Episode 3820

- [Announcer] "Tennessee Crossroads" is made possible in part by...

- [Announcer] Some of our biggest checks, have also made the biggest difference. The Tennessee Lottery, proud to have raised more than $7.5 billion for education. Now that's some game changing, life changing fun.

- [Announcer] Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways, discover Tennessee's adventure, cuisine, history, and more made-in-Tennessee experiences showcased among these 16 driving trails. More at TNTrailsAndByways.com.

- [Announcer] The co-op system in Tennessee consists of independently-owned co-ops, driven to serve farmer owners, rural lifestyle customers, and their communities throughout Tennessee and in five neighboring states. More at ourcoop.com.

- [Announcer] Middle Tennessee State University College of Liberal Arts helps students explore the world, engage minds, enrich lives, and earn a living. More at mtsu.edu/cla.

- This week we'll try our luck at an Irish picnic in McEwen, dine on southern comfort food in Memphis, and explore the arts and crafts community in Gatlinburg. Hi everybody, I'm Miranda Cohen, along with my dear friends.

- I'm Laura Faber.

- And I'm Vicki Yates.

- [All] Welcome to "Tennessee Crossroads."

- We'll explain why the gangs all here in just a moment, but first things first. We may be a couple of months away from St. Patrick's Day and a few months away from a special event in McEwen that's been going on for 170 years, but what better time than the middle of winter to look forward to happier and warmer days. As luck would have it, our own Cindy Carter has a preview of the St. Patrick's Irish picnic.

- [Cindy] Every summer in McEwen, Tennessee, you can count on things getting a little smokey, okay, a lot smokey.

- [Tommy] So this is what you call the original old timey barbecue, and it's grilled and it's wonderful.

- [Cindy] And it's been going on for more than 170 years. This is the Annual St. Patrick's Irish Picnic and Homecoming. The two-day event, held the last Friday and Saturday in July, brings together friends, families, visitors, and some really delicious barbecue.

- It takes roughly around 38 to 45 people just to cook the meat. We got 19,000 pounds of barbecue shoulders on the pits this year, and we cooked 100 butts, Boston butts last night and got rid of those on Friday night.

- [Cindy] That's Tommy Hooper, and like most of the countless volunteers you see working this very special event, he's been a part of the St. Patrick's picnic for a long time.

- [Tommy] They call me the pit master down here. They actually dedicated a shirt to me. If you want to see it, I wore it today.

- [Cindy] There it is.

- [Tommy] That's supposed to-

- [Cindy] That's you?

- [Tommy] That's me shoveling coals on the pits.

- [Cindy] And how long have you been shoveling coals on the pits?

- 55 years this year.

- [Cindy] Let me tell you, these volunteers have got this down. Hundreds of helping hands from across the county contribute to the picnic's success. The pork and chicken gets slow cooked over hot coals, and when it's just right, the meat moves over to what you might call a chop house where it gets chopped and pulled and chop some more for lines and lines of people who are patiently waiting. There's also a sandwich stand and a full-blown barbecue dinner stand with plenty of homemade sides and desserts. Michael Bradley is the picnic's co-chair.

- It is some of the best barbecue around, it really is. It's a little bit between smoked and grilled. It's not as smoked as like Memphis barbecue where you get the strong smoked taste. We don't really get a lot of the same taste that you would get like with the North Carolina barbecue. It really is a unique taste to it. It's fired completely with hardwood slabs and it's just, it's a wonderful product.

- [Cindy] And like a lot of good barbecue, the secret is in the sauce, which they sell on site, the original Irish recipe. Notice the ingredients are not listed. Now, the barbecue sauce is so special and so secret, they say the original recipe is kept in a safety deposit box. Thank you, Lisa. Now they'll make 600 gallons of it for the picnic, and believe me, it sells out quick. At this picnic, kids of all ages can try their luck at the various game booths, pause for a photo op, try on a whole new look, or listen to a variety of great music. It's simply a fun weekend steeped in tradition. McEwen was once home to several Irish immigrants who settled in the area as furnace workers and sheep herders. St. Patrick's Catholic Church was established to serve their community.

- [Resident] The church here at this location was established in 1854, and the folklore is that the first picnic was held to raise money to get a bell for the church, and it's been going ever since then.

- [Cindy] At some point, the picnic shifted from raising money for the bell to raising money for the St. Patrick's School, a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade Catholic school that has educated generations of Humphreys County residents, like Megan Gunn, who now teaches at St. Patrick.

- I started St. Patrick's in kindergarten and went all the way through the eighth grade, and it was just really great to be here. The sisters were awesome. We were able to go to church every day. It was just great to be here and receive a Catholic education.

- [Resident] We're doing this work, so that they can come to school here, not just the Catholic children, anybody that wants to come to school here and get a religious education, that's what we're doing the work for, to support the school, support the community.

