I heard a rumor today!

I was attending the "Meet Murfreesboro" event at M.T.S.U. today and was talking with different vendors and heard the new Publix will be opening up next year over at exit 70 in Smyrna. I was also chatting away with someone with Sam's club and I asked them about a club coming to Smyrna and he told me " There will not be one coming because there are two clubs so close and that would hurt those clubs if they opened one up here but the district mgr is best friends with the district manager with Costco's and they are planning to open one up next year on Sam Ridley Pkwy." I found out tonight that the land behind the Peterbuilt building off the interstate is being clear for something. Could this be where the new Costco's is going? I remember when Sam Ridley was only 2 lanes and there was nothing here. Now it looks more and more like Old Fort Pkwy. If anyone knows about this please comment and let us all know what is coming to our area...thanks

Smyrna is in the news

Sadly the news involves counterfeiting and lap dancers.

A man, who authorities say used his computer to make fake $100 bills to buy lap dances at a strip club, has pleaded guilty to counterfeiting charges, federal prosecutors said.

Strippers at Deja Vu in Nashville were suspicious of the bills and called police after Damon Armagost spent $600 of the fake money on April 16, authorities said.
.........
US Secret Service agents later determined that counterfeit bills with the same serial number had been passed in other parts of the country. When they went to Armagost’s Smyrna home, a family member told agents that an image of a US$100 bill had been on a computer there.

Well at least the lap dancers were not in Smyrna.

What do you think?

At least one local politician wants to know your views on issues that effect all of us. Mike Sparks, 11Th district county commissioner, has an online poll page with local issues.

Since informed politicians are as important as informed voters, take a moment and drop by there.

While you can vote on the polls, you also have the option to leave feedback comments. Here are the ones from the Bible Park poll.

I dont care one way or another. 08/27/07 4:47:34 PM MST

Personally I believe this would be a great way to bring money to our County, and prevent the development of many new homes. We have enough people already as it is! 08/27/07 3:52:17 PM MST

Traffic and congestion will be worse with 1500 homes. I live in Blackman and do not like the park idea, but i feel it would be better thanthe 1500 homes im hearing about. 08/27/07 12:29:48 PM MST

I would love to see this come to Murfreesboro, it will make for great job opportunities! 08/26/07 10:34:06 PM MST

I have heard that gaylord regretts closing Opryland, opryland never updated rides so many people only visited a few times. The bible park will create jobs and increase the tax base of Rutherford county. I would much rather have a bible park with less noise and less traffic than a 1200 homes subdivision withy more noise and yearround traffic and overcrowd our schools. 08/26/07 7:31:00 AM MST

I like the idea of the park, I just see it causing problems... 08/25/07 12:30:59 PM MST

I wish the park was near the Speedway. I have friends near the Speedway and it didnt bother them, the hardly hear the races. 08/25/07 11:43:20 AM MST

This sounds like a great idea, we need something that will be good fun for our children 08/25/07 9:33:57 AM MST

This is going to cause even worse traffic for our over crowded Murfreesboro 08/25/07 9:29:07 AM MST

Your voices and views are important. Say what you think.

Cedar Grove Wins National Award

From Some Geek in Tennessee:

The Cedar Grove PTO was selected by PTO Today as the 2007 National Parent Group of the Year! The PTO Today will formally recognize the the Cedar Grove PTO at the school on Tuesday, but the Tennessean article should appear in tomorrow's paper. As this year's winners, the PTO will receive $3000 in school supplies and an additional $10,000 in cash for the school. I'm hoping it's in the form of one of those giant checks because I've always wanted to see what happens when you deposit one of those.

This is fantastic news for our LaVergne and Smyrna communities. Our proud congratulations to Cedar Grove and its PTO!

Quarter Million Square feet of space.

That's the information on the new development that will be going in besides Lowes just off of Sam Ridley Parkway.

Premium Building Construction is concrete block with steel framing covered with stucco.

250,245 SF total
This center is now anchored by JcPenney
Spaces Available from 1,200 SF and Up
Coming Soon : New 14 Screen Movie Theater, Target, Stonewood Medical Center/Hospital, Home Depot
Located near Lowe’s, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Kroger
Prime Location & Visibility in one of the Fastest Growth Corridors
Upscale Design with Beautiful Landscaping
Great Unified signage program

This information plus virtual tours, and jpg images of the site plan can be seen at Business Condos USA's website.

On this image they have JC Penny marked down on one location. That will make some in my family very happy. I hope one of these shoppes is a book store.

