Welcome to Bean Pot Campground in the Heart of the Great Smoky Mountains 4/30/2008

We would like to welcome one and all to the Bean Pot Campgrounds in Crossville, TN in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. We are on Lima Bean Lane between S. Bean Pot Loop and N. Bean Pot Loop. Very nice campgrounds with a beautiful view out the side window of our coach. Not many people here this time of year and the trees are just starting to bud unlike the Nashville area.
We stopped at a rest area about halfway to Crossville to do 2 caches located there. One was on a guardrail and very easy and the second was a virtual cache in a cemetery on a hill in the rest area. We found out it was the Sadler Family Cemetery and it has some interesting history. The Rainey Creek area was first pioneered by several families from Tennessee. In 1852, Chester C. Sadler (age 28), his wife and children were escorted from Jackson County, TN by his three younger brothers, Ewing F.(26), William Kincaid (24), and James R. Sadler (22)They traveled through Arkansas and stayed a while with some fellow Tennessee Presbyterians in Fannin County, Texas near the Red River. They then took their goods by wagon via Fort Worth to Waco. Chester made arrangements to homestead a section of land for three years. He and his brothers built a rough log cabin on Rainey's Creek just south of the present-day cemetery. One of his brothers died during this time and was laid to rest on the land they were settling. With the cabin built and Chester and his family established on the land, his two brothers returned to Tennessee to tell their father, John Kincaid Sadler, and their uncle, James Sadler of the trials of the pioneering effort and the promise of the new land. In 1855, Chester C. Sadler was granted a patent to the land by the State of Texas. During the following years, many early pioneers, friends, neighbors and kinfolk made use of the Sadler Cemetery. There are over 50 marked graves in this cemetery and 20 are for children of pioneer families that did not survive to their sixth birthday. Those interred include the widow of a soldier of the Texas Revolution, five Civil War veterans and a state legislator who served in the first Texas Legislature after the Reconstruction era. Despite the hardships and heartbreaks brought on by disease, war, and the elements of nature, this cemetery represents the commitment of the pioneering generation to improving life on the Texas frontier for themselves and their descendents. In 1907, the Sadlers sold the land surrounding the cemetery but the cemetery property remains in the Sadler family and was dedicated as a cemetery forever. One of the markers dated back to 1868. They must have built the rest area around the cemetery.
We got here about 12:30 and were all set up by 1:00 and had lunch. After lunch we loaded a couple of caches into the GPS and took off into Crossville to do them and to look around. The first cache was along a fence in front of a motel and then it was on into town and a multi-cache located in a local cemetery.
The first part of the cache was on a large headstone, about 7 feet high, and the final stage was under a power box. We did see the grave site of of a Medal of Honor recipient who entered the service in Crossville, Milo Lemert. Rank and Organization: First Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company G, 119th Infantry, 30th Division. Place and Date: Near Bellicourt, France, 29 September 1918. Seeing that the left flank of his company was held up, he located the enemy machinegun emplacement, which had been causing heavy casualties. In the face of heavy fire he rushed it single-handed, killing the entire crew with grenades. Continuing along the enemy trench in advance of the company, he reached another emplacement, which he also charged, silencing the gun with grenades. A third machinegun emplacement opened up on him from the left and with similar skill and bravery he destroyed this also. Later, in company with another sergeant, he attacked a fourth machinegun nest, being killed as he reached the parapet of the emplacement. His courageous action in destroying in turn 4 enemy machinegun nests prevented many casualties among his company and very materially aided in achieving the objective. Sounds like he was quite a hero.
Then we drove around town seeing what we might like to see tomorrow or Friday. There were a few things but there wasn't much of a downtown area but they sure had a large commercial area. We drove back to the coach and Mom washed clothes and I showered and shaved and did the few logs we had. I made chicken for dinner and now we are watching TV and I am doing the blog. Well time to sat until tomorrow and we love and miss you all.


