Episode 3734

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

- [Phil] I'm Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham. Here in Cookeville, Tennessee's college town, we are bold, fearless, confident, and kind. Tech prepares students for careers by making everyone's experience personal. We call that living wings up. Learn more at tntech.edu.

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

- This time we discover the special mission of Liberty's Station Cafe in Murfreesboro. Then travel to South Pittsburgh, home of Lodge cast iron cookware. We'll explore the Harpeth River by way of kayak. And finally, enjoy a taste of Thai food over in Cookeville. One lineup, our edition of "Tennessee Crossroads" just for you. I'm Joe Elmore, welcome. While our jobs can seem more like a burden than a blessing at times, some folks are denied the rewards of a career and what it can bring. In our first story, Miranda Cohen finds a very special cafe that serves up great food while helping its employees fulfill their dreams.

- [Miranda] Welcome to Liberty's Station in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The staff is busy preparing food, readying tables, and making sure everything is perfect for their guests. Like many businesses, they begin with a morning huddle, share concerns and accomplishments, and then it is time to go to work.

- [All] 1, 2, 3, Team Liberty.

- [Miranda] This 7,500 square foot building that is home to Liberty's Station was once a place to change tires and oil, and now it is a place to change lives.

- The name came from wanting to give everybody the opportunity to have independence and liberty just seemed to be a good representative of the purpose behind it. Just the freedom and independence that a job would give these individuals that are having employment obstacles.

- [Miranda] Jody Powers is the Executive Director and driving force behind the non-profit and she had a vision from the very beginning.

- [Jody] And I knew from day one that I wanted our main volunteer source to be adults with disabilities. They all want purpose and meaning in their life.

- [Miranda] Liberty's Station has 14 adults in their internship program and three part-time employees. Delaney Moore is lead trainer and also an occupational therapist.

- We service a variety of disabilities, so we have intellectual disability, we have physical disabilities, so just a range that they come in at different levels and then we try to place them in their best-suited area in the cafe and then just give them the job training through that.

- Would you like anything to drink?

- [Jody] So we have some that they only wanna do the cash register and some their main focus is barista. And then we have some hosts. They don't wanna do anything else except host because they love meeting new people so they just thrive in their certain area where they are gifted in and have interest. Having a job is a gift of hope and potential. You can't have a better learning environment to fuel success than a place you feel comfortable to learn at your own pace.

- [Miranda] A safe place to work, thrive, and realize their own potential, all under the watchful eyes of Powers, her staff and dedicated volunteers. And together they are making life so much sweeter.

- Well, hello, welcome to Liberty's Station.

- [Miranda] When you arrive, you'll get a warm greeting from Daniel as you walk through the door.

- We're so glad y'all are here.

- [Miranda] And then it is on to the counter to place your order. The menu at Liberty's Station is made up of the very best old fashioned comfort food, all served with a smile.

- We have 11 different gourmet grilled cheese options, plus healthy wraps and salads and soups. We have bakery items, we make cookies from scratch and have fried pies from a bakery that hires women getting out of incarceration.

- Well, their soup is really good, their grilled cheese, they're known for their grilled cheese. That's what everybody, most people come for and it's different kinds. And so she's got a wide variety and it's very good.

- The food is fantastic. Have a great lunch, have a nice grilled cheese sandwich and cup of soup and know we're supporting a fantastic mission of helping some of the folks here that are working, learn the skill sets to go take 'em out into the real world and get to work here.

- Open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, they offer a wide variety of gourmet coffees as well all whipped up by their talented baristas. Everything here at Liberty's Station is very special and that certainly includes their brewed coffees. Their baristas will make one specially for you. They get their coffees from a private roaster, but there are two flavors that you can only get here at Liberty's Station. Lady Liberty and Sweet Victory.

- [Delaney] Just seeing them go through the process of the program, then they get that confidence built and it's amazing to see the progress that they have.

- [Miranda] Powers says more than 88% of adults with disabilities are unemployed and not by choice. And through this groundbreaking cafe, she is hoping to change that.

