Episode 3535

- [Female Narrator] Tennessee Crossroads is made possible in part by, This season there's something small that makes a big difference. Flu vaccines protect ourselves and others. Flu vaccines are available. Learn more at tn.gov/health/fightflu.

- This time on Tennessee Crossroads, we'll explore a 111 year old guitar making legacy in Nashville. Then we'll go soaring over the landscape of Whites Creek. We'll stop for a barbecue lunch in downtown Knoxville. And finally discover why everybody's living in the past in Granville. Hi everybody, I'm Joe Elmore. That's the lineup for this edition of Tennessee Crossroads. Sure glad to have you. To make great music, someone needs the talent to make great instruments. There are quite a few talented Tennessee craftsmen who make guitars and other stringed instruments. However, the name Delgado represents four generations of world class craftsmanship. It's a story that began in Mexico and continues now in Nashville.

- [Manuel] We've been around for 94 years. We have over 45 different types of instruments that we make. And we have some pretty well known artists within all of those different genres of music that play 'em.

- [Joe] Manuel Delgado's custom handmade instruments are part of a proud family tradition that began in 1928. That's when his Mexican born great grand father and great uncle went from building cabinets to building guitars, and the Delgado brand was born. Manuel's father Candelario became the second generation luthier just before the business moved to Los Angeles. There was little doubt young Manuel would follow in his footsteps. However, as a young man he was also attracted to law enforcement.

- [Manuel] I was still working in the shop, but I was going through the process with the LA county Sheriff's Academy. Going through all the background information and everything, and when my father got diagnosed with cancer, that's when I just decided to go back to the shop and I don't regret it. I don't. Yeah. The guitars don't shoot back at you.

- [Joe] Manuel who built his first guitar at age 12, follows the family tradition of quality craftsmanship, building each instrument by hand. Using mostly old style tools and even some he made himself.

- Most people do what they call a dovetail joint. They build the body of the instrument, complete. They make the neck separate, and then they slide the into the body. We will actually build the body around the neck. So you never have to do a neck reset on a Delgado guitar. ♪ My dog has fleas ♪ That's the tuning for the...

- [Joe] A ukulele? No it's pronounced ukulele. Delgado has made them since day one and Manuel believes they're often rudely underrated.

- [Manuel] The ukulele became very popular around the '40s or '50s. It was an instrument that was used in schools actually, going back to schools. And then I think it was really Tiny Tim, that kind of put the nail in the coffin. You know. And he just kind of made it not so cool to play the ukulele and it kind of went away. But then we saw in later years you have artists like Jake Shimabukuro or Eddie Vedder or Train, all these bands that started implementing that instrument in their music, and it became a lot more popular again. I think it's still probably the most popular instrument in the world right now.

- [Joe] By the way, moving from east LA to east Nashville was a no brainer for Manuel. He had a partner who was also ready for a new life in music city.

- [Manuel] I met my wife in 1999 at a church and she's a singer/songwriter. And she had dreams of coming here to Nashville and just through life circumstances we decided to give it a shot. I felt like I had my father's blessing my mom was always supportive and continues to be of what I was doing.

- [Joe] In recent years, Manuel added electric instruments to his product line. This one was inspired by a very famous rock and roller.

- 37 64 Highway 51. And that's the address of Graceland. And the original one which is hanging next door is made from wood from Graceland. This is a chambered body, gold frets, you think of everything that the king wore was gold, so unbleached nuts so it looks like gold, gold tuners, gold mother pearl inlay.

- [Joe] During the family's 90 plus year history, the list of customers reads like a history of famous guitar players. From classical legend, Andre Segovia to folk music star Burl Ives, to more recent artists like Los Lobos.

- [Manuel] People when they're ready to order a guitar of this caliber, they have several other instruments. So I always ask them to bring in instruments that they have things that they like. So they might say, I really like the way the neck on this one feels, I love the wood on this one. I like the body style. I like the low end on this one. And then we make all of those things into one instrument for them.

- [Joe] Naturally paying several thousand dollars for a guitar is not in the budget of most musicians. That's why Manuel carries several more affordable brands and even gives them the same professional setup as the higher price instruments.

- If we have a guitar that we're selling for $150, we still do that same job on it before we put it on the floor. Because even though we're losing money by putting that much time into it, if you leave here, we want to know that you had a great experience buying, even that entry level guitar.

- [Joe] Manuel feels honored to carry on this Delgado family music tradition. And without a doubt, his late father would be proud.

- [Manuel] I think about him every day and you know, I'm surrounded by him and my grandfather. So I feel closest to him when I'm in the shop and I'm able to actually be working on instruments.

- [Joe] Oh and get this, his oldest daughter, Ava recently made family history, building her first instrument at age 10.

