Fall 2009, Tennessee Home and Farm

Tenne sse e

Home & Farm tnhomeandfarm.com Fall 2009

HEARTH & SOUL Primm Springs resident bakes bread the ancient way SEE VIDEO ONLINE

BACKROADS TREASURES Quilt barns brighten up the state’s hollows this season

THE GREAT PUMPKIN

Fall favorite yields recipes from appetizers to desserts

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Published for the 642,442 family members of the Tennessee Farm Bureau

Ten n e ssee

Home & Farm An official publication of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation © 2009 TFBF Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation tnfarmbureau.org

EDITOR Pettus Read CIRCULATION MANAGER Stacey Warner BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Lacy Upchurch, Vice President Danny Rochelle DIRECTORS AT LARGE Jeff Aiken, Charles Hancock, Linda Davis DISTRICT DIRECTORS Malcolm Burchfiel, James Haskew, Eric Mayberry, Dan Hancock, David Mitchell STATE FB WOMEN’S CHAIRMAN Jane May ADVISORY DIRECTORS Dr. Joseph DiPietro, State YF&R Chairman Mark Klepper CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Julius Johnson TREASURER Wayne Harris COMPTROLLER Tim Dodd

CU S TO M M AG A Z INE M ED I A

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jessy Yancey COPY EDITOR Joyce Caruthers CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Carol Cowan, Catherine Darnell, Susan Hamilton, Laura Hill, Anthony Kimbrough, Jessica Mozo, Karen Schwartzman, Ryan Vaden, Cassandra M. Vanhooser DATA MANAGER Chandra Bradshaw SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Brian McCord

Editor’s note

Beefing Things Up Fall certainly appeals to the senses: the crisp autumn breezes, the roar of the crowd at football games, the savory aroma of steaks on the grill. It’s time for tailgating and backyard cookouts sans the humidity, and we’ve partnered with the Tennessee Beef Industry Council to give away a brand-new grill to one lucky reader. Learn more on page 6, and be sure to visit tnhomeandfarm.com to enter the contest before Nov. 1.

(By the way, you can also find some tasty beef recipes for on and off the grill at www.beefup.org.)

We’ve also beefed up the intro to our magazine, as you can see below. Often, our stories invite you to journey to new places throughout the state, and this map gives a quick glance at some of the traveloriented destinations included in this issue. We can’t fit all of our content here, but we hope this makes planning day trips a bit easier and inspires you to take a peaceful drive through the fall foliage to visit one of the countless attractions Tennessee has to offer.

Happy travels!

Jessy Yancey, associate editor thaf@jnlcom.com

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jeff Adkins, Todd Bennett, Antony Boshier, Ian Curcio, J. Kyle Keener PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT Anne Whitlow CREATIVE DIRECTOR Keith Harris ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Christina Carden PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGER Katie Middendorf

At a Glance / A sampling p g of destinations in this issue

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Laura Gallagher, Kris Sexton, Candice Sweet, Vikki Williams WEB IMPLEMENTATION DIRECTOR Andy Hartley

4/Algood

WEB DESIGN DIRECTOR Franco Scaramuzza WEB PROJECT MANAGER Yamel Ruiz

3/Pottsville

WEB DESIGN Carl Schulz WEB PRODUCTION Jennifer Graves COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN Twila Allen

5/Jonesborough 2/Sevierville

1/Brunswick

AD TRAFFIC Marcia Millar, Patricia Moisan, Raven Petty CHAIRMAN Greg Thurman PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Bob Schwartzman EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Ray Langen SR. V.P./SALES Carla H. Thurman SR. V.P./OPERATIONS Casey E. Hester V.P./SALES Todd Potter V.P./VISUAL CONTENT Mark Forester V.P./EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Teree Caruthers

1/ Peek into the past at Davies Manor Plantation in Brunswick page 18 2/ Bring home some ginger gold or Arkansas Black apples from Mountain View Farm in Sevierville page 8 3 / Taste the down-home cooking at Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse & Bakery in Pottsville page 25

V.P./CUSTOM PUBLISHING Kim Newsom PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Natasha Lorens PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Jeffrey S. Otto CONTROLLER Chris Dudley ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER, CUSTOM DIVISION Beth Murphy

4 / Take a tour of the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail in Algood page 12 5 / Or, explore the Northeast Tennessee Quilt Trail that starts in Jonesborough page 12

INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER Robin Robertson DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR Gary Smith INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Yancey Turturice SALES SUPPORT Rachael Goldsberry SALES/MARKETING COORDINATOR Rachel Matheis Tennessee Home & Farm is produced for the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation by Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080.

All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reprduced in whole or in part without written consent.

Member

Magazine Publishers of America Member

Custom Publishing Council Please recycle this magazine

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

TENNESSEE HOME & FARM (USPS No. 022-305) Issued quarterly by the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, 147 Bear Creek Pike, Columbia, TN 38401, (931) 388-7872. Periodical permit paid at Columbia, TN, and additional entry offices.

POSTMASTER Send address corrections to: Tennessee Home & Farm Executive Offices, P.O. Box 313, Columbia, TN 38402-0313.

SUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESS Contact your county Farm Bureau office. TH&F is included in your $25 Farm Bureau annual dues; no other purchase necessary.

ADVERTISING POLICY For advertising information, contact Robin Robertson, (800) 333-8842, ext. 227, or by e-mail at rrobertson@jnlcom.com.

All advertising accepted is subject to publisher’s approval. Advertisers must assume all liability for their advertising content. Publisher and sponsor maintain the right to cancel advertising for nonpayment or reader complaint about service or product. Publisher does not accept political or alcoholic beverage ads, nor does publisher prescreen or guarantee advertiser service or products. Publisher assumes no liability for products or services advertised in Tennessee Home & Farm.

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Table of Contents

Features 8 / The Apples of Their Eyes

Tennessee orchards offer many apple varieties and sweet family memories

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12 / Backroads Treasures

Quilt barns brighten up the hollows of Tennessee this season

16 / Hearth & Soul

Artisan baker makes bread the ancient way

18 / A Pioneer’s Life for Me

Davies Manor Plantation gives visitors a glimpse at the olden days

20 /The Great Pumpkin Fall favorite yields recipes from appetizers to desserts

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Departments 4 / From Our Readers

Members tell us what they think

5 / Read All About It

The joy of nighttime tractor rides

6 / Short Rows

Win a brand-new grill

24 / Country Classics

Fudge with a mystery crunch

25/ Restaurant Review

Country cooking with a country star

26 /Gardening

Going green in the garden

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28 /Farmside Chat

Meet David and Margie Hunter

33 /To Good Health

Insurance buyer beware

36 /Travel

Get your kicks in Knoxville

40 /Events & Festivals

Things to do, places to see

48 /View From the Back Porch Finding thankfulness on the farm

ON THE COVER Pumpkin Ginger Soup Photo by Jeffrey S. Otto tnhomeandfarm.com

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From Our Readers Tenne sse e

FOOD & RECIPES

online TRAVEL

HOME & GARDEN

TENNESSEE LIVING

Dee [“His Ducks in a Row,” Summer 2009] is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Thanks for doing such a wonderful story on him. The pictures in the article are amazing, too. Just a note that Dee now has new quarters in the Wellwood country store that moved to Casey Jones Village this spring.

Deborah Laman Casey Jones Village, Jackson Editor’s note: We made an error in printing Dee Moss’s phone number.

The correct number is (731) 668-2782.

For more information or to visit his new studio, give him a call or go to www.caseyjonesvillage.com.

tnhomeandfarm.com > CONTEST

Win a Grill!

It’s tailgating time! Sign up for our grill giveaway, sponsored by the Tennessee Beef Industry Council. See page 6 for more details.

Food & Recipes

Home & Garden

Get even more grilling recipes, from bold burgers to fresh veggies, in our online Recipe Center.

Read about the Great Pumpkin Festival and Weigh-Off in Allardt, and get gardening tips from a pumpkin grower.

Travel

Tennessee Living

Discover the history and culture Adams, Tenn., where each October you can see the annual play, Spirit, which tells the legend of the Bell Witch.

Find out which Tennessee team afflicted our writer with Football Fever. Read this and other autumnal reflections by Southern authors.

Only Online

Watch videos, find recipes, enter contests and more.

Gentry’s Farm Visit our video gallery for a tour of this Franklin farm’s seasonal attractions, including a hayride and pick-your-own pumpkins.

Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/tnhomeandfarm

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My husband Bruce and I have lived in Tennessee for almost 10 years now. I thoroughly enjoy reading each issue of Home & Farm magazine and find it has helped me learn more about the state.

As I read the articles, I find it necessary to pull out a map of Tennessee. Would it be possible to put an outline of the state of Tennessee with the appropriate county marked?

I have learned quite a few of the counties in East Tennessee, but knowing Middle and West Tennessee is another story!

Thank you for such a quality magazine for Tennessee Farm Bureau members!

Gwen Sheldon Sevierville Editor’s note: We’ve been considering something like this for a while – especially after a few readers of our Spring 2009 issue pointed out that there are two Tennessee towns called Halls located on either side of the state.

Starting with this issue, you’ll find an At a Glance map on page 2 that makes it easier to see the locations of some of the travel-oriented stories before you get in the car. We hope this helps!

Questions, comments and story ideas can be sent to: Jessy Yancey, 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, or e-mail us at thaf@jnlcom.com. tnfarmbureau.org

Read All About It

Daddy’s Old Tractor THERE’S JUST SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT WORKING THE FIELD UNDER THE STARS s nighttime falls in rural communities across the state this time of the year, the droning sound of farm tractors running can still be heard. Days on the farm during harvest time can run long, and it is nothing unusual for farm tractors to be working hard all through the night in Tennessee fields.

The other night I, too, was in the field.

Not harvesting crops, but merely catching up on some bush-hogging that needed to be done.

Not claiming to be a full-time farmer, I am one of those who find it hard to not enjoy getting on a tractor every now and then. I guess I would be classified as one of those you-can’ttake-the-country-out-of-the-boy types.

There is something to be said about working in a field at night. What I am about to say may not mean as much if you haven’t ever looked to the edge of your tractor lights into the darkness from a tractor seat during an evening work period.

The coolness of the evening, the flickers of lightning bugs, the mixed smell of honeysuckle and diesel, and an occasional mosquito buzz are all part of the experience of nighttime farming. That is, of course, if you are on a tractor without a cab. I’m still using my daddy’s old Massey Ferguson and have not progressed to a cab tractor with airconditioning and a radio. And, the way it looks on my farm, those days of progression are a long way away.

However, there is something to be said about Daddy’s old tractor. You see, this was his first and only brand-new tractor, purchased back in the 1980s. He passed away in 2001, and getting to use his most prized possession makes the evening even more special. He loved working on that tractor, and when I use it, it

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seems to bring him back to me for a while.

The tools he used to repair and hook up the equipment are still in the toolbox on the fender, just as he left them. There is even a half-used pouch of Red Man still in the box, and there it will remain.

I make sure to follow his rules of always checking the oil before use, greasing all fittings and joints, and keeping it full of fuel.