Thanks to View from the Lake for this lead.

Bible Park -

I went to the YMCA and viewed the broadcast of WGNS's Smyrna Radio show.

I asked a few questions during commercials, and a few specifics were answered.

The main confusion with many is the type of park that he wants to build. Many have in their head an image of an amusement park. Roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and bumper cars. While these are the norm for amusement parks, what Armon Bar-Tur is building is a theme park. A good example of a theme park is Cannonsburgh in Murfreesboro. With the theme of the Bible, they are going to have a real working Canaanite village, plus many more historical sections.

Also included will be an Imax theatre with a special extended screen that folds all the way under you. Their plan is that you "fly" around the middle east to see the Pyramids, Babylon and the sites of the Holy Land.

I asked how many people it would employ. Armon said it would start with about 200 full time up to 250 when fully running. It will also employ 1000 part time seasonal workers.

One person called into the show and asked about "skyline pollution". With no Ferris wheels or roller coasters, this will not be a real problem.

He also answered the big issue. Taxes and the possible financial liability of the county. For the most part he did answer the question. I'm still leery about any connections between a private business and government taxes, but it's not worthy of me coming out against the park.

4 out of 5

This will not go over well for the citizens of Tennessee.

Four of the five Tennessee legislators convicted in the Tennessee Waltz public corruption scandal will receive state pensions.

Only former state Rep. Chris Newton isn't getting one.

He joined the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System after passage of a statute that prevented newly elected legislators from collecting state pensions if they were convicted of federal felonies.

The law doesn't apply to former senators John Ford and Kathryn Bowers of Memphis, former Sen. Ward Crutchfield of Chattanooga or former state Rep. Roscoe Dixon of Memphis.

This article does not go into details of how their pensions are worked.

Smyrna Radio today

WGNS radio will be broadcasting from the YMCA lobby if you want to drop by, or call.

Anti-Bible Theme Park
Petition Given To County Commission
A grass-roots effort got 2,700 backers to sign a petition opposing the proposed Bible Theme Park. It was given to the Rutherford County Commission, the body that ultimately decides on the concept. In a WGNS radio broadcast, County Mayor Ernest Burgess said that developers have not filed any request for the complex. However, he said they were aware that New York based SafeHarbor Holdings, LLC, is completing a variety of extensive studies. Managing Partner Armon Bar-Tur earlier told WGNS News, "It's a wonderful experience to visit the Holy Land, but most persons are not able to make the trek. The Bible theme park would give them that experience. It is not a platform for religious beliefs, but instead hopes to give those who attend a historical perspective of Biblical times." Developers are considering a 300-acre plat of land in the Blackman community that fronts State route 840 and I-24. If built, studies indicate approximately a million visitors will come to the Heart of Tennessee. Armon Bar-Tur will join Bryan Barrett and County Commissioner Mike Sparks on WGNS' Rutherford Issues live from Smyrna this coming Thursday (8/23) afternoon (3-4pm). Listeners will be able to phone WGNS (893-1450) and ask questions. You can sit in on the show and watch the action unfold. Visit the Smyrna YMCA on Thursday at 3! A seating area has been set up next to the broadcast site.

This looks like it could be a fun show.

Does something smell?

This may be a joke pulled on the main stream media, or it could be an over reaching city council.

From ABC news.

And in Murpheesboro(SIC), Tenn., the city council implemented a body odor ban on its workers. Forget your deodorant and you could be breaking the law.

"If it's an odor that is offensive to those around them, and if there are complaints," a member of city council said, "then that is the test."

But that was not enough of an argument to convince the workers the ban would affect.

One worker said, "If you work, you're going to perspire, you're going to smell."

Now I can easily see this "ban" as a condition of employment. You're the boss, and you make the rules.

Note that it said you could be "breaking the law". That's a bit extreme in my view.

I cannot find this in any local paper or source, so ABC news might have been punked.
UPDATE:
Looks like this section of the story is a few years old. Here is the DNJ article from then

Murfreesboro served notice Thursday it expects city employees to show up for
work and not smell bad.

The City Council amended the city's employee handbook to include a paragraph
mandating good hygiene and grooming while on the job.

The amended policy states: "No employee shall have an odor generally
offensive to others when reporting to work. An offensive body odor may
result from a lack of good hygiene, from an excessive application of a
fragrant aftershave or cologne or from other cause."

The need for the altered policy arose when a department head and the city's
personnel manager approached the city's legal department with a problem,
said City Attorney Susan McGannon.

