Episode 3801

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

- [Presenter] Over the years, some of our biggest winners actually have been in the classroom. The Tennessee Lottery, proud to have awarded more than two million scholarships and grants. 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.

- [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] Amazon, a proud supporter of programming on public television. Amazon focuses on building long-term programs that have a lasting impact in communities where employees live and work. More at aboutamazon.com.

- [Joe] What's the connection between Tennessee and this island paradise? Why are these Middle Tennesseans having a party in their PJs? Where does this country boy now call home when he's not on Capitol Hill? And what ghostly legend lurks here, near the town of Adams, Tennessee. Find out now on "Tennessee Crossroads."

- And that's how it started nearly 40 years ago, in this very studio. Hi everybody, I'm Laura Faber.

- I'm Vicki Yates.

- And I'm Miranda Cohen. We are here to pay tribute to the only host "Tennessee Crossroads" ever had, our dearly beloved friend Joe Elmore.

- During the next half an hour, we'll celebrate Joe's incredible career, with highlights from his 37 years on the road, beginning with a trip to the Caribbean. Yes, that Caribbean.

- That's right, Vicki, "Crossroads" has traveled overseas a few times, including England, France, and a tropical paradise in Joe's very first story.

- Hi, I'm Joe Elmore. Welcome to the first edition of "Tennessee Crossroads." This is a show all about fascinating folks who live in and around Middle Tennessee. So it may seem a bit strange that our first story comes to you from the Cayman Islands, more than a thousand miles away. Well, there is a definite Tennessee connection in Cayman. It's rapidly becoming a favorite tropical getaway for Middle Tennesseans. So when a local radio station asked a few of us, "Why don't you tag along on our trip to Cayman," we said, "Why not?" These are Nashvillians, happily leaving home on a dreary, rainy day, and a few hours later, arriving in paradise. The Cayman Islands, including Grand Cayman here, were originally settled by shipwrecked sailors and buccaneers, many centuries ago. Now as a British colony, it remained one of the best kept secrets of the Caribbean, until several years ago, that is. Nowadays, Middle Tennesseans and thousands of other Americans are flocking here. It's a vacation retreat that they say is the best. Why? Well, one of the best reasons is right over here, the blue water. They say it's nice to be near, and nice to get into. So one by one, the anxious novices dive into the clear blue water.

- You know, you have to wonder, how many tourists, and how much development will it take to spoil this little island paradise? A number of native Caymanians I've talked to since being here are wondering the same thing. Now, the local officials say they'll do their best to keep Nashville's proposed sister city a safe, well-preserved distant relative. Meanwhile, if you have some vacation bucks you'd like to spend, in a place where the water's really nice, and the pace is really slow, this might be your idea of paradise. Or maybe the next best thing. The Normandy countryside looks a lot like home. It's green, lush, and the terrain changes a lot, just like in Tennessee.

- [Narrator] The architecture, though, is unmistakably European. These days, Normandy is probably best known for D-Day and its famous landing beaches, where Allied forces launched the historic invasion to liberate France in 1944.

- You can't leave the cemetery, the peace museum or the beaches, without taking away stronger feelings about the destruction and waste of war. And while this site is a permanent monument to the courage and valor of those who gave their lives at Normandy, perhaps it's also a symbol of the hope, fragile as it may be, of world peace. Of course, to make this nonstop harmony between Nashville and London really nonstop, there must be a continuous exchange of travelers, destinations, and cultures. From Beef Wellington to barbecue, from Shakespeare to Elvis, from the Royal Opera House to the Grand Ole Opry.

- Joe was quite a jet setter. And by the way, we uncovered a bonus gem in the London story, and it happened to be the very first "Crossroads" appearance by a slightly younger, but still fabulous, Laura Faber.

- Did the tourist thing. It's what you have to do. I'd never been here before. I wanted to see the sights.

- And neither had I, so we did see the sights, walked into Westminster Abbey. It was beautiful. Oh my gosh, I'd completely forgotten about that. So funny, and I was younger.

- But still great.

- Thank you.

- That was funny. Joe had a great sense of humor that came across in so many of his stories. He never hesitated to laugh at himself, as you'll see in this promotional clip Joe put together a few years back.