The first time I ever worked on a tractor at night was under his guidance. I rode many nights in our Middle Tennessee fields with him at the wheel. He taught me how to drive using the lights as my guide and to keep a careful watch for the unknown in the darkness ahead.

There is still something magical about the area not reached by the lights of your tractor.

All farmers know their fields and could almost work them without lights on a moonlit night, yet that area where the lights don’t reach seems to have a different feel and look at night than on a sunny day. Again, you would have to be there to really understand.

Daddy’s old tractor has done quite a bit of nighttime farming. The lights are now bent and loose from use, but they still work as a guide for his son to cover the ground. I think I’ve felt many of the things Daddy must have felt on those evenings he spent in the fields. Feelings of desire to finish the task before the rains blow in, good feelings of providing for his family, feelings of completion, and a feeling of closeness to nature and our Creator.

Yep, Daddy’s old tractor and I do enjoy working together – especially on some nights.

Maybe someday I’ll leave something in the toolbox on the fender for the next driver to reminisce about. However, it won’t be a pouch of Red Man. I’m not half the man that my daddy was.

About the Author Pettus L. Read is editor of the Tennessee Farm Bureau News and director of communications for the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation.

SEE MORE ONLINE

Read his weekly blog of country wisdom and wit in the Tennessee Living section at tnhomeandfarm.com.

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Short Rows

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1/ Grill Giveaway Whether you’re cooking steaks in the backyard on a cool autumn evening or flipping burgers while tailgating at the big game, a quality grill certainly comes in handy this time of year.

In the midst of prime tailgating time, the Tennessee Beef Industry Council has partnered with Tennessee Home & Farm to present one lucky reader with a brand-new stainless steel gas grill. Find official rules and fill out an entry form online at tnhomeandfarm.com before Nov. 1, 2009.

In the meantime, you can pay a visit to www.beefup.org to learn about the nutritional benefits of beef in your diet, ways to reduce fat when cooking beef and delicious beef recipes such as Oven-Braised Short Ribs.

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2 / Broad Access for Broadband A Nashville-based nonprofit called Connected Tennessee works to bring broadband to the state’s rural areas.

Not sure what broadband is? It’s a high-speed Internet service that is faster and of higher quality than dial-up, and increasing its availability builds better business climates and enhances education.

Operating under the umbrella of Connected Nation, the independent group needs input from people without broadband to aggregate the demand.

“In Lauderdale County, we were able to map the demand for broadband and present it to a broadband provider in that county, ECSIS.net, who then built out to meet the demand,” explains

Mandy Hale, Connected Tennessee’s public affairs specialist.

Visit www.connectedtn.org to learn more about the program. To help bring broadband to your area, click on the button that says, “Broadband is not available to me yet.”

3 / Birds of a Feather Our feathered friends now have stately places to call home.

Flocking to more than a dozen state parks are birdhouses featuring local license plates as roofs. These Tennessee-inspired birdhouses are made by From the Heart of Tennessee, a program sponsored by the state’s Division of Mental Retardation Services, which serves as a creative outlet for Tennesseans with tnfarmbureau.org

TN FARM FRESH developmental disabilities. Proceeds from the birdhouses then go back to help fund the program.

So far, the license plates featured include the state flag, the University of Tennessee, Lady Volunteers and state parks. To purchase a birdhouse, contact Gary Smith at (901) 745-7673 or Gary.Smith@state.tn.us, or visit a participating state park.

4 / Some Like It Hot A Parrotsville-based farm grows what many consider to be the hottest pepper on the planet.

The largest habanero farm in the state, Big S Farms owner Wesley Snyder attributes its success to “some of the richest soil in the world.”

Located in the foothills of the Smokies, the farm grows dozens of varieties of habaneros to make its allnatural, preservative-free gourmet hot sauce and salsa products, which have names such as Tennessee Thunder and Smoke on the Mountain.

Go online to www.bigsfarms.net to purchase their flavorful products, as well as to find recipes that use the healthy habanero.

Festive Fall Fun on the Farm The term field trip certainly lives up to its name at Gentry’s Farm. The Franklin farm educates elementary students each fall about agriculture and history by exploring farm traditions.

From the last weekend of September through the month of October, the farm is open to the public on Saturdays (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sundays (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.). Because it has a school group focus, Gentry’s Farm is geared toward a younger audience and offers hayrides, farm animals, tire swings, barn activities, a straw maze, a corn maze and other fun things to do.

Supply doesn’t last long in the farm’s pick-your-own pumpkin patch, but the pumpkin tent provides an alternative. Pumpkins vary in price and size, with the smaller and cheaper ones coming from the 25-acre patch. In addition to pumpkins, you can choose from a variety of gourds grown right on the farm.

Picnics are restricted to the farm’s parking area, but popcorn, baked goods and drinks are sold at the concession stand inside the activities area.

On weekdays in October, Gentry’s Farm hosts school field trips where kids enjoy a “crazy maze,” activity centers and a pumpkin patch hayride to retrieve their own pumpkins. The farm begins to take reservations for fall field trips on Aug. 18.

Purchased by Samuel Fielding Glass in 1849, Gentry’s Farm has been in Rebecca Gentry’s family for more than 150 years. The land was originally used to raise cotton and dairy cows. Today, pumpkins, winter wheat, soybeans and corn join beef cattle on the nearly 400-acre farm.

Gentry Farm is located off New Highway 96 West in Williamson County, about 4 miles from the downtown Franklin square.

5/ History’s Mystery He was one of America’s greatest explorers – and his untimely death in Tennessee is considered one of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

While traveling along the Natchez Trace in 1809, Meriwether Lewis died from gunshot wounds at an inn near what is now Hohenwald. The death was ruled a suicide, but to this day some believe Lewis was murdered.

In honor of the 200th anniversary of his death and burial, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation is holding a commemorative event on Oct. 7, 2009, at the Meriwether Lewis Grave and Monument. Two other Hohenwald festivals are planned for that weekend, and you can learn more at www.hohenwaldlewischamber.com. tnhomeandfarm.com

SEE MORE ONLINE

Check out the action and scenes of Gentry’s Farm in a video at tnhomeandfarm.com.

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Food

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The

Apples of Their

Eyes ORCHARDS OFFER APPLE VARIETIES AND SWEET FAMILY MEMORIES

STORY BY JESSICA MOZO PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY S. OTTO

W

here Jack Bailey’s family is concerned, you might say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The Memphis native spent his childhood learning to bake pies and make jams and jellies with his grandmother.

Today he does the same thing at Mountain View Orchard, the Sevier County apple farm he owns with his wife, Sandi.

After practicing dentistry for 28 years, Jack and Sandi fulfilled their longtime dream of moving to the Smoky Mountains and starting an apple orchard. They bought property in Sevierville in 1995 and began planting apple trees in 1997. By the time Jack retired in 2000, the trees were beginning to bear fruit, and the couple started selling produce and other

If You Go… Mountain View Orchard is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., from around the end of September until the apples sell out, probably in mid-November. Call (865) 429-8649 or visit their Web site at www. mountainvieworchard.com to plan your visit.

Mountain View Orchard has 1,800 apple trees. tnhomeandfarm.com

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Food

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Jack and Sandi Bailey, left, first planted apple trees on their Sevierville farm in 1997. Today, their sales house, above, sells 13 varieties of apples, including Arkansas Black, which is one of their last to ripen.

value-added products to the public in 2005.

“We have 1,800 apple trees and 13 varieties of apples, and we’re going to be adding three or four more varieties in the next few years,” Jack says. “We also grow and sell sweet potatoes, butternut and winter squash, and pumpkins.”

The Baileys have also built a bakery that has opened in time for their 2009 season.

“One of our top sellers is fried apple pies,” Jack explains, “and we want to branch out into making doughnuts and pastries this year.” He also makes and sells whole apple pies, fresh apple cider, apple butter, crabapple jelly, plum jam, wild blackberry jam and apple blossom honey from recipes he has collected from his grandmother and other sources.

“We’re planning to add picnic tables, and we need to expand our parking because we were so busy last year,” he says. “We’re seeing more locals and tourists buying in bulk to do their own canning – there’s been a big explosion in this area of people wanting to make their own food. The whole scheme of orchards and fresh markets has been helped a lot by the public’s desire to buy locally grown food.”

When people visit Mountain View Orchard, they often ask to make sure the produce they’re buying is really homegrown.

“People want to know where their food is coming from. We’ve even had some local chefs come and buy fruits and vegetables to use in their restaurants,” Sandi says. “They like our products because they’re purer and taste better than ones at the store. Some growers spray their plants a lot, but ours are less exposed to chemicals.”

Mountain View Orchard is open from September through November, when the tnhomeandfarm.com

Baileys have several varieties of apples ready to buy in the cooler. Because of the farm’s steep slopes and hilly terrain, they don’t offer pick-your-own apples, but visitors are welcome to stroll through a designated area in the orchard where they can see the fruits growing on the trees.

If you want to give the kids a chance to pick their own apples right off the trees, head for Pratt’s Orchard & Garden Center in Lebanon, 30 minutes east of Nashville.

Owned and operated by third-generation fruit growers, Pratt’s specializes in pick-yourown apples, peaches, strawberries and blackberries, with apple-picking season lasting from August through October. Pratt’s offers five apple varieties grown on 250 trees, and you’ll also find freshly picked tomatoes, golden corn, and a greenhouse with a variety of flower and vegetable plants.

West Tennesseans can get apples and other goodies at Flippen Fruit Farm in Troy.

Listings for additional apple farms can be found at www.picktnproducts.org.

Back at Mountain View, the Baileys say while running the orchard is a ton of work, they’re enjoying every minute of it. Their biggest challenge?

“Weeds,” Sandi says without hesitation.

“We have some friends and relatives who help us out during apple season, but we do most of the weeding ourselves.”

But weeds are a small price to pay for a life surrounded by majestic mountains and sweet, juicy apples.

“I love my office – this is much different than the dentist office I had for nearly 30 years,” Jack says. “And I’m having more and more fun, because I feel like I’m starting to run the farm – it’s not running me. I love the weather, and we love being in the Smokies.”

Farm Facts

All About Apples According to 2007 census data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tennessee boasts 1,033 acres of apples, with 10 percent of the acreage located in Cocke County. The highest number of apple farms is in Robertson County, which has 20, though the state totals well over 500.

Tennessee’s commercial apple industry was valued at $2.9 million in 2008, skyrocketing up from just $40,000 in 2007 – what a difference a late frost makes!

To find a grower near you, go online to www.tnfarmfresh.org, which highlights several apple orchards across the state.

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Travel

QUILT BARNS BRIGHTEN UP THE HOLLOWS OF TENNESSEE

STORY BY CASSANDRA M. VANHOOSER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN McCORD

apphire and emerald. Ruby and gold. The pieces of the patchwork quilt glow like gemstones in the soft afternoon light. I smile as I recognize a favorite pattern from my childhood – the Star of Bethlehem.

But there’s something different about this star. Instead of being pieced with love and stitched with thread, this quilt is painted on wood and hangs beneath the eave of a faded red-and-white barn. I stop, as many have, to snap a photograph and relish my find.

