Tag Archives: history

The Amish in Tennessee

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Amish in Ethrudge, TennesseeWhen you’re traveling on U.S. 43 in southern Middle Tennessee, Amish in Ethridge, Tennesseeyou’ll probably share the road with a horse-and-buggy or two. The town of Ethridge, about an hour south of Nashville, is an Amish community and a big tourist draw.  I met some Nashville friends there over the Fourth of July weekend for what we Amish craftsdo best: Eating, shopping and talking. Two of the three were successful, since we ate and talked with no problem whatsoever. But the shopping? Meh. Amish craftsSeveral buildings proclaiming “Amish crafts” and “Handmade Amish goods” hug the highway, but I’m suspicious. And yes, I know: I’m always suspicious. But this time I had good reason, I think. We were expecting to find gotta-have examples of folk-art, but we didn’t. We could have been in any craft shop anywhere — nothing said “I’m special! I’m different! Take me home!” I did spy some wonderfully whimsical furniture, but nothing else impressed. Maybe it’s our perception — when I think “Amish,” I think of high-quality American folk-art, but what we found instead was the same ol’-same ol’. Nothing wrong with that, but we were disappointed because we expected more. You know? We did browse through a nearby flea market, loaded up on Amish-made cookies, bread and candy (or maybe that was just me) and enjoyed an ice-cold Coke out of an ice-cold glass bottle just like we all grew up with. That — and hanging out with my friends — was worth the trip. Check it out yourself at http://www.tnvacation.com/vendors/amish_country_mall/

Corinth, Mississippi

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Borroum's Drug Store Whenever you get a hankering for real food in a real place, Borroum's Drug Store try Borroum’s Drug Store in Corinth, Mississippi. My husband and I were there on the Third of July, when Borroum’s was among the few downtown Corinth restaurants open for the holiday weekend. But Borroum’s is bustling even Borroum's Drug Store when everything else is open – it’s where the locals hang out every day and you should, too, although you’ll be immediately John Lewis Pittspegged as a visitor when you ask for a menu. This is the authentic old-fashioned soda fountain/drug store from years past. It’s crowded and noisy and messy and you need to check your cholesterol counter at the door. Husband had a cheeseburger and fries and I had the tuna melt, which truly was exactly like my mother used to make: More tuna than mayo. We had a great time eating and eavesdropping on Corinth gossip and people-watching as folks came in to the drugstore part. Then we enjoyed checking out the old photos and antique displays on the way out. Here’s the thing, though, that is what I love about Corinth: At Borroum’s and almost everywhere else in town, the old and the new and the history and the right-now sort of blend together and you can’t really tell the difference. In other towns, a place like Borroum’s would be a touristy spot that somebody bought and redecorated after it had changed hands from the original owners a couple times. In Corinth, it’s run by the original owner’s great-granddaughter — and it’s the real thing. Check it out at http://borroumsdrugstore.net/

Travel

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Florence AlabamaSometimes it’s fun to play tourist in your own town. My town is Florence, Alabama, and the other day I was waiting for a doctor’s appointment (stupid high cholesterol) and instead of eavesdropping on overhearing conversations in the waiting room — “And then the nurse told me I should have taken two tablets instead and I told her, ‘Honey, I can barely swallow one!'” — I decided to wander around the block. I’d never walked here before and I was tickled to find the Cedar Nest, http://www.cedarnest.net/, a tourist apartment I’d heard about but never really knew where it was. This one-bedroom apartment is just a block away from all the action of historic and hoppin’ downtown Florence. It’s like a bed-and-breakfast without the breakfast part, although you could walk to several downtown coffee shops and bring back breakfast to eat Historic downtown Florence, Alabamaon the treehouse balconies. Historic downtown Florence, AlabamaAcross the street, I found this beautifully stately house surrounded by an intricate — and slightly menacing? — iron fence. This house makes me think of a graceful and gracious older aunt who remembers her days as a young belle of the ball before her fiance was killed in the war and she spent the rest of her life gently fading away. Or maybe I should stop reading so many Victorian novels. Anyway, I believe that this mansard roof means the house dates from around 1860-1885. Aren’t you impressed that I know that? Thank you, Mr. Google!

