Episode 3247

- This time on Tennessee Crossroads, we head to downtown Nashville, for a United Street Tour. Then, enjoy some relaxing hospitality in Sewanee. We'll take you to the home of BootHill Blades in Clarksville and check into Hagy's Catfish Hotel for some lunch, where the fish never check out. Hi, I'm Joe Elmore. That's what's on this edition of Tennessee Crossroads. Welcome. Before we get this show on the road, so to speak, I wanna stop and thank the Nashville Metropolitan Historical Commission for a very big honor. They recently held their 44th annual preservation awards ceremony at the Nashville Downtown library. Now while most of the awards were designated for preservation efforts, Tennessee Crossroads received their prestigious Commissioner's Award. Now it's an award that recognizes a group, program or project that enhances Nashville's history and historic resources. And all of us at Tennessee Crossroads are indeed honored. If you're looking for a tour of downtown Nashville, you got lots of options. In fact, we've featured several on our program. Well, Danielle Allen took a trek through Music City, not in search of country music or ghosts, but rather activists that change the world for the better.

- [Danielle] The fight for Civil Rights echoed through the South in the 1960's and it was heard loud and clear in Nashville. Those stories of trials and triumphs are retold in books and documentaries,

- All right, let's rock and roll guys.

- [Danielle] But, there's something about physically walking down the path of history and that's where United Street Tours come in.

- All right, I'm gonna talk about this statue. I will stand in the mud, so you won't have to.

- [Danielle] Chakita Patterson is the founder of United Street Tours. Her mission is simple. Educate through storytelling.

- They looked around, and they saw that no one was guarding the gate! So they went inside. The thing that makes a good story is having one character and telling the life of that character. The ups and the downs right? And because all of our stories don't necessarily have happy endings, it's very, very important for us to take you on a journey to how it got that way. Feel free to have a seat guys. I'm gonna talk right from here.

- [Danielle] We took a journey with Chakita on her African American culture tour. She talked about people and events from the 1700's all the way to the 1960's. She also does a tour for Civil Rights and a Nashville Black Wall street tour. Each one of these is different, but they all serve the same purpose.

- [Chakita] The purpose of the tours is to unite people right? So often times when people hear black history, it's oh! That history. But really, black history is America's history right? So United just came from this whole idea of telling black history to provide a unified America and not just singling black history out and saying this is your history, this is my history but when we embrace all history, then we have a holistic and a well-rounded view.

- [Danielle] The idea for United Street Tours came about when Chakita was a dean at a local school. She was helping students do a black history project, but there was one small problem.

- I was very, very excited to get the students involved in planning black history, taking charge of what the theme was gonna be for black history month. So just went around, talked to students, interviewed them and everyone was excited to plan, to get on board, but what I started to realize is that they didn't know much about Nashville's black history or about black history stories to plant anything outside of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Right? So Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a lot of us learn about him in school but outside of that, they haven't been exposed to a wide variety of black history stories.

- [Danielle] That experience gave Chakita an idea. Why not start a business that'll make those little known stories well known? One that let's you take a close-up look at the past and from there, United Street Tours was born.

- Before starting this, I spent a ton of time researching. Searching the internet, reading tons of books, and just trying to pull out information that I thought would connect with people. So, after I don't know how many hours of research, right? Something was missing for me. There's a lot of stuff that wasn't adding up. So what I started doing was reaching out to local history professors at colleges here, and I just start talking to people, just engaging in conversation. Tell me your perspective on this story. Okay, this is what I read, what do you think? So just talking to different professors gave me additional perspective to go by.

- [Danielle] In addition to giving different perspectives, there's another perk to this tour, one that only comes with a little bit of walking.

- [Chakita] So just gives people time that you don't necessarily have when you're on the bus, and it also, it's more personable, because I have a opportunity to stop and say, Oh yeah, and look at this right? So we're not passing things really fast and people notice stuff all the time on the tour. They say, what does this mean? Can you talk to me a little bit about that? Those are things that you-- can only happen on a walking tour. Because you're going at a slower pace and then more personable. Want to point this one out to you.

- [Danielle] The tours cover stories you don't often hear like Robert "Black Bob" Renfro. He was a quasi independent slave who owned a popular bar, but it also revisits the stories you'll never forget. Diane Nash confronting the mayor on the steps of the courthouse and the sit-ins at Woolworth on fifth.

- [Chakita] Our last stop on the tour is at Woolworth on fifth and at Woolworth on fifth, they get a opportunity to sit at the stools and sit there and reflect and think about what they learned and things like that.

- [Danielle] You'll also hear first hand accounts of those sit-ins and the bravery it took to pull it off.

