa will work July, a strong and greatly diverse board of with the board of directors to establish directors was in place with Patti Greek as its attainable goals for the first year, and then chairperson. An executive director was hired. create a five-year plan for long range goals.

Committees have been established for each Lisa Dotson, a McMinn County native, was of these initiatives, with each chaired by a selected to fill this role. Lisa has the perfect member of the very “hands-on” board. educational background for the position, having graduated from a business college, With the enthusiasm for the program and and then earning a certificate in project buy-in from the merchants, the future of management from Nashville Technology downtown is very bright. Patti Greek, board College. She has a wide range of experience chairperson, cautions, “We must have in marketing, management and customer patience. It will take a lot of hard work, and service. Many will remember her as the it won’t happen overnight … but, it will Manager of Mayfield’s Visitor Center for definitely be worth the wait.” many years. Most importantly, Lisa has the

Missy Ford, Patti Greek (Chair) and Mayor Ann Davis, all members of the Main Street Program board of directors, successfully completed the huge application process in record time. They were told it would probably take at least a year, and they finished in less than six months.Right: Gerald Hodge, Director of Tennessee Overhill, and Main Street Program board member, with official sign designating Athens as a Main Street Community.

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Written by Chris Hari | Photographs by Bruce Hari This article was intended to describe an event on the Hiwassee River sponsored by the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association (TCWPA), with the assistance of the Charleston/Calhoun/Hiwassee Historical Society. Before the day was over, it was clear that the story was not the event, but the incredible Historical Society and what they have accomplished in a very short time.

The Hiwassee River Heritage Center, located on Highway 11 in Charleston, has only been in existence three years. On August 26th, a groundbreaking took place for an addition that will more than double its size. The acquisition, renovation and upcoming expansion of the Center is an amazing story of what a small group of people can accomplish when they put their minds to it.

Calhoun and Charleston are small towns that have had a huge significance in American history. Between 1819 and 1838, Calhoun on the north side of the Hiwassee River was located in the United States of America. Charleston on the south side of the Hiwassee was the Ocoee District of the Cherokee Nation. It was in Charleston that a Federal Indian Agency was located that became

Fort Cass in preparation for military operations to remove 9,000 Cherokees in the tragic Trail of Tears in 1838. During the Civil War, the area was very strategic for both sides because of the Hiwassee River. In the 1860s, the bridge across the river was burned and rebuilt three times. John Goins, a Charleston native, visited the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and in researching his home place, found an abundance of references to Fort Cass and names familiar to him, many of which are buried in the cemeteries of both

The Henegar House served as headquarters for Union and Confederate Generals. Interestingly, the husband, Henry Henegar was a Unionist. His wife, Martha, was a Secessionist. This bridge across the Hiwassee River was burned down and rebuilt three times during the Civil War.

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Above: The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was used as a commissary and quarters during the Civil War by Federal Forces. Right: Window sills of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church were chewed by horses tethered outside when the church was used as a hospital

towns. He couldn’t believe how significant his hometown was to the Trail of Tears and the history of the Cherokees. People of Calhoun and Charleston had a similar reaction and realized that the story must be told.

In 2008, a small group of people began to meet monthly, alternating between Calhoun City Hall and the Charleston Municipal Building, to form the Charleston/Calhoun/ Hiwassee Historical Society. The group quickly grew to 50 people, and the need for a meeting place as well as a place to share the region’s history with the public was realized. In June of 2011, a vacant bank building was available on Highway 11.

Historical society officers signed papers to hold it until the end of the year to give them time to raise $134,000 to purchase the building. This feat was accomplished in just six months by individual donations and some large donations by area industries. Once the building was purchased, they raised an additional $56,000 in renovation funds.

Volunteers ripped out teller windows, bulletproof glass and old carpet. Much of the needed material was donated, and local businesses gave discounts on remaining material purchases. Harold Haddock, a spry 80-year-old at the time, did all of the carpentry work. Ellis and Sherry Neidich, local stone

masons, donated the stones and labor to turn the old night depository into a fireplace.

The bank vault is now home to thousands of pages of information and old photographs.

Carroll Van West, director for the Center for Historic Preservation and now state historian, was so excited about the project that he also donated the expertise/services of his staff members. Native McMinn Countian Jamie Woodcock visited and documented historic sites in the area, and Amy Kostine, another graduate student, did the research and design for the beautiful panels of interpretive history now located in the center, which were also donated by the Center for Historic Preservation in Murfreesboro.

