… of spring: fresh dewy strawberries, blueberries at their peak, tasty red raspberries – topped with the whipped cream sweetened with granulated sugar.
Berries were deliciouss! Little meringue shell – hard and crunchy….
How can it be the delicious berries are being eaten in mid September? Where do they come from to be at the peak of perfection this time of year? Anticipated with delight in the spring, yet here we are enjoying the delicious flavors when the seasons are changing into the time of apple harvest, pumpkins, hard gourds, little that has to do with spring and berry picking.
The answer: willingness to pay the cost. As it turns out, the goods are actually available at any time of year- shipped from foreign lands. Different hemispheres, on the far side of the planet: for whatever the buyer is willing to pay in order to get the goods. Basically like most of the items we purchase, goods we seem to think essential from food to conveyances and clothing: supply and demand. Things shipped in cargo containers that might or may not fall off in a storm on the high seas, end up at the bottom of the ocean, or land in the designated port on the Atlantic or Pacific coast.
… on Chickamauga Lake, east of Chattanooga. Part of the TN River watershed, the park was built by workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Booker T Washington State park was built on land leased from the Tennessee Valley Authority, as a recreation area for African Americans, by black enlistees of the CCC in the late 1930s. The Corps under a program supported by the Roosevelt era meant to provide employment for young men in need of work/income. The Works Progress Administration, with the structure based on/similar to the military had the men working in national parks and forests, planting trees, building campgrounds, receiving pay checks.. Helping men support families during the Depression era, a time of high unemployment prior to US involvement in the second World War.
At Booker T Washington State Park: facilities similar to those of the one built for ‘white’ people on the same body of water. Does that make any sense? No, not to me either. The one for Caucasians built by (white) CCC workers also on Lake Chickamauga is Harrison Bay State Park. Quietly integrated in the 1960’s, probably due to the Civil Rights Act that had to be forcibly shoved down the throats of southern states.
Fishing dock, as well as a boat ramp for boat owners to launch personal water craft. Fishing with a TN permit. Camping, hiking trails, bike trails. Picnic tables scattered around the park out in the open as well as under a large open-air roofed area, similar to a pole-barn, shed, suitable for family gatherings, or tail-gate events, summer camps by church groups or social clubs. Cabins also available as they are at many state parks across Tennessee.
There was a large area of cleared land, with a tall chain link fence around the edge, heavy yellow equipment bustling around. Inquiry lead to the information that the state was building a conference center. After tearing down a conference center on the same spot. There was a long tedious vetting process because the original building was so old there was reluctance to dismantle something of historic significance. Apparently all resolved, as the area is now cleared, down to red clay as the process of putting in infrastructure for a new building begins.
Walking along the edge the water, on a slanting shore covered with gravel and these little mussel shells. The water level was possibly eight to ten feet below normal – lowered in winter, with the expectation that spring rains would fill the reservoir back up to full pool.Anchored out in the middle of a slough near the edge of Chickamauga Lake, close to BT Washngton Park.
Looking closely on the bottom edge of the photo, you can see rocks on the lake bottom, showing how clear the water is.
… named for the man, Booker T Washington: was born into slavery, in Virginia in 1856, freed when Union troops reached the area where his family lived. He grew up to become a well known educator, and ardent supporter of helping African Americans succeed by giving them training in order to find meaningful employment and financial stability. Washington was the first president of the Alabama college that is now known as Tuskegee University, when it opened in 1881.
Given only the name of Booker when he was born, he later discovered his mother had also named him Talliferro, and chose Washington as a surname. Illiterate as a child, when Blacks were not allowed to learn to read and write, he taught himself, eventually attending Hampton Institute in Virginia, a school founded to educate Blacks and then Weyland Seminary in Washington DC. As an adult, Washington wrote a memoir “Up From Slavery”. He was the first Black man acknowledged to meet a US President, Teddy Roosevelt, on equal terms, when he dined in the White House. BT Washington died in 1915, still living on the campus of Tuskegee Institute.
The first African American to be honored by issuing his image on a US Postage stamp in 1940.
… east of Chattanooga, where there is a large lake, filled with water from the Tennessee River. Created when the dam was completed, several communities were flooded in the process. The vast area is a reservoir called Lake Chickamauga. Built under the auspices of the TN. Valley Authority, this lake and dam are one of a series meant to provide flood control for the river, as well as generating electricity.
There are two state parks on the south side of the lake, easily accessible by public roads. With boat ramps, cabins to rent, lodges with full commercial kitchens as venues suitable for large gatherings, fishing from piers, swimming, tent camping areas with amenities, biking trails as well as walking paths.
Although construction started in the 1930’s, the park was dedicated in 1950.Several wooden fishing piers, with pavilions for shade jut out into the water, for fishing, or just sitting in the shade gazing at the scenery.
