Marathon Village--Another Nashville Gem

I believe every city has its own unique and special places--hidden gems.  Music City has many hidden gems.  AppleJack has a very high sense of adventure!  He loves exploring, finding new places.  Several years ago while either reading the newspaper or listening to public radio he learned about Marathon Village.

There was a visionary young man named Barry Walker who had brought the run down Marathon Car Factory.  When I say run down, neglected, dilapidated, let me also add Marathon Village was located in a very run down, marginal part of town.  To put it mildly, you only went there in the daylight hours and you didn't plan on staying long.

Barry's vision was to return Marathon Village to its former productive glory and allow artisans and craftsmen studio space.  AppleJack and I were working on a pie safe and needed to find someone who could design a pattern for the metal tins of the pie safe.  There was an artisan living and working at Marathon Village and Barry introduced us.

Barry has never given up on his vision for Marathon Village.  Each time we go to Marathon Village there are more and more improvements.  Like many urban renewals it is now quite the trendy place.  Many people in the music business use Marathon as locations to film their music videos or host parties.

This building was one of the first buildings which Barry restored.  This building houses his collection of Marathon cars.

This is Barry's first fully restored Marathon car.  From time to time, this car will make an appearance at special events.

Another one of Barry's restored Marathon cars.

Pretty classy, don't you think?  I could enjoy riding around in this!

I believe Barry found this one buried in mud

Wouldn't we all like to have the good fortune of the two young men who won a car with a $1.00 raffle ticket?

These are parts of a Marathon car which Barry found while renovating the building.

Barry continues to work on restoring Marathon Village.  This building is next on the list.

Can't wait to see what Barry does with the entrance to this building.

One of my favorite parts of Marathon Village are the doors.

Some people would have found these old tools and tossed them as scrap--not Barry.

Junk to some--art to others!

Metal found inside transformed into doors.

The graffiti painted on the buildings, takes on an artistic touch.

For those of you thinking no one is taking notice of Barry's hard work and vision--this is the historic marker acknowledging Marathon Village as  a significant place in Tennessee and American history.

Some people look at Marathon and say "it's just a run down old building, where the pigeons poop, and the homeless sleep."  Barry only sees potential!

Mt. LeConte Great Smokey Mountains National Park

The date is September 2, 1940, a very important date in the history of Sevier County, Tennessee.  The President is coming to town, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  President Roosevelt is coming to town to dedicate the Great Smokey Mountains as a National Park.  There are many important visitors and dignitaries in town,  the schools are closed.  My Mother walks to the Menlo Bridge so she can wave to the president riding in his touring car. 

It has been a long journey!  Efforts to include the Smokey's as a National Park began in 1923.  There were many obstacles to overcome:  the great depression, the timber and pulp companies, raising millions of dollars, the land acquisitions.  Hard work, grit, determination and a stubborn resolve to not give up made it a reality.

My roots are in the mountains.  Great Grandfather Johana Martin Shultz moved to the Smokey Mountains before Tennessee became a state in the 1700's.  Grandfathers, Uncles, and cousins all had homes, farms and lives in the mountains before their property was acquired by the park service.  The family cemetery is in the mountains.  Grandfather Isaac and Grandmother Bessie ran a boarding house and a park official, Arno Crammer roomed at their boarding house for several years. 

Fast forward the date:  the summer of 1998 AppleJack has had quadruple bypass.  We are meeting with the doctor discussing recovery options.  The doctor asks "what is your goal?"  AppleJack says:  "I want to be well enough to hike Mt. LeConte."  I almost fell out of my chair.  "Hike to Mt. LeConte, are you crazy?  You can't even walk from your bed to the bathroom without assistance."  The room goes silent.  Composing myself, I say, "Okay, if hiking to Mt. LeConte is what it is going to take for you to be better, we will begin today."  It was a long, slow process.  The first hike was the back door to the end of the driveway.  I did not think we would make it.  The second hike on the second day was from the back door to the house next door.  I did not think we would make it.  The third day, same thing only two houses away.  Each day, our walks became longer and AppleJack grew stronger.  Many weeks later, the doctor says, "I don't know what you are doing, but it is working, keep doing it.  I think you are going to make it." 

We began to get serious about hiking to Mt. LeConte.  Mt LeConte is a mountain in Sevier County, Tennessee and is a part of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  At 6,593' of elevation it is the third highest peak in the park.  From its base elevation of 1,292' it rises 5,301' in elevation.  The Sierra Club ranks hiking this peak as strenuous.  People who knew we were planning this hike thought we had lost our minds.  The highest point of elevation in Nashville is 1,110 feet.  Alum Cave is the hiking trail we had chosen to get to Mt. LeConte.  The Alum Cave trail is the shortest trail (five miles, ten miles round trip) but is also the trail which gains the most elevation.  We believed we could hike the distance, we were unsure about the elevation.  Walking in the relative flat trails and greenways of Nashville is very different from hiking in the mountains! 