"They were stymied," she said. "This is a situation where several employees
have complained. In the 11 years I've been with the city, it has only come
up this one time."

The dilemma is one employee who, despite repeated counseling, has a problem
with personal hygiene, she said. After counseling, though, the department
head had no further recourse.

There is more, but this is the meat of the story. The AbC article said you would be breaking the law, while the article said this.

The policy added Thursday includes no provisions for enforcement, but McGannon said having it spelled out allows the supervisor to council the
individual and make note of it in the employee's personnel file.

This is a proper rule for a company to make. No Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

Thanks to the DNJ/Smyrna A.M. for information to this issue.

Smyrna makes the NYT

The AP story about the cardboard trooper cutout made the New York Times this morning.

Our sister city

La Vergne, our sister city, has had until recently three blogs serving it.

One is was named La Vergne Blog, and was a portal to the big three. Just over a week ago it's domain name expired, and it, and the "video" blog that went with it died.

Our sister blog This is La Vergne, Tn is run by a motley crew of individuals that we are proud to call our friends.

The last one is named Living in La Vergne, Tennessee" and is run by Angie Mayes, who works for the city of La Vergne.

Today I dropped by Living in La Vergne, Tennessee, and found that something is very wrong there. Either they have been hacked, or they are having some HTML code issues. You go to the page, and for a brief second the site looks normal. at that point an audible click occurs, and ALL posts are replaced by spam'ish links. If you click on the page it attempts to send you to myshovel(dot)com searchmeup(dot)com, or abcsearch(dot)com or a score of other sites..

I've emailed Angie, and hopefully she gets it.

As of right now it looks like 2 out of 3 La Vergne themed blogs are down for the count.

UPDATE:
Angie replied to my email.

I deleted it yesterday...my readership was small and with Old Timers' Day coming up, I don't have time to maintain it.
Sorry.

Sadly when people shut down their blogs, they deregister their account to it, and it leaves it open to spammers to register it and fill it with spam.

Those who left

During the depression a new word entered the daily vocabulary of the American populous. Migrant. Used by some as a derogatory term and some as a title for the poor masses, the victims of an economy in decline. No matter what term was used, the life of a migrant was tough.

In that period when a person became a migrant, many times their family joined them. Here are some of the children of the migrants from Tennessee, and the places they ended up, sometimes just for the season, sometimes permanently.

Here are the children of Tennessee in far flung places.



The son of a migrant family from Tennessee, Belle Glade, Florida. 1937 Jan.


Wash day. The daughter of a migrant fruit worker from Tennessee, now encamped near Winter Haven, Florida. 1937 Jan.


Migrant family from Tennessee camped in field on outskirts of town, about two blocks from water supply. Berrien County, Michigan. 1940 July


Part of the family of a migrant fruit worker from Tennessee, camped near the packinghouse in Winter Haven, Florida 1937 Jan.


Two children of a migrant fruit worker from Tennessee, standing before their temporary home. This family of eight is camped in a field near the packinghouse at Winter Haven, Florida. 1937 Jan.


The family of a migratory fruit worker from Tennessee now camped in a field near the packinghouse at Winter Haven, Florida. 1937 Jan


Oldest child of migrant packinghouse worker's family from Tennessee fixing supper. Her mother and father both work during the day and sometimes until two and three in the morning, leaving the children alone. Belle Glade, Florida. 1939 Jan


Woman migrant packinghouse worker from Tennessee with four children and two relatives eating supper. Belle Glade, Florida. 1939 Jan


Daughter of migrant Tennessee coal miner. Living in American River camp near Sacramento, California. 1939 Jan.

This last image is almost haunting. Tired, or just emotionally wornout?

Website changes

In the next week the visual layout of This is Smyrna, Tn. will be changing some. A new template will be installed, and links on the side column will be changed.

We will be reverting to the Blogger comment system. While it does work the same way as the Haloscan comments, comments made on haloscan will not be brought forward to be viewed on the new system.

While these changes are being introduced, there might be some problems. If you note an issue please email me here with the description so we can work to correct it.

We will also be adding certain services for the community such as advertising space for local businesses to purchase.

Thank you for your patience.


update:
Yikes. Seems the youtube videos have issues with the new blogspot template I picked..or something.

update 2:
retreating to the old template. Seems the youtube videos are still not up. Might be a youtube issue and not a template issue. Very odd.

update 3:
test

update 4:
Now I'm irritated. When I go to the new system, nothing changes, and posts like the picture post above, will not post to the page. May just stay old school and code myself. The new template is hinky and bothersome.