- [Jody] It's not just about training the interns, it's about educating the community on their potential in a job. And that other businesses would just give them a chance and just see like they need a chance to succeed. The hardest thing I've ever done, but the most rewarding for sure. We have such faithful customers that come in every week or once a month and you can just count on them to show up and bring someone new to experience it 'cause once you come once, you'll be back.

- Chances are you have at least one piece of cast iron cookware in your kitchen, at least a skillet. Most likely it came from a factory in Tennessee. Lodge cast iron has been making heirloom quality cookware since 1896, and as we're about to discover, the legacy lives on with their world-famous skillets and a whole lot more. Things are pretty quiet on the picturesque Main Street of South Pittsburgh. However, just a couple hundred yards away. Lodge is one of the oldest most successful manufacturers of cast iron cookware in America. From humble beginnings in 1896 to today with state-of-the-art foundries, turning out skillets and more with amazing precision and speed.

- We are gonna go from a raw material, the pig iron that you see on the ground to a finished product in a box ready to go to our consumers and our fans in two and a half hours.

- [Joe] And according to Lodge veteran Larry Raydo, that's more than 1,600 pieces an hour on one foundry machine.

- It's a fascinating process and it's not something that people get to see every day.

- [Joe] Well, this must be our lucky day. We're getting an inside visit at one of the two main foundries where an age-old process combines with new skills and technology. It all starts with a combination of pig iron, recycled steel, and castings from the foundry. Then the material is heated for 45 minutes at about 2,800 degrees. A bag of silicone is added at a precise time to increase tensile strength. Impurities called slag rise to the surface and they have to be removed before casting. A cast is made by pouring molten iron into molds made of sand with some water and clay added. Sand molding has been around since 680 BC, and for good reason. You see, sand melts at a higher temperature than iron, so it holds its shape when it comes in contact with molten metals. A vibrating conveyor helps shake off the molding sand. Then a rotating drum filled with iron media finishes the job. In the finishing area, each product is blasted with steel shot, then they use a grinder to remove any possible rough edges. And finally, the newly cast cookware gets a bath of soap and water with a steel media added to enhance the finish. Before 2002, the final process was all up to you, the customer. A process called seasoning.

- It was coated in wax. The consumer would have to go home wash it, would take the wax off, coat it with oil, put it in your oven, and what do you get, 450 degrees in the oven, maybe, I don't know, and you'd have to smoke up your kitchen and then it would only come out a caramel color. Most folks think of cast iron seasoning comes out black when grandma used to make 'em and all that, they didn't. We developed a seasoning process in-house here, completely in-house where we actually apply the oil and send it through industrial ovens at about 650 degrees and they're in there 13, 14 minutes and they come out black, ready to use.

- Well, since visitors aren't allowed inside the foundry while it's in operation, you can enjoy the next best thing with a virtual tour here inside the Lodge state-of-the-art museum. It's a fascinating destination for folks who love all things cast iron, and for those who just wanna explore the history of America's original cookware. Brand Development Manager Walter Henley showed me around.

- The story of how we make our products, it's really the first thing people wanna see. So we infused a lot of the foundry process into our museum. Also, of course, the history and legacy of Lodge, we've been here 126 years. We've got generations of stories to tell. Family ownership, generational employees. The evolution of our foundry industry is also very interesting. And then of course, just the fun stuff. How do we use cast iron? We cook food with it, we celebrate it online with each other, we make memories. So it's really a celebration of all things cast iron.

- [Joe] While I was there, I met Bob Kellerman, a great grandson of Lodge Founder Joseph Lodge, and now retired CEO.

- I miss the people greatly. We have a lot of wonderful folks around here, but I don't miss the stress or responsibility. It's like I have seven Saturdays a week now.

- [Joe] Bob may be retired now, but still loves extolling the virtues of newer Lodge products like the Blacklock series.

- It's triple seasoned, so it's like you buying grandma's pan.

- [Joe] Well, grandma never had a choice of cookware like this. It's the Lodge factory store where visitors can shop for their own heirloom quality cookware, bakeware, and all kinds of kitchen accessories. And at home, they'll continue this cast iron tradition and pass it on to future generations.

