One
might wonder why someone of my age would leave the warmth of the south and the
readily available access to my favorite past time--- golf and move north. I am
not sure I understand it either, other than my wife Connie was never able to
move south and two of my grand children are in Iowa. So off I went to
Coralville moving in a new way---container method.
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Aaron and Darron "Arm-
Strong" third year residents
heading down the road to
Savannha
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The other Arm-Strong, this one Jack
A Savannha boy and going back
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The strong arms of Aaron,
Darron and Jack horsed the weighty items into ABF containers; Connie and I
filled in the gaps and got everything we agreed to take to Iowa into two 7 x 8 x 7 boxes.
The “Strong Arms aka Arm-Strong's” didn't like my ideal of leaving the glass top on my desk---And
they were right. It and one framed picture broke. The rest of the “Stuff” (see
George Carlin’s routine regarding “Stuff”) arrived unscathed. Thank you fellows
for what you have done for and will do for the specialty of Periodontics! After
packing, cleaning out and loading our stuff the containers were hauled out of
Martinez July 12 and driven to storage facility in Cedar Rapids until we were
back in Iowa.
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Super Ruth with Connie & me
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I left Augusta July 31 and picked-up Connie at Jackson-Hartsfield
airport about 7:30. We headed north toward Rome, Georgia and had a very nice
visit with a special lady, Ruth. Ruth made it possible to get the residency
program on track through her dedication, perseverance and sense of humor. It
was so nice to
have lunch and visit with
Ruth. What a nice set-up living in a big house with, can you believe a golf
course, in the back yard! I couldn’t get through the “stuff” in the car to
recover my clubs, so I will have to get back there and see if I can break 90. Before
leaving Rome, Ruth drove us around Berry College, the world’s largest college
campus, encompassing 26,000 acres. What a neat layout. While leaving Rome, we
drove by the Major Ridge home which we had toured 3-4 years ago. The
interesting thing about Major Ridge is that as a full blooded Cherokee leader,
he was “hood winked” by the federal government and president Andrew Jackson into
signing a treaty, the Treaty of New Echota, which required the
Cherokee’s to migrate from Georgia to Oklahoma. The politically correct term
was the Indian Removal but in reality it was definitely a “Trail of Tears”.
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Major Ridge Cherokee
Indian leader
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Although Ridge thought he was doing the right thing, he realized too late that
the white man had duped him and his people. He was considered a traitor by the Cherokees and
four years later, 1839, was assassinated along with his only son and a
nephew---another tear trail.
Our
goal while driving back to Iowa was to stay off the interstate highways. For
the most part, we drove low trafficked roads which gave us a glimpse of
discovery. One such discovery was the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Battlefields,
where fierce fighting resulted in a back and forth positioning of the union and
confederate armies and the eventual death knell of the confederacy. It was
interesting to see how open the battlefields were and how too often the troops
stood there blasting each other like shooting at target manikins. I was
surprised that some battles tactics were similar to the Revolutionary War.
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Iowa Monument
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One
from Iowa cannot leave northwestern Georgia and southern Tennessee without
visiting some of the monuments commemorating fallen Iowans. One very impressive
monument is located just off highway US 27 at Rossville, GA only 500 feet from
Tennessee. This particular monument
remembers the 4th Infantry, 1557 strong that suffered 402
fatalities.
After
a good night’s rest we headed for Leipers Fork, TN. Leipers Fork, Tennessee you
say! Yes a little berg featured in June’s issue of Country Living magazine. Leipers
Fork was a bustling town in the late 1800’s into the 1930’s. It served as the
only Tennessee town on the Natchez Trace. For anyone who has watched the
History Channel program called American Pickers will recognize the name Mike
Wolfe. Well, Mike has an abode in Leipers Fork along with the likes of such
stars as Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw.
We met a very spiffy, energetic lady
named Marty in the store she once owned. She now helps the current owner when
needed. Marty knows the town folks like the back of her hand given she and her
husband were major engineers of the rebirth of Leipers Fork. She told Connie a
story of the popularity of Mike Wolfe.
She said when tourists spotted Mike at the local eatery Country Boy,
people swarmed around Mike to hear his wisdom and get an autograph. Meanwhile
Kenny Chesney sat undisturbed only a few feet away. We found all the businesses
except Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant
very friendly and helpful. I had to pull one of the Maze traditional
dissatisfaction steps for Puckett's,
by leaving my selected items for purchase at the counter. It is so frustrating
to have an employee and in this case the owner, ignore you completely. They
weren’t out a lot of money but they will never see us walk in their doors. I
don’t know where the Duke’s of Hazard or
Smokey
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Can't you see Jackie Gleason
flying down the road with
lights and sirens blazing?