- John Lewis said he sat upstairs with a few of his colleagues and as he was sitting here, he could hear the sounds of his colleagues downstairs being beat up. Can you imagine? So, he got up and just like we walked up those steps, he immediately began to walk down those stairs and when he got down there, all the none balance resistance training that he had kicked in.

- [Danielle] Every day Chakita takes a new group on tour, going up and down the streets of downtown Nashville and sharing stories from black history. She hopes walking down memory lane will pave a better road to the future.

- [Chakita] There is a lot of people that have difficulty having cross cultural conversation, making cross cultural connections right? But when you can learn about your history or about the history of others, that kind of grounds you in this space of this is what happened, what can I do about that to ensure that the future is this way or that way? So ultimately, I hope that the tours serve as an educational tool to expand the minds of others.

- Thank you Danielle. If you travel down the interstate, looking for a place to spend the night, you can see a myriad of motels that all look the same pretty much. But, if you get off the beaten path, you might be surprised at the unique and luxurious places you can find. Like the Sewanee Inn. Rob Wild stopped there on a trip from Nashville to Chattanooga.

- [Rob] It's only a few miles off the highway, but the Sewanee Inn looks like it belongs somewhere else. The English countryside perhaps. The Inn is owned by the University of the South and general manager Michael Beutel says, "It was built to stand out."

- The University had a vision to build a grand hotel, something that would act as a hospitality gateway I suppose to the University for vising parents and prospective students to visit. Started construction, and we opened in May of 2014.

- [Rob] Much of the material used to build the Inn actually came from University property.

- [Michael] Much like the University, it's uh, you know, the stone exterior, as you can see, a lot of wood. The University of the South, is on what they call the Domain, which is 14,000 acres of wooded land and most of our hardwood floors were all harvested from the Domain. The campus is very sustainable.

- [Rob] So, the Inn was built to have a classic feel, And to make you want to take a breath and relax.

- We have 43 rooms and suites. We have golf side rooms and avenue view rooms. The golf side rooms have balconies or patios overlooking the golf course here, the course at Sewanee. Beautiful views, all of the rooms are equipped with a 42 inch flat screen TV, Keurig coffee maker, a wet bar, a refrigerator, iron, make a mirror. So, they're very well equipped.

- [Rob] The kitchen is well-equipped too. A full service restaurant. The chef, George Stevenson, describes it as a casual fine dining experience. Now George is a graduate of the University of the South and some of his menu choices hearken back to his school days.

- Late night, we'd head to Monteagle to the Oak Terrace truck stop to get chicken strips, biscuits and gravy, trucker specials and all.

- [Rob] So you figured you'd continue that tradition here?

- [George] It had to be.

- [Rob] Well, the restaurant isn't open for those post midnight food runs, but it's open much of the rest of the time.

- [George] We do breakfast and we do dinner service seven nights a week, and then we open for lunch three days on the weekends.

- [Rob] You don't have to be staying at the Inn to enjoy the restaurant and it's unusual style.

- [George] Faculty and students really like that it's nice and the food is you know, well prepared and you know, served. It's very good food but it's also a casual environment.

- [Rob] So, you've eaten well at the restaurant, and now it's time for some exercise right? Sure. Well next door, is the course at Sewanee. There's been a golf course here since 1915, but this one is right up to date, and according to David Owens, who is assistant golf coach at the University of the South, it's a good challenge and a beautiful location for golfers who come here.

- There are several sets of tees that can present a challenge for you know, any skilled, any level of golfer. It's also just beautiful views off of the bluff from holes three and five. The par three's have cascading greens that look like you hit it just off the top of the mountain, and some beautiful views, specially in the Spring and the Fall, and all through the Summer. We experience good weather being our altitude, we're usually a few degrees cooler than some of the areas that are in the valley.

- [Rob] Just like the Inn itself, the course is open to anyone who wants to give it a try.

- [David] We are open to the public, however we do offer memberships and passes available to the general public as well as alumni and students and faculty members, and lessons, we have three PGA pros here that provide lessons Tuesday through Sunday.

- One of the best things about staying at the Sewanee Inn, is where it is. On the campus of the University of the South at Sewanee, and from the campus, you get views like this. Beautiful, beautiful. The campus itself, is beautiful too and quaint and unique. You can get tours. They set 'em up at the Inn. You should really see it.

- [Michael] The architecture throughout campus, the Gothic architecture is phenomenal and quite a sight with all saints chapel and all of the other buildings around campus, it presents a unique and very eye-catching facility for visitors that haven't been here before and the ones that continue to come back.

- [Rob] Come back and leave renewed.