- [Speaker] We make a product that is, comparatively speaking, inexpensive and lasts forever.

- Well, spring is in full bloom and that means folks will soon be enjoying Tennessee's lakes and rivers. Our own Cindy Carter did just that a while back in her trusty kayak on the beautiful Harpeth River.

- [Cindy] In a busy world, the path to inner peace just may be a peaceful waterway. One that meanders through Middle Tennessee. The Harpeth River is that mostly gentle ride that beckons kayakers, canoers, anglers, and anyone else longing to unplug. A day on the Harpeth is a beautiful alternative to the daily grind.

- Life is hard enough and if you can find a place where you can find solace or peace, even in everything that's going on in the world today, we can come here and it seems like nothing is going on at all.

- [Cindy] Jennifer Englin and Paige Sigmund are frequent floaters on the Harpeth.

- Yes, I like the scenery, I like that it's constantly flowing.

- [Cindy] The ladies join a multitude of locals who never pass up the opportunity to slow things down.

- [Speaker] We prefer to get into a flowing river so that we don't have to worry about actually paddling. So we get out here to just relax and enjoy ourselves and talk about life and solve all the world's problems.

- [Cindy] The Harpeth stretches more than 100 miles. Its proximity to Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee means plenty of people test these waters where the river flows through Cheatham, Davidson, and Williamson Counties.

- There's like enough rapids to where it's fun, but it's not like overly, it's like not like too much for some people.

- [Cindy] The Harpeth's fun for all ages reputation-

- Foggy Bottom.

- [Cindy] Keeps kayak and canoe rental businesses like Foggy Bottom, pretty busy.

- Could you also gimme your phone number, please?

- [Cindy] Especially in the summertime.

- On a average summer day, you could describe it as a big wide creek because 99% of it, you could wade it. And there's a few places over your head, but most of it is waist deep.

- [Cindy] Owner Pat Hutcherson started with six canoes and never dreamed her little business would grow this big. Her employee Mason Smith says these days people from everywhere want to play on the Harpeth.

- The majority are family, but we do have some country folk that come out and just wanna have fun. And the city people who've never done it before. And that's the most interesting. We even have some people out of the country who come here and it's really fun.

- [Person In Kayak] This is hard to balance, okay.

- The steady stream of paddlers launch into the river and let the current carry them away for as long as they like. The Harpeth is scenic. No, truly it is. The state has officially designated it as so. And not only that, this river has played a significant role in Tennessee's rich history. For hundreds of years, the Harpeth was an important resource for Native Americans. Later, the area's iron industry grew strong along its banks. The river also played a prominent role in the Battle of Franklin. Though time moved on beyond the Harpeth's banks, when you're on the water, it seems to stand still.

- [Mason] When you're on the river, it's just no one has anything to worry about because they're just thinking like, oh, we're just on the river, they're not worried about work or school or anything like that.

- [Cindy] Our "Tennessee Crossroads" crew wholeheartedly agrees. This assignment felt little like work and more like fun as we captured the sounds and sights this river is famous for.

- There's a lot of hawks that fly by. I've seen tons of turtles on the logs, that's really cute. A few snakes I don't wanna see, but there's been a lot of wildlife.

- If you go early, you'll see the deer and all the cranes. What else? Groundhogs, you'll see everything. Oh, and the bald eagles. That's what you'll see if you go early.

- [Cindy] And as cool as the critters and changing scenery can be, it's also fun to cool off and take a dip whenever the mood strikes, or pull over for a picnic on a gravel bar, or sit back and soak up the sun. Simple pleasures are simply the best.

- [Speaker] Fish flopping is a sound for me personally that I find to be very therapeutic. That little noise that they make when they flip over. So it's just fun to be out in wildlife.

- [Cindy] So when you feel like leaving the fast track, the scenic Harpeth River is only a stone's throw away. The gentle journey past wildlife and picturesque scenery could be the escape you're looking for.