Picture List:1,2-Milo Lemert grave site and headstone along with the memorial plaque telling his story, 3,4-Sadler Family Cemetery in the I-40 rest area.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI .... A Caching and Grocery Shopping Day 4/29/2008

Let Mom and Dad wish one of our lovely grand daughters Nikki a very very Happy Birthday and many many more just like it.
We left this morning to do a few caches before we went grocery shopping and out to buy an new phone. Well the phone is a long story but I found out that they won't work to well after being dropped in a pail of water. Oh well live and learn so we had to get a new one. Well anyway on to caching. Our first cache was out behind a Best Buy, second, at a car wash, third, in a light pole at Lowe's, fourth, out behind a Jack In The Box Restaurant, fifth, next to a church in the bushes, sixth, a light pole near a Vet Office, seventh, a light pole near a Wally World and our eighth was a virtual cache in a cemetery where we were brought to the burial site of June and Johnny Cash which was very nice to see as you also can by the pictures. Then it was off to Publix and we did our grocery shopping for the week and then drove back to the RV. We defrosted the refrigerator and put groceries away and then I went and showered and Mom did the logs. I am doing the blog now and Mom is watching TV. We are leaving here tomorrow to start our trek back north and the first stop will be at the Bean Pot RV Park in Crossville, TN for 3 nights. We are having fried chicken tonight from the restaurant that catered the dinner last week so we know that will be good. Well time to say until tomorrow and we love you and miss you all.


Picture List:1,2-Bowen Plantation House in Manskers Park, 3-First long hunters historical marker, 4,5 Both sides of a bench in back of Jonny Cash's gravesite, 6-Johnny Cash's grave marker, 7-June Carter Cash's grave marker.

More Caching Around Nashville 4/28/2008

We started out this morning driving to 2 virtual caches in Hermitage, TN. The first was at Clover Bottom Mansion came to be owned by Dr. James Hoggatt, who built the antebellum home in 1858 on land inherited from his father, Capt. John Hoggatt, a Revolutionary War soldier. Apparently, the custom was to give land to the soldiers to repay them for their role in the Revolutionary War. This fine Italian villa style home is centered in an area of local historical significance.Social life at Clover Bottom revolved around church, parties, and the race track; not necessarily in that order. Now horse racing was serious business, and no where on earth did appreciation for the sport transcend those of the Clover Bottom folk. Anthony Clopton and his neighbors were members of the Clover Bottom Jockey Club, the hub of Tennessee horse racing for many years. Among its members was one Andrew Jackson. General Jackson was particularly devoted to the “sport of Kings,” and never missed an opportunity to match his renowned horses against all comers. The events surrounding the races of March 3, 1806 proved not only to be a rich source of gossip for the inhabitants for months, but continues to engage the interest of historians and the imagination of writers.
Then it was down the road to an old cemetery behind the local YMCA for a virtual cache that had to do with one of the grave markers. The Grave marker was for John Hoggatt who commanded a company in the Revolutionary War.
Then we had lot of easy Park & grab caches. First was at Taget in a light pole, then a ccahe in a bird house in the cache owners front yard, then a cache at the park & ride at Hermitage Depot in a light pole, then a cache on a guard rail in a small shopping center, next was a cache under a phone booth, then a cache near Andrew Jackson's home "Hermitage" in a hidey hole in a tree, another cache in a light pole in a shopping center, another light pole cache at Wally World, a cache in back of a shopping center on a guardrail, a cache at a archery range in the bushes, a cache in a cedar tree along a local street where it is rumored that Andrew Jackson planted the row of cedar trees, a cache in a local park in a stump, another Wally World near a stone wall, and then a cache in a Mexican restaurant.
Our last cache was in the town of Old Hickory at the site of The Old Hickory Powder Plant. It was destroyed on August 10, 1924 and the story is as follows. Powder, machinery and buildings valued at $28,000,000, war time prices, and at more than $2,000,000 at present valuation, were destroyed in a fire that swept clean a 40-acre tract in the heart of the Old Hickory powder plant at Jacksonville, Tenn., near here, this morning. Approximately 45,000,000 pounds of gunpowder, stored by the United States government as a war reserve were consumed in the flames. The cost of manufacturing this powder during the war, according to Maj. Oscar Krupp, United States ordnance officer in charge, was 50 cents a pound, making the total cost $22,500,000. The present market value of the powder is approximately 1 cent a pound, making the total values $450,000, Maj. Krupp said. The powder had been stored here by the United States government as a war reserve. One-half of it was to have been used in road building under the direction of the Department of Agriculture. Fifty factory buildings, owned by the Nashville Industrial Corporation, most of which were rented by the government for storage of powder, were consumed. The factory machinery was the property of the government. The fire was declared to be the greatest single loss suffered by the government since the world war, and was rated as one of the most destructive incidents in the history of government munitions plants. No one was severely injured. At sundown this afternoon it was impossible to approach the area of the fire because of the intense heat. An estimate of the loss, therefore, was impossible. All estimates were made from a distance by government and private employees. The government office and all surveillance records of powder and inventories were destroyed. Duplicates of the inventories, it is said, are on file in the War Department at Washington. By 12:30 p.m. the conflagration had exhausted itself and left nothing but a white-hot tangle of debris. No dangerous explosions occurred. Several thousands of small arms ammunition were ignited, but the bullets spent their force against the brick walls. Throughout the day firemen from the plant and the village fought the flames. At 10 a.m. two fire engines from the Nashville fire department were sent to the scene to aid in the work of fire fighting. Women of the village, mostly wives and daughters of officials, volunteered for canteen service and worked all morning. The origin of the fire is undetermined. All loss is covered by insurance. The area destroyed is exactly one-half of the entire plant. The flames for hours threatened the remainder of the plant, and the absence of high wind is believed responsible for saving it. The flames originated in solvent recovery house No. 8, in the northeast end of the powder storage area, and leaped from building to building until finally they died out. The power house, considered the most valuable building of the plant, escaped the flames by a scant 20 yards.
After we saw the site of the Powder Plant we drove through Old Hickory and saw the Old Hickory Cemetery where General Thomas Overton is buried. He served in the Revolutionary War and as a Inspector of revenue in NC. We also saw the Old Hickory Triangle which served as the commercial core of Old Hickory from the 1920's through the 1940's.
We drove on back to the RV and had lunch and I made our campground reservations for the next week and a half in TN on our way back to New York. Then I went and showered and Mom did the logs for our caches. I got back and watch a little TV and when Mom got done I finished putting our pictures on yesterdays blog, finally. This wi-fi is so bad I switched to our internet card and got it done lickety split. I stopped in the office and the owner said that they had 2 wi-fi antennas and people a mile away can get there connection. Well I don't believe it because the signal is very weak and I am continually being disconnected from the internet. She claimed it was because I had a lot of other wi-fi networks and the passwords used to access them still stored in my pc so I deleted them and guess what no change. Well its time for dinner now so we will say until tomorrow and we love you all.