Much of the following info is gleaned, condensed from an article found on the internet. Written by someone who was an intern with the parks service, interested in the history of BT Washington state park. Referencing local newspaper archives, and the Library of Congress, with quotes from letters, photos from news articles, this reddit post by Mychael Allen-Fenessee was filled with facts and details of the history discovered in the research.
Tennessee is the only state that used New Deal funds in the 1930’s to build parks. This one was built specifically for Negroes, with much of the labor provided by Blacks who were part of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was modeled on military service, with men trained in a variety of jobs during the years of the Depression, provided uniforms,housing, meals, wages in exchange for their labor. Working on projects across the nation, earning funds that could be sent back to families who were struggling with a devastated economy, providing the basic necessities during hard times.
In the era of segregation, the white population and blacks were in separate units in the branches of the military, with the CCC being no different. The men who worked on the Washington site were trained in all facets from electrical work and plumbing, to construction, engineering and mechanical work. The site work came to a standstill when the naval base in Hawaii was bombed and the US entered the war, causing most of the workers to join the military.
The park contains nearly four hundred acres, with a good portion of the property having dense trees and underbrush. Although there are paved roads, trails throughout, much of the land has been left in it’s natural state. Operated by the state parks service, the park is open year round.
An interesting footnote: when reading the article by Allen-Fenessee, he indicates most of the state parks were a result of labor provided by the Public Works administration, and employment of thousands of young, able-bodied men. Not sure if this applies nationwide, or just TN. The Civilian Conservation Corp was at work across the nation, employing men in a variety of roles. But if it is true across the US, the men were trained, provided training, housing, meals, work, pay.
During the era of high-unemployment after financial ruin, the men found meaningful work, sending home support to struggling families. As war raged in Europe, even before Pearl Harbor, the US was supplying goods to allied forces, with increased production to meet demand by the UK, opposing Germany’s aggression. Then the Navy, stationed in the Hawaiian Islands was hit, bringing the US into a global conflict, increasing demand for men in service and women in manufacturing
… inspirational motivational signs that keep mysteriously appearing all over town. Illegally, on utility poles along the edge of the street, close to curb. Often viewed when traffic is stopped at or adjacent to an intersection where driver would see them. Not always wording that would be provoking, some just thoughtful. Occasionally published poetry, some just ‘think about life from a different perspective’, occasionally try to consider how others are seeing/feeling situations.
There have been a few with just an interesting illustration, with no actual wording. One, a bit larger than average, posted on a pole, almost not noticeable. Near one of several tunnels that take traffic through a steep ridge, close to a private school.The illustration only has outlined cat shapes on the board attached to the pole. No wording, just notice all those felines. Sometimes: just amusing.
… a book from the library: a ‘southern-ism’ worth passing along. Most families will, over time, discover colloquial sayings, little oddments that are not likely found cropping up in other people’s conversations. Not necessarily unique to a particular region, area, culture, but just some small part of speech not commonly heard in other families or groups. Usually just a letter of the alphabet mispronounced as a youngster is hearing, listening, gradually increasing vocabulary when learning the common language of the family or community.
This noticed: around a dinner gathering when someone mentioned a garbled expression referring to nearby chain where essentials are purchased. A small child struggling to pronounce letters spoken by an adult, with the result being a late night run tot he supermarket to assure there would be milk to go on the Cheerios for breakfast: referring to the store as the ‘doddy-dough’ rather than preparing for a trip to grocery shop. Similar to a small friend whose inability to pronounce the letter “L” had him reporting that flying a kite required a ‘whittle’ wind, and a ‘whittle’ No Wind.
This summons an image many will easily recognize from too much television on a Saturday morning. With a bowl of cold cereal and milk, sitting on the shag carpeted floor in front a the screen that served as a sitter when parents were still in bed and allowed endless hours of mindless numbing cartoons. The screen was usually line drawings, always black-and-white without shading or color: but entertaining and such a great novelty to be allowed that time of unsupervised viewing. Other than the usual sibling squabble, with the eldest being the bully to decide between the TWO choices as one would end and the next begin.
Mickey Mouse: driving around a steep mountainous road, in a ridiculous cartoon vehicle, with the wheels wobbling at an outlandish angle, not actually possible due to the laws of physics, but drawn by those men in the workshop wearing their green celluloid visors, working under task-master deadlines for producing a certain number of frames per day. The axles on the vehicle opening to accommodate the twisting road, then collapsing to round a curve. Background music usually some classical piece appropriated from a previous century – borrowed for adding a note of urgency as a ‘score’.
… from a weekly newspaper. There has been a lot of information printed in recent weeks after the somewhat surprising, unexpected death of the beloved entertainer and All Round Decent Human Dolly Parton. The drawing is clever, with the outline of that well-known piece of clothing she wrote about, as well as the song lyrics, many of which she seemed to spontaneously generate along with musical accompaniment.