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The Hiwassee Heritage Center. Above top: Connie Hayden, Vice President, CCH Historical Society; Laura Spann, researcher; Joe Bryan, President; and Darlene Goins, facilities manager. They all played key roles in the founding of the Historical Society and building of the Center. Above bottom: National Park Service Historian, Jim Ogden, discussed the significance of the Hiwassee River during the Trail of Tears and the Civil War on a “3-Star Tour” sponsored by the Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, assisted by the C/C/HR Historical Society. Education is one of the key goals of the Historical Society.

Once the Heritage Center renovation was complete, facilities manager Darlene Goins invited National Park Service representatives to see what had been accomplished.

They were impressed, and the result was Certification by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior, making the Center a certified interpretive site of “Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.” The importance of this certification is that the Heritage Center is now included in NPS promotional materials and is on their website at www.NPS.gov/.

Incredibly, the Historical Society has raised through donations and grants another $300,000 to more than double the size of the Center by adding an exhibit room and classroom. The day-to-day operations of the center are funded by the annual International Cowpea Festival held in Charleston Park the second Saturday in September each year and The City of Charleston, which also uses the building for meetings and pays the electric bill. At the

same time as the building addition, Phase One of a National Historic Interpretive Trail will begin, which will ultimately connect the Heritage Center to the banks of the Hiwassee River. It will feature monuments depicting “Voices from the Past,” from both

sides of the stories. “We want to increase the number of people who visit, especially school groups,” says Darlene Goins.

“Those were sad times, and we want to memorialize the people who lived through them and preserve and share their history.”

This is an artist’s rendition of what the Interpretive Walking Tour, “Voices of the Past,” will look like.

For information, contact (423) 665-3373 or visit www.cchhistoricalsociety.org.

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Old-Fashioned Downtown Christmas Saturday, November 19th 4pm - 9pm Written by Missy Ford | Photograpy by Bruce Hari

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ome stroll through the streets of historic downtown Athens and be a part of our Santa Shop Hop by visiting merchants for a gift certificate giveaway. Take a ride in horsedrawn carriages, hop aboard our trackless train and enjoy outdoor Christmas movies. Also, be sure to stop

by Market Park and take a spin on our outdoor ice skating rink. You don’t want to miss our tree lighting and Christmas carols promptly at 6:00 pm. The Athens Area Council for the Arts will be making various children’s crafts and, direct from the North Pole, Santa will be on hand for pictures. Please be sure to check out our local vendors and, of course, come hungry, prepared to dine at the various food trucks. We will have something for everyone. What better way to kick off the holiday season than in downtown Athens?

Happenings: September 26 - November 11 AACA Fall Art Classes for All Ages Participants may register now for classes that take place September 26 – November 11, 2016. The registration deadline is three business days before class starts. For more information call 423-745-8781 or visit www. athensartscouncil.org August 29 - November 4 Follow Innocence: an Exhibit by Richard Whitehead Location: The Arts Center Whitehead’s work is derived from the premise that nothing is fixed or stable and this state of insecurity is positive, and allows us to follow innocence.

September 26 - November 7 Intermediate Acrylics with Joy Merckson Time: Every Monday 1:30 - 3:30pm For ages 16 - adult. Painters continue to learn mixing of colors, creating design layouts, working with varnishes, and other tools of the trade. The cost is $90. There is an optional $45 materials fee, or students may bring their own (list provided).

September 26 - November 7 Basic Drawing with Joy Merckson Time: 5:30 - 7:30pm For ages 16 - adult. Students investigate perspective, line form, space, and texture to learn the importance of light and shadow and explore different drawing techniques and mediums, such as charcoal, pencil and Conte. There will be some set-ups. The cost is $90. There is an optional $25 materials fee, or students may bring their own (list provided).

September 27 - November 8 Special Effects with Watercolor with Sandy Brown Time: Every Tuesday 5:30 - 7:30pm For ages 16-adult. Achieve effects using nontraditional materials like sponges, cardboard, salt, starch, and screening in this “anything goes” session. Projects available or students may bring their own. Level II or those with watercolor experience welcome. The cost is $90. There is an optional $20 materials fee, or students may bring their own (list provided).