We choose the date October 24, 2003.  We got very serious about the hike, extending our daily walks to 3-4 miles a day during the week and five miles on weekends.  We ate healthier, we lost weight, we shopped for backpacks, and hiking gear.  We read trail reports.

The day was beautiful--warm, sunny, clear blue skies.  The weather could not have been more perfect.  Our plan was to eat lunch at the Clifftops.  We made many rest stops and water breaks along the way.  Took many photographs.  Heard nothing but the wind blowing.  We hiked so high up the mountain, we were looking down on trees and saw birds flying below us.

It was strenuous!  The last mile was grueling!  It never entered my mind to quit.  AppleJack's goal was to hike to the top of Mt LeConte and stopping and turning around was not an option.  We made it!  Tuna fish sandwiches at the Cliftops.  It was breathtaking beautiful, indescribably beautiful.

It took several days for us to recover from our "Smokey Mountain high."  There was no physical recovery, but mental recovery.  Days to adjust to everyday noise, people dumping their trash, no respect for nature and little respect for each other.  We have many wonderful memories about our hike--we often say "it was one of the best days of my life."  One of our favorite memories is the other hikers.  Everyone was so encouraging, offering to share trail mix, or water, or band aids. "Don't give up, you can make it."  Hikers respectful  of the mountain and its beauty.

Over the years, we made more hikes to Mt. LeConte, all beautiful, all wonderful.  There are hundreds of miles of hiking trails in the Smokeys, we have hiked some of them.  But October 24, 2003 was truly one of the best days of our life.

Yes, the photo in the header was taken on our first hiking trip to LeConte--it is that beautiful!

Hearts

Since the American Heart Association calls February Heart month, I decided to take a look around Thistle Manor and find some of the hearts in our home.

There are painted hearts.

Metal hearts

Quilted hearts

More metal hearts to hold the matches to light a warm fire

 Heart shaped cookie cutters

Heart shaped Christmas ornaments

Heart shaped garden forms

Hearts are very important at Thistle manor
Since February is Heart month, does everyone know the warning signs of a heart attack?

• chest pain or chest pressure
• jaw pain, toothache, or headache
• shortness of breath
• nausea, vomiting or abdomen discomfort
• sweating
• heartburn and/or indigestion
• arm pain
• upper back pain

If you have or have had any of these warning signs, please do not ignore them.  In the words of AppleJack's cardiologist "time is tissue."  

Token of Love--Sheepish Designs

In 2004 Sheepish Design (Dawn Bradford) released her 111th exemplary called A Token of Love.  There are Quaker motifs and like the Token of Love stitched in memory of my Grandparents, I thought it would be fun to have something similar for AppleJack and me.

I moved to Music City in June 1987.  On my first day of work at my new job who walks into the office?  AppleJack.  We married October 1987.  Some people thought we were moving to fast.  Twenty five years later, we thought we each made a wise choice.

Tokens of Love--The Goode Huswife

In 2002, Anne Brown, The Goode Huswife, released a reproduction sampler called Quaker Marriage Sampler.  The design is small and has two Quaker motifs.  Anne writes:  "this is a wonderful small Quaker Marriage Sampler.  If you would like to personalize it for yourself or friends, a chart of letters and numbers is provided."  I took Anne's direction and personalized it with the initials of my Grandfather Isaac and Grandmother Bessie and the year they were married.

Isn't the finishing fabulous!  Note:  it was not finished by me, but by a wonderful lady also named Betty.  I tell her all the time "you make my needlework look good."  The wool-- found wool on the 1st Saturday of the month at the Goodwill.  In the words of Martha "it's a good thing."

One of my favorite love stories about Grandfather Isaac and Grandmother Bessie is their first meeting.  Grandfather Isaac ran away from home at age 17 and joined the Calvary.  When Grandfather was honorably discharged from the Calvary and returned home to Emert's Cove in Sevier County,  he had to walk home from the train station in Sevierville to Emert's Cove.  As he was walking home, he noticed a man and three women shocking hay.  He made a mental note to himself:  "I am going to marry a woman like one of those women, a woman who is not afraid of hard work."  And he did, one of the women shocking hay was Grandmother Bessie.

Side note to Carmen:  Thank you!  In my original post I had said the design was Sheepish Design

The Little Red R Sampler by The Goode Huswife

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the year 2010, is the year of the golden tiger.  For AppleJack and me, the year 2010 will forever be known as the "R" year.  Why the "R" year?  AppleJack had a heart attack in 2010 and many things in our lives changed.

• Rest and Recovery
• Recheck--many rechecks, more rechecks, many procedures
• Rehab--thank you Vanderbilt Dayani Center
• Retirement--15 years from the USPS
• Repair-home air conditioning unit
• Replace--refrigerator, floor covering in AppleJack's room, the garage door, the front door awning, the water heater, the car starter and battery, cell phone
• Refurbish--upstairs bathroom
• Refinance home mortgage
• Relax--Primitives of the Midwest in Kansas City
• Room in the Inn (volunteer)
• Re evaluate priorities

These are some of the reasons the year 2010 will be called the Year of the "R."