House and Garden

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Historic homes in Decatur, Alabama
I was wandering around the historic district of Decatur, Alabama, the other day and found this gorgeous home. Couldn’t you just walk right in?

Gardens in Decatur, Alabama

Shopping

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With store-closings and business-bankruptcies in the news every day, it’s easy to forget that some favorite shopping destinations disappeared years ago. Remember, for instance, when downtowns featured thriving and vital department stores and it was a Big Deal to go shopping there? When we’d visit my grandparents in Illinois  I’d wear my best dress (this was when blue jeans were for playing outside only) and go with my grandmother to shop in downtown St. Louis. We’d admire the department-store window displays and then ride the elevator upstairs to the tea room. Tres chic! Read more shopping memories at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090320/ARTICLES/903205000

Cupcakes

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CupcakesI don’t know about you, but I could sure use a Sunshine on My Shoulder cupcake right about now. Either that or a Strawbaby Blush or Southern Belle. These yummy confections were at The Clay Cup Cafe on the square in Murfreesboro, Tennessee — my husband’s hometown and the place where we met at college and almost 30 years later got married. (Aw … I know. It’s sweet, isn’t it?) We were there for a couple days this past week while my husband went to a journalism workshop on creating new newsrooms. While he was pondering the fate of newspapers, I got to wander around town — one of my favorite pastimes. Murfreesboro is a wonderful town for Murfreesboro, Tennesseewalking, and in the morning I took my cupcake (it’s a great breakfast food) and cappuccino and strolled the historic-preservation districts. I always am in awe of the Boro’s dedication and commitment to historic authenticity — and I always find something new. For instance, I’d never before noticed this playhouse. I spied the 5-foot-high creation in the backyard of a stately Victorian and was immediately charmed. Isn’t it delightful? I would have loved to have crawled in there with my cupcake (OK, by this time in the walk I was on my second — I couldn’t lie to you!) and coffee and spent the rest of the day. But then my husband would have been left with a roomful of truth-seeking journalists, and I couldn’t do that to him.

Shopping

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Shopping in Huntsville AlabamaAfter a week of spring here in north Alabama, we were hit with Shopping in Huntsville, Alabamawinter again. It’s been rainy and cold for a few days now and everybody’s going around coughing and sniffing and complaining. ( I know, I know. Cold weather doesn’t really cause colds. But it can’t help.) My older daughter and Coffee shops in Huntsville, AlabamaI, however, recently braved the chilly rain and went out in search of spring. We found it at Al Christopher in Huntsville, Alabama — a wonderfully warm and cheerful shop in the historic Five Points area. We were charmed as soon as we walked in the door and saw candles, table ware, baby gifts, stationery and spa products that made me immediately want to go home and take a bath — in a good way. Also, those soft and silky pajama sets demand you lounge around the house all morning with a cup of espresso and a good book. (And of course you’d be wearing makeup and have your hair combed brushed and your teeth brushed. And the dishes washed and cat boxes cleaned out. Sigh.) Al Christopher is one of those shops that just makes you happy when you go in and wander around, which we did as long as my 11-month-old grandson allowed us to. Then we ducked into the nearby Olde Town Coffee Shoppe for that espresso and found touches of spring there, too, with this delightful recycled decor in the women’s room. I am so going to steal this idea.

Five Points, an Historic Preservation District, was a working-class neighborhood near downtown Huntsville. Dedicated supporters have preserved the area and encouraged its emergence as a vibrant arts and music venue. Most shops and eateries are in restored and remodeled bungalows that add so much character to retail spaces. Go here, http://fivepointshistoricdistrict.org/, for details.