September 27 - November 8 Special Effects with Watercolor with Sandy Brown Time: Every Tuesday 5:30 - 7:30pm For ages 18 - adult. Students will experiment with paper, ink, paint, printing, and found objects. Artwork will then be combined into

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McMINN LIFE FALL 2016

a personal wall hanging. The cost is $80 and includes basic materials for in-class explorations.

Students will be encouraged to bring their own as they find what they like.

September 28 & 29 Watercolor Painting Lab with Sandy Brown Time: Wed. 10am - Noon, Thurs. 6 - 8pm For ages 16 - adult. This class allows students to explore their own creative style using this exciting medium. Studies in watercolor are provided or students may bring their won. This workshop focuses on individual guidance and tips for creating stronger paintings. It is suitable for intermediate and advanced watercolor painters. There are two options for this class: Morning Watercolor Lab meets Wednesday from 10am - Noon starting September 28. Evening Watercolor Lab meets Thursdays from 5:30pm to 7:30pm starting September 29. The cost is $90.

Materials are not included.

September 29 - November 10 Clay Sculpture for Kids with Andy Phipps Location: The Arts Center Time: Every Thursday 4:30 - 5:30pm For children ages 6-15. Students will learn to make animals and figures, vases and pots by hand building with clay. All pieces will be glazed and fired. Cost is $65 and includes materials.

September 29 - November 10 Pottery Throwing with Andy Phipps Time: Every Thursday 6 - 8pm For ages 15 - adult. Students learn to wedge, center, and throw small vessels on the pottery wheel as well as basic hand building techniques.

Students can choose their own project from cups and mugs to bowls, vases, and more. All pieces are glazed and fired. All levels welcome.

The cost is $110. All materials included.

September 30 - November 11 Pre-K Art 101 with Brandy Brown Time: Every Friday 11 - 11:45am For younger artists ages 3-5. These multi-sensory arts adventures for young artists use various materials and techniques to build skills for later study. “Dress for a mess!” Cost is $45 and includes materials.

October 3 - October 24 Beginning Stained Glass: Copper Foil with Billie Stevens Time: Mondays 5:30 - 8:30pm For ages 15 - adult. Learn the skills to create beautiful stained glass windows using the copper foil method. Students will work from a pattern and cut and grind the glass into shapes, then wrap with copper foil and attach with lead solder. Because students will work with cut glass and a soldering iron, they should bring a snug pair of garden gloves to reduce cuts and burns.

This class meets for four sessions on Mondays starting October 3. All other materials included.

October 8 Pumpkintown 2016 Location: Downtown Athens Time: 10am–5:30pm Harvest extravaganza festival in Downtown Athens. This event features live music, wagon rides, arts and crafts booths, pony rides and so much more, making it a very fun event for the entire family. www.pumpkintownfestival.com October 8 Arts Crawl Time: 10am - 5pm Location: Downtown Athens Ten local businesses are participating in ArtsCrawl and will feature work by local artists, demonstrations by artists, or open studios.

The public is invited to visit each location and experience local art. Plus, each location will display a collection of pumpkins from “The Greatest Pumpkin Hunt.”

October 8 UT Football Texas A&M - Away October 14 Black Box Concert Series Event: Amanda Shires Time: 7:30pm Location: Sue E. Trotter Theatre at The Arts Center Ticket Prices: Adults $15 & Student $10 In over a decade of touring; Texan fiddle prodigy, Amanda Shires has showcased her soft, sultry voice on many legendary stages from The Ryman to The Opry to Mountain Stage.

October 15 UT Football Alabama - Home October 21 Rainbow Mania with Alex Shelton Time: Friday, 4 -6pm (one-day class) Cupcakes get the rainbow treatment, decorated with cool, bright colors. In this kids-only class, students learn easy techniques to create rainbows, balloons, and swirls to top their treats.

This class is appropriate all skill levels ages 8 - 12.

Cost is $18 plus a materials fee of $32 or you can bring your own.

October 27 - 29 Win/Lose/Draw Time: 7:30pm Location: The Arts Center An Off-Broadway hit, this triple bill by two of our theatre’s most promising and imaginative writers includes plays by each author which were

presented with great success by the Actors Theatre of Louisville and a third work jointly written for the New York production.

October 29 UT Football South Carolina - Away October 31 Halloween November 5 UT Football Tennessee Tech - Home November 7 Drizzle, Dip, & Mold with Alex Shelton Time: Monday 10am - Noon For ages 12 - adult. This demonstration-style class is a great introduction to candy making with lots of tips and tricks needed to make candy using dipping, drizzling, molding and more.