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and the Bandit
originated from but the patrol car sitting outside Leipers Fork caused my heart
to skip a beat when I realized I was speeding. Once it was clear it was sitting
there with Burt Reynolds car for promotional purposes, Connie laughed and told me
to pose for a picture.
One of
the places we had been before was Berea, Kentucky. Because we had such a nice
experience before, it just seemed right to divert off route and stop in Berea
again. There is a nice art community in Berea but the most interesting part of
visiting the city is the college. Berea
College, aka BC, is a Christian based school with an enrollment of 1,560. BC
was started by a staunchly moral religious leader, John G. Fee in 1855. This
was the first interracial and coeducational college in the
South. Cassius
Clay, not the boxer Mohammad Ali/Cassius Clay, but a prominent land
baron that detested slavery. Clay bank rolled Fee’s salary, gave him land and
built a house plus a one room school. The school became Berea College. Berea
was named after the biblical town whose populace was open-minded and receptive
to the bible. Berea charges no tuition,
so students can graduate with very little or no debt. Students must have upper
level academic scores, be of a low social economic level and work throughout
their educational experience at BC. So one sees students working on the
landscape, waitressing, cleaning rooms in the Boone Tavern (a great place to
stay) and so on. Some of the talented artists make their contribution to the
galleries to repay the estimated $26,000 tuition that is paid by the school. We had lunch at the Boone Tavern, favorite of
the locals and tourists. While holding
the door for folks behind me, a quite distinguished gentleman rushed to take
advantage of my manners. Unfortunately, he slipped on a rug and nearly did half
gainer into to the door glass. I felt sorry for him yet the chattiest and most
optimistic individual I have met in some time, regained his composure and
started talking our leg off. When it came time to pay for our meal, the waitress
said the bill was already paid compliments of Judge Wilson, the chatty fellow.
We were so impressed that we decided we would gift a reasonable amount of money
to the Berea College Education Fund. What a good feeling Berea, Kentucky gave
us even though we are not the biggest fans of spoon bread, a famous dessert at the
Boone Tavern.
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Connie rubs Abe's nose for
good luck along with the
millions before her.
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The next stop was Springfield, Illinois, pre-presidential
home of Abraham Lincoln. We have been there several times and recommend the
trip to anyone who has not been there. As you can see from the photograph, we
spent time at Lincoln’s grave site. Mary Todd Lincoln and three of the children,
who died way too early, are also entombed there. The Lincoln Museum is a special treat with
wonderful displays and interactive programs. Holograms and unique sound effects
give a Disney /Spielberg feel. We noticed the upkeep at the grave siteand the
surrounding areas of Springfield had slid since last being there. Sign of the time I guess.
Springfield is about four hours to Coralville so we
headed out on less traveled roads toward Iowa. A place we have been curious about
is Antique Archaeology in Le Claire, Iowa. This is the home of American Pickers telecast on the History Channel. When we drove through Le Claire, I thought
we would easily find Antique Archaeology but we ended up out of the main drag within
a couple blocks. After driving several miles east of Le Claire, I asked someone
directions. We drove right by earlier. Probably because we thought the business
would be much larger.
It is the size of an old fashion service station and most
of the limited merchandise on display is just that, on display. Mike, Frank and
Danielle were not there but I never expected to see the stars of the number one
reality show out and about. Danielle’s
sister, a dead ringer for Danielle, was operating 4 Miles 2 Memphis, a clothing boutique. It is obvious that Mike’s
interest in motorcycles transcends his interest in bicycles in terms of fan
following. There were more motorcycles surrounding the shop by twenty fold
compared bicycles. Someday I will need to ride my bike to the shop to represent
the bicycling community.
We got back to Coralville after four days on the
road. ABF dropped the containers in the driveway four days later. Chris and his
buddy Brian helped unload. Everything but a broken picture and a glass
top on my desk made it fine. It has been
a challenge to squeeze in Georgia residence stuff with Coralville stuff, but it
is getting closer. I sprained my left wrist so golfing has been limited but I
have ridden the bike with brother Don, niece Susan and her family along the
Iowa River and through the campus of the University of Iowa. I decided I will
ride my bike to pick up a few things from the grocery store. A three mile bike
trail to North Liberty is very handy. Riding back and forth there and early morning
walks with Connie are helping me to get in shape. Brother Don and I will knock off
a segment of my Traversing America via Rail Trails (TAVRTO) route next week, riding
from Marshalltown to Melbourne, Iowa. I will post that ride next.
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