- [Manuel] My dad really kind of broke the mold for us and showed us in a culture where sometimes it can be considered, you know, male dominant or chauvinistic, we were taught to kind of... Anything is possible and that's the way that my wife and I are raising our girls and my oldest daughter already beat my record.

- Imagine speeding along a steel cable, held by a harness and a pulley through acres of forest. No you're not in boot camp, you're in the capable hands of the oldest zip line company in Tennessee. And Laura Faber's gonna take us there.

- [Laura] It sounds like a type of motor speedway. And if you look at the right place at the right time, about 85 feet up, you might glimpse a flash of something flying through the trees. This is zip lining. A form of transportation 2000 years old. A pulley, suspended on a cable that's designed to propel someone by gravity, from place to place.

- Very good. Run it up, run it up. Nicely done.

- Brian Davis general manager of Adventureworks says its early uses had nothing to do with fun,

- [Woman] Yeah!

- [Laura] But practicality.

- [Brian] It really started off with scientists kind of in the jungles, trying to figure out how to study the treetops really well. And the easiest way to do that was to string up cables between the trees and ride, you know, old pulleys from, you know, platform to platform. I think it really kind of intrigued a lot of people and said, well if they can do this kind of from a scientific research area, why not do it for fun?

- Woo!

- [Laura] Of course you don't just hook yourself to a cable and go.

- Here I'll get that one for you.

- [Laura] There is an in depth orientation everyone must go through.

- First things first. We do not attach more than one trolley on the line at any given time.

- [Laura] The Rousseau and Brasuell families from Paducah and the Zellers from Murphysboro are ready to learn about safety equipment and how to take off and land. Helmets, harnesses and a healthy dose of bravery required.

- Take a big step off.

- [Brian] We teach 'em how to use the gear. We're monitoring it the entire time. There's two of our staff members with all our guests the entire experience. And then yeah, we were doing our safety checks every morning. We're following all the protocols and procedures set forth by the Association for Challenge Course Technologies. We're following the ANSI standards, all the state standards as well.

- Grab a helmet and go ahead and place that on your head. If you need any assistance, give us a holler.

- [Laura] Adventureworks is the oldest zip lining company in Tennessee operating at two locations. One in Kingston Springs and here at Fontanel, the former home of country legend Barbara Mandrell.

- Well we have been doing with the former Fontanel and then the new property is just providing a really great experience. It's eight different zip lines. We are roughly about 20 to 30 acres of forest in the backside of where the mansion is and it's a progressive style tour. So the first line, very low, very slow, not very intimidating to get everybody used to how things work and to really kind of break down some of those initial fears in phobias that people have.

- [Laura] But every safety precaution is taken.

- All right. Double check.

- [Laura] The activity is physical. Davis says anyone from about eight years old and 45 pounds up to 250 and in moderate to good health can do this. After training the zip line starts slow and short, but the payoff is a thousand foot long zip line at which you're traveling at about 35 miles an hour. And then of course, Brits here to catch you at the end. Today, most zip lining tours are recreational, but Adventureworks also offers custom designed corporate team building too. Physical challenges with a mental twist.

- [Brian] Back in 1987, when Anthony Curtis founded the company, it was purely team development. It was challenge coursework on how to build better people, how to build stronger teams.

- [Laura] Activities with names like nitro crossing and quantum leap, clients leave empowered. The skills they learn translate on the job. Davis says some companies come back year after year and often use it as an annual retreat.

- [Brian] The reviews are super positive about just how fast we can break through barriers with their teams and get people to understand each other a lot better and different work styles a lot better, so that when they meet real challenges, they're very, very well equipped for it.

- [Laura] But the empowerment and the bonding even happen when it's just for fun too.

- Like the longest one was really fun. You feel like you were just flying?

- Well, I screamed because it was like the first fast one. I didn't know what to expect really.

- I love the length and the speed and the family atmosphere as well. Great time.

- You know, I think I actually loved just the whole atmosphere. The being outside and the fun of it.

- [Laura] A perfect way to enjoy Tennessee from the tree tops.

- [Brian] To see new people every day, still having that little spark, that little imagination, that little 'Aha!' moment and they just walk away just on cloud nine that's truly one of the most inspirational things I see in my job. Woo.

- Thank you, Laura. If you haven't been to downtown Knoxville recently, well, you owe yourself a visit. After years of revitalization efforts, it's now a vibrant bustling place attracting tons of new business. Gretchen Bates went on a shopping spree there and had to refuel with some Southern comfort food, barbecue style.