Fashion

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Billy Reid fashion designerFlorence, Alabama, is a small Southern town known as the home of W.C. Billy Reid fashion designerHandy, Division II football powerhouse University of North Alabama and two famous and successful fashion designers. Natalie Chanin is one of those designers (see yesterday’s post for a look at her newest collection) and the other is — have you guessed it yet? — Billy Reid. Billy was born in Louisiana and grew up in Texas (Florence is his wife’s hometown), and his men’s and women’s clothes are evocative of a gently elegant and quietly genteel Southern way of life. He has stores in New York, Dallas and other cities, but the flagship store is in downtown Florence. It’s in a gorgeous 1833 house called Pickett Place that glows with family antiques and photographs — well worth the trip to Florence just to wander around and admire. Like his friend Natalie, Billy always is friendly and gracious — they both have that Southern way of making you feel they’ve waited all day just for the chance to talk to you. They each see their work not only as businesses but as connections for reaching out and reminding others of the art and food and history and craft that’s around every street corner and county road in Alabama — and your hometown, too. Check out Billy’s Web site at http://www.billyreid.com.

And if you’re like me and have to enjoy New York’s Fashion Week vicariously, check out these Web sites: Vogue’s http://www.style.com/ for photos and complete coverage of each show (don’t forget The Sartorialist for photos of off-the-runway fashion); http://www.nytimes.com/pages/fashion/index.html for intelligent discussion and background; and http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/ for the Fugly Girls’ signature and hilarious snarkiness. But we laugh because it’s true.

History

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wright-houseMy husband pointed out, rightfully so, that when I talked about the wfm_rosenbaum_house_interiorFrank Lloyd Wright book in yesterday’s post I forgot to mention one of the main reasons my book club read it in the first place: There’s a Wright house in northwest Alabama. In fact, there’s only one Wright-designed house in Alabama, and it’s the only Wright house in the Southeast that’s open to the public. But even with that pedigree, it’s sort of a hidden treasure — a little gem of a place that delights and entrances everybody who comes to visit. The Rosenbaum House in Florence, Alabama, sits on a bluff of the Tennessee River. It was built in 1939 for Frank (who worked in the family movie-theater business and also was a college professor) and his wife, Mildred (a model from New York City) Rosenbaum. Wright never visited the house, but he also designed an addition in 1948 when the family had grown to four sons. I love going through this house. It seems to have gently sprung out of its two-acre site, and inside every single inch of space is functional and efficient. And  the main building-material of cypress wood smells so good! If you’re ever anywhere near Florence, it’s worth a trip. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenbaum_House and http://www.wrightinalabama.com/.

Books

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loving-frank1You must put “Loving Frank,” by Nancy Horan, on your must-read list. It’s the story of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney and their clandestine and infamous love affair. The pair fell in love after Cheney and her husband commissioned a house from Wright. Both Cheney and Wright left their spouses and children for the other, but Cheney — an intelligent, educated and talented woman — suffered the most. She lost her children, was the subject of scorn and scandal and could barely support herself as a single woman. This is billed as an historic novel, but don’t let that put you off. Usually I’m irritated by authors who try to retell actual facts with their own creative spin, but it works here because of Horan’s extensive research and obsession with the truth. Horan lets Cheney’s voice — one that history and public relations seem to have silenced — come through strongly and authentically. This isn’t what Horan thinks happened, but what, as we come to know Cheney, must surely have happened. It’s a compelling love story, an intriguing look behind the historic facts and a damning treatise on the restrictions and injustices that hampered American women just 100 years ago.

Just a note here: In the interest of honesty, I did read this book. For one of my book-club meetings. Which I missed. Because I thought the meeting was on Tuesday night when it actually was on Wednesday night. But when I showed a night late at the house of my friend who was hosting the meeting, she graciously poured me a glass of wine anyway and we sat and talked about everybody who had been there the night before. In a good way, of course.