#35 Martin Relatives 10-24 thru 10-26-2008

On Friday, Oct. 24 we went for dinner (lunch) to Reelfoot Lake. This is just one of the Catfish restaurants near the lake. It just happened to be my first cousin Wayne's birthday. He and wife Charlene drove from Cleveland, TN (which is in the south east corner of TN) to spend the weekend with us. We felt so fortunate to be able to spend his birthday with him and with so many of our relatives. Frank had never seen Cyprus Knees growing out of the water, so we took a walk down to the lake and took some pictures. I remember the first time I saw them, I was awe struck, because I'd never seen any thing like this. These knees are on the bank of the lake,but there are some that grow right in the water, where it isn't very deep.

Above, some of the Cyprus Knees growing right out of the water. Some of the trees in the background are putting on their fall colors. It was a beautiful day.
We all stopped at the RV, so our friends and relatives could see how we live. There were 12 of us in the RV. It was a lot of fun to have everyone here.

On Saturday night, Hollis's sister Jean and husband Billy invited us and 8 others for dinner. She is a great cook. We got there early and they drove us around Martin, and even drove us by the place I was born. It is now a children's day care. The building was torn down and the new building put up. I'm amazed at how many relatives I have in Martin. I didn't know there were so many cousins, and cousins children and their children. We didn't get to meet all of them! Guess we will have to come back again.

Over the weekend we managed to go to a movie. "Fireproof" was the name. It is a movie that was produced by a church in Albany, Georgia. It was a very good Christian movie, with a great message about marriage and relationships.

We also went to church with Wayne, Charlene, Marshall and wife Sarah. Marshall and Wayne went to school together and have remained friends all these years.

#34 Martin Relatives 10-20 thru 10-29-08

When we arrived in Union City, we called Hollis Littrell who is my Fathers cousin on his mother side. He invited us to a "singing" at the Senior Center. There are 10 to 20 people who get together for an hour and just sing hymns. Many of the women play the piano and the others take turns leading and picking the hymns. We joined in for the hour and really had a nice time. They all made us feel like family. On Wednesday, after a Tuesday of solid rain, Hollis took us out in the country and we visited Cane Creek Cemetery where my Grandfather and Grandmother Cape are buried. As you can see the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. My Grandmother's name was Lessie Vincent Cape and my Grandfather's name was Jefferson Davis Cape.

Hollis showed us the graves of Lessie sister, Wessie and husband Alfred Littrell which is his parents. Lessie and Wessie are sisters. There parents were the Olive's, who are also buried in this same cemetery. This is the church building at Cane Creek Cemetery. Hollis told us it is used only once a year. It was refurbished in 1998. (Needs painting again!) He said there aren't too many people that help take care of the cemetery and church now.

All during my life my Dad talked about Mt. Pelia. This is where he grew up and where he and my Mother lived the first two years of their marriage. The sign points the way to the Mt. Pelia Baptist Church where Hollis has attended all his life.

We had a great day with Hollis and really enjoyed seeing all the places where the old homes used to be. Most are gone, either by fire or were torn down.

We even went by the site of the old school house. It was torn down just a few years ago and now it's an empty lot. Hollis told us it was only used for grades 1-8. After that you had to go into Martin for high school.

#33 Jackson, TN 10-17-2008

While we were in Jackson, TN we visited the original home of Casey Jones. They are just getting started on a million dollar improvement to build a museum and restore the home. This is the story of Casey Jones.

We couldn't believe the caboose mounted on top of the poles directing people into the Casey Jones Village. It was a big old general store, some other little stores and his home place as well as an engine and some rail cars.

Below is a picture of the children's room with their toys. It was done very nicely, with articles from the newspaper about Casey Jones, and original bedspreads on the beds.

One of the many artifacts that were showcased in part of the home. These will be moved to the museum to make way for the furniture and home accessories that are in storage.

While we were in Jackson, we found out that the Good Sam Club was hosting a Samborie at the fairgrounds. So we went and checked it out. We went late Saturday afternoon, did a little shopping at the vendors, had catered dinner and then stayed for the entertainment. While we were there we were introduced to the "Big Cyprus Chapter" of the Good Sam's. That is the chapter near my birth place of Martin, TN. In fact there were two people from Martin that knew my Dad's cousin, Hollis Littrell. This chapter made us feel so welcome. We ate dinner with them and sat with them during the entertainment. What a great bunch of people.

These entertainers were so much fun. I think they had as much with us as we did listening to them. They also entertain on a river boat. Good ole boys!

We stayed two days in Jackson, TN and then headed to Union City which is the closest to Martin we could find to park our Motor Home.

#32 Sun Studios an Memphis kings 10-16-08

We toured the Sun Studio where Elvis, Johnny, Jerry Lee and many other got their start in Memphis. The guitar on the outside of the building was built by Gibson Guitars. That is the same company that made Elvis's guitar. This is the original building and has now been classed as a historic monument. It went through many changes, it was used as a scuba shop at one time--I don't know where they did scuba, the Mississippi is too muddy to do any diving in! Guess what Frank found outside the Sun Studio? A little red Thunderbird!
I found an old jukebox that reminded me of the ones we used to play when I was a kid.
The picture below is called the Million Dollar Quartet. Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. This was a totally impromptu session, but went down in history at Sun Studios.
Frank, singing in the same microphone that Elvis used! How great is that?
I'm amazed to find a mosaic egg in front of the visitor center. I loved it. I could do that!

Did you know that Memphis is famous for three Kings? Martin Luther King was shot in the motel below. The Loraine Motel.