The class is appropriate for all skill levels. This is a one-day class. Cost is $17 and there are no materials for this class.

November 7 - January 6 AACA Annual Themed Art Competition and Exhibit Athens Area Council for the Arts is pleased to present One World, this year’s annual themed art competition and exhibit.

November 11 Black Box Concert Series Event: The Good Lovelies Time: 7:30pm Location: Sue E. Trotter Theatre at The Arts Center Ticket Prices: Adults $15 & Student $10 The JUNO and four-time CFMA award winning “folk trio” is known for winsome songwriting and impeccable vocals. The Good Lovelies’ performance in Athens is part of an international tour that debuts a new spirit of adventurousness, and a delicate electronic touch to add an extra spark to their triangulated charisma.

8th Annual

Festival of Trees “Through the eyes of a child”

Gala

November 12, 2016 Tellico Village Yacht Club Doors open at 6pm | Tickets: $100 per person Featuring Souther Star Band Guest Speaker Annemarie Rainwater

Live Auction Christmas Decorations ,Wreaths and Trees

Santa’s Breakfast

Saturday, December 3, 2016 Sequoyah High School | Santa arrives at 8:30am Pancake Breakfast , Kids Activities, Live Entertainment $10 adults, $5 kids 12 and under, Kids 5 and under are Free

For tickets or more information call: 423-442-2750

November 12 UT Football Kentucky - Home November 19 UT Football Missouri - Home November 19 Old Fashioned Downtown Christmas Time: Saturday 4 - 9pm Be sure to check out our local vendors and, of course, come hungry, prepared to dine at the various food trucks. We will have something for everyone. What better way to kick off the holiday season than in downtown Athens?

FALL 2016 McMINN LIFE

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McMINN LIFE FALL 2016

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New PhysiciaNs Offices NOw OPeN!

FAMILY PRACTICE Sigrid Johnson, M.D. Sweetwater Family Medicine 205 Summit Avenue Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865 351-7000 Hasmukh Kanabar, M.D. Hometown Medical Clinic 167 Warren Street Madisonville, TN 37354 (423) 442-5480

Ben Coffey, D.O. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595 Tracey Beverley, M.D. 321 South Tellico Street Madisonville, TN 37354 (423) 442-9711

GENERAL SURGERY Terry Lee Adams, M.D. Tennessee Surgical Specialists 9217 Park West Blvd # C2 Knoxville, TN 37923 (865) 218-7470

Ray Villanueva, M.D. 604 South Main Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (423) 337-4508

INTERNAL MEDICINE Chris Shamblin, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY Chris Bowman, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595

PEDIATRICS Bill Dawson, PA-C, MPAS Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 3 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8593

Ken Kozawa, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 1 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8590

EMERGENCY MEDICINE Celia Harrison, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Emergency Room 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8510

Mark S. Clem, PA-C Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595

PODIATRY Andrew W. Lynn, D.P.M. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (800) 422-3338 (865) 481-3338

Renea Cagle, N.P. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 1 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8590 Michelle Davis, N.P. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 1 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8590

Heidi Fisher, P.A. 321 South Tellico Street Madisonville, TN 37354 (423) 442-9711

Thomas Layman, M.D. 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (423) 745-2598

INTERNAL MEDICINE Thomas S. Evans, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595

Thomas Vance, N.P. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 1 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8590 Eric C. Poston, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595

NEPHROLOGY Yaqub Ali, M.D. Sweetwater Dialysis Center 921 New Highway 68 Sweetwater, TN 37874 (423) 337-5770 OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY John R. Ameen, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 3 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8592 David J. Creutzinger, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 3 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8592

www.sweetwaterhospital.org

OTOLARYNGOLOGY Leonard Brown, M.D. 501 19th Street Suite 401 Knoxville, TN 37916 Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8200 (865) 632-5999 PATHOLOGY Frank Beuerlein, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8200 PEDIATRICS Wendy Saint Robbins, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 3 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8593

PULMONOLOGY Ronald R. Cherry, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595 RADIOLOGY Lynda Rogers, M.D. David Norris, M.D. Tina James, M.D. Joanna Blankner, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8200 UROLOGY Frederick Klein, M.D. Sweetwater Hospital Association Sweetwater Professional Building 2 304 Wright Street Sweetwater, TN 37874 (865) 213-8595 (865) 544-9254 (800) 776-7623

865.213.8200