Picture List:1-Old Hickory Powder Plant, 2- Old Hickory Triangle, 3-Madison College, 4-General Thomas Overton historical marker, 5,6-Old Hickory Cemetery, 7-General Thomas Overton gravestone, 7,8-Thomas Hoggatt burial site and gravestone, 9-Clover Bottom Mansion historical marker, 10-Clover Bottom Mansion, 11,12-Outbuildings at Clover Bottom Mansion.

On Our Way to Nashville (Virtually) and Some Sightseeing 4/27/2008

Off we went early this morning into Nashville as we had a list of 20 virtual caches we wanted to see if we could do with hopes that they would show us a lot of the historic and interesting sights in the city and so they did and more. Our first stop was on the campus of Vanderbilt University Medical Center for four caches placed by a father whose son spent some time in the hospital here. We found each of these with no problem and then it was on to a Ronald McDonald House for a cache placed by in honor of the cachers niece, Rinnah ( which means rejoicing).
Then it was on to Centennial Park, where by the way they had the Music City Marathon run through yesterday (30,000 runners). The cache was located in a bird bath which had a date on the bottom of it but the only thing was it was full of water, so I had to splash it all out to get the date. As we drove through the park we saw the Parthenon which is a full scale replica of a Greek Parthenon and functions as an art museum, many statues which included a Engineering statue, an old Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis Railway locomotive, powder grinding wheels, many lovely gardens and rock formations and an old bell tower.
Next it was on to Spruce Street Baptist Church for a cache located on a historical marker there. This church was originally a part of the First Colored Baptist Church, founded in 1848 as a "mission" of the First Baptist Church.
Next was a cache at one of the many many squares located in the center of the city that had memorials and statues. We had to locate a memorial to the Good Old Tennessee Boys and get some information about it.
Next was a cache at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Building where all we had to do is get the name it was changed from to. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a symphony center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It opened with its first concert in the Laura Turner Concert Hall on September 9, 2006. The hall has approximately 1,900 seats and is the current home of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. At the center of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center is the approximately 1900-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall. Modeled after the "shoe box design" of storied concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Musikverein in Vienna, the Hall is one of only a few such venues in the world to feature natural lighting, which streams in through 30 soundproof, double-paned windows that ring its upper walls. Intricate symbolic motifs appear throughout the Hall and the rest of the Center, including irises (the Tennessee state flower), horseshoes (a tribute to the late Laura Turner's love of horses) and coffee beans (representing Nashville's Cheek family of Maxwell House fame).
Then it was on to our 1400th cache at the Southern Motor Works the makers of the Marathon Motor Car which was made here between 1914-1918.
Then it was on down by the river to Fort Nashborough located in the Germantown section of Nashville. Fort Nashborough was the stockade for the settlement that became the city of Nashville, Tennessee. It was named after General Nash from North Carolina who fell at Germantown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 4, 1777 in the Revolutionary War. The fort was erected on the bluff near this location by the pioneers of the Cumberland settlement in the year 1780 as a central fort of defense against Indian attacks. It was the scene of many historical events, especially the Indian attacks of April 2, 1781 known as "The Battle of the Bluff. A reconstruction today stands on the banks of the Cumberland River near the site of the original fort. We went through the fort and came out on the other side and all we saw was bums and hobos and we were told this is where they hang out all the time.
Next cache was at a memorial for Charles Warterfield who was an architect who restored the Tennessee State Capitol.The memorial is a group of broken limestone columns and fragments from the former Tennessee State Prison. There are 26 pieces in all.