A bit of backstory to give history of how the garment, as well as how the recording came to be. She was a young, budding artist, working in Nashville, under the guidance of Porter Wagoner who hired her as a singer. Waggoner was well- established, a successful popular touring musician. Traveling on a tour bus, she could find nothing to preserve her thoughts to pen the lyrics on: other than a piece of paper that was a dry-cleaning receipt. Writing on the back of paper picked up from the laundry whee his flashy custom-designed, rhine-stone covered suits were taken.She used the scrap of paper to write her thoughts.Dolly eventually gave him the preserved paper, which he kept and had framed. Now in the museum dedicated to her life in DollyWood, along with a recreation of that coat her mother made from the box of cast-off fabric given to the family.
… in Chattanooga. On the north side of town, at the intersection of Ely Rd, and Ashland Terrace, between Dayton Blvd., and Hixson Pike. The Lane Funeral Home has a memorial service to honor those Americans who died in the terror attack in 2021:New York City,Pentagon, Shanksville, Pennsylvania. There are almost three thousand small upright American flags planted in tidy rows in a small grassy plot just off the edge of the street, at the
According to the information found in the internet, the display is installed by a group of ROTC students in early September, with plans to have a Day of Remembrance Memorial celebration that includes speakers, recognition of first responders, and patriotic tributes.Though the little flags are fairly small, the overall display is impressive: a noticeable, thoughtful way to remember Patriot’s Day without appearing to be overblown gaudy or tacky. The little cloth flags, printed with red, white and blue are about three by five inches. Large enough to notice as vehicles pass, stop at the traffic signal, wait to make a turn, but discreet: A reminder about our collective history, a reason for gratitude.
… for something that has limited appeal: if you are not the person in your household who regularly does the laundry, not interested in making the chore a bit easier, no need to read further. This recipe is a proven resource for helping with problems in cloth. The guy who shared it with me, does most of that particular chore at his house, which seems like an unusual choice for a man. Maybe just me being biased, but it seems like most of the males of a ‘certain age’ were not trained in their youth to take care of their own clothing. Raised by mothers who did the work: sorting, washing, drying, ironing, folding, putting away.
The scenario I clearly remember: my brother coming home on a Friday from uni with a duffel full of dirty clothes. Leaving on a Sunday afternoon with all those clothes clean, ironed, on hangers ready to be worn. Without him giving a thought to how they got out of the dirty laundry bag, or who did all the work of folding or ironing, putting on hangers. All the effort required to have him ready to load the car with his freshly laundered clothing, ready to return to his studies.
This recipe is for removing stains. Like putting an ink pen in your pocket with the point exposed so it leaks on your shirt. Grease from food accidentally spilled on a good shirt or blouse that too quickly absorbs the salad dressing or ketchup when you dipped your fries before it could get to your mouth, dropping bits on your shirt front. Checking the oil level under the hood before starting out on a road trip, and getting a drip on your pant leg. We all know that any type stain is best treated as soon as possible, and certainly before you put the item in the washer. But in a perfect world…
Equal parts baking soda, original Dawn, peroxide. Works best when freshly mixed,not so effective after sitting a while. So only mix in small quantities like 1/4 tsp. of each ingredient to avoid throwing away the excess.
Pretty simple recipe. And if it doesn’t work you have not really lost anything except the effort, as it will not damage the fabric or remove the color to the point that it has to go to the thrift store. Which is really not the worst thing ever, as a trip to the Goodwill will provide an opportunity to thumb through the rack, just in case there might be something interesting. Always in the market for another long-sleeved, button front shirt – light weight enough to not be ‘seasonal’,and something that can be worn year-round.
… town, where several of those signs of affirmation were spotted (illegally) posted on utility poles. Near the area where there are several soccer fields, charter schools, a large house of worship, social service programs started by local non-profits to benefit minorities, teaching English as a Second Language, providing assistance with housing, meals, other connections to support and benefit hose coming into the area without resources.
The signs, according to what has been published on the internet: remain a mystery. A particular individual’s name is attached to sparse information available: though maybe taken with a grain of salt as many things generated by the world of artificial intelligence should be without confirmation. Materials used are often donated, especially if the size of the posted sign on those utility poles seems to appear to be within the parameters of those small political campaign notices scattered along the edges of public thoroughfares.
Those little plastic ‘vote for’ identifiers, looking like they are made of corrugated plastic, similar to a cardboard carton, but completely weather-proof. With names of candidates on wire frames visible along the right of way at polling places: community centers, churches, government facilities where voting occurs. Not every candidate wins, of course, so perhaps those who are no longer competing agree to have those political notices recycled and turned into the affirmations, encouragements, thought-y messages posted for public observation?
Most of the small notices, seen when passing slowly enough to take a quick photo, appear to be mounted with a washer, wood screw, probably a hand-held drill. Maybe from the back of a truck or van for height. Actually, some disappear after a few days: which makes it likely other passers-by have found the sentiment posted so appealing it vanished into private ownership…