“It’s a gut reaction,” says Lindy Turner, coordinator of the Clinch-Powell Resource Conservation and Development Council, the organization that oversees the Appalachian Quilt Trail project. “Quilts speak so much of home and family. Many of us had mothers and grandmothers who quilted, and they passed that piece of warmth down to us. Quilts are part of

who we are. They speak to everyone.”

Hanging historic quilt patterns on old barns – some humbled by time, others lovingly tended – simply marries two of the best known symbols of rural life.

“It takes the handiwork of farm women and the handiwork of farm men and showcases them together,” Turner says. “People can’t wait for us to add the next barn.”

The Appalachian Quilt Trail boasts more than 130 quilt barns. Headquartered in Rutledge, it stretches some 300 miles across 19 counties, piecing together farm stands, art galleries, and small businesses from Englewood in McMinn County to Kyles Ford in Hancock County.

“In order to bring economic development to the backroads you have to ring cash registers,” Turner says. “On our trail, we take you past all kinds of beautiful scenery, but we also direct you to the cash registers at

Sew Much Fun In addition to the quilt trail, Algood also hosts the Upper Cumberland Quilt Festival, which takes place Sept. 18-19.

Learn more at www. algoodquiltfestival.com.

The Star of Bethlehem quilt pattern adorns a barn on the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail in Algood. tnhomeandfarm.com

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Travel

Tag It! In 2008, the state legislature approved the sale an official Appalachian Quilt Trail license plate. The specialty tag features a Sawtooth Star quilt and a spool of thread.

Proceeds go to support the trail. For ordering information, call (888) 775-4278 or go to www.vacationaqt.com.

local farms and small businesses.”

Roy Settle, coordinator of the Appalachian Resource Conservation and Development Council in Jonesborough, helped start a quilt trail in the far northeast counties of the state.

More than 80 quilts now dress barns in Carter, Greene, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties.

“We thought this was something that locals would like to see,” Settle says, marveling at the trail’s success, “but it’s outpaced all of our expectations.”

Not only does the trail support local businesses, Settle notes a number of unexpected benefits. School kids have gotten involved, barns are being repainted and restored, families have started to record their histories, and community pride has soared.

“I see it as a win, win, win situation,” he muses.

“At the end of the day, this protects farmland, keeps farmers in business and supports our communities. That’s what is important.”

Ron Dawson agrees. He and wife Elizabeth own St. John’s Milling Co. in Watauga, a community near Johnson City. At 231 years and counting, it’s Tennessee’s oldest continuously operating business. A true country store, the shop stocks “a little bit of everything,” including wooden toys, sourwood honey, apple butter, cast-iron skillets and handmade quilts, as well as custom-ground feed and vet supplies. The Little Dutch Girl and Boy quilt hanging from their barn across the street reflects the family’s Pennsylvania Dutch roots. But the best part, Ron says, is that visitors get to meet people who live and work in East Tennessee. “This trail gives a person a chance to get off the main drag and see how real people live.”

The idea continues to spread throughout the state. The Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail, a loop of six painted barns in Putnam County, is the state’s newest addition.

Organizers Barbara Tollison and Ruth Dyal admit they borrowed the idea from East Tennessee, but their trail also enhances the annual quilt festival, held in Algood each September to benefit the local senior center.

“Ruth and I got in my car and took a drive around the countryside,” Tollison explains.

“We made a note of the prettiest barns and asked the owners to participate. We used local quilters and honored them by using their patterns. Our local artists and school kids did the painting.”

“It’s hard to resist when Barbara asks you to do something,” says Dyal, who confesses a special fondness for quilts. A native of Germany, she married a military man from Crab Orchard, Tenn., and made her first trip to the state some 40 years ago.

“When I first came here to meet my husband’s family, I was a foreigner,” Dyal says. “When we got ready to leave, my husband’s aunt gave me a quilt. It was a family quilt, nothing fancy. But it was a sign of acceptance. To me, quilts will always be a part of Tennessee.”

Tollison agrees, but says that quilts transcend state lines. “It’s a part of country life,” she notes. “I grew up in Alabama, and I played under the quilt frames when I was a child. It’s really a part of our heritage.”

Dyal, who was recently named executive director of the Upper Cumberland Tourism Association, hopes surrounding counties will soon start quilt trails of their own.

“It’s important that we show off our area,” she says. “It’s just so beautiful here.”

Follow the Trails You can find maps, brochures and trail information at local visitors centers, but the best way to plan your trip is to surf the net before you go. These sites offer details about barns, quilt patterns and local attractions.

Appalachian Quilt Trail: www.vacationaqt.com, (888) 775-4278 Northeast Tennessee Quilt Trail: www.quilttrail.org, (423) 753-4441 Quilts in the Smokies Trail: www.jeffersoncountyvacation.com, (877) 237-3847 Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail: www.uppercumberlandquilttrail.com, (931) 284-1773

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Clockwise from top: Trail Stop 3 on the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail depicts Grandma’s Flower Basket. Trail Stop 2 shows the Little Dutch Girl, and Trail Stop 1 features the Ohio Star. Learn about the patterns as well as the barn owners, quilters, artists and schools involved at www.uppercumberlandquilttrail.com.

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ARTISAN BAKER MAKES BREAD THE ANCIENT WAY

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Tennessee Living

STORY BY LAURA HILL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF ADKINS

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t’s six in the morning, a time when most people are turning over and snuggling down for that last blessed half hour of sleep. For David Tannen, however, the day is well under way – elbow deep, in fact, in flour, water and yeast.

For most bakers, this pre-dawn drill is familiar stuff. But Tannen’s routine is a little different, an echo of a tradition that has more in common with a medieval farm wife’s ritual than that of a modern-day bread baker.

“People have been baking bread in just this way forever,” Tannen says as he dashes from the cooler, where today’s dough waits to be patted into loaves, into the room where, through its open mouth, you can see orange flames scouring the oven roof.

Tannen is one of a growing group of artisan bakers who make their bread from additive- and preservative-free ingredients and then bake it the time-honored way in brick ovens fired with wood. Dense, chewy and flavorful, his bread bears little resemblance to mass-produced bread, even from high-end specialty bakeries.

Tannen’s Twin Forks Farm bread comes in four varieties: Bohemian Three-Seed, Expedition, Country and Raisin. Tannen’s whole-wheat flour is supplemented with other natural ingredients. While his breads have a very nominal amount of salt, they have no added sugar, eggs, fats or dairy, and Tannen uses no commercial yeast, preferring his own homemade starter.

His bakery is a two-room metal building that adjoins the home on his 60-acre Twin Forks Farm in Primm Springs in rural Hickman County about 45 miles southwest of Nashville. Pulling up to the farm, a couple of lackadaisical farm dogs welcome you, and through the screen door comes a reassuring call, “They’re friendly – don’t worry.”

Tannen greets you with a floury hand. Tall and lanky with glasses, he looks more like a college professor than a baker, but that’s now his career – and his passion. He first began cooking as a child in Memphis and over time, as his interest in healthy food broadened, he turned from being a jewelry salesman to a successful salesman of nutritional products.

Tannen and his wife, Laura, who works in

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commercial real estate banking, left a home in suburban Nashville several years ago to try their hand at farming. Within a couple of years, though, he found out, “It was just too much work for one person.”

Meanwhile, Tannen rediscovered a book about brick ovens he’d bought years before and decided to build one himself, a mound of clay, rocks and brick. “These ovens are the same all over the world,” says Tannen, who dug the clay for his first oven from a hillside 20 feet away. “The height is 62 percent of the width when they function well, and no one really knows why. All these different cultures have discovered this same ratio.”

He began baking four loaves at a time, which was all that the oven could hold.

“It tended to get a little burned, but people loved it,” he says. And so did Tannen, who had discovered a new vocation.

He built his second brick oven in 2007, this time indoors. A vast improvement over his first effort, the oven takes two days to prepare for baking. Fueled by hickory heartwood, at times it nears 1,000 degrees, though baking temperature is far less.

After mixing flour, water and starter by hand, Tannen lets the resulting dough rest in a cooler for an 18- to 22-hour fermentation that results in more intense flavor, enhanced nutritional value and easier digestibility, he says. After the dough rises, is kneaded and risen again, he shapes it into rough loaves, then reforms and bakes directly on the brick floor of the ovens.

In the winter he makes about 120 loaves a week, triple that in the spring, and hopes to grow to a maximum of 500 loaves a week – “the most I could do and keep my sanity.”

It’s hard work, this bread business, but Tannen considers himself fortunate to do it.

“It’s a mystical thing, making bread, especially when you do it the way I do over several days,” he says thoughtfully. “It touches a deep place in my soul.”

Knead To Know Tannen sells his Twin Forks Farm bread at the Franklin Farmers’ Market during its open season. It’s also sold year round at the Whole Foods locations in Cool Springs and Green Hills, The Produce Place and Lazzaroli Pasta, both in Nashville, and directly through his farm. For more information, call (931) 729-9745 or visit www.twinforksfarm.com.

SEE VIDEO ONLINE

Visit Twin Forks Farm in our online video at tnhomeandfarm.com to see Tannen baking bread in his brick oven and discussing his methods.

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Travel

A

Pioneer’s Life for Me DAVIES MANOR PLANTATION GIVES VISITORS A GLIMPSE AT THE OLDEN DAYS

STORY BY JESSICA MOZO PHOTOGRAPHY BY TODD BENNETT

I

n a society where dishwashers, televisions and master baths are the norm, it’s hard to imagine life circa 1850, when cooking was done over an open fire and the nearest bathroom was in the backyard.

That’s why Davies Manor Plantation in Brunswick invites people to discover the pioneer life in a two-story log frontier house that’s the oldest home in Shelby County.

“People are always interested in the way of life from those times, and some of our older visitors remember those things from their own childhood,” says Betty Brown, historic buildings administrative assistant at Davies Manor Plantation.

“School kids are especially fascinated by it, because it’s all new to them. They can’t imagine not

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having bathrooms, and they love the inventiveness of the people who lived back in those times.”

Built between 1807 and 1837, Davies Manor is located on a 640-acre Revolutionary War land grant and was named a Century Farm in 1976.

It was home to brothers Logan and James Davies, who purchased the land and house in 1851 and raised their families there. Logan’s granddaughter, Ellen Davies Rogers, died in 1994, but she had the foresight to form an endowment and association to oversee the manor today.

“We offer docent-led tours of the house, and there are pictures of the whole Davies family lineage in the front hall,” says Nancy McDonough, historic director. “We show visitors how life was for them. Water and

electricity were put in the house in the 1950s, but we’ve taken most of the modern things out.”

All the furnishings in the home are from the 1830s through the 1850s, and the plantation desk and sugar chest are original to the house.

One of the things that impresses visitors the most is nearly all of the original logs are still part of the cabin’s construction, except for a few replaced during a restoration.

“It’s miraculous that these logs that were cut in the early 1800s have survived all this time,” McDonough says. “We believe the home’s survival is due to the Davies’ selection of excellent materials. They chose poplar logs, which are termite and rot resistant, and the home was well-maintained by the family and tnfarmbureau.org

Time stands still at Davies Manor in Brunswick. The oldest home in Shelby County, it features historically accurate displays of 19th-century farm life, from blankets to Bibles.

never sat empty for long periods of time.”

