Topic: History

The price paid for the 4th of July!

By Turner McCullough Jr. | July 7, 2008 |

The premier holiday of the summer symbolizes more than a time for grilling, fireworks and road trips and just general fun stuff!

The 4th of July is widely acknowledged as “THE Summer Holiday” here in the United States. The traditional events of the day are well enshrined in our popular culture. People are planning big family cookouts, grilling, barbecuing, pool parties, sports events of all kinds- baseball, soccer, softball, badminton, volleyball, swimming, bicycling and small and super fireworks displays - all typical holiday celebration activities.

Yet there is far more to this holiday of holidays, this one uniquely American blowout. Sacrifices have been made that allow us to engage in these festivities. The lives which have been been laid down that allow us these exercises of indulgence also need to be acknowledged. There are so many individual sacrifices that have occurred in the course of our history that have received little, if any, recognition. What follows is a somewhat skewered collection of notable moments that have added to our American story.

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Rubber-stamped travel: Corporate cloning of America’s landscape

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 26, 2008 |

On the Road in America is an occasional and serendipitous column about people, places and observations, with publishing predicated on the random availability of internet access or lack thereof.

Being On the Road in America can sometimes be a bore.

Oh, there’s a great deal of beauty to be seen, from the Green Mountains of Vermont to the rolling farmlands across Ohio, from the rugged Rockies and the dramatic coastline of California’s 17-mile drive. That’s not the issue.

As implied in Josh Neuman’s Lemmings (right) ,what is troubling is the growing lack of identity, of uniqueness, of individuality, as one moves from state to state. North, south, east or west makes not a whit of difference. Commerce in America is cloning itself at breakneck pace, mass-producing blueprints for hotels, motels, box stores, shopping malls and restaurants that increasingly lack a sense of their own identity and certainly have no ties to community heritage or culture.

I’m on the road again, as Willie Nelson would sing, and I am heading for one of the few bastions of non-traditional development — via the central midwest to the rural northeast, home of green mountains, clothing optional backwoods beaches, interstate bike paths, and those perpetual golden arches relegated to the outermost borders of some cities. «Read the rest of this article»

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Civil War encampment at Fort Defiance

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 8, 2008 |

Despite the hot muggy weather, Civil War re-enactors donned heavy Union and Confederate uniforms for a gathering and simulated battle at Fort Defiance Saturday; the event continues through Sunday afternoon. Although Clarksville history does not record such a battle, the re-enactors offered a glimpse of history, emulating battles fought in other parts of the south in the War Between the States.

Cannon fire [Photo by Mark Haynes]

A highlight of the day was cannon fire; In the heat of the afternoon, soldiers tamped the powder into the cannon and loaded it, pulling the trigger from a short distance away, flinching from the boom and the smoke as each shot was fired. «Read the rest of this article»

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‘Cooling at the Cave’ draws crowd on a sultry summer day

By Debbie Boen | July 30, 2007 |

Though day was ghastly hot, well over 100 Clarksville residents came to “Cooling at the Cave” for that natural air conditioning to be found at the mouth of Dunbar Cave. Some tables had to be moved away from the cave entrance because guests were freezing there (due to the 58 degree air coming out of the cave!).

Many people began playing board games just as soon as they found a nice table to claim for their own for the day. They knew what they were doing because they’d done it before. People played games, listened to the band and socialized. The cookies were wonderful, the lemonade great and the helpers (Friends of Dunbar Cave) attentive, refilling my cup if I even looked like I was a bit thirsty.

It was a day of nostalgia for many folks; organizer Barbara Wilbur was right when she thought that this would attract a lot of people. I heard stories about how Dunbar Cave used to be. Many visitors remember the days when Roy Acuff owned Dunbar Cave and they came to the swimming pool, bowling alley, the lake with its paddle boats, and the sounds of music at the cave. «Read the rest of this article»

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TAP Circle of Harmony House Concert/Salon with Roy Futureman Wooten of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

By Nell Levin | July 13, 2006 |

Tennessee Alliance for Progress and Interplay-TN are co-sponsoring a Circle of Harmony House Concert/Salon this Saturday night, July 15, from 6:00pm to 10:30 pm featuring Roy “Futureman” Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

This cutting-edge event melding art and activism will take place at Futureman’s studio in Bellevue. «Read the rest of this article»

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