I have been visiting the Great Smoky Mountains since I was a child. A few years ago I saw a Facebook posting about Bush’s Visitor Center. It is a bit of a drive from the strip in Pigeon Forge but I had to go. I love history and learning and Bush’s Visitor Center did not disappoint. I was fascinated by the short film that showed … Continue reading Southern Places: Bush’s Visitor Center in Tennessee
The house at 200 Lewis Street in Summerville, Ga. fits in with all of the other frame houses on the street. But inside and behind that house is the story of a man who followed his own vision and in doing so, became something of a folk hero. Howard Finster”s idea for Paradise Gardens came when he “saw” a “face” in some white paint that … Continue reading From the pulpit to the palette: Paradise Gardens and the legacy of Howard Finster
I love a story with an interesting beginning. This one begins with a pig. Well a pig, some other farm animals and other things you would find on a typical farm. And it includes some famou actresses and actors and some you may not have heard and some who probably should be famous. Oh, and this magical story began in a building built in the … Continue reading How livestock and produce started a theatre
Address: 163 Manning Mill Road. If you are coming from Cartersville on U.S. 41, make a right turn onto Manning Mill at Camille’s Corner convenience store. Make a left turn if you are coming from Calhoun. A view of the lake at Manning Mill Park. The basics: The trail is 1.4 miles long and takes you past a lake. There are two paths that will … Continue reading Southern walks: Manning Mill Park in Adairsville, Ga.
For some the idyllic Southern childhood was a front porch and the smell of Sunday dinner from the stove. By those standards the 39th president of the United States had that charmed childhood. The Jimmy Carter National Historic Park has preserved Carter’s story from his life growing up on a farm just outside of downtown Plains, Ga. to his rise to the White House. You … Continue reading The little town that built a president