- [Michael] I would like them to leave here feeling rested, rejuvenated, kind of having unplugged from the busy race of life.

- [Rob] That's pretty easy to do when you're rejuvenated at the Sewanee Inn. Thanks Rob. You know, technology is changing so rapidly, it's almost impossible to keep up with it all. However there's one essential tool you probably use every day that hasn't changed much since prehistoric times. Ken Wilshire met a Clarksville couple who carries on the art of crafting this ancient tool.

- One of the first and most important tools humans ever chipped out of stone was a crude sharp edge. From stone to steel, knives have been a part of our lives since prehistoric times, and this beautiful knife is a Boothill Blade. It's meticulously hand-crafted here in Clarksville Tennessee, and it's a blade itself. It's made from these old saw blades that used to slice through or I should say, knife through huge logs. And it was the need for a good sharp hunting knife years ago that has carved out a new career for Jared Thatcher.

- I talked to my dad and I was kinda nervous, an so my dad said to me, at some point you just have to step off the ledge if that's what you want to do, and so that's what I did last year. Um, so far it's been pretty rewarding.

- [Ken] Rewarding? Well, instead of a promising white collar career in finance, he's cutting through heat, sparks and dust to satisfy his no collar t-shirt passion for knife making.

- So I started, I said, you know what, I think I can make one. So I started watching YouTube videos, sort of looked into things and I ended up creating a forge out of our old Weber grill and hammering out and grinding, it's a terrible knife, I still have it, but my first knife, and then I just was like, I think I can do better, I think I can do better. So, probably 20 grand worth of shop equipment later, I could make a $300 hunting knife. I should of just bought the knife in the first place probably.

- [Ken] Well, it may have been less than cutting edge technology that lit the fire to make knives, but it's been his inspirational wife and partner Kylie, who's helping move this family venture forward. Kylie shapes the wood products ...

- That's how I finish all the products.

- [Ken] But she also abandoned a good job as an office manager to keep the Boothill books in the black. I run the business. I do all of the shipping, I do all of the packaging, um, I run the business aspect, um, we both do the emails and the contacts and things like that but primarily, I wanted him to be in charge of the knives cause that's the big part. So, he does that and I try to run everything else as smooth as possible.

- [Ken] And the word's out about Kylie's beautiful, hand-crafted, wooden kitchen utensils, and Jared's culinary cutlery. Chef's from Australia to Sweden now have Boothill Blades in their restaurants and homes.

- You're not just buying a knife, you're buying like a story, and so a lot of home cooks and a lot of, a lot of chefs mostly chefs buy our knives, but a lot of home cooks by 'em too because when you're having that dinner party and you set out a board of something or a steak and you have this knife on there, it's gonna strike up a conversation.

- [Ken] Well, the conversation always seems to include the process that makes Boothill Blades so unique.

- I cut out a rectangle from this and I will then forge it to shape. I grind it on the grinder, grind it to the final shape. Thermal cycle it in the oven to refine grain size and kind of de-stress the steel. I will heat treat it, which involves heating it up to a critical temperature and then dunking it into canola oil or a parks 50 oil. Something that's going to cool the steel very fast. I temper it in an oven, do all of the final grinds, put the handle on and shape that handle, and once the handle's done, that's pretty much it. I'll put our logo on and sharpen it and it's out the door.

- [Ken] But even more, recycling the old saw blades and files was Jared and Kylie's plan from the beginning.

- We sort of built this business on that idea that we're using reclaimed materials, so I try to even use reclaimed materials in the handle, and so we want to stay true to what we created in the business.

- [Ken] By the way, a warning to all the wanna be knife makers, it's hazardous work and not just for anyone.

- I burn myself all the time number one, I grind my fingernails off on the grinder a lot, but the worse thing is actually forging, that just does a lot of damage and wear and tear on your shoulder and your elbow and all that. Um, so I try to stay in the gym a lot and to get that strength, but it's also about technique, and so it took me along time to figure out good forging technique.

- [Ken] The Boothill and the company's name is simply from an historic area of Clarksville where Jared and Kylie now call home. They're truly living their dreams.

- Best part, is that finishing off that handle and putting some oil on that handle because up until then, it's work you know? It's just, it's not easy.

- I love finishing the products knowing that somebody is going to spend this money on it and use it in their kitchen, which is temper that's really important to me. The kitchen is a big place in my heart so to know that other people are using my stuff that I made in their kitchens is pretty awesome.

- [Ken] Kylie and Jared also feel it's pretty awesome that they're working together at home with their kids.