- [Joe] Each show opens from a dedicated studio set, but from there, we're off on the two-lane roads of the state, in search of distinctive destinations. Our viewers love to eat, and so do we. That's why our most popular segments are about out-of-the-way diners, places you don't see advertised in the tourism brochures. Maybe a quaint, cozy cafe that specializes in skillet fried chicken. Then there's the defending food champ of Tennessee, barbecue. People here get downright passionate about it. I would rank barbecue up there with politics and religion when it comes to things you better not argue about. Of course, we try to make it look easy and seamless. Why is he crying?

- [Parent] Because he doesn't wanna get out. I was thinking about crying because I'm next.

- All right, get ready for takeoff. Let's kick the tires and light the fires.

- [Instructor] Run. Run, run, run, run, run, run.

- Whoa. Hey, how about that, a solid four-point landing, counting the knees, that is. The water level went down 'cause I swallowed part of it.

- [Kayaker] Yeah.

- Whoo, I didn't know we'd get wet. Or the time we visited a rural county fair, and I decided I could show viewers how to start an antique tractor.

- All right, let's make sure the gas is cut on. Now come up, real quick, quick. Now, you've done well, do it again.

- [Joe] All right.

- [Tommy] Now come up there harder. Oops. Whew.

- [Tommy] Hard and quick.

- Man. You farmers are built better than I am.

- [Tommy] Pull up back quick now. By gosh she about to go.

- Out of video yet? Can I do it with two hands?

- Yeah, do it quick. Now, come on with it.

- I'm tired.

- [Tommy] I reckon you are. Come on, let's go start a easier one.

- [Joe] All right.

- [Tommy] That's got. Do it the same way.

- Same way.

- Yes sir, need me to hold your glasses?

- Ah, I'll just throw 'em over there.

- [Tommy] Push that in there. Now come up there quick. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

- Hey.

- Hey, got her runnin'.

- Yeah.

- Woo. ♪ Hallelujah ♪

- Look at that. I'm a keep him up here to help me out. Don't you think he should?

- I had come to one obvious conclusion. I'd never make it on a farm.

- We were never going to start it if we stayed here all day.

- And I think you were gonna make me.

- [Tommy] I was.

- [Joe] Thank you Tommy.

- That was hilarious.

- Yes it was.

- Hang gliding, whitewater rafting, Joe was a bit of a daredevil.

- He certainly was. In fact, we're lucky he stuck with "Crossroads" instead of starting his own outdoor adventure show. Here are a few examples of how Joe went to the extremes for his art.

- There's nothin' to it. I wasn't scared. I was terrified. But by now there was no turning back. Finally though, with the end in sight, even a first-time climber gets an extra wind, and a will to make it all the way up. Just get a glove down under. All right. Now skydivers come here to practice, but tourists come here to freefall for the first time, indoors. After a short class and signing away all liability, I was ready.

- [Instructor] Okay, Joe, we're heading for the tunnel. Come on this way.

- This is it. Well, it was fun, and certainly a new addition to my vacation scrapbook. What's gonna happen?

- Well, we're gonna stretch these bungee cords just about as far as we can trust them, you know, as far as we can stretch 'em.

- Well, you don't have to go that far.

- [Instructor] Pull. Hang on, Joe, hang on.

- [Joe] Ah ooh, whoa ho, woo! Yep, this is life in the medium fast lane, and it's just my speed. Woo!

- When Joe wasn't flying through the air, he found time to work on a number of "Crossroads" specials over the years.

- Some had to do with a specific topic or location, like the places he loved the most, the Smokies or Memphis.

- And it is no surprise that one of them was dedicated to the official "Crossroads" meal, what else?

- [Everyone] Barbecue.

- Mm, it's good.

- [Joe] It may be a verb in some parts, but in Tennessee it's definitely a noun, the end result of a smoking, cooking process that has its own unique history. Few other culinary creations have this much Southern heritage, or evoke this much pride when it comes to their preparation. Someday we'll all agree on who has the best Tennessee barbecue, the day that pigs fly, that is. No sitting in the chair this week. We're on a special journey, celebrating 25-plus years of "Tennessee Crossroads" travels. Now we picked out some destinations just for you and your next getaway. When you've crisscrossed the state for a quarter century, you can't even begin to count the highlights. We've met hundreds of wonderful people, many just ordinary folks doing extraordinary things worth sharing. Telling their stories on "Crossroads" requires a tight-knit team that shares the same vision.

