Can Anyone tell me what happened to Archies Restaurant and Cas Walker Supermarkets? (Knoxville: apartment, houses)

[ceeglass]

I was raised in Knoxville until the age of 12. We loved to eat at Archies and the S&W and Mama shopped at Cas Walkers Supermarkets, along with A&P and Kroegers. I think A&P and Kroegers are still around, but whatever
happened to...... "Pick-up that Free Press paper when it hits the street,
Cas Walker prices can't be beat,
Try that Blue Band Coffee, you will want some more,
Do your grocery shopping at a Cas Walker store,
Say that again,
Do your grocery shopping at a Cas Walker store."
Ole Cas would get on TV with his Coon skin cap, he was known for Coon hunting. Old time Knoxviller's - are any of these places still around? Are Miller's and The Knox still downtown? I know Rich's moved out. Didn't Miller's buy them out or something? I hear you can't scale the rocks at Fountain City Park anymore. Was it due to Water Moccasins? Everyone said there were Water Moccasins back where the water and the rocks were, but I never saw any growing up. Is Sharps Ridge still there or was it develped and has houses sitting all over it now? I want to bring my kids back to see where I grew up, but the tourist sites all talk about the River front, Old downtown, The TVA lakes. They don't mention any of these day to day places I grew up with that made Knoxville home to me. I know my church, Smithwood Baptist, is still there because of their website and they're not about to tear down Sterchi or Inskip Schools....OMG, they haven't have they? Are Whittle Springs, Lakewood and Alcoa still places to go swimming, or are they gone? I'm just trying to see what's still there of everyday life from the 50's and 60's. Any of you Baptist's know if Camp Carson still exists? Thanks for the input.

[BST]

Cas is gone - God rest his soul - and so are the stores. Miller's, Knox, JCPenney's on Gay Street have been replaced with Mast General (think LL Bean but farther south), trendy art galleries and coffee shops. Market Square is almost completely renovated - and probably looks much nicer than the Watson's Dept Store days you remember.


The pool at Whittle Springs is a hi-rise tower for older folks...and Sharps Ridge is still a natural area - except for all the TV/radio/cell towers. I think Camp Carson still exists, as well as Camp Ba-Yo-Ca.

An interstate runs right through where Louie's Drive-In used to be...but they've moved down the street, closer to Lynnhurst Cemetery. Come on back home and see for yourself. A lot of those old pastures in Halls are now subdivisions with some fine homes. Betcha could get one cheap!

[ceeglass]

Oh, Thank You, BST, for the info. Knoxville was THE BEST place to grow-up. Not perfect, our world has never been perfect. But I feel blessed to have been born in Oak Ridge and raised in Knoxville in my very early years.

Any more info anyone about the other places.

Thx, again.

[kamoshika]

ceeglass, you might enjoy perusing some of these links...

Fountain City, Tennessee: Places and People Who Made a Difference

Metro Pulse Online: Knoxville's Most Powerful Grocer (Walker died shortly after this article was published in '98)

Cas Walker vs. J.S. Cooper Fifty Years Ago | KnoxViews (be sure to read the comments down the page from the pic)


YouTube - Cas Walker Farm & Home Hour

If the Camp Carson you asked about was in Newport, it's still around:
CarsonSprings Baptist Conference Center

FWIW, water moccasins (cottonmouths) aren't found anywhere in E. Tennessee, despite some locals' insistence otherwise.

[hiknapster]

Sterchi and Inskip schools are still here. Our daughter goes to Sterchi.

[ceeglass]

I enjoyed reading the links, Kamoshika, thank you.

I don't know if that is my "Camp Carson." The location is right, so it's probably evolved into what the link shows.

I do remember the Cas Walker shenanigans that went on. My uncle, Art Metzler, was a news anchor at WATE-channel 6 for several years and he said Cas was the biggest publicity hound south of the Mason-Dixon, bar none.

Thanks again.

[ceeglass]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Sterchi and Inskip schools are still here. Our daughter goes to Sterchi.

I left Inskip School because Sterchi was built. I attended the very first year it was open for the 1959-60 school year. I was in the 6th grade. Sterchi was grade K-8 then. It was a "state of the art school" for that time having phones and color TV's in every classroom.

[jabogitlu]

I'm a youngun', but I've done a lot of research on east TN history. Gotta love Cas Walker and his program. Taped right there in his store, too!

[Kitties of Domination]

Cas Walker set Knoxville back some 20 years in development bc he didn't want "outsiders" coming into Knoxville. He even tried to stop the interstate. While other southern cities were building, downtown Knoxville remained stagnant. It wasn't untill the 70's that the Walker faction was pushed aside and downtown started to have a revival. In fact, it has taken Knoxville a long time to shed this sentiment, though I hear his ghost still roams areas of South Knoxville.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination

Cas Walker set Knoxville back some 20 years in development bc he didn't want "outsiders" coming into Knoxville. He even tried to stop the interstate. While other southern cities were building, downtown Knoxville remained stagnant. It wasn't untill the 70's that the Walker faction was pushed aside and downtown started to have a revival. In fact, it has taken Knoxville a long time to shed this sentiment, though I hear his ghost still roams areas of South Knoxville.

That's very interesting, and it makes sense. I've always wondered why Knoxville stagnated while Nashville took off. Back in the 1950s they were about the same size, but now look at the difference.

To the OP: I live near Whittle Springs and have seen pictures of that beautiful swimming pool. I sure wish it was still there. The high-rise apartment building that replaced it is hideous. Fortunately, the golf course is still there and is still beautiful.