B B King was a famous blues singer who made Beale Street and many other places in Memphis famous. And of course, the King of rock and roll. Elvis Presley. So now you know that Memphis is the home of Kings!
Memphis has also produced one of our great novelist. This is a plaque commemorating John Grisham.
We really did enjoy our time in Memphis. It rained a couple of times while we were there. During our visit to Graceland it "misted" most of the day. We just got out our umbrellas and did our tour of Graceland anyway. On Wednesday night it started raining and rained all morning Thursday, so we did laundry! The afternoon was nice, so we did our running around in the afternoon and then had a terrific Bar B Que dinner, Tennessee style.

The next day we left and drove a whopping 70 miles to Jackson, TN.

#31 Memphis, TN 10-14 thru 10-17-2008

What does Gidget think about all this traveling and sight seeing? "Ahhh, just give me my bed, a blanket or two and my stuffed puppy dog and I'll take a nap!" She is one laid back traveler.We had a beautiful day to do our sight seeing in Memphis. We took our first Riverboat ride on the Mississippi River. It was narrated both up and down the river. We learned a lot about the river front and some of the history of Memphis.This is the boat we took. In order to get down to the river we had to walk across a lot of cobblestones. The history of the cobblestones is that when the sailing ship came over from Europe they used the rocks as ballast. When they went back to Europe they filled the hold with cargo and didn't want to take the rocks back. So these rocks are from Ireland, England and such.This is the bridge across the Mississippi from Memphis to Mississippi. It is called the big M, the twin arches and the Dolly Pardon bridge. The oldest bridge over the Mississippi was the railroad bridge. Under the bridge is the pyramid building that was built in Memphis as a sports stadium.Beale Street during the afternoon. We walked on Beale, visited the stores and had our dinner in one of the Blues Club. We had Bar-B-Que Ribs, of course.Evening is coming to Beale. The horse drawn carriage are out. This one looks like Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. It is covered with blue twinkling lights. I couldn't help taking a picture of it. Beale Street at night. Famous for songs and famous for music in Memphis. This is the act we saw in the club we visited. He was very good, he sang Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. When he wasn't singing he told a lot of story about the singers. We both enjoyed the show.
The next day we took a city tour. One of the stops was at the original Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. We were able to see the famous Peabody ducks take their walk on the red carpet from the elevator to the fountain. They come down from their penthouse at 11 o'clock in the morning and swim all day in the fountain. Then at 4 o'clock they march back on the red carpet to the elevator and back to their penthouse. The people were 3 and 4 deep watching them this morning. There is one male and four female ducks. One lucky duck!

#30 Helena, AR and Graceland, Memphis, TN 10-11 thur 10-13-2008

From the BGHS reunion in AR, we drove to Helena, AR to attend the Blues Festival. This is held in downtown Helena right along the levee on the Arkansas River. This is a very old town and a lot of the old town is still crumbling. They are really into Blues and it brings in a lot of people.This is where we stayed. All the RV parks were full and we didn't know exactly what to expect. The owner of the RV park also owns this bar, and we parked in the large field in front of the bar. The bar used to be a roller skating rink. We had to dry camp, but we were the only one there! We stayed two nights and then headed to Memphis, TNOur first visit was to Graceland. This is the front entrance. It is very nice inside with all the original furniture. Our tour was a self guided tour with headphones and electronic pre-recorded information. Some of the recordings were in Elvis voice, a lot in Lisa Maries.This is the view from the back. Lisa Marie had horses and they were kept here.This is the meditation garden where Elvis, his grandmother and his mother and father are buried. It is done very nicely and is very peaceful. There is a sign that tells about the flowers and how all of them are sent by fans. The corporation tries to use them for as long as they stay fresh.
Inside one of the buildings are many of Elvis's performance costumes. This is only one of over a hundred. The beading and designs are extraordinary. There is even the unfinished costume that he was supposed to wear on his next performance. He died before he could use it. It is a beautiful sky blue beaded jumpsuit.We then went to the car museum. Of course we had to see the pink Cadillac that Elvis gave to his mother.I was in for a big surprise when I read about Elvis and John Force. I went to school with John Force's brother, Walker. He was Roger Spicer's best friend and dated one of my best friends, Sandy Williams. The four of us had a lot of fun together. Then I go into Elvis's auto museum and find that he and John knew each other. There is a picture of John and Elvis together. Wow!
We were able to tour Elvis's private air plane, the Lisa Marie. What a beautiful way to travel. This was a state of the art decorating plan.
Both the bathrooms on board have gold plated sinks. Very opulent and classy.

#29 BGHS school Reunion October 2008, Petit Jean Park, AR

The first night of our reunion was on Thursday, Oct. 2. The guys cooked hamburgers and we all had dinner together at the Cedar Falls Motel picnic area.

The next night was the Chili Cook-off at the campground. I entered a pot of chili beans that didn't even place. Oh well, I liked them--guess they were to much like CA chili, instead of Southern Chili. I even got into the part by wearing my cowboy hat. Here I am with my brother Charlie, and Paula Kettlehut.

Check out all the smoke--think that was from my chili? We all ate very well, again. Lots of renewing of friendships. Roger Spicer is talking to Paula Kettlehut.Saturday night we met at the Catholic Church for our Saturday night pot luck dinner. The first thing you saw when you went into the front door was a replication of the Dunc's Diner front door that was across the street from our high school when we attended. What a great beginning to our dinner.
Charlie and Paula just coming in and getting ready to sign the memory quilt.
Look at all the food. We ate and ate so much. Everyone of us are good cooks! This is the representatives of the class of 1961. Richard Ford, Loraine (Kilgore), Larry Quattlebaum, Dixie (Cape) and Terry Smith. Starting from left to right.This is the class of 1963, my brother's class. They had the most people there representing thier class!Brother Charlie, probably telling a joke.
This was Justin and I, the only ones who took part in the bubble gum bubble blowing contest. His broke, I win!