Another one of my favorite designers is The Goode Huswife (Anne Brown).  When I saw The Little Red R Sampler, I knew this was the perfect sampler to stitch for our Year of the R.  Anne writes this about the sampler:  This Quaker sampler was left unsigned and undated, but possibly the red R in the upper right hand corner, or the W under the alphabet is a clue to it's maker.  Many years ago, I took a class Maureen Appleton, The Heart's Content, was teaching.  One of the neat things Maureen shared during the class was about the letter she wrote and attached to the backs of her samplers.  The letter would contain information about events which had happened in Maureen's life while she was stitching the sampler.  I thought this was a very neat idea.  Since 2010 was a very eventful year in our life, I decided to do the same with the Little Red  R Sampler.  

The letter has been written and when I carry the sampler to my framer extraordinaire, I will carry the letter and ask her to attach it to the back of the sampler.

Autumn Song/Heart Song

One of my favorite pieces of needlework is Autumn Song by Blackbird Designs.  Autumn Song is one of the Loose Feather Patterns #27 released in 2007.  There are so many elements in this design I love--the colors--very fall.  It is a sewing box, there is a lovely alphabet band stitched and sewn around the band of the sewing box.

Normally I do not document the dates I begin and end stitching a piece of needlework.  Autumn Song is the one and only piece of needlework I have which I know the exact dates I began stitching the piece and the exact date which I completed.  I began stitching Autumn Song January 4, 2008, my Mother was in the hospital.  Two weeks later, she would have a massive heart attack.  I completed stitching Autumn Song March 24, 2010, two weeks after AppleJack had a heart attack.  I hope the Blackbird Girls will allow me to take some liberties with their design in altering the name.

Heart Disease!  Yes, if you want to take shelter, I am about to get on my soap box.  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, one in every three deaths is from heart disease and stroke equal to 2,200 deaths per day.  With more than 2 million heart attacks and strokes a year, and 800,000 deaths, just about all of us have been touched by someone who has heart disease, heart attack or a stroke.  February is American Heart month, and unfortunately, most of know someone who has had heart disease or stroke.

Grandfathers, Uncles, Father-in-law, Mother, Brothers, cousins, and nephews have all either had a heart attack or died from heart disease.  I have learned much about heart disease over the years.  One of the things I have learned is the warped sense of humor cardiologist have.  Don't get me wrong, most people who know me say my sense of humor is slightly off center, but cardiologist have developed a new vocabulary.  For example, when my Mother had her heart attack, the doctor introduced me to the term widowmaker.  Widowmaker is the term a cardiologist uses to describe a heart attack in a patient who has had a heart attack in the main artery of their heart.  Why do they call it the widow maker?  Let your imagination take you there.  It is because most people who have a heart attack in the main artery of their heart seldom survive, leaving behind a widow.

Another term I learned is tombstones.  When AppleJack had his heart attack and I became part of a living scene out of the pages of ER or Grays Anatomy or any other popular hospital television show.  When things had calmed and AppleJack was out of danger, I asked the cardiologist to explain to me what he had seen on the EKG to immediately put everyone in the ER into emergency mode.  The cardiologist looked at the EKG and says "tombstones."  Well, dear friends, "tombstones" is not a term you want to hear when your doctor/cardologist is talking about the love of your life!  When I asked for clarification, the doctor says, "see here, when you see an EKG which looks like tombstones, you know the patient is in serious double."

Needless to say, I am very grateful both Mother and AppleJack survived their heart attacks.  Many people in my family have not.  Our very loved nephew, David, has now added his name to heart disease.  AppleJack and I are once again very grateful, he is alive to share his story.  I have told Sister C:  "I am going to type the warning signs of a heart attack or stroke on a piece of paper, laminate it, attach a chain and hang it around the neck of every member of this family."

I encourage everyone to know the warning signs, to eat heart healthy (it ain't all that bad), make exercise a part of your daily routine.  It is amazing how much better you will feel!

This is my Autumn Song/Heart Song.  Love the fall colors and trim on the edge of the sewing box.

This is the inside of the box, again, fall colors.

2008, is the year I started stitching Autumn Song/Heart Song (January 4, 2008 to be exact).  Those two birds would be AppleJack and me.

Notice how the seam of the band is joined at one of the hearts?  At first I was troubled by this, but then it seemed appropriate to represent the hearts which have been broken by heart disease.  I made additions to the band which goes around the box.  I added the two hearts--one for Mother, the other for AppleJack.

I am a huge fan of Blackbird Designs.  This is Pumpkin Blossom needle book.  No sewing box would be complete without a needle book!

The inside of the needle book, complete with Kelmscott scissors and Blackbird needle minder!

Add a few Kelmscott Blackbird thread winders.

An acorn fob from Hobby Lobby and the inside of the sewing box is looking more complete.

Stitching the needle keep is one my 2012 stitching goals.

Autumn Song/Heart Song will always be one of my favorite needlework pieces.