Next it was on to the Nashville City Cemetery. This cache concerned William Driver who sailed twice around the world and once around Australia. He removed the Pitcairn people from sickness and death in Tahieta to their own island home September 3, 1831. Then 69 in number now 1200 souls. He was born in Salem, MA in 1803 and died in Nashville, TN in 1886. The name OLD GLORY was coined by Driver, a shipmaster of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1831. As he was leaving on one of his many voyages aboard the brig CHARLES DOGGETT - and this one would climax with the rescue of the mutineers of the BOUNTY - some friends presented him with a beautiful flag of twenty four stars. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he exclaimed "Old Glory!" He retired to Nashville in 1837, taking his treasured flag from his sea days with him. By the time the Civil War erupted, most everyone in and around Nashville recognized Captain Driver's "Old Glory." When Tennessee seceded from the Union, Rebels were determined to destroy his flag, but repeated searches revealed no trace of the hated banner. Then on February 25th, 1862, Union forces captured Nashville and raised the American flag over the capital. It was a rather small ensign and immediately folks began asking Captain Driver if "Old Glory" still existed. Happy to have soldiers with him this time, Captain Driver went home and began ripping at the seams of his bedcover. As the stitches holding the quilt-top to the batting unraveled, the onlookers peered inside and saw the 24-starred original "Old Glory"! Captain Driver gently gathered up the flag and returned with the soldiers to the capitol. Though he was sixty years old, the Captain climbed up to the tower to replace the smaller banner with his beloved flag. The Sixth Ohio Regiment cheered and saluted - and later adopted the nickname "Old Glory" as their own, telling and re-telling the story of Captain Driver's devotion to the flag we honor yet today. Opened in 1822, the City Cemetery is the oldest continuously operated public cemetery in Nashville. A walk through the cemetery is truly a walk through Nashville's history. The gravestones tell the stories of individuals and families from the 1820s to the present day. We saw many many markers that told the stories of the famous people buried here.
Then it was on to Assumption Church which is the second oldest standing Catholic Church in Nashville Tennessee and a holy and magnificent shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Dedicated on August 14, 1859, it is a beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture, statuary and art. Soon to be celebrating its 150th Anniversary.
The cache had to do with Samuel Stritch who was born in 1887 and attended Assumption School at age 7. he was ordained when he was 22 and sang his first mass at the church. He was a priest in Memphis and Nashville, Bishop of Toledo, Archbishop of Milwaukee, Archbishop of Chicago and named Cardinal in 1946 and was called to Rome in 1958 to head Catholic missions and thus became the first American member of the Roman Curia.
Next stop was at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church which is known for its pure Gothic Architecture. The cornerstone was laid in May 7, 1852. During the Civil War, church services were discontinued. In 1862, the church building was taken over by the Union Army. The soldiers used the building for a powder magazine and a stable for the horses. The baptismal font (a gift from Christ Church Cathedral) was used as a washbasin. The altar was put to use as an operating table for the soldiers. After the war, the United States Government paid approximately $1,300 to the church for war damages. Episcopalians who had African ancestors, first worshiped at Holy Trinity in 1895. In 1902, a congregation for people of African ancestry was organized. Then, in 1907, Holy Trinity was given to the communicants of African ancestry. The Reverend A. J Coombs, the first priest of African ancestry, served from 1907-1915. The attendance at the church is still predominately members of African ancestry.
Next it was on to Granbury's Lunette which was the site of one of the Civil War battles in the area. Then it was on to a small local park which we had to get the name for except that the stone marker that told the name of the park was worn away so we couldn't make out the complete name, and then it was on to our last cache and a historical marker that had to do with The Nashville Race Course, the "Burns Island Track", 1828-1884. Here Oct 10, 1843, was run the then richest race in the world, the $35,000 Peyton Stakes, 4 mile heats, promoted by Bailie Peyton. The winner owned by Thomas Kirkman, was renamed "Peytona". Ten Broeck and Thora also raced here.
Some of the other attractions we saw, which I will post pictures of were a memorial near the state capitol that commemorated all types of music in Nashville but it had no plaque with a name of information, Bicentennial Mall State Park which includes Zero Mile Marker, Small Tennessee Granite Maps, Tennessee Map Plaza, The Railroad Trestle, The Rivers of Tennessee Fountains, Tennessee Flags, Pathway of History, World War II Memorial, Carillons and the Court of 3 Stars, CCC Memorial, The Walkway of Counties, and the Path of Volunteers. Also we saw what we think is a music house called Slaughter House, Tennessee Titans Football Stadium, Tennessee State Capitol Building, and quite a few different monuments and memorials in the downtown area.
We drove back to the RV and had lunch, Mom did the logs and emails, and I showered and watched the NASCAR race and the Ranger-Penquin hockey game. It was raining here this afternoon and kind of cool. We had a great dinner and Mom is now atching TV and I am finishing the blog. Well until tomorrow we will say we love you all and we miss you.


