Road Trip 2004 (Summer Vacation!)

Working for two different college districts, I never have time for a summer vacation because one district begins Fall semester the same time the other district ends Summer semester. I wanted to travel this year, so I left one job a week early and came a week late on the other. This gave me two weeks to explore the Appalachian Mountains.

My wife, Peggy, and I flew to Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday, August 8. I was anxious to see the Ryman Auditorium, former home to the Grand Ole Opry. I also enjoyed seeing the new Grand Ole Opry site and all of the music business buildings on “Music Square,” such as the historic RCA Studio B which was responsible for over 1000 top-ten hits. As a guitarist, it was a treat to visit George Gruhn’s vintage guitar store. I have read many of Mr. Gruhn’s books on vintage guitars and guitar collecting. Also of interest was the honky-tonks downtown ("Honky-Tonk Row"), Ernest Tubb's record store, and the Country Music Hall Of Fame Museum. While I stopped at the Country Music Hall Of Fame Museum, I did not enter and take the tour because cameras were not allowed. To me, that defeated the purpose of viewing this historic collection. I did, however, but a book in the gift shop which showed much of the museum collection. I also found some great music CD's that were hard to find elsewhere.

I enjoyed my visit to Nashville. It is easy to see why this city is referred to as "Music City USA." There were, however, a few disappointments. While taking pictures of the Ryman Auditorium (in the sweltering heat and high humidity), I noticed that the air was completly full of little gnat-like bugs. There were so many, they were sticking to our clothes and had to be brushed off. Also, the street in front of the Ryman Auditorium reeked of sewer leakage.

On Monday, after eating a few White Castle hamburgers, we headed our rented Buick Century east to US Highway 127, which was the site for the “world’s longest yard sale,” also known as the “127 corridor sale” or the “450 mile garage sale.” Garage sellers set up all along the road from Gadsden, Alabama to Covington, Kentucky (just south of Cincinnati, Ohio). 450 miles of yard sale bargains!

I saw this event featured on Home & Garden Television, and decided that I had to work it into my plans. Most of the items were glassware and clothing, the same type of items one might find at a swap meet or yard sale back home. Some of the antique items were overpriced. I did find a nice German beer stein for $8 and some scrimshaw and pocket knives for my collection. We stayed overnight at a cabin in the mountains of Tennessee, near the Kentucky border. The next day, we followed the sale route into Kentucky. I was surprised to learn that this event is the main revenue source for residents in this area. It was invented as an economy booster. I stopped at a few towns along the way and visited a food booth at a small school building, a diner/ice cream shop, and a general store. The small town feel in this part of the country was a welcome relief to the way folks behave in San Diego, California where I work.

I did not continue the whole way though Kentucky. Our trip was cut short because the climate was unbearably hot and humid. I no longer wanted to get out of the car and browse through the merchandise for sale. I just wanted to stay in the air conditioned car!

We headed east to Hazard, Kentucky (Dukes of Hazard) and Harlan, Kentucky (home of Patti Loveless and also referred to in the famous Doc Watson song “Shady Grove.”). The idea was to experience the way of life in this part of the country so that I can be inspired to write better songs! After a great all-you-can-eat catfish dinner, we called it a day.

Wednesday took us to the Cumberland Gap where 3 states (Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia) come together. We drove past the Clinch Mountains (home of the Stanley Brothers), then it was off to the Great Smoky Mountains, birthplace of Dolly Parton and influence for hundreds of songs such as “Smoky Mountain Memories” and “On Top Of Old Smoky.” We drove through Dolly’s home town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It is no longer a town of one room shacks. Thanks to Dolly’s popularity, It now looks more like Las Vegas, Nevada, without the casinos. We took a picture of Dollywood, but decided not to enter the park.

We exited the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina and headed to Ashville to follow the Blue Ridge Mountains in to Virginia. The next day, we continued along the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Shenandoah Mountains. Then it was across the border into Maryland, West Virginia, and then Allegheny Mountain region of the Appalachians in Pennsylvania. We stayed three nights in Johnstown, Pennsylvania – home of the world-famous “Johnstown Flood,” and also home of many musicians I worked with as I was growing up in Portage, Pennsylvania, a town not far from Johnstown. I had a chance to meet with a few – Sam & Larry from “Satrycon,” and David, brother of Gigi, who was the singer for “Freeway” and also “Strawberry & Company,” and is now somewhat of a celebrity in Fort Worth, Texas.