Davies Manor Plantation manager Randall Langston is 62 and started working at the plantation with his father at age 14. He knew Ellen Davies Rogers well, so if a visitor has a historical question about the property, chances are Langston has the answer.

“My grandfather used to build log houses, so I’ve always enjoyed working on this old log house,” Langston says. “I was with Miss Ellen ’til the day she died. I guess I stayed here so long for the loyalty of it.”

The log cabin isn’t the only historic structure on the plantation. A cattle barn has been transformed into a community center that hosts weddings, and two other historic cabins were moved to the property in 2006.

“They were donated by various families, and we’re almost done renovating the first one,” McDonough says, noting the completed cabins will feature early farm life exhibits. tnhomeandfarm.com

The plantation also has displays of historic farm tools the Davies family would have used. “We also plant a cotton patch every year for kids to see, and we grow heirloom plants in a vegetable garden,” Brown says.

“This is a working farmhouse, so people can relate to it better than the typical plantations that belonged to wealthy families.”

Today, the property is surrounded by a subdivision, with homes situated on streets named after members of the Davies family.

But despite its modern surroundings, the plantation remains an island of historic refuge.

“Walking on the property is like walking back in time,” McDonough explains. “A strange peacefulness comes over you as you walk under the 150-year-old white oak tree and the massive 85-year-old magnolia tree.

There’s also a herd of white-tailed deer that live here. It’s a very enjoyable environment to work in and visit – stress just melts away.”

Take a Trip Back in Time Located just outside of Memphis, the historic Davies Manor Plantation is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m., late March through mid-November. Tours are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Group discounts are available.

Annual events include a community picnic in May and a quilt show in November. For more information, visit www.daviesmanor plantation.org or call (901) 386-0715.

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Food

The

Great

Pumpk FALL FAVORITE YIELDS POSSIBILITIES RANGING FROM APPETIZERS TO DESSERTS

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

tnfarmbureau.org

STORY BY CAROL COWAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY S. OTTO FOOD ST YLING BY KRISTEN WINSTON CATERING

in tnhomeandfarm.com

C

ome autumn, you don’t have to drive very far to see the abundance of cheery, orange pumpkins that dot farm fields all over the state.

In fact, visiting a pumpkin patch is a seasonal tradition that many Tennessee families wouldn’t miss.

These large, gourd-like members of the squash family are truly multipurpose vegetables: They are good to eat, fun as jacko-lanterns and festive as fall décor. But did you know pumpkins also pack a nutritional punch? Chock-full of vitamins A, B and E, as well as minerals such as potassium and magnesium, just one cup of pumpkin also contains more than 10 percent of the recommended daily value of fiber.

So, while lots of folks come home with pumpkins for carving and setting out in the yard, you will want to grab an extra one or two for cooking up some of our tasty fall treats. (For three of our recipes, you can also use convenient canned pumpkin from the grocery store.)

A unique appetizer, our Autumn Pumpkin Tureen is a hot, cheesy dip you bake and serve right in a pumpkin shell. Garlic, toasted breadcrumbs, Swiss and mozzarella cheeses mingle with the subtle flavor of pumpkin for an appetizer that’s irresistible on chips or French bread and so pretty on your fall table!

To warm your taste buds and your tummy, try our sweet, nutty Pumpkin Ginger Soup.

It blends pumpkin with chicken broth, mango nectar and peanut butter, then seasons the pot with ginger, grated orange peel and red pepper flakes for a pleasantly surprising little kick.

For dessert, bake a batch of Annie B’s Pumpkin Bread or The Best Pumpkin Pie. The aroma of pumpkin mingling with cinnamon and spices will get your mouth watering, and the taste offers a comfort factor reminiscent of a grandma’s kitchen.

Farm Facts

Squashing the Rumors Pumpkins are orangeskinned winter squash and part of the gourd family, which makes them fellow fruits and relatives of melons and cucumbers.

According to USDA statistics, 266 farms across the state harvested 2,385 acres of pumpkins in 2007. Bledsoe County ranks tops in Tennessee with 11 farms and 324 acres dedicated to pumpkin farming.

Tennessee’s largest pumpkin ever tipped the scales at 1,078 pounds and was grown by a Lawrenceburg 4-H Club in 2006.

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Food

Pumpkin Ginger Soup

Annie B’s Pumpkin Bread

32 ounces chicken broth

3

12 ounces mango nectar

4

eggs

1

1

cup oil

15-ounce can pure pumpkin

¼ cup peanut butter

½ teaspoon salt

2

1

teaspoon cinnamon

1½ tablespoons minced green onion

1

teaspoon nutmeg

1

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/

cup water

½ teaspoon grated orange rind

1

15-ounce can pure pumpkin

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

3½ cups all-purpose flour

1

2

teaspoons baking soda

1

cup chocolate chips (optional)

tablespoons rice vinegar teaspoon grated fresh ginger

clove minced garlic

Combine broth, pumpkin and mango nectar in large pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine about 1 cup of the pumpkin mixture with peanut butter, and blend until smooth in blender or food processor. Add mixture back to pot. Add vinegar and remaining ingredients.

Simmer five minutes or until heated through.

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cups sugar

Home&Farm |Fall 2009

Mix ingredients in order with a wooden spoon.

Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean, approximately 70 minutes.

This bread makes a great gift! Bake in mini-loaf pans (baking time reduces to approximately 45 minutes) and wrap in cellophane with a ribbon bow.

This recipe will make four to five mini loaves.

tnfarmbureau.org

Autumn Pumpkin Tureen

The Best Pumpkin Pie

1

4-pound pumpkin, washed and dried

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2

tablespoons vegetable oil

1

2

cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

4

slices white bread, toasted and crumbled

½ teaspoon ground ginger

6

ounces Swiss cheese, shredded

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

2

ounces mozzarella, shredded

1

1

pint half-and-half

1

teaspoon ground cinnamon

15-ounce can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

teaspoon salt

2

eggs, lightly beaten

½ teaspoon pepper

1

12-ounce can evaporated milk

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1

9-inch unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a 2-inch slice from top of pumpkin and reserve. Remove seeds and fibers. Blend oil and garlic, then rub mixture inside pumpkin and place in a large roasting pan.

Alternate layers of toasted crumbs and cheeses inside pumpkin. Combine half-and-half, salt, pepper and nutmeg, then pour over layers. Replace pumpkin top and bake for two hours, gently stirring after 1 1/2 hours. Be careful – the pumpkin will be very hot.

Serve with French bread or corn chips.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in a bowl and mix well. Set aside. Combine the pumpkin and eggs in a bowl and mix well. Add to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add the evaporated milk gradually, stirring constantly. Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for another 35 to 40 minutes or until the pie tests done.

This recipe serves eight. You can also use a larger pumpkin and simply double the recipe!

tnhomeandfarm.com

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23

Country Classics

Mystery Crunch UNIQUE FUDGE SERVES AS A SWEET TOOTH SOLUTION the climate of the South, they embraced its culinary culture. Most of the time.

“I really enjoy the Southern cooking, but the idea of cornbread at every meal was hard to get used to,” she says with a chuckle. Along with cornbread and fatback seasoning, her new neighbors taught her how to cook chess pie; she returned the favor with fruit pizza, mincemeat pie and what she calls a proper apple pie.

While her at-home menus may have acquired a Southern accent, they still have Michigan roots. For her husband she prepares parsnips and rutabaga when she can find them. When she visits her kids and nine grandchildren in Michigan, a Dutch apple pie is still the center of attention. Local FCE (a home demonstration club), Farm Bureau and church potlucks find her toting popular salads or casseroles. The mailman and senior citizens often receive Amish Friendship Bread “doctored” with orange juice, pistachio pudding, coconut and pineapple – or a tin of Soda Cracker Fudge.

“I usually make it at Christmastime and off and on during the year, when we get hungry for something sweet,” she says. “It’s quite sweet or, I guess, rich would be the right word.”

“It’s very easy to do,” she adds. “When the 4-H girls wanted to make some fudge, that was the fudge I’d have them make.”

With nary a nut in sight.

– Catherine Darnell

wenty years ago, a fellow fifth-grade teacher brought a batch of unusual fudge to Donna Elliott’s school and dared her co-workers to guess what was in it.

Their best guesses failed the test.

The crunch was not from nuts, as everyone thought. It was from soda crackers, a decidedly unexpected ingredient for fudge. Elliott asked for the recipe, which turned out to be as simple as it was baffling. She’s still making it today.

“In fact, I made a batch of it last night and took it to our FCE meeting and got second place,” she says. The Farm Bureau Women also thought it was a winner, publishing it in the organization’s Country Classics II cookbook, which Elliott says she uses frequently.

She and her husband David moved to Petersburg, a tiny town near Lewisburg, 12 years ago. They fell in love with Tennessee when they came for a visit to help a friend arrange flowers for a wedding. “We sat on the porch in T-shirts,” she recalls, “and went back to snow. I couldn’t keep David in Michigan after that. We’d shoveled enough snow.”

Along with

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Want More?

Each issue of Tennessee Home & Farm highlights a selected recipe from Country Classics Volume II. Copies of the cookbook are available for $17 each, including shipping and handling, from county Farm Bureau offices, or by calling the Tennessee Farm Bureau home office at (931) 388-7872, ext. 2217.

Soda Cracker Fudge 2

cups sugar

½ cup milk 5

tablespoons peanut butter

1

7-ounce jar marshmallow creme

Jeff Adkins

24 saltine crackers, broken into pieces

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

Mix sugar and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour hot mixture over them. Mix. Place in a buttered pan. Let cool.

Cut and enjoy! tnfarmbureau.org

Restaurant Review

Photos by Antony Boshier

Meals With a Song COUNTRY STAR AND COUNTRY COOK OWN FAMILY EATERY he cowbell on the front door jangles loudly when you step in the door at Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse and Bakery. But don’t expect the other customers to notice your arrival. They continue laughing, talking and eating as if they were at home, which is just the way co-owner Marcy Gary likes it.

“I think people miss the atmosphere of the old mom-and-pop diners,” says the longlegged redhead, a Midwestern twang revealing her Kansas roots. “There are not a lot of these places left anymore.”

Marcy Jo’s is easy to spot. A friendly white building with brick-red trim and a tin roof, it hugs the edge of the road at the “T” where State Road 99 joins U.S. 431 in Pottsville, a rural community between Chapel Hill and Columbia. A two-seat swing, an old dinner bell and an American flag grace the front porch.

Arrive before 2 p.m., and you’ll find the gravel parking lot full of cars.

Inside, a single large room with an upstairs balcony features Marcy’s yard sale finds.

Customers crowd around 1950s-style enamel-top tables with mismatched chairs, while a woodburning stove sits in the middle of the room.

Old shelves lining the walls of whitewashed pine speak to the building’s former life as a general store. License plates from all across the country are nailed to the walls and floor.

If you experience a little déjà vu upon entering the front door, don’t worry. Marcy’s

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partner in this venture is none other than her sister-in-law, Joey Martin Feek, the female half of Joey + Rory. Several music videos feature the restaurant, as do the country music duo’s Overstock.com commercials.