One size doesn't fit all

With the new refurbished downtown a new issue has been brought up. I'm not sure if this is a created issue, or an issue bought to the city councils attention by a local business. Parking.

Now that the downtown revitalization is complete, there may be limitations on how long customers can park in front business on Front Street.

At the Town Council's planning meeting last week, Mayor Bob Spivey introduced the idea of limiting parking in front of businesses on the street to one hour.

Not a bad idea. Someone hogging the parking in front of your business can hurt your sales, so limits can be imposed if needed. That's the hitch. Is it needed?

The city, I'm proud to say, did the right thing to see if there was a problem. They asked the local businesses.

Police Chief Kevin Arnold polled businesses last week about the idea. He said most were in favor of the idea, but some were against it.

In life I have found one size does NOT fit all. All 'one hour' or none. I think it is a bad idea to have one common rule for the front street parking.

Next to Expresso Joe's there is a dry cleaners. Directly in front is a sign that says "Dry cleaners customers only" (or something close to it). While it has no legal authority, it does show what I feel is the best method to address this "issue".

Let the businesses decide if they want one hour or unlimited in front of their business. Since they are the ones who will be impacted by this new rule, let them define it's implementation. Is this idea workable, likely not, but it would be better then one blanket rule for all.

Tennessee pork

Yes pork. I wish I were talking about the pork you cover in a nice sauce and lay between two kaiser rolls with pickle slices on the side. No. I'm talking about the pork from Washington that comes out of your pocket, and paycheck in so many ways.

Our representatives in Tennessee score good, and very very bad when it comes to anti-pork votes. This chart from Taxing Tennessee, a local tax issue blog, shows how our representatives voted. The higher the number, the better their anti-pork votes.

Cooper (D-TN-5)	98% 49 / 50
Blackburn (R-TN-7)	94% 46 / 49
Davis, David (R-TN-1)	91% 43 / 47
Duncan (R-TN-2)	88% 44 / 50
Wamp (R-TN-3)	12% 6 / 50
Davis, L. (D-TN-4)	4% 2 / 50
Gordon (D-TN-6)	4% 2 / 50
Cohen (D-TN-9)	2% 1 / 50
Tanner (D-TN-8)	2% 1 / 50

Sadly our own Bart Gordon did not score very well at all.

These numbers were gathered from the Club for Growth annual report card on pork. If Bart Gordon is your representative, I'm sorry. If your representative is Cooper, then drop him a line and say thanks.

Rutherford County Christian Relief Association

A reader submitted this announcement so you can schedule some time for charity and pancakes in a week.

The Rutherford County Christian Relief Association is sponsoring a pancake breakfast on August 18th at the Smyrna Rescue Squad building on Front Street, 7:30-10 am, $5.00 in advance or at the door. The RCCRA is a non-profit disaster relief organization.

I went last month to the Smyrna Rescue Squads building for a fund raising fish fry and I enjoyed myself immensely.

The good news is that for one day you don't have to cook or touch the dishes. Let them do it.

I need your help....

Ok people I am going to need everyone's help now. KATHY T. and myself are holding a fundraiser for the lavergne teen that is sick (Brandon Brewer). We are going to have a special night called "Bowling for Brandon" at the Smyrna bowling center on Friday Sept. 28th at midnight till 6am. The cost of the tickets will be $20.00 with half of the proceeds going to Brandon to help with all the cost!Our center has agreed to let us hold this event on a busy night and with 52 lanes to bowl on I want to pack the house with supporters. I did talk with Brande Brewer today and she told me that Brandon loves to bowl and he will be there. I am going to have a lane set up for him with balloons and all and I am hoping that we get enough things donated to have a silent auction. Plus there will be donation buckets set up so you can donate for a great cause! Mealand from the D.N.J is going to help with the media part of this plus fox 17 is doing an in depth interview with Brande and I know channel four will do something as well. I want to see or towns both CITY of Lavergne and the town of Smyrna show support. Come on gang lets do this for this nice young man!! email me for more info or call the cell phone at 995 2636.

I also want to Challenge business and the governments to raise as much money as they can......lets make this a fun event and get everyone involved....

Tonight is the Night out against crime

Everyone wants a safe neighborhood, and this event is a good way to learn how to end up with that result.

Neighborhoods throughout Smyrna are invited to join with thousands of communities nationwide on Tuesday, August 7th, to join us in Giving Crime and Drugs a Going Away Party.