- Drive by Tennessee Tech University during lunch and you're likely to see a crowd lined up outside a small house. Well, you won't find a fraternity party inside, but you will find some of the best Thai food you've ever tasted. Laura Faber took a trip to Cookeville to see what the buzz was all about.

- [Laura] It's lunchtime in Cookeville and there is a line outside Ocha Restaurant. At 11:00 AM sharp, the doors are unlocked and for the next three hours there is a steady stream of people coming in for a heaping helping of Thai food.

- OSHA Restaurant. And we opened here in 1985. We serve Thai food right in the middle of Tennessee Tech, in the hospital, in the courthouse, and everything. We actually 11:00 until 2:00 all week. And then Thursday and Friday we reopen in the afternoons from 4:30 until 7:00.

- [Laura] Dan Herren manages Ocha and is part of the family that has owned and operated this restaurant since it opened.

- [Dan] Spicy chicken and the egg rolls are by far the most popular.

- [Laura] What's your favorite thing here?

- [Dan] The spicy chicken and rice for sure. I'd probably, I'd probably be a number one customer myself if I didn't work here. I guess I've been eating it for probably 25 years, it's pretty good.

- [Laura] Dan's uncle Vich Keeradarome has worked here since the beginning. So are the recipes written down anywhere?

- Over here.

- [Laura] Everything is fresh and homemade, even the sauces, soy, plum, and the hot sauce.

- Egg lo main a lot every day fresh. Oh, this is the stir fry noodle. Delicious.

- [Cindy] Even Dan's mom helps with the family recipes.

- [Dan's Mom] It's my pleasure to make people like it. The food, you know, good food, fresh food and you know, and the recipes my family created, so I want to keep it. Good stuff for the customer to keep coming and coming. Here you go, Dan.

- [Cindy] Whether it's the noodles or the rice, the spicy chicken or the spicy beef, the beef and broccoli, the cream cheese wontons, or yes, those egg rolls, people can't get enough of these family recipes.

- It's very good, very good. And I can't tell that it's changed from day one. Well, egg rolls definitely, a mix of the noodles and rice. And of course I'm partial to spicy chicken.

- Vich and his family came to New York from Thailand years ago. His brother working as a chef in famous places like Tavern on the Green. Vich was a mechanical engineer and worked at BMW for years. His sister was a nurse. All that changed on a trip to Tennessee. The story of Ocha's Restaurant starts in the mid-'80s when Dan and Kay, that's Vich's brother and sister, were driving through Cookeville, saw this building and the rest is history.

- [Dan] This was originally a house, like a duplex, and they converted and changed everything to the restaurant.

- They start doing this and then they need help. We come follow to help him over here. Are we all family helping each other? I rather doing restaurant business better. No boss. I am my own boss. Most customers so friendly. I mean, almost know each other by heart. You know, I love this town really. I mean, whenever I go shopping, everybody, I mean, I met there. They're so, so beautiful, they're so friendly. I mean, not like big city like New York.

- [Cindy] It certainly feels like one big family inside Ocha. A place where Vich knows your name, your kids' names, and your order by heart.

- [Vich] You want some gravy?

- [Dan] Yeah, he's got everybody down pat. He usually remembers, asks about brothers and sisters and moms and dads. And he knows most everybody by name.

- [Vich] Most of the customer is just regular customer. That's what I know.

- [Cindy] The family travels back to Thailand every summer for a family reunion and Ocha shuts down. But customers always come back and stand in line the minute they reopen in the fall. Vich and his family are doing something right.

- I was blessed to have this, lucky to be in this town and with all the customer that we have, I love them. I love them very much. That's the only thing I can say, thank you.

- Well, that's all we got for this time. Thanks for joining us. And in the meantime, check out our website, tennesseecrossroads.org and download that PBS app and we'll see you next week. Take care.

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

- [Phil] I'm Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham. Here in Cookeville, Tennessee's college town, we are bold, fearless, confident, and kind. Tech prepares students for careers by making everyone's experience personal. We call that living wings up. Learn more at tntech.edu.

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