Before they opened in January 2007, Marcy and Joey spent hours poring over family recipes. On weekdays, breakfast is served from 7-11 a.m. The lunch menu features a single hearty special that reflects the season. In winter, meatloaf, roast beef and fried chicken appear on set days. Come summertime, selections include barbecued ribs and chicken, fried catfish, or classic BLTs. You can get Marcy’s crowd-pleasing pork chops every Thursday. Saturdays guarantee a full house – breakfast is served all day, with specials such as stuffed French toast garnering praise.

You’re not likely to find Joey hanging around the restaurant much these days. Since their appearance on the TV show “Can You Duet,” she and husband Rory (Marcy’s older brother) spend much of their time touring the country and singing their songs.

Though she misses the farm and family restaurant, the singer feels good about leaving the business in her sister-in-law’s hands.

“Opening the restaurant was Marcy’s dream, and she’s the glue that holds this place together,” Joey says. “But when I come home, I drop by and make biscuits and wait tables. It keeps me grounded.”

– Cassandra M. Vanhooser

The Dish on Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse Throughout the year, our team travels the state in search of good food and friendly service. In each issue, we feature one of Tennessee’s best eateries, and in our opinion, the best dishes to try.

Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse is located at 4205 Highway 431 in Pottsville, a small community between Columbia and Chapel Hill.

The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. and occasionally hosts live music performances

by Joey + Rory. For more information, call (931) 380-0968 or visit www.joeyandrory.com and click on Marcy Jo’s.

Visit the Food section of tnhomeandfarm.com for more Tennessee restaurants worth visiting.

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Going

Greenin the

Garden 26

Home&Farm |Fall 2009

tnfarmbureau.org

Gardening

IT’S GOOD FOR THE EARTH – AND YOUR WALLET

Ian Curcio

Y

ou’ve probably noticed that being “green” is more than just a popular phrase; it’s a movement sweeping the nation. So, why not have a green garden? Here are some proactive gardening steps you can take to help protect the planet – and many double as cost-savers, too.

Choose disease- and insect-resistant plants. These don’t require pesticides.

Evaluations performed at the University of Tennessee Gardens have identified the best-performing plants for Tennessee from hundreds of trials. To learn more, go online to http://utgardens.tennessee.edu and click on Annual Trials.

Use natural pest control. Regulate pests the earth-friendly way by using only products that minimize harm to beneficial insects like butterflies and bees. Pollinators affect 35 percent of the world’s crop production, so extending a little garden hospitality to these insects ultimately helps us all. Use traps and lures to identify and control the pests, then barriers and repellents to keep away undesirables while encouraging the beneficial bugs. Finally, use pesticides, soaps and oils – including the more toxic (but short-lived) botanical or natural insecticides – only if necessary.

Grow pollinator-attracting plants.

Planting at least 10 such varieties has been found to entice bees, butterflies and other pollinators to your garden.

Mulch your garden. Besides being attractive, a good 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch will hold in soil moisture and conserve water. It will also enrich your soil resulting in healthier, more vigorous plants.

Also, mulch discourages weeds. Hoeing and hand weeding will keep unwanted weeds from diminishing the beauty of your garden and robbing your plants of water. I’ve also used a weed torch to burn weeds, as well as sprayed an aromatic mixture of vinegar and clove oil or lemon juice to kill undesirables.

Garden with water-wise plants. Succulents such as sedum and many native plants tnhomeandfarm.com

require minimum amounts of water. Margie Hunter’s book, Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee, offers further insight on indigenous horticulture.

Be water smart. Soaker hoses and drip irrigation are water efficient, using only 50 percent of what a sprinkler would use.

Water early in the day so you can avoid evaporation and winds. Also, the best place to water plants is directly on thirsty roots.

Spot watering the soil around your plants with a watering can or hose can also help conserve water.

Harvest rainwater. Capturing and recycling rain not only cuts your water bill, but it also improves water quality. Using rain barrels or creating a “rain garden” are both wonderful ways to collect and maximize natural rainfall.

Compost and recycle. Make your own compost by collecting leaves, twigs, weeds (without seeds), spent annuals and kitchen waste. Compost is the ultimate gift you can give your soil and plants. It improves soil quality while providing nutrients for plants.

Many resources are available to get you started. One of my favorites is the Environmental Protective Agency’s “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” Web site. You’ll also find ideas for recycling plastic garden containers and purchasing recycled products.

Be sensible about lawn care. Mow your lawn at the highest setting on your mower.

This encourages turf roots to grow deeper and be more tolerant of drought. Tall lawns also have fewer weeds because the seeds can’t compete with the grass for light and water. The clippings from a mulching mower provide a slow-release fertilizer for your lawn.

About the Author Dr. Sue Hamilton is an associate professor in the University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences and director of the UT Gardens. The gardens are a project of the University of Tennessee AgResearch program, with locations in Knoxville and Jackson: http://utgardens. tennessee.edu.

CORRECTION Regarding the “Veggie Tales” article in the Summer 2009 Gardening section, it should be noted that research from Dr. Elizabeth Jeffery at the University of Illinois has shown that steaming broccoli for longer than three minutes reduces it nutritious value, not Dr. Dean Kopsell’s research at the University of Tennessee.

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27

Farmside Chat

Meet the Hunters WHITE COUNTY COUPLE FARMS POULTRY, CATTLE AND HAY

9 Tennessee’s rank in U.S. beef cattle production

97 percent of beefcattle operations in the United States that are family-owned

1.4 million baby chicks born annually on the Hunters’ farm

6,000 Tennesseans employed in the state’s poultry industry

See More Online Learn more about the well-being and care of animals at www.conversations oncare.com.

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

he daily chores on David and Margie Hunter’s nearly 400-acre farm seem daunting. The couple raises beef cattle, grows hay and operates two chicken barns that hold some 13,000 hens. It’s a good thing, then, that they each have farming experience and passion tracing back to their upbringings.

David is the third generation to run his family’s Sparta farm, just south of Cookeville. Margie, who also works for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, has rural roots, and, as she puts it, “Farming is what I have always wanted to do.” What’s more, both are heavily involved with agricultural organizations: Margie is the White County Women’s Committee chair, and David serves as county Farm Bureau president.

T

Q

Margie, how does your “off-the-farm” job relate to your “on-the-farm” job?

My job as Food and Dairy Inspector is to ensure that food the public purchases is safe. I inspect retail food stores and dairy farms over six counties. For retail stores, I check prepared foods for proper temperature, coolers storing food, cleanliness of the store and that regulations are being followed. At dairy farms, I make sure the farm is clean and the milk is kept cold and protected from contamination. As a farmer, my job is to do the same – ensure safety. We take all possible steps to ensure that the animals are well cared for every day of the year. We provide a safe and wholesome food supply, and we sell grass- or grain-fed beef directly to consumers, which makes our focus on safety a top priority. We also eat our own beef and feed it to our family.

A

What is something many people don’t realize about the poultry industry?

Q

Visitors are not allowed in our poultry operation, and many people do not understand that this is due to biosecurity,

A

J. Kyle Keener

BY THE NUMBERS

which means disease prevention, for our birds.

An alarm system in the facilities notifies us of any major temperature changes or ventilation problems. The birds roam freely throughout the barns in a climate-controlled environment.

Why should farmers get involved with agricultural organizations?

Q

Being involved with agricultural organizations gives you the opportunity to learn new technology, meet other farmers, exchange ideas and make new friends.

A favorite experience of ours is our involvement with Farm City Day. First and third graders from across the county come to learn about farm life. Many of these students have never seen or been close to a farm animal. We both grew up on farms and have always lived the farm life, so seeing the excitement on the children’s faces makes us realize just how fortunate we are to enjoy such a wonderful lifestyle.

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tnfarmbureau.org

To Good Health

Insurance Buyer Beware IF AN INSURANCE DEAL SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS ewis and Bertie must have felt like they had just bought “a pig in a poke,” which led me to examine the origin of those words.

I learned that a poke is a small sack, the origin of the word pocket, and represented the type of bag that might be used to carry a piglet to market. But that pig, in reality, might prove not to be a pig at all if a deceitful merchant tried to cheat someone by substituting some other animal. (Uncovering the scam would be “letting the cat out of the bag.”)

Hence comes the advice, “Don’t buy a pig in a poke,” or don’t buy a pig until you have actually seen it. Or if you’re like me and aren’t exactly wheeling and dealing with live pigs every day, the relevant meaning is an offering or deal that is accepted without being fully examined or understood.

But I suspect Lewis and Bertie, Farm Bureau members in the Upper Cumberland area, aren’t too interested in the analysis of this “pig in a poke” phrase. They’re just glad they uncovered their pig quick enough to discard it and return to something with which they were familiar.

Lewis and Bertie are not unlike most of the nearly 56,000 seniors who trust TRH Health Plans, the affiliate health-care company of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, for their Medicare Supplement coverage. They’re concerned about cost and always looking for responsible ways to stretch their dollars.

“This man came along, and he said that everything would be so much cheaper,” recalls Bertie, 78. “So we took it out and went to get medicine, and they wouldn’t pay for that. Then we went to the hospital, and they wouldn’t take it – said it wasn’t in their network.”

Lewis and Bertie, who had coverage with TRH Health Plans for a long time, decided to cancel it and purchase an Advantage plan from a major, multistate health insurer. Within two weeks, they had determined it wasn’t what they had expected. “Right then we turned around and went back to TRH,” said Bertie. “We tried to get out of it as quick as we could.”

Fortunately for Lewis and Bertie, they were

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able to get back into a Medicare Supplement from TRH Health Plans without being subject to pre-existing conditions or going through underwriting (where previous conditions could have led to their being rejected for coverage).

However, sometimes underwriting and no coverage for pre-existing conditions for a certain time period are applicable when an individual tries to jump from an Advantage plan to a Medicare Supplement plan.

So Bertie has a bit of advice for Tennessee seniors bombarded with offers from various Medicare Advantage plans. “It’s important, and you’ve got to look out. We should have checked before we took it out,” she advises.

“You just can’t believe everybody.”

When it comes to looking for coverage to supplement Medicare, Lewis and Bertie probably won’t look again beyond their local Farm Bureau office, where the folks are “so nice and friendly and seem to understand.”

No pigs in a poke there. Just a TRH Health Plans representative who will do her best to make certain you have a product you understand from an organization you know and trust.

About the Author Anthony Kimbrough is vice president of marketing and government relations for TRH Health Plans. His e-mail is akimbrough@trh.com.

For more information about TRH Health Plans, call (877) 874-8323 or visit www.trh.com.

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Exclusive Farm Bureau Member Savings Did you know that your membership with the Tennessee Farm Bureau offers you exclusive savings with each of the products and services listed here at no additional charge?

It is our goal to save our members more than the cost of their annual membership by taking advantage of just one of these special discounts. Farm Bureau values your membership and hopes these benefits will prove to be of value to you!

Looking for information on these benefits?

Toll-Free: (877) 363-9100 • Visit us online at www.tnfarmbureau.org/valueplus

Home and Commercial Security System Discount (ADT) FREE Home Security System 877.832.6701 www.tnfarmbureau.org/valueplus *36-month monitoring agreement required at $31.99 per month ($1,151.64). $99 customer installation charge. Form of payment must be by credit card or electronic charge to your checking or savings account. Offer applies to homeowners only. Local permit fees may apply. Certain restrictions may apply.

