Tennessee Factoids (Memphis, Germantown, Lexington: buy, living in, horse)

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by cvandoran

The KKK originated in a carriage house on Flower and 3rd in Pulaski. They moved to a private house on 2nd & College. The clan in Columbia came shortly after that. They were larger and a little more "rigorous". That is why most believe they originated in Pulaski.
Pulaski, now, has no room for hate groups.

Here is my favorite Columbia story. Gene Autry, the ONLY entertainer with 5 stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, once appeared at a theater in Columbia. The lighting system broke down and the only person in town who knew how to repair it was the telegraph operator. He was on duty at the time and no one else knew how to do his job, so it seemed that the show would have to be cancelled. But Autry, who had been a telegraph operator before he entered show business, went to the telegraph office and relieved the operator who went to the theater and repaired the system. True story. I read it in a book entitled "Touring the Back Roads of Middle Tennessee."

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by rubytue

Brushy Mountain also made it into Hollywood in Silence of Lambs. It was the prison, with a window, Jodie Foster promised to move Hannibal Lecter to if he helped with the case.

Frozen Head state park is very near it.

Another movie filmed in the Petros area is "October Skies," the Laura Dern-Chris Cooper movie about a high school student who won a national science award for his work with rockets. Good movie except for the language.

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by futureVol

Although most people think that Nashville is the home of Country Music; the official birthplace of Country Music is Bristol, TN/VA. The original recordings were made there in 1921 by RCA at the Paramount Theatre I believe.

For more information visit birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

Another movie filmed in the Petros area is "October Skies," the Laura Dern-Chris Cooper movie about a high school student who won a national science award for his work with rockets. Good movie except for the language.

Funny that you mention this. I was debating whether I should mention this movie, also!

This is a wonderful movie!

Set in the state of West Virginia, the film was actually shot at Petros, Oliver Springs, Oak Ridge, Harriman, and Knoxville, Tennessee. The coal mine used in the film was an actual coal mine located in Petros which had long since closed. The steam locomotive (Southern Railway 4501) used in the film was a loan from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Sky

And here is a wonderful piece about them shooting in the area. There is lots of wonderful stuff on the 'net about this:

http://www.coalwoodwestvirginia.com/..._in_petros.htm

[alleycat]

October Sky was based on the book Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. I've met Mr. Hickam at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville and have talked to him a few times by e-mail. He also has a newsletter he sends out from time to time. Mr. Hickam lives in Huntsville, AL now and you can get autographed copies of any of his book from a bookstore in Huntsville. I highly recommend not only Rocket Boys but the two other books in the Coalwood series: The Coalwood Way and Skies of Stone. I can't remember the exact year it was published, but I considered The Coalwood Way the best book I read all year at the time.

[hiknapster]

http://www.homerhickam.com/

[Beretta]

I am glad that you all are talking this up. My dad's dad was a coal miner in southwest Virginia. Funny, I just can't picture him and romance in the same visual, lol. My Dad went to college with Mr. Hickam. Dad got his industrial engineering from Va Tech in '62 and Mr. Hickam was 2 years behind and also got an IE degree. It is a small world.

I am hoping GBH chimes in on some of this movie stuff....

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by rubytue

Brushy Mountain also made it into Hollywood in Silence of Lambs. It was the prison, with a window, Jodie Foster promised to move Hannibal Lecter to if he helped with the case.

Frozen Head state park is very near it.

When I went to Frozen Head, I had to drive by a Correctional facility (right on the road that's the entrance to the park). I know because I stopped to photograph a deer and right away some uniformed officer in a car showed up and asked me if I had car trouble and if not, told me be careful/be safe/move along or something like that. But, I don't think it was Brushy Mountain because I don't think I was in Petros. Is there another correctional facility in the area? I could swear the one I passed was a County prison, not a State facility. Plus, I thought Brushy Mountain was in the middle of nowhere (recalled from the time James Earl Ray escaped). There were businesses and a few homes nearby.

Fozen Head is an unusual park. At the time, the surrounding area mountains were ablaze with Fall colors but in the park itself, the trees were bare. I thought it was a disappointment but I'm told the wildflowers there are nice in the Spring and it's not a bad place for photographing birds. I saw some deer, that's about it.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by Chero

Just stumbled on this thread and have really been enjoying it. We will be moving to east Tennessee in the next two months.

I wish there was a way to compile all this valuable info especially the festival info.

Just wantd to say "thank you" to every one who has made this thread so valuable and interesting. I love Tennessee.

The soft covered book that was invaluable to me for learning about Tennessee can be found in most bookstores in the Travel section. It's simply called Tennessee (by Jeff Bradley) and it's one of the Moon Handbooks. I'm going to pull it out again soon because I would like to explore the areas around Kingston and south of there, next.

[firepower]

Originally Posted by LauraC

When I went to Frozen Head, I had to drive by a Correctional facility (right on the road that's the entrance to the park). I know because I stopped to photograph a deer and right away some uniformed officer in a car showed up and asked me if I had car trouble and if not, told me be careful/be safe/move along or something like that. But, I don't think it was Brushy Mountain because I don't think I was in Petros. Is there another correctional facility in the area? I could swear the one I passed was a County prison, not a State facility. Plus, I thought Brushy Mountain was in the middle of nowhere (recalled from the time James Earl Ray escaped). There were businesses and a few homes nearby.

Fozen Head is an unusual park. At the time, the surrounding area mountains were ablaze with Fall colors but in the park itself, the trees were bare. I thought it was a disappointment but I'm told the wildflowers there are nice in the Spring and it's not a bad place for photographing birds. I saw some deer, that's about it.

What you passed by was the Morgan County Correctional Complex which is a minimum security state prison.
I believe Brushy Mountain is about 8-10 miles further up towards Oliver Springs.Just off hwy.62 on hwy 116.I think...
I drove by it once.Very scary! Pictures don't do it justice!

firepower