- [Chris] It's a state thing. And, and not just region, you know, because even within a region in the south, you've got Memphis ribs, which are dry rub. And then, you know, on our side of the state, people like sauce on it. In North Carolina, you've got vinegar sauce. In South Carolina, you've got mustard sauce. You know, in Texas they do beef. So I think barbecue is state to state. Lets see how these look.

- [Gretchen] When it comes to barbecue, Chris Ford has paid his dues. As owner and operator of Sweet P's, he's had years of experience running a successful restaurant. But it was during his time on the road that he was seduced by the smokey succulence of this Southern staple.

- [Chris] I actually started in music business and I had toured all over the United States, concentrated in the south. And that was just kinda one of our hobbies, you know, eating barbecue. We had a road manager from Asheville and he cooked barbecue, kind of taught me how to do it. We had a large group of people we had to feed. So between feeding the guys on off weeks and traveling and eating it every great barbecue place this country has, you know, I felt kinda like once I got out of the business, I knew a little something about it and went from there.

- [Gretchen] And there turned out to be Chris's hometown of Knoxville. A city surrounded by a wide variety of barbecue styles, which is reflected in Sweet P's menu.

- [Chris] Well, with our close proximity to North Carolina, and because that's kind of my favorite barbecue, we do what I like to call kind of a mix of North Carolina and Tennessee. So I love Memphis ribs. So we do dry rub ribs. Our original sauce, we call thin sauce and I based it off of North Carolina sauces. We also have a thick sauce though, because around here people do like a tomato based sauce. So we're kind of a mashup of what I think our location is, right? Knoxville's never really had much of a barbecue style. So I just tried to kinda do the best of what I think of Tennessee barbecue and North Carolina. So what we've got here are St. Louis cut ribs, and that is not a style of cooking, it is the way the spare ribs are cut and squared off. Like I said earlier, we do a simple dry rub. Dylan here, gets 'em rubbed up. When these come off, all we'll do is finish 'em with a little bit of our rub, no sauce, you know, if the customer wants the sauce that is their prerogative. Really, they are perfect when eat 'em, it doesn't really need sauce.

- [Gretchen] Chris's creations also pay homage to The Lone Star State.

- [Chris] We sell a lot of brisket, actually. You know, now that brisket is really kind of not just a Texas thing anymore. Obviously they are the holy grail of beef barbecue, but we sell a lot of brisket. Another reason I got into this, really wanted in the Knoxville food scene to have more scratch-made stuff. Stuff that, you know, you put your heart and soul into every day with the best ingredients. And we really try live up to that you know. The smoker runs 24/7, 7 days a week. You're always gonna get something fresh. All the recipes are made in-house, you know, we don't bring anything in. And I think we do a great job, not just with our meats, but with our sides, you know. It's kind of a complete menu.

- [Gretchen] Don't leave without sampling the pie or other sweet treats.

- [Chris] We do a chocolate chess pie. We do chocolate chip bacon cookies. Try to put a little pork in everything. And of course, banana pudding, you know, you can't have a place in the south without banana pudding.

- I've never had the banana pudding, but my siblings die for it every time. They say it's like the best part, but yeah. So I've heard the desert is really good.

- [Male Customer] The banana pudding was perfect.

- Hey guys, how was everything.

- [Gretchen] Whether you ask a regular or a first time customer, there seems to be a consensus.

- It's been fantastic. The brisket was perfect. They put a dry rub on it.

- [Female Customer] I'm a big fan of the chicken.

- [Male Customer] The macaroni and cheese was baked or something on top of everything else. And it was just perfect.

- And I love like the staff here. They're super friendly and they're super nice. And the food is just incredible.

- [Gretchen] The great food is complimented by a fun cozy atmosphere that Chris calls.

- [Chris] Shabby sheek. That's kind of our look. Our whole brand is as an ode to Knoxville. We collect world's fair memorabilia in 1982. Knoxville had the world's fair, which I think is kind of hilarious. You know, we were featured the Simpsons for it. So we really embraced that.

- [Gretchen] If you prefer outdoor dining, just head upstairs.

- [Chris] We have what we call the trailer park, where we do our live music series. And it's just a great space for relaxing, you know. East of sea has great weather in the spring and fall. And so it's kind of an old two 70's trailer park.

- As Chris said, Sweet P's covers a multitude of barbecue styles. In fact, they've gone international with their world famous Barbecue Burrito.

- [Chris] The burrito is one of our best sellers. Well, you know, in Memphis, they've always done barbecue Nachos, you see barbecue spaghetti. So when we started the menu, we really wanted a signature dish and the burrito was just something we came up with. As an Knoxvillian, as a southerner, you know, I'm really proud of where I'm from. And I think when you leave here... Again, like I said, it's an ode to Knoxville. I'd like to you learn a little something about our city and about Southern culture. You know, Southern foods, I grew up on it it's what I love to eat. It's another reason why I started this kind of restaurant. So I think when you come to Sweet P's, you'd be getting a true slice of Knoxville.