Offer valid for new customers only. Other rate plans available. Cannot be combined with any other offer. PowerLink, LLC TN. Cert. #C-0332.

For the latest Value Plus information and more discounts for Tennessee Farm Bureau members, call the hotline at (877) 363-9100. Visit our Web site at www.tnfarmbureau.org/valueplus.

Tennessee Farm Bureau Where Membership Means American Cellular Free phone & accessories headset, car charger, carrying case or 20% off cell phones, smart phones & air cards

AmeriGas Propane

• Call (888) 653-8323 or visit your local American Cellular location • Phones shipped directly to your door

• Save 5 cents per gallon • Visit www.AmeriGas.com or visit your Yellow Pages to find the location nearest you.

Offer applies to Tennessee locations only. Some restrictions may apply. See store for details. Residential customers only. Not valid with any other offer. Offer does not apply to SmartPay, Pre-Buy or Guaranteed Price Programs. Call your AmeriGas dealer prior to having your tank filled to receive your discount.

Offer applies to new activation. 10% cell phones, smart phones and air cards with recommitment to existing contract. www.americancelluar.net (user name and password: tfbf). Available only by calling or visiting American Cellular location.

Vision Discounts

TENNESSEE FARMERS INS. COs. www.fbitn.com Priority Claims Service • 1-800-836-6327

CELLULAR SAVINGS Free digital phone and accessories 1-888-653-8323

TRH HEALTH PLANS www.trh.com • 1-877-874-8323

VISION DISCOUNTS Doctor's ValuVision, Dr. Bizer's VisionWorld 1-800-340-0129 • www.ecca.com

HOTEL/MOTEL DISCOUNTS • Choice Hotels - ID# 00800606 20% DISCOUNT 1-800-258-2847

• $35 eye exam

ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR Corporate rate plan code 56MFARM 1-800-RENT-A-CAR

Comfort Inn & Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Cambria Suites, Suburban

• 25% off frames and lenses • Call (800) 340-0129 or visit Eyecare Centers of America on the Web @ www.ecca.com.

Nashville • Knoxville • Johnson City Bristol • Kingsport • Clarksville • Cookeville

FB MEMBER ANY COUNTY MEMBER NO. 99-12345

ASSOCIATE EXP. 12/31/01

GRAINGER INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY 10%-35% off • TFBF Acct# 854398591 1-800-255-0955 • www.grainger.com

ADT HOME SECURITY - 1-877-832-6701 PRESCRIPTION DISCOUNTS Bin#: 009265 PCN#: AG Group#: TFBF ID#: TNFB 69108 Help Desk 1-800-847-7147

Prescription Savings

Dell

Present Farm Bureau membership card to participating pharmacy to receive discount.

• Savings at most chain and many independent pharmacies.

• Name-brand and generic drugs.

7% discount on Home & Home Office products - including Electronics and Accessories

Visit the Agelity section of www.tnfarmbureau.org/valueplus to locate pharmacies and obtain drug pricing.

Discounts cannot be combined with insurance benefits, coupons, promotional offers or any other offer.

www.dell.com/TFBF, select the Shop Full Catalog 1-800-695-8133 Member ID: PS92261593

UP TO 60% SAVINGS!

The card is not an insurance benefit and will not offer additional savings on pharmacy discounts offered through insurance plans. Some restrictions may apply.

*Offers are subject to change without notice

Travel

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

2 tnfarmbureau.org

Get Your Kicks in

KNOXVILLE LEGENDS OF SPORTS AND HISTORY SHINE UNDER THE SUNSPHERE

STORY BY KAREN SCHWARTZMAN

T

he city under the glittering Sunsphere proves to be as intriguing and fascinating as its skyline’s predominant feature.

The third-largest city in the state, Knoxville offers something for everyone, from the bleachers at Neyland Stadium to the banks of the Tennessee River.

1/ FUN IN THE CITY If there’s one thing that stands out in downtown Knoxville, it’s the iconic Sunsphere. Originally constructed for the 1982 World’s Fair, the 266-foot tower has become the city’s most distinctive structure.

The fourth floor serves as an observation deck, and the fifth floor recently opened as the SkyBox Bar and Lounge.

The city also offers some unique boutiques, such as the Southern Market in Farragut, a collection of shops within a shop.

Instead of opening their own stores, merchants rent spaces within the market to sell their merchandise, giving the venue its distinctive mix of furniture, clothes and crafts.

Speaking of crafts, the state’s oldest artisan’s guild holds its annual fall craft fair each November at Chilhowee Park. The

Foothills Craft Guild’s fall show displays more than 100 local artist booths filled with fine arts, both modern and traditional, created by local artists.

Visitors looking for the stillness of nature can make their way to Ijams Nature Center.

The 165-acre wildlife sanctuary includes walking trails, meadows and a boardwalk, as well as an educational center.

You can also go wild over wildlife at the Knoxville Zoo, which features a wide range of animals, from lions, tigers and bears to pythons, penguins and red pandas.

Time To Travel Learn about upcoming Knoxville events, such as the Boomsday Festival over Labor Day weekend and the Foothills Craft Guild’s November show, at www.tnvacation.com.

2 / PHYS ED Sports enthusiasts will feel right home in Knoxville. As the proud home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers, the city offers countless varieties of games for every kind of fan.

Those who bleed orange can head to Neyland Stadium to see the Vols in action. The campus is also home to the University of Tennessee Football Hall of Fame, which showcases the history of the Big Orange.

The nearby town of Kodak hosts the stadium of the Tennessee Smokies, a minor league baseball team. The Cubs affiliate

Clockwise from top: Henley Street Bridge; Volunteer football; Knoxville’s scenic skyline Staff Photos tnhomeandfarm.com

Home&Farm

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Travel

team plays around 70 home games a season, April through September, and the facility also houses the Smoky Mountain Visitor Center and on-site restaurant.

Another must for those on the athletics scene is the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. The 32,000-square-foot facility opened in 1999 and is dedicated to all levels of women’s basketball. Along with artifacts and trophies, the hall of fame features interactive exhibits and a court where guests can test their skills.

3 / HISTORIC ROOTS Take a peek into Knoxville’s past at a string of authentic historic sites, including the Armstrong-Lockett House & W.P. Toms Memorial Gardens. This house-turnedmuseum, known as Crescent Bend, dates back to 1834 and is filled with all sorts of impressive art and

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

antiques. Known for its extensive silver collection, the property includes a 3-acre formal garden that descends to the Tennessee River.

Another well-known area to visit is the Old City Historic District, where visitors can experience a blend of past and present. The restored warehouse district features several historic buildings as well as unique shops, antiques stores, restaurants, coffee houses and nightclubs.

Take a ride back in time on the Knoxville Civil War Driving Tour, which stops along battle sites, cemeteries and museums.

Other notable spots include the Tennessee Theatre, a restored venue dating to 1928; Marble Springs Historic Site, home of Tennessee’s first governor, John Sevier; and Beck Cultural Exchange Center, a museum of African-American achievements and culture.

4 / WATER WORLD Being nestled on the banks of the Tennessee River has its benefits. For Knoxville, one of them is the Tennessee Riverboat Co., which features the Star of Knoxville paddle wheeler that cruises along the river. The boat is available for day cruises or special events and has a climate-controlled main deck for year-round comfort.

Another hot spot is Volunteer Landing, a 1-mile riverwalk stretch featuring stores and restaurants, in addition to greenways, fishing docks and fountains for kids to play in.

Crowds gather near Knoxville’s Henley Street Bridge during Boomsday, the largest Labor Day weekend fireworks display in the nation. Held the Sunday before the holiday, Boomsday has become an all-day event, culminating with a dazzling fireworks display.

tnfarmbureau.org

Events & Festivals

Take in bluegrass music, homegrown foods and old-fashioned fun at the Music & Molasses Festival on Oct. 17-18.

Tennessee Events & Festivals This listing includes a selection of events of statewide interest scheduled in September, October and November as provided to Tennessee Home & Farm by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.

Events are subject to date change or cancellation; please call the contact listed before traveling long distances to attend.

To include your local events in our listing, please call the Tennessee Department of Tourism at (615) 741-7994. Additional information and events can be found online through the department’s Web site, www.tnvacation.com.

SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 5

OLD TIMER’S DAY Ralph Hughes Park, Collinwood Includes a tractor pull, parade, arts & crafts, live music, food and games for the children.

CONTACT: Jerdie Ayers, (931) 724-9562, www.cityofcollinwood.org

SEPTEMBER 5

SUNSET SYMPHONY Historic Cherry Mansion, Savannah The Germantown Symphony on the lawn of Historic Cherry Mansion. CONTACT: (800) 552-3866, www.tourhardincounty.org SEPTEMBER 6

SEPTEMBER 5

JAZZ IN THE FORK

40th ANNUAL RUGBY VILLAGE PILGRIMAGE

Leipers Fork Big Band favorites from the American Songbook featuring Billy Adair and The Establishment performing at the Lawnchair Theatre. CONTACT: (615) 715-1995, www.leipersforkvillage.com

Historic Rugby Visit more than 20 historic museum buildings, lodgings and private historic and period homes. Enjoy dancing, music and

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period demonstrations. CONTACT: (888) 214-3400, www.historicrugby.org

Home&Farm |Fall 2009

SEPTEMBER 6

142nd INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 2009 Tullahoma Fine Arts Center, Tullahoma Tullahoma is one of six cities in the United States to host the International Water Society Inc. juried traveling exhibit from artists worldwide. CONTACT: Lucy Hollis, (931) 455-1234, www.tullahomafinearts.org SEPTEMBER 10-12

HORSESHOE RIVERBEND FESTIVAL Clifton Three day festival of music, games, rides, food and special events. CONTACT: Denise Lineberry, (931) 676-3311, www.cliftonchamber.com SEPTEMBER 11-12

CASEY JONES OLD-TIME BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Casey Jones Village, Jackson Features festivities and live performances showcasing bands made up of members of the Plectral Society. CONTACT: (800) 748-9588, www.caseyjones.com SEPTEMBER 11-12

CLARKSVILLE RIVERFEST CELEBRATION Cumberland RiverWalk, Clarksville Clarksville celebrates its river heritage with this music and art festival. Features a variety of musical acts, arts & crafts and more. CONTACT: (931) 645-7476, www.clarksvilleriverfest.com tnfarmbureau.org

SEPTEMBER 11-12

SEPTEMBER 12

SEPTEMBER 25-26

SMOKY MOUNTAIN FIDDLERS CONVENTION & CRAFTS FAIR

WINGS OVER BIG SOUTH FORK

SOUTHERN FRIED FESTIVAL

Legion Field, Loudon Every year since the 1982 World’s Fair, bluegrass musicians have been coming to Loudon to play, listen and compete.

CONTACT: (888) 568-3662, www.loudoncity.com/fiddler.htm

Scott County Airport, Oneida Fly-in, air show, exhibit booths, airplane rides, food, vintage aircraft and music.