- I really wanted to be here and so now, I don't miss anything. I take 'em to school every morning, I can pick them up in the afternoons, like I don't miss anything and that's way more important, plus working next to my wife and seeing her business grow or her side of the business grow and being able to do it all together is something I wouldn't trade for anything.

- We kind of moved here with the hopes that we could stay home more with the kids so having two little ones and us being both here, even though that poses it's own issues quite a bit cause they're still toddlers, it's pretty awesome, and just to grow a business by ourselves which isn't something I feel like everyone can say, is pretty incredible.

- [Ken] So from a successful financial advisor until today, Jared has honed his knife making skills well. And along with Kylie's beautiful woodwork and business management experience, Boothill Blades has sliced it's way into a new market that's paying priceless dividends for the Thatchers.

- It takes something special to attract people to a dining destination that's really remote. Well how bout delicious catfish, a catchy name, and a scenic view of the Tennessee river? That's been the secret of Hagy's Catfish Hotel for more than 75 years.

- [Joe] The Tennessee river flows about 650 miles through four Southeastern states including of course, Tennessee. It's been a vital transportation corridor for flat boats, steam boats, and well now tugboats pushing barges to far away ports. In the early 1860's, the river played a major role in "The War Between the States". The river has also been an historical source of food thanks in part to a whiskered creature known as the catfish. And that brings us to the Hagy family of Hardin county. Back in the 1930's Norman Hagy decided to turn his passion for entertaining folks with his catfish into a restaurant business right here on the banks of the Tennessee river. Thus, a Tennessee catfish legend was begun, and still thriving today. A lot of guests would end up spending the night at the Hagy's cabin, so the Catfish Hotel name was coined and stuck like batter to a fresh filet. The fish come from farms nowadays, but the tradition is alive and tasty, and prospering thanks to managers Barbara and Joey McAfee, who've almost grown up in the business.

- My first job was busing tables, and I went from there to washing dishes and then eventually cooking.

- [Joe] So you've done everything.

- I've done about everything.

- It's funny how the children come you know, when they're in high chairs and then they come and bring their family which are babies, and I think, Oh my goodness, just a lot of generations have passed through.

- [Joe] As you walk in through the Catfish Hotel, some of the family history is displayed on the wall.

- [Joey] This is the Hagy family, and that's the 75th anniversary of the place.

- [Joe] So what's the secret that brings customers back and back again after more than seven decades?

- Delicious catfish and mouth watering hush puppies. Homemade. It's kind of a secret recipe, but staff in the kitchen just do a great job, just bread it and deep fry it. We have the whole fish which is all you can eat, and we have fried catfish filets, and we also have broiled fish with lemon pepper seasoning or Cajun.

- [Joe] Oh and yes, even catfish tacos. No matter how they order it, regular customers travel quite a few miles to get it. Like this couple from Olive Branch, Mississippi.

- We get hunger for fish, so we just get in the car and come down here and eat and go home. And we do it all the time, maybe once a month.

- [Joe] Well, it must be good if you make that effort

- It is very good.

- And it's always the same. We've never gotten anything bad, it's always good.

- Now while you enjoy your meal, you might just encounter a legend of the Catfish Hotel, now I'm talking about none other than Elmo, ghost of the river bank. As the story goes, he perished on a river boat in the late 1800's, was buried here on the river bank and that was that. Until, the Catfish Hotel came along.

- I don't know what it is, but he kind of likes the bathroom, and we had a customer that came out of the men's restroom and he said his dad always puts his hand on his shoulder because he was always in everybody's way, and he just felt his dad's hand on his shoulder down the hall, and then he got in the dining room, and there set his dad and he thought, who was that? Said, I felt a hand on my shoulder so that was kind of spooky.

- [Joe] Chances are you won't see, hear or feel signs of Elmo on your visit. The only guarantee is a friendly welcome, a view of the river, and all the fish you can possibly consume. Of course they have other menu choices like steak and chicken, but it's catfish that put the place on the map and catfish that makes friends out of Custer.

- A lot of friendships over the years with our customers, and we just want them to come and enjoy their selves and eat some delicious food and get to know everybody.

- [Joe] Oh and while that name, Catfish Hotel is quite catchy, it has been cause for confusion to a few visitors.

- I think maybe two or three times they've brought in their luggage looking for a room to spend the night, so, yeah so, I tell them just the catfish spend the night, and then they're not here long.

- The fish filet with salad. The chopped steak. You have a good day now!

- Well, that winds things up for this week. I hope you had a good time on this edition of Tennessee Crossroads. In the meantime, why don't you check out our website, TennesseeCrossroads.org, follow us on Facebook and by all means, join us next week. We'll see ya then.