- [Cindy] And so the deep, heartfelt tradition of the St. Patrick's Irish Picnic and Homecoming is, at its core, an opportunity to create opportunities for families rooted in Humphreys County. And even those who move on always seem to make their way back every July for a good time, tasty barbecue, and a great cause.

- [Tommy] I love cooking, I love the fellowship, and I love seeing what it does for our youth and our kids. That's why I keep coming back.

- Thanks, Cindy. That looked like a lot of fun.

- And it looked warm. I'm ready for spring.

- Same, Vicki, same. Well, folks, if you haven't already guessed, we are all here to kick off this year's Keep Crossroads Traveling campaign.

- But don't touch that remote. We promise we will keep it brief and get back to the real reason you're here...

- [All] The stories.

- But it takes funding to bring you all those stories, and this is the one time of the year when we ask for your help. Just think of all the people and places we visited over the years. If you value the wonderful stories that you see on "Crossroads," please help us continue to make them possible.

- We want to start 2025 out on a firm foundation to ensure we can keep the "Crossroads" crew on the road, and that's where you come in. Over the next four weeks, we'll be asking you to support the show at whatever level is comfortable for you. And if we can get 500 donations at any level, Nashville PBS will keep "Crossroads" on the air during our March Membership Drive. We're also excited to announce an upcoming event right here in our studios that's guaranteed to raise your spirits.

- [Announcer] You are invited to Tennessee Crossroads Annual Whiskey Tasting, Saturday, February 22nd, 2025, showcasing some of the best whiskey producers from Tennessee. Each distillery will feature two to three products with many of them hard to find. For tickets, use your phone or scan the QR code on your screen, or go to wnpt.org/events.

- Those events are always a blast.

- Always.

- You've already made "Tennessee Crossroads" one of the most watched, locally-produced programs in the entire PBS system. We are so honored to be a part of your lives and wanna say thank you, because we wouldn't be here without your support and loyalty. Please call the number on your screen to make a pledge or pledge online at wnpt.org/donate, and when you do, we have several ways to say thank you for your support.

- [Announcer] You can help keep "Crossroads" traveling with a financial gift that's just right for you. At the $72 level or $6 a month, you can show your support with this polyester blend, short-sleeve t-shirt. At the $96 level or just $8 a month, you can enjoy this limited edition t-shirt. For a one-time gift of $156 or $13 a month, you can keep warm in style with this limited edition hoodie. Finally, we'd love to see you at our Annual Whiskey Tasting on Saturday, February 22nd at Nashville PBS. Visit the studios of "Tennessee Crossroads," meet the crew, and sample the best spirits from across the state. Tickets are $65 or $125 for the VIP package, which includes a WNPT gift bag, a meet and greet, and a barbecue lunch. We hope to see you there, and we thank you for helping to keep "Crossroads" traveling.

- We enter this new year with mixed feelings. On one hand, we're excited to keep bringing you the best of Tennessee, but we must admit that it will be bittersweet without new stories from our friend, Joe Elmore. Now we take heart in knowing that he is still with us in spirit, and he would've wanted his creation to continue. Luckily, we have 37 seasons of Joe's stories, which we will continue to share, and his chair remains on the set as a reminder of "Tennessee Crossroads" heritage and purpose.

- Hello everyone, I'm Joe Elmore. I heard from a friend that WDCN was starting a magazine show and made a phone call or two, and when they offered me the job, I thought about it for about 15 seconds and said yes. I remember when we were sitting around Al Voecks, Jerry Thomas and myself, Susan Thomas as well, talking about what this show was gonna be about. We didn't really know. We thought we might do some kind of more serious stories, but it turned out the viewers dictated what our show was gonna be about. We kind of found our footing after about a year and realized that well, people want to know what's going on in Tennessee and the people, the places, and so forth, and that has sort of led to what we are today. Well, they say ratings aren't everything, but you do want people to watch what you do, and the fact that this show is so highly rated is really gratifying, and that makes it all worthwhile. And I think it's because, even with so many channels and so many options out there, that people love to know what's going on in their backyard that's good and positive. It's all about everything that's good about Tennessee, and it's always gonna be that way.

- It's always going to be that way. You can count on that, and we know we can count on you to help keep "Crossroads" traveling. And speaking of traveling, where are we headed next, Miranda?

- We are headed west with the man himself. Joe Elmore found out that if you were looking for great soul food with a great story behind it, Alcenia's is the place to be.

- [Joe] When you think of Memphis, you might think of the Mississippi River, the downtown entertainment district, or even soul food. Well, here at Alcenia's, you can not only get that, but also a hefty serving of love and hugs.

- [BJ] Hey, baby.

- [Customer] Hey, how're you doing?

- I tell people, you come in as a stranger, but when you leave you part of the Alcenia's family. And I feed the heart, the head, then the stomach. If I get your heart and head, baby, I got your stomach, ain't no doubt about it, boo.