CONTACT: James Taylor, (423) 663-4557, www.wingsoverbigsouthfork.com SEPTEMBER 12

MAIN STREET FALL FESTIVAL

SEPTEMBER 11-12

10th ANNUAL FAYETTE COUNTY COTTON FESTIVAL

Dyersburg Includes a cruise-in, Forked Deer Antique Car Show, music, food and fun! CONTACT: Steve Guttery, (731) 285-3433

40th ANNUAL DIANA SINGING Diana This event began in 1969, and now over 5,000 visitors attend to listen to beautiful a cappella singing. CONTACT: Jack Parks, (931) 363-3204, www.dianasinging.com

Historic Somerville Square Features music, car show, 5K run, children’s events and more. CONTACT: (901) 465-8690, www.cottonfestivaltn.com SEPTEMBER 17-19

SEPTEMBER 11-20

TENNESSEE STATE FAIR Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville Midway rides, animal and variety shows, live stage presentations, livestock, agricultural and craft competitions, game booths and more.

CONTACT: (615) 862-8980, www.tennesseestatefair.org SEPTEMBER 12

SIERRA HULL BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Byrdstown Festival honors Byrdstown’s own child prodigy Sierra Hull, a mandolin player who has played on the Grand Ole Opry.

CONTACT: (888) 406-4704, www.dalehollow.com/bg.htm SEPTEMBER 12

CHARLOTTE FESTIVAL Charlotte Historic Square, Charlotte A fun day filled with a variety of music, delicious food, children’s activities and more. CONTACT: (615) 789-4184 SEPTEMBER 12

WINGS OF FREEDOM FISH FRY Smyrna Airport, Smyrna Features live music, dancing, plenty of good food and flight aircraft.

CONTACT: (615) 459-2651, www.rotaryofsmyrna.org SEPTEMBER 12

25th ANNUAL FAIRVIEW NATURE FEST Bowie Nature Park, Fairview Children’s activities, music on two stages, food, Living History Village, crafts, nature exhibits and more.

CONTACT: Mitzi Mangrum, (615) 799-9290, www.fairviewchamber.org

DUMPLIN VALLEY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Kodak Enjoy three days of music from the nation’s best bluegrass musicians. CONTACT: (865) 397-7942, www.dumplinvalleybluegrass.com SEPTEMBER 18-19

Columbia Enjoy live music, scarecrow contest, tractor show, delicious food, children’s activities and more. CONTACT: Rick Alexander, (931) 381-0954, www.southernfriedfest.com SEPTEMBER 25-26

SEPTEMBER 25-26

PELLISSIPPI STATE HOT AIR BALLOON FESTIVAL Pellissippi State Hardin Valley Campus, Knoxville The Pellissippi State Hot Air Balloon Festival has grown to become one of the largest hot air balloon festivals in the region. CONTACT: (865) 694-6400, www.pstcc.edu/balloons

BELL WITCH BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL Old Bell School Grounds, Adams Come out and help us celebrate the oldest bluegrass competition in the state.

CONTACT: Omer Gene Brooksher, (615) 696-2589, www.adamstennessee.com SEPTEMBER 19

SALTILLO RIVER FESTIVAL Saltillo A celebration of Saltillo’s river heritage with a parade, food, music, arts & crafts and more.

CONTACT: Rachel Baker, (800) 552-3866 SSEPTEMBER 19

GLADEFEST Gladeville Car shows, horse rides, crafts and more can be found in downtown Gladeville.

CONTACT: (615) 453-9655 SEPTEMBER 19

NEWBERN DEPOT DAYS

SEPTEMBER 26

Newbern A celebration of the restored and operating Newbern Depot with a carnival atmosphere.

CONTACT: (731) 627-3321

HERITAGE DAY

SEPTEMBER 24

PUNKIN’ CHUNKIN’ & ANTIQUES FAIR Fiddlers Grove, Lebanon Throw pumpkins with your custom-made trebuchet or catapult. Visit antique dealers at the flea market or get an estimate of the value of your item. CONTACT: Joy Barber, (615) 443-2626, www.fiddlersgrove.org

Events are subject to date change or cancellation. Please call ahead.

Historic Court Square, Covington Features arts & crafts, folk art demonstrations, food, children’s parade, music, antiques, Art Alley and more.

CONTACT: Janie Cranford, (901) 476-9727, www.covington-tiptoncochamber.com SEPTEMBER 26

ANNUAL BLUE GREY BALL Old Spencer Mill, Burns Features dinner, live period music and dance instructor. CONTACT (615) 412-5169, www.oldspencermill.com Home&Farm

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Events & Festivals

SEPTEMBER 26

HOMESTEAD’S APPLE FESTIVAL Historic Homestead Tower, Crossville Live music, kids zone, craft booths, quilt show, antique tractors and hot fresh apple pies. CONTACT: Homestead Tower, (931) 456-9663, www. cumberlandhomesteads.org

Storytelling Festival. CONTACT: (931) 653-4511, www.granvillemuseum.com OCTOBER 3

GALLATIN’S MAIN STREET FESTIVAL Gallatin Courthouse Square, Gallatin Arts & crafts festival featuring two stages of entertainment, large children’s area, over 150 vendors and the Kansas City Barbeque Society cook-off. CONTACT: (615) 452-5692, www.mainstreetgallatin.com OCTOBER 3

APPLE BUTTER FESTIVAL White Bluff Experience the old-fashioned way to churn butter and make apple butter jelly. Features quilters, blacksmiths, and bluegrass and gospel music. CONTACT: (615) 446-2349, www.dicksoncountychamber.com OCTOBER 3 SEPTEMBER 26-27

OCTOBER 2-4

CORDOVA FESTIVAL

NATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL

Cordova Community Center, Cordova Features handmade arts & crafts.

CONTACT: Coy Haraway, (901) 753-1234, www.cordovacommunitycenter.com SEPTEMBER 26-27

28th ANNUAL MT. JULIET POW WOW Mt. Juliet Native Americans come from across the country to participate in the dance and drum competition.

CONTACT: Cindy Yahola, (615) 443-1537, www.mtjulietpowwow.com

OCTOBER 2-4

REELFOOT ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tiptonville Features over 300 exhibitors including artists, potters, musical entertainment and more. CONTACT: Anna Crocker, (731) 8857295, www.reelfootartsandcrafts.com

OCTOBER

OCTOBER 3

OCTOBER 1-3

Portland Features an antique tractor show, Cemetery Theater, historic buildings tour, period food, artifacts display and quilt show. CONTACT: (615) 325-6776, www.cityofportlandtn.gov

CHESTER COUNTY BBQ FESTIVAL Courthouse Lawn & Main Street, Henderson Great family fun with a children’s area, vendors, live entertainment, talent show and Chester County’s famous pulled pork barbecue! CONTACT: (731) 989-5222, www.chestercountychamber.com OCTOBER 2-3

QUILT SHOW OF HICKMAN COUNTY Centerville This year’s theme, “Remembering Hearth and Home” will feature log cabin quilts and more on display. CONTACT: Ruth Ann Carathers, (931) 670-4998, www.musiccitybackyard.com

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Jonesborough The oldest and most prestigious storytelling festival in the world, this event presents over 25 nationally known storytellers. CONTACT: (800) 952-8392, www.storytellingcenter.net

Home&Farm |Fall 2009

SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

OCTOBER 3

4th ANNUAL CITYWIDE YARD SALE South Pittsburg Yard sales and sidewalk sales can be found all over the city. CONTACT: Teresa White, (423) 837-5771 OCTOBER 3

GRANVILLE FALL CELEBRATION Granville The Granville Museum will celebrate their fall featuring of the Granville Quilt Festival, Jazz on the Cumberland and the Granville

MEIGS COUNTY ANNUAL FALL FESTIVAL Decatur Includes food, farmers market, live entertainment featuring Jason Cragg, UnWound, Dalton Roberts and Ashley Rivera. CONTACT: (423) 334-5496, www.meigscountytnchamber.org OCTOBER 3-4

INTER-TRIBAL POW WOW South Pittsburg Features Native American dancing, arts & crafts, food and more. CONTACT: Otter Farmer, (423) 949-4495 OCTOBER 3-4

NATCHEZ TRACE POW WOW Historic Leipers Fork Village, Leipers Fork See the life and customs of Native American Indians. Experience traditional dance, storytelling, arts & crafts, traditional foods and more. CONTACT: (615) 599-7347 OCTOBER 4-10

42nd ANNUAL DAVY CROCKETT DAYS Davy Crockett Cabin, Rutherford Honors the memory of Davy Crockett, who lived here from 1822-1835. Features food, fireworks, pioneer trades, crafts, pet show, parade and music. CONTACT: (731) 665-7166, www.davycrockettcabin.org OCTOBER 8-11

30th ANNUAL TENNESSEE FALL HOMECOMING Museum of Appalachia, Norris One of the nation’s largest and most authentic music, craft and folk festivals.

More than 400 musicians perform on five stages. CONTACT: (865) 494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org tnfarmbureau.org

When you buy from local farmers you ... s 3UPPORT LOCAL ECONOMY s %NJOY A FRESH PRODUCT s +EEP LOCAL AGRICULTURE VIABLE

VISIT www.tnfarmfresh.com for a listing of local farmers near you!

Or call (931) 388-7872 ext. 2763 Events are subject to date change or cancellation. Please call ahead.

Home&Farm

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Events & Festivals

OCTOBER 9

AUTUMN GOLD FESTIVAL Coker Creek Village, Coker Creek This two-day event brings crafters, artists, food vendors and entertainers from near and far. CONTACT: (423) 442-9147, www.cokercreekvillage.com OCTOBER 9-10

OKTOBERFEST Knights of Columbus Pavilion, Crossville German style festival that includes Polka music, food, games, dancing and more.

CONTACT: Joe Guzek, (931) 707-7291, www.crossvilleoktoberfest.com OCTOBER 9-10

TENNESSEE STATE BAR-B-Q & FALL FESTIVAL Historic Downtown District, Lenoir City Features a barbecue cook-off, antique and car show, live music and children’s area.

CONTACT: Bryant Howard, (865) 389-6106, www.tnstatebbq.com OCTOBER 9-10

HAUNTING OF HARRIMAN

Temperance Building, Harriman A guided walking ghost tour through historic Harriman. CONTACT: Pay Mynatt, (865) 882-5349 OCTOBER 9-11

GOATS, MUSIC & MORE FESTIVAL Rock Creek Park, Lewisburg Features five goat shows (Fainting and Boer), musical entertainment, food, arts & crafts, kids games and more.