'National Night Out' is designed to:

*Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
*Generate support and participation in crime efforts
*Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community relations
*Send the message that your neighborhood is a safe place to live

‘National Night Out' is a great opportunity for citizens, law enforcement and other public safety officials to join forces. Events are planned to promote crime prevention and drug prevention awareness and to strengthen the police - community partnership. We encourage neighborhoods to come together and send the message that we are all working together to prevent crime and keep our neighborhoods safe. On August 7th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., residents are asked to turn on their porch lights, lock their doors and spend the evening outside with their neighbors, police officers, EMS, and fire fighters.

National Night Out will be at the Lee Victory Park on Sam Ridley Parkway, Tuesday, August 7th starting at 5pm and wrapping up at 8pm. We invite everyone to come out and join us. If you would like to volunteer, set up a booth or participate in any way contact SPD Sgt. Andy Miller at 459-9742 x7412 or the email link above.

Community events

There is a lot in Smyrna worth doing, and events occur on a regular basis that many do not know about. This is Smyrna, TN. would like to post your events on our website as a service to the community.

If you have an event just email us here at this link for posting. Yard sale, grand opening, or even a car wash. It's all part of our city, and we would like to help you.

It's not just hot. It's #%@$ hot.

These are the projected highs for the next week in our city according to weather.com.

Day high/low
Monday 102/76
Tuesday 104/76
Wednesday 107/77
Thursday 106/75
Friday 106/76
Saturday 105/76
Sunday 103/71
Monday 101/69
Tuesday 101/70

There are many things that you can do in weather like this. Go outside and watch the asphalt melt on the streets. Watch the neighborhood trees burst into flame. Fry and egg, and a steak, on the driveway. Go view Percy Priest lake evaporate.

All the joys of a hot Tennessee summer.

Now a word on global warming from Al Gore.



Have a nice, but hot day week.

Smyrna Homes Sales: July 2007

Here we are already in August. I didn't run the June housing numbers because life got in the way, but here are some numbers from July!

Homes on the Market: 357
New Homes on the Market (built 2006 to current): 156
Least Expensive: $55,000 (home on Front Street).

Homes more than $200,000: 116
Most Expensive: $949,000 (4 bedroom, 4/2 bath, 5637 square feet on Rock Springs Road)

Pending Homes (sold, but not closed): 20

Homes Closed (July 1 - July 31, 2007): 75
Homes Closed (Jan. 1 - July 31, 2007): 586

Homes Closed (July 1 - July 31, 2006): 88
Homes Closed (Jan. 1 - July 31, 2006): 524

It looks like there's been an increase in home sales when you look July 2006 to July 2007, however a slight increase when looking at the year-to-date picture. In other news, I just read today that American Home Mortgage is closing its doors after originating $59 billion in loans last year. The AHM office in Smyrna just relocated to a swanky new building earlier this year. Wells Fargo (so I hear) is making drastic cuts in the number of loans. Grim, but not hopeless!

Catch 22 in Smyrna

My brother was in a catch 22 when it comes to the city and damage to his vehicle.

A month or so ago at night he was driving down industrial blvd. near the airport. When suddenly a section of road work came up. Now you and I have seen these slits filled with dirt crossing the road. Normally they are filled in enough that a good bump is all you feel.

Normally...

This time when he hit this one the dirt had settled over the weekend or something and WHAM!!! Two bent rims on the right side. He had the pleasure of changing one tire right then, and the other one when he awoke the next morning.

Here is where the catch 22 comes into play..

I called the city hall and I was forwarded to a department (cannot remember which one) and asked what we should do to file a claim with the city. The lady I talked to informed me that we would have to file with his insurance company and have them file with the city.

Now here is the catch. If you file with your insurance, the cost of your insurance goes up, and it ends up being cheaper NOT to file within about a year, and no cost to the city.

My brother was able to hammer one rim enough to hold pressure and only had to replace the other. Of course out of his own pocket.

Nice 'catch 22' there.

This 'old' story was brought to my mind due to the city announcing this.

Road work to slow traffic on Smyrna’s Industrial Boulevard

Industrial Boulevard at Sam Ridley Parkway West will be limited to one lane traffic or closed for short periods from 7 p.m. Sunday until 7 a.m. Monday due to culvert work for the SuperTarget/Kohl’s project.

Motorists should use Chaney Road and Team Boulevard as an alternate route when Industrial is closed for short periods.

Enough damaged rims and the traffic will get REAL slow.

A short term guest in Smyrna

For about one day.

State Sen. Jerry Cooper will enjoy the company of our kind city for 24 hours.

State Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, did not contest DUI charges today in Rutherford County General Sessions Court.

Cooper was fined $350 and sentenced to 24 hours in custody at the Swaim DUI Center in Smyrna. Litter pickup was waived due to his physicial condition and 24 hours of public service work in Warren County was substituted.

Cooper, D-Morrison, was charged with DUI after his SUV overturned multiple times in a crash Feb. 7 on Interstate 24 east of the Buchanan Road exit.

If you see him say 'hi' from This is Smyrna, TN.

Smyrna Parks and Recreation 5K and High School Challenge

Pull out your old running shorts and prepare to run. The annual 5K run is going to be occurring next weekend.

It will be held at Sharp Springs Natural Area Park on August 11th at 7:30am. Entry Fee:
Pre-registering is $15 Day of the Race is $18

Be prepared for unusual traffic conditions that day.

Start your engines!!!!

All you NASCAR fans may want to cancel your plans for tonight and go here.

The award-winning Sleep Inn & Suites Hotel in Smyrna, Tennessee has partnered with Key Motorsports for the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on August 11th at the Nashville Superspeedway.

Recipients of the prestigious Gold Choice Hospitality Award, the Sleep Inn & Suites – Smyrna, TN .....

...located at 2689 Highwood Blvd. at I-24 and Route 266.

......
Key Motorsports team members will call the Sleep Inn & Suites Hotel in Smyrna home for race weekend and the driver of the #40 Westerman Companies Chevrolet Silverado for the Nashville race, rookie Brandon Miller, will make an autograph appearance at the hotel on Friday night from 8 to 9 p.m.

That's tonight so go and have some fun.

Tennessee as it once was.

During the harsher days of the depression life was not always good for the residents of Tennessee. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of what the poorer people had to endure.

While we today think a house has to get a certificate of occupancy from the government, some were just happy for a basic roof over their heads.

A one-room hut houses a family of nine in an open field between Camden and Bruceton, Tennessee, near the Tennessee River. The hut was built over the chassis of an abandoned Ford. Photograph by Carl Mydans, 1936

While their living quarters were rough, the basic necessities of life were even more sparce for the true poor.

The mother in a family of nine holds her baby. The family lives in a field on U.S. Route 70 in Tennessee, near the Tennessee River. Photograph by Carl Mydans, 1936

If you click on the image it will go to a larger image. Note the flour sack skirt.

In a way I'm surprised at this image. Note that her skirt is made of an unpatterned flour sack. Flour sacks were available in nice patterns to make clothing out of. Due to my age I touched upon this lifestyle just one time. When I was an infant in Kentucky, my mother was visiting my grandmother. In her life they wore a lot of cloths made from flour sacks. My grandmother made me a single one piece jumper out of some flour sack material that she still had in a chest. She got bothered with my mom when she took me to town in it. After all a lot of people could still recognize the old patterns back then, and it might have looked "poor".

With no WalMarts back then the general store was what you got everything at. And I do mean everything.

October 1935. View of the L.F. Kitts general store in Maynardville, Tennessee.

As all other states there were rich and poor. One of the historical events to effect the people of Tennessee was the TVA.

We went from this kitchen for the truly poor:

A 12-year-old girl in a family of nine cooks a meal in a rude, open lean-to hut in Tennessee. The family lives in an open field near the Tennessee River.
Photograph by Carl Mydans, 1936

To having this style of kitchen available:

A modern kitchen in a Tennessee Valley Authority house. Kitchen equipment for one of the new demountable houses, which the TVA is building for defense workers in the Muscle Shoals area in northern Alabama, includes electric range, water heater, and refrigerator. Photo from the Farm Security Administration Office of War Information Photograph Collection, 1941

A lot of history in our state.

Restaurants are coming

A few posts back, we wondered just what kind of new business establishment was under construction on Sam Ridley between Wendy's and Chick-Fil-A.

Rumors and speculation had it as a McDonald's or a Verizon store.

It's better......

Steak and Shake!

Woo-hoo....I've been wanting a Steak and Shake in Smyrna for years. Of course, this means I will now have to move into the Y to burn off the calories from a good shake from Steak and Shake..but I think it will be worth it. Plus, it will save a ton of money on the mortgage expenses. Only downside I can see is the Y only has some satellite TV system that doesn't get all the channels I watch.....

Also, under construction on Sam Ridley, near Lowes and the Razz is a Buffalo Wild Wings.

Now, if only they'd get cracking on that movie theater, I'd be happy.