- Thank you, Gretchen. Most towns want visitors to feel like their community is up to date with everything, but not the town of Granville in Jackson county. You see Rob Wilds discovered just about the whole town volunteers to make visitors feel like they've stepped back in time.

- [Rob] Granville is a lovely little town that sits snug along the Cumberland river. Civic leader to Randall Clemons says that's one reason Granville was originally founded.

- The town was settled in 1799 by a group of settlers from Granville county, North Carolina. That's where we got our name. They had received land grants for having fought in the revolutionary war. And they came to Granville because of the Cumberland river. And the rich fertile soil that we had in the river bottoms. Colonel Smith got 1600 acres. Was the largest land holder that we had. He established a plantation here. And so we had different settlers like that, that had from two to 300 acres of land.

- [Rob] Of course, Granville is an up-to-date town today, but you might not know it on some days.

- Well, good afternoon. We're so glad you're here. I'm Liz Bennett. I'm one of the 180 volunteers that keeps historic Granville going. But today I'm Ethel Sutton and this is my home. And we are so glad you came to visit us.

- [Rob] That's right, much of the town turns out to volunteer, to show off a pioneer village.

- [Randall] This village was established in 2010. It is the home of Mr. T.B. Ben Sutton. That was the owner of the Sutton general store. Mr. Sutton lived here from 1947 until 1980. We were able to purchase the property. It's almost a town block and to put it back like he originally had it far as the home.

- [Rob] All kinds of crafts people and artisans at work, doing this the old fashioned way and giving visitors a good look at how necessities were produced back when such things were difficult and took skilled hands.

- [Randall] We moved one of Granville's original log cabins that was built in 1820 to the property. We have a blacksmith shop, a gristmill, a basket weaving shop. We have all the outbuildings of a pioneer home would've had in the mid 1800's. We established a car museum here that we change each quarter and it has automobiles that goes along with whatever our theme for the year is as well. We're standing here by our gazebo that has quilt beaches in it that tells the story of different patterns of quilts. We do guided tours through the home, and then a guide picks you up and guides you through the village and through the antique car museum. And we're actually open Wednesday through Saturday. We are trying to tell the history of years past.

- [Rob] Of course, people had to eat in years past, and this is what it used to take to get your grits ground.

- We're having beans and ham, swamp cabbage with cornbread and peach and strawberry cobblers.

- [Male Voice] Peach cobbler.

- [Rob] If you're lucky, you might get to try some food made the old fashioned way.

- Onions?

- No, ma'am. No onions for me.

- [Rob] Larry Edmondson is the vintage chef.

- There's no exceptions. You can cook anything that you can cook in your house in a Dutch oven. Of course we use Dutch ovens and hanging pots, both, but the Dutch oven is an item that can be used for anything you cook in your kitchen.

- [Rob] Do you get people who come in and ask you where the microwave is or anything like that?

- Mostly they wanna know where the ice cream is for the cobbler. And since we don't have refrigeration, we don't use electricity they'd have to struggle and, you know, just grin and bear it and eat the cobbler without the ice cream.

- Good choice.

- When you come to the pioneer village in Granville, you can see artisans making things in traditional ways. They're big on traditions around here in Granville, and they've got lots of 'em, but they never run out of things to show you because every year they highlight another decade. This year, it's the 1940s.

- [Randall] The Tennessee Maneuvers was here in the 1940s because of the Cumberland river. They built a bridge across the river here at the end of of Main street. And so we had four different units that was here and they fought the battles like they did in other parts of Tennessee but we were have a rich Maneuvers history.

- [Rob] All of those young soldiers, most of them from other parts of the country made a lasting impact on Granville. One of them Vincent Denardo known around here as little Mo, came in 1943 with an engineering unit from Georgia and had a lasting impact on the town.

- [Randall] And actually our museum began as a result of a military person that came to Granville with the Maneuvers, and he started coming back after the maneuvers with a 35 millimeter camera. And he came for the next 25 years, making pictures of Granville two weeks each summer. And he left us a thousand pictures. It's what has began the Granville museum.

- [Rob] They say those young soldiers came a strangers and left as friends. Which can be said about almost anyone who pays a visit to Granville

- Well, back here in modern times, it's time for us to say goodbye. After a reminder, of course, to join us on our website tennesseecrossroads.org. Follow us on Facebook, of course. And Hey, I'll see you next week.

- [Female Narrator] Tennessee crossroads is made possible in part by, This season there's something small that makes a big difference. Flu vaccines, protect ourselves and others. Flu vaccines are available. Learn more at tn.gov/health/fightflu.