CONTACT: Greg Lowe, (931) 359-1544, www.goatsmusicandmore.com OCTOBER 10

HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL White House City Park, White House Bluegrass competition, crafts, food and more. CONTACT: (615) 672-3937 OCTOBER 10

HERITAGE FESTIVAL & ANTIQUE AUCTION Ames Plantation, Grand Junction Learn about the past through farm, cooking and craft demonstrations. CONTACT: Ginger Trice, (731) 425-4768, www.amesplantation.org OCTOBER 13-17

MOUNTAIN CITY PUMPKINFEST Mountain City Features music, giant pumpkin contest, hayrides, pumpkin seed spitting contest, storytelling and much more. CONTACT: (423) 727-8055, www.mtnpumpkinfest.org OCTOBER 16-18

“ON COSBY” FESTIVAL Smoky Mountain Visitor Center, Cosby Features Children’s Day with educational booths, displays, demonstrations and organized games. CONTACT: Bettye Carver, (423) 623-8791, www.cockecounty.com OCTOBER 17

11th ANNUAL FALL FOLKLORE JAMBOREE West Tennessee Agricultural Museum, Milan More than 120 traditional folk artists, musicians and exhibitors. CONTACT: Debra Campbell, (731) 686-7362 OCTOBER 17

PUMPKINTOWN Downtown Athens Celebrate East Tennessee’s culture, history and agricultural beginnings. History comes to life with traditional basket weavers and heritage crafters. CONTACT: (423) 887-3526

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

tnfarmbureau.org

About ALS

Every 90 minutes, one American dies of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Progressive and fatal, ALS can strike anyone at any time – robbing the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe while the mind remains unaffected.

Join us in the Walk to Defeat ALS.

2009 Walk Dates

Nashville – September 19 Tri-Cities – September 26 Memphis – October 17

Register Today or donate online at www.alstn.org or by calling (615) 279-5551 or toll-free (877) 216-5551

Tennessee Home & Farm presents:

Quantity: ______ @ $9.95 ____________ Sales tax Quantity: _____ x $0.92 sales tax ______ (TN residents add 9.25% sales tax) Postage: first book @ $3.99 ___________ additional books ____ @ .99 ___________ Total amount: ________________________ Make check payable to Journal Communications 1 book = $14.86

4 books = $50.44

2 books = $26.72

5 books = $62.30

3 books = $38.58

Includes shipping & sales tax

Send to: Name: _______________________________ Address: _____________________________

As author Pettus Read puts it, “country has been around for a long time.” In this book of his favorite Read All About It columns from the past 30-plus years, Read discusses pulley bones, the disappearance of stick horses, Christmases at Mop-Ma’s and the ever popular Uncle Sid and Aunt Sadie. Full of Read’s wisdom and wit, this Rural Psychology Primer will likely stir up your own feelings of nostalgia for the country way of life.

City: _________________________________ State: ________________ Zip: __________ Daytime phone #: _____________________ By mail: Journal Communications Inc. c/o Retail Fulfillment Center 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400 Franklin, TN 37067

Portion of proceeds to benefit Tennessee 4-H and FFA programs.

Events are subject to date change or cancellation. Please call ahead.

Home&Farm

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Events & Festivals

OCTOBER 17

AUSSIE FALL FEST CHILLIN’ & GRILLIN’ Greeneville This cook-off event features a chili cook-off and a barbecue and wings cook-off. Crafts, karaoke, food and more. CONTACT: (423) 638-4111, www.visitgreenevilletn.com OCTOBER 17

8th ANNUAL ELKTON MILELONG YARD SALE Elkton Yard sale full of bargains. CONTACT: (931) 468-0668, www.gilescountytourism.com OCTOBER 17

HUMPHREYS COUNTY 200th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Courthouse Square, Waverly Features food, crafts, music and more.

CONTACT: (931) 296-4865 OCTOBER 17-18

CLEVELAND APPLE FESTIVAL Historic Downtown Courthouse Square, Cleveland This annual festival offers a juried art &

OFFICIAL NOTICE OF TRH ANNUAL MEETING Notice is hereby given to members of the Tennessee Rural Health Improvement Association (TRH Health Plans) that the annual meeting will be held at the Cool Springs Embassy Suites in Franklin, Tennessee, beginning Monday, December 7, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. through Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

MUSIC & MOLASSES FESTIVAL

Casey Jones Village Amphitheatre, Jackson Enjoy a full day of family entertainment including stage performances, demonstrations, artisans, vendors, Celtic Clans and much more. CONTACT: (800) 748-9588, www.caseyjones.com

OCTOBER 22

NOVEMBER 7-8

29th ANNUAL GILES COUNTY CHILI COOK-OFF

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY

Historic Pulaski Square, Pulaski A variety of different chili all cooked for your enjoyment! CONTACT: (931) 363-3789, www.gilescountychamber.com

HOLIDAY BAZAAR Greeneville Holiday bazaar and craft fair with over 125 vendors. CONTACT: (423) 639-7102, www.mainstreetgreeneville.com

Exchange Place, Kingsport Storytellers relate chilling tales of the past.

CONTACT: (423) 288-6071, www.exchangeplace.info OCTOBER 23, 24 and 30

GHOST TOURS AT THE SAM DAVIS HOME Sam Davis Home, Murfreesboro Tour the grounds on a haunted hayride before entering the historical home for a guided ghost tour. Not recommended for children under 10. CONTACT: (615) 459-2341, www.samdavishome.org OCTOBER 24 & 31

HALLOWEEN GHOSTLY GATHERING

• other necessary business that may come before the membership

PUMPKINFEST

Lonnie Roberts, Chief Executive Officer Tennessee Rural Health Improvement Association

Home&Farm |Fall 2009

NOVEMBER 7-8

WITCHES WYND

OCTOBER 30-31

Lacy Upchurch, President

Dickson County High School, Dickson Over 15 booths of beautiful arts & crafts made by craftsmen from all over the south.

CONTACT: (615) 943-6275

OCTOBER 23-24

• discussion of activities and service

Each member in attendance is entitled to vote on any issues discussed during the meeting and the election of the Board of Directors, which will occur on December 8, 2009.

CELTIC FEST

Tennessee Agricultural Museum, Nashville Mix bluegrass music, sorghum molasses, old-time activities with wagon rides, square dancing, sheep herding, a gristmill and Tennessee crafts. CONTACT: (615) 837-5197, www.tnagmuseum.org

• election of the Board of Directors for the coming year

• the annual membership report

NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 7

OCTOBER 17-18

Historic Rugby Features a chili dinner, lantern-lit tours of historic buildings, storytelling, ghost film and a Druid’s bonfire. CONTACT: (888) 214-3400, www.historicrugby.org

Business at the meeting will include:

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craft show, bluegrass music, food, pony and hayrides, and much more.

CONTACT: (423) 479-1000, www.clevelandapplefestival.org

NOVEMBER 10-22

6th ANNUAL TREES OF CHRISTMAS Crockett Arts Center, Lawrenceburg This year’s theme is “Christmas is a State of Mind.” Features beautiful trees decorated in state colors and more. CONTACT: (931) 762-7617, www.cityoflawrenceburgtn.com NOVEMBER 13-15

HOLIDAY IN HAYWOOD Wyatt Duke National Guard Armory, Brownsville Retailers showcase their Christmas best featuring unique, one-of-a-kind gift items for everyone. Santa visits on Saturday afternoon. CONTACT: Monica Bivins, (731) 695-9662, www.shopbrownsvilletn.com NOVEMBER 13-15

FAYETTEVILLE…HOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST

Historic Downtown Dayton Food and craft vendors, hayrides, train rides, trick-or-treating, costume contests and lots more! CONTACT: Sarah Standifer, (423) 775-9847, www.mainstreetdayton.org

Fayetteville Festivities include Christmas Craft Show, storytelling, craft demonstrations, musical performances, activities for children and more. CONTACT: (931) 433-1234, www.hostofchristmaspast.com

OCTOBER 30-31

NOVEMBER 19

GHOST TRAIN HAUNTED MUSEUM

LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG

Lynnville Railroad Museum, Lynnville A haunted museum with scary scenes held in the steam engine and each rail car.

CONTACT: Tim Turner, (931) 478-0880, www.lynnvillerailroadmuseum.com

Abraham Lincoln Library & Museum, Harrogate An annual program commemorating Lincoln’s famous speech at Gettysburg.

CONTACT: Carol Campbell, (423) 869-6439, www.lmunet.edu/museum.htm tnfarmbureau.org

Visit Our Advertisers Bradford Exchange www.bradford.collectiblestoday.com Chalet Village Properties www.chaletvillage.com Farm Credit Services www.e-farmcredit.com First Farmers & Merchants Bank www.fandmbank.com Hidden Mountain www.hiddenmountain.com Littleton Coin www.littletoncoin.com Maury County CVB www.antebellum.com Tennessee 811 Tennessee Department of Agriculture www.picktnproducts.org Tennessee Farm Bureau www.tnfarmbureau.org Tennessee Farm Fresh www.tnfarmfresh.com Tennessee Farmers Insurance Companies www.fbitn.com Tennessee Rural Health Plans www.trh.com Tennessee State Fair www.tennesseestatefair.org The ALS Association Tennessee Chapter www.alstn.org The Gorilla Glue Company www.gorillatough.com Your Man Tours

Events are subject to date change or cancellation. Please call ahead.

Home&Farm

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View From the Back Porch

Farm Thankfulness ’TIS THE SEASON TO REFLECT ON LIFE’S IMPORTANT THINGS o say my 4-year-old son is “farm crazy” is an understatement. He loves everything about the farm – and then some.

He wants to know in detail about dairying and running a combine, among other things.

He loves his “baby tractors,” which have grown to be a huge collection of 1/64 scale tractors, rakes, wagons and other farm machinery. My boy is so farm focused he sees future barns in UPS delivery boxes and empty Kleenex boxes.

Even a crumpled up piece of tape reminded him of a barn the other day. My husband and I joke that if he were given an inkblot test, it would go something like this: “I see a barn.

That one, um, a barn? Looks like a barn to me.”

That is why it surprised me so much when one

T About the Author

Ian Curcio

Julie Vaughn is a farmer, wife and mother of two totally farm boys.

She is thankful to still be raising vegetables, cattle and sheep on her farm in Eagleville.

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Home&Farm |Fall 2009

day he said to me, “Sometimes I wish we didn’t have a farm.” “Really,” I replied. “What would we do if we didn’t?” He told me we would “cook, play and read books all day.” He quickly changed his tune, however, when I explained without a farm you don’t need tractors!

But the summer he turned 2 years old, the possibility of us not having a farm was quite the reality. The Tennessee Valley Authority informed us that the heart of our farmland was one of four proposed substation sites needed to help meet the electricity needs of the counties around us. The very question my son posed to me was all of a sudden our reality. Our world was turned on edge. What would we do if we didn’t farm? That summer was full of internal and external struggles. We woke up and went to work on land that might not be ours in the coming months. Instead of waking up each day looking for ways to improve our little piece of earth, we went through the motions, wondering if what we were doing really mattered anymore.

That fall we learned that our farm was safe.

The substation would be built on another piece of land, a farm, but not our farm. I remember going through the season seeing everything through much more thankful eyes. I marveled at our neighbor’s huge maple trees proudly showing their colors. Our family took walks in our woods, bringing home souvenirs like turkey feathers, seedpods and acorns with or without their hats.

Sometimes I found myself just being still and letting the cool winds blow against my skin, thankful to God for the opportunity to just be.

After learning our farm was indeed still ours, we reseeded our pastures with red clover. It was our recommitment to the land that we promised to take care of it as long as we both shall live. The clover continues to grow today, serving as a visual reminder that we are indeed still here on this farmland we love, improving the land, nurturing life, growing food for other families and, yes, giving our son the chance to say that “sometimes” he wishes we didn’t have a farm, but, hopefully, protecting him from that ever becoming an unwanted reality. tnfarmbureau.org