Picture List: 1-Mom & Dad at our 1400th find at the Southern Motor Works, 2-Southern Mortor Works historical marker, 3,4-Southern Motor Works Building, 5-Marathon Motor Car emblem, 6-A Marathon Motor car, 7-Nashville City Cemetery historical marker, 8,9-William Driver historical marker and gravestone, 10,11-2 other historical markers in the cemetery, 12,13-Slaughter House which is a musical club only open on certain dates and times, 14-Tennessee State Capitol Bldg., 15-Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 16-The Parthenon, 17,18-Spruce Street Baptist Church historical markers, 19-Spruce Street Baptist Church, 20,21-Nashville skyline, 20,21-Powder Grinding Wheels in Centennial Park, 22,23-Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis RR locomotive, 24,25,26,27-Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 28-Memorial dedicated to the women from TN in the Civil War, 29,30,31-Monument for the music of Nashville, 32,33,34,35,36,37-Fort Nashborough, 38,39-Engineering Statue in Centennial Park, 40-Assumption Church, 42,42-Charles Warterfield Memorial, 43-Entrance to Bicentennial Mall State Park (all the next pictures were taken in Bicentennial Mall State Park), 44-Each section of TN has a stone monument like this telling about the particular section this one is Cumberland Plateau, 45-Each county has a plaque like this telling about the particular county, 46-Globe of the World which spins all the time in a fountain of water, 47,48-These are 2 of the 10 granite monuments in the World War 2 Memorial, 49,50-Carillions and the Court of 3 Stars.