On Saturday, Peg attended her family reunion in Northern Cambria County, and we got some great photos of the rural area we once called home. Her cousin, Johnny, was nice enough to give us his house for the next week, complete with heated pool and satellite TV! One night in the pool, I had an interesting talk with Johnny’s daughter and son-in-law about the demise of coal mining in the area (which is one of the reasons I left) and how the new natural resource is natural gas, and how gas wells are springing up all over.

The next few days were spent visiting family members from both sides of the family. I also had the opportunity to visit friends and former band mates in this section of the county, including Ken, Pat B., Joe & Phyllis and Pat P. I discovered that Pat B., still happily married to Rose after all these years, is performing in a Celtic rock band. He played me a CD he made, and I was amazed how fresh and vibrant the music was. Authentic Celtic fiddle playing with a rock backing. Look out Gaelic Storm, you have competition!

Joe, who used to be one of the best tenor sax players around, is now singing and playing organ at his church, as well as coordinating most of the church’s programs and activities. The day I visited turned out to be only two days before their annual church picnic, so the hall was bustling with preparation. He popped open the walk-in freezer, and I saw more frozen halupki (stuffed cabbage) than I have ever seen – enough to feed an army! It was heartwarming to witness Joe & Phyl’s dedication to their church and to their friends and neighbors.

I was about to find out that Joe had another surprise for me. In may of 1966, I bought a Fender Pro-Reverb amplifier brand new, and used it in my work until 1968. When I decided I needed a new amp, I sold the Pro-Reverb to Joe for about $100 or $150. Now, almost 40 years later, I asked Joe if he still owned this amp. He did, but it was broken and sat in his attic for many years. I asked if I could buy it back, since he wasn’t using it. Joe wouldn’t take any money for the amp, he just outright gave it to me. It was a little rough around the edges from what I remembered it to be, and needed to be repaired, but it was great to have my old amp back. This was the first really good amp that I had used – before I bought the Fender, I owned two Silvertone amps from Sears & Roebuck.

I took the amp to the music store I originally bought it from, and arranged to have them repair it and ship it to me in California. When the amp arrived, it was not fixed to my satisfaction, so I took it to a repair shop in San Diego. I ended up spending $700 to get it back in tip-top shape. This sounds like a fair price to be playing not just a vintage Fender amplifier, but MY vintage Fender amplifier! This never would have happened if it wasn’t for Joe’s generosity.

The trip ended in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 21 with an airplane ride home to sunny southern Califorina. (Did I mention that it rained and thunderstormed most of the second week of my trip? There was even a tornado warning!) This leads me to the reason for writing this story: The people I talked to on my trip have reminded me that there is more to life than success. The people of the Appalachian regions tend to live life slower, and seemed to have more time for you as an individual than the type of treatment I have experienced while living in larger cities. This is part of what prompted me to move from the city to the country five years ago. I came home from this trip with a new sincerity to do my best to be kind, considerate and helpful to my friends, students and all others I come in contact with. I hope that I can make a difference in their lives, even if only in a small way.

This, plus the natural beauty of the area, has indeed given me inspiration, so I guess the trip was a success. If you have any comments or would like to share your experiences, I would love to hear from you. My email address is tom.smerk@gcccd.net.

Thanks for listening!

Postscript:

I returned home from my trip to Tennessee, Kentucky and Pennsylvania on August 21, 2004. My father passed away on September 25, 2004. His final resting place was to be in Pennslvania, so we returned again from October 13 - 19, 2004. The service was held on Monday, October 18. We spent most of our time visiting with family and friends, but we did allow time for driving around looking at the magnificient fall foliage. I've included a few photos below for those of you that have never seen Pennsylvania in the fall.

Cambria County, Pennsylvania – October 2004
Cambria County, Pennsylvania – October 2004
My Alma Mater - Mount Aloysius College
Our Family (Absent: Melody Smerk, our oldest daughter)


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