- [Joe] If there ever should be a queen of soul food, well BJ Chester-Tamayo might wear the crown. Her colorful, cheery restaurant north of downtown Memphis is a haven for lovers of good old southern cooking. And a helping a BJ's exuberance, and you've got a dining experience you won't soon forget.

- [BJ] Hi, how're you doing baby? I hug every single person who come in this door, but that was in my family. My mom, you know, we always hug. We never hang up the phone without saying, "I love you," so that's just the way I was raised.

- [Joe] BJ was raised on great country cooking, soul food or whatever you want to call it, all thanks to her late mother, the restaurant's namesake, Alcenia.

- [BJ] My mom was such a fantastic cook, and our home was always open, and people would always find a way to come around dinnertime, needing something.

- [Joe] Opening a restaurant was far from BJ's mind until tragedy struck her life in 1996.

- I lost my only child Will A. Tamayo III, we called him Gogo, in a motorcycle accident, August 3rd, when he was 22 years old, 1996, talked to him one minute, the next minute he was gone.

- [Joe] So after years of depression and searching for a way to fill the void in her life...

- Somebody said, "Have you ever thought about opening a restaurant? No, I didn't cook growing up. I had never been a waitress, done any of that. So I said, "Okay." So my mom, who is Alcenia's, trained me, Alcenia Clark-Chester, trained me from being in Meridian, Mississippi on the phone and by coming to Memphis, that's how I learned how to cook. She didn't measure anything, so I was saying, "Mom, you got to tell me." She said, "You know, I don't measure," so I just had to keep playing with it till I could get it. You know, I would never be as good as her, but if I can get 75%, I'll be batting 100, yeah.

- [Joe] And the owner promises every dish will have the same consistent quality every time you get it.

- You have to make sure it has the same taste. So I mean, I would throw away something, I'll come out here and tell my customer. Just like the other day, the grease wasn't right. I came out and told my customer, "I got to redo this." I'm not getting ready to give you anything that's not right. You would never in your life see another restaurant like Alcenia's.

- [Joe] To BJ Chester-Tamayo, Alcenia's represents more than another cool Memphis diner, more than a haven for honest-to-goodness soul food. It's a symbol of what loving family roots and a passion for food can rightfully realize.

- You know what the best part is though, Joe, it's the people. I mean, when people come in, I say, "Have you ever had soul food?" And most of them have them haven't. And then they'll say, "Well, I saw you on the UK," because it came on a certain channel, a certain show came on in the UK. So when you have people from all over the world, I mean, it's amazing, it's amazing.

- That looked delicious.

- It is so good, and you have to have the sweet potato casserole. She's famous for it.

- Pro tip.

- Yes, Joe sure knew how to pick 'em. Well, Laura, the next story is yours and it's a great one. You wanna do the honors?

- I would love to. We are headed to the Smokies next, where I met an incredibly talented group of artists just outside Gatlinburg, in a spot known as the Arts and Crafts Loop. Here's what we found. There is a lot of history in the dark blue and green hills of the Smoky Mountains, history that has migrated down the mountain. Nestled on an eight-mile loop at the base of the park outside Gatlinburg is a community that draws visitors from all over the world. Shop after shop, you'll find artists, some of whom come from families who have lived in these parts for generations. The early artists came from the mountains, moved into Gatlinburg to make money from their handcrafted items, but settled just outside the city in an area known as the Glades. It's here that you can find the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts community, the largest artisan center in the country.

- When they had the World's fair in Knoxville, that brought a lot of visitors to East Tennessee, I think, that more prominently pushed a spotlight on the mountains and Gatlinburg in general. They actually had millions of visitors come into the area from the World's Fair. I mean, that would've pushed the artisan idea a little bit more at this quiet side, that you could get away from the hustle and bustle of everything downtown.

- [Laura] Now, 80 years old, the community has grown to more than 100 artists and craftsmen who have shops along the loop. Wood's Hip and Steel is a ninth generation artist here. He paints, as does his dad, Verne, whose work has been collected here since the sixties.

- This community represents the cultural side of Gatlinburg. The National Park Service does do a fair job of teaching people about the people that actually are from this area, the first established people in this area. But the fact that Gatlinburg, you know, it doesn't represent the people of Gatlinburg as much as the arts and crafts community does. This represents what the people were like before modernization, the people that use their hands to make a living.

- [Laura] Since 1976, Otto Preske has been making his living with his hands here on the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Loop.

- This is a mountain man mantel. This is ash wood, and it's just a different mantle because it's hanging down from the mantle part instead of being above it.

- [Laura] At 79 years old, he uses tools to shape and carve incredible pieces of woodwork.

- I got started carving when I was a boy scout, and I did study art a little bit. I met a wood carver from Europe, from Portugal that showed me how to use the tools. I was a commercial artist for about 13 years and ended up working at one of the larger advertising agencies in Evansville, Indiana where I'm from. And then we came down here on vacation several times, and saw the craft community out here.

- [Laura] Otto and his wife live upstairs above the shop. He loves the comradery of the community and has no plans to stop working with wood.

- It's one thing neat about having a shop like this. I have literally met people from all over the world in here. It's amazing because not only am I doing what I like to do, but I'm not in a good old cubicle like I was in the studio, I'm out talking with people.

- Probably one of the most special things about this arts loop is its diversity. You can find anything here from concrete works of art to stuffed bears, dulcimers, ceramics, paintings, glass, you name it, it's here. A little further up the loop, class is in session.

- Good morning, guys. I hear you want to create something in glass.

- [Laura] Nancy Hoff is an artist who specializes in fused glass.

- Glass that's been melted in a kiln at about 1400 degrees or higher, made into different projects.

- Nancy creates her pieces by carefully placing bits of glass onto a base piece and using heat to fuse it together. Vases, jewelry, nightlights, dishes, sun catchers, the work is gorgeous. Originally from Gatlinburg, Nancy's dad grew up in the house that is now her Firefly Glass Studio and Gallery. After a 25-year career elsewhere as a mortgage loan officer, the lure of the arts community and home drew her back.

- I think it's just special, because we're kind of all concentrated. It's a simple eight-mile loop, and people can go from place to place, and they can find literally any form of art in this one eight-mile loop.

- [Laura] Not only can you find and buy art, but you can actually make your own, like the Helsinger family from Ohio. The whole create-your-own-experience is fairly new to the loop. Nancy was one of the first to offer it, but now, many other artists offer a chance to experience what they do.

- I started back in the spring of 2017, after our fires that previous November. It got really slow. Social media kind of told people Gatlinburg burnt to the ground. I was like, "Well, I don't wanna go back into the workforce, "so what can I do?" And I had a actual lean-to building out with two picnic tables underneath it and started taking some of my scrap glass out there and asking people if they wanted to make their own item, and it has just exploded. Last year alone, 600 pieces went outta here.

- [Laura] Whether you choose to let your own creative juices flow or just browse and buy, spending a day on this eight-mile loop is a perfect way to see a different side of Gatlinburg.

- I have people that have visited this area their entire lives, and they didn't know that the arts and crafts community existed. So, it's important not only to educate people that we exist, but also to show them, there is something outside of Gatlinburg that represents this very beautiful, idealistic version of what Gatlinburg used to be, and we're not just a tourism town with flashing lights. We have some incredibly handmade items. Even to see the Arts & Crafts Loop, the beauty, the natural beauty of this area. Hopefully people will come and visit us just as much as they want to come and visit the mountains.

- Great job, Laura.

- Thank you.

- They're such great people, and there's so much to see and do in Gatlinburg. Well, before we go, we just want to remind you about our Keep "Crossroads" Traveling Campaign.

- If we receive 500 donations at any level, "Crossroads" stays on the air during Nashville PBS's March Membership Drive. Here's another look at the thank you gifts we have for your support.

- [Announcer] You can help keep "Crossroads" traveling with a financial gift that's just right for you. At the $72 level or $6 a month, you can show your support with this polyester blend, short-sleeve t-shirt. At the $96 level or just $8 a month, you can enjoy this limited edition t-shirt. For a one-time gift of $156 or $13 a month you can keep warm in style with this limited edition hoodie. Finally, we'd love to see you at our Annual Whiskey Tasting on Saturday, February 22nd at Nashville PBS. Visit the studios of "Tennessee Crossroads," meet the crew, and sample the best spirits from across the state. Tickets are $65 or $125 for the VIP package, which includes a WNPT gift bag, a meet and greet, and a barbecue lunch. We hope to see you there and we thank you for helping to keep "Crossroads" traveling.

- We know we can count on your support, and you can count on us to be back next week with more great stories. Thanks for watching, everyone.

- [Announcer] "Tennessee Crossroads" is made possible in part by...

- [Announcer] Students across Tennessee have benefited from over $7.5 billion we've raised for education, providing more than 2 million scholarships and grants. The Tennessee lottery, game changing, life changing fun.

- [Announcer] Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways. Discover Tennessee's adventure, cuisine, history, and more made in Tennessee experiences showcased among these 16 driving trails. More at TNTrailsAndByways.com.

- [Announcer] The co-op system in Tennessee consists of independently owned co-ops, driven to serve farmer owners, rural lifestyle customers, and their communities throughout Tennessee and in five neighboring states. More at ourcoop.com.

- [Announcer] Middle Tennessee State University College of Liberal Arts helps students explore the world, engage minds, enrich lives, and earn a living. More at mtsu.edu/cla.