- Joe, go.

- Corny as it may sound, the main team member has been you, the viewer. Our audience has shaped the show's premise and persona. We know you like the variety of stories in each show. We know you especially like our two-Lane travels to cool quaint destinations, ones your friends may not know about, armchair journeys that may turn into real ones. That's what this special's all about. As we meander through 25 years of stories, you'll notice some things have changed, while others never have, like that endearing wanderlust, and the joy of discovery. That's the engine that drives "Tennessee Crossroads," as well as this special we created just for you. I think the best compliment we get from wonderful viewers like yourself is how you use our shows as guides for your day trips and weekend getaways. So we thought, why not use 25 years of TV travels to create some complete great Tennessee getaways? Now, if you'd like a little more excitement in your weekend retreat, how are you gonna beat a downtown getaway Memphis style? ♪ Well, mosey on down to Memphis with me ♪ ♪ Beale Street's playin' the blues ♪ ♪ Catch a little bit of that Delta spirit ♪ ♪ Eat my fill of barbecue ♪ ♪ We might even see the King ♪ ♪ When we go to the Memphis scene ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, Memphis is callin' again ♪ ♪ And again, oh yeah ♪ ♪ Memphis is my old friend ♪ ♪ Let's mosey on down to Memphis once again ♪

- Yeah, you're on Beale Street. Yeah, you gotta act like it.

- Hey "Crossroads" fans, welcome to beautiful Bicentennial Capital Mall State Park, in the heart of Music City. Down here, it's Joe Elmore. Welcome to our "Tennessee Crossroads" Weekend Getaway. With the help of my crossroads colleagues, Danielle Allen and Rob Wiles, We're taking you on a statewide adventure. Now I'll be heading to East Tennessee.

- I'm gonna take you to Middle Tennessee, right in here.

- And I'm headed west to my hometown of Memphis.

- Three weekend getaways, each with a place to stay, a place to dine, and some place to go. Well, speakin' of go, it's time we get outta here. Danielle, ladies first. All right, see you guys later.

- Well, no place like home as they say, and we're back at home base, but what a ride. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and maybe you got some great ideas for a weekend getaway of your own. Now, we're gonna stay on the road. We'll keep traveling and seeking out those great stories about people and places that you've enjoyed over the years. Now, speaking of that though, we need your help. We need for you to become a permanent travel partner of "Tennessee Crossroads" with your donation. Meanwhile, I'm Joe Elmore. Safe travels till next time.

- Earlier in the show, we saw Joe's first story. Next we'll share the one he left us with.

- And of course, it highlights the favorite pastime of the "Crossroads" crew, eating.

- And we think you'll agree that the name of the place is perfect, as Joe takes us to Local Joe's Cafe.

- [Joe] Our destination's on North Mount Juliet Road, a couple of miles from I-40. A true Southern meat-and-three that's worth the trip. But don't trust me, just ask the locals.

- Love it. I don't have to cook when we come down here.

- You have a good day.

- [Joe] The general manager of Local Joe's is Savannah Holley, a young lady who's already a veteran of the food industry. And according to her, it's a career that she was destined for.

- I've always just loved serving people and helping people. And so I started out at Chick-fil-A. I just love Chick-fil-A's food. And so I got there, and then I just kinda fell in love with helping people and serving people. I kinda got out of it, and then I came back in, told you about that. I graduated college and everything, and I came back to the food industry, 'cause I really do just love the people. And especially here, 'cause we have all our regulars that we love. So it's kinda like a family, in a lotta ways.

- [Joe] The menu changes daily, and always features your favorite comfort food.

- Today we have the chopped steak and onions. We have our Parmesan crusted tilapia, our chicken Alfredo, and our beef spaghetti. They're both homemade. We make the sauces from scratch. And then I know I'm forgetting one. Oh, fried pork chop and gravy. And then we also have a Cajun turkey on the carving station.

- And an array of scratch-made side items, and the only downside is narrowing down your choices. Now, here's a pretty sweet deal. After you finish your plate of good ole country cookin', each and every customer gets a free cookie.

- I have chocolate chip cookies today. Would you like one.

- My favorite.

- Here we are. Thank you sir, enjoy.

- Thank you, Amber. How do you plan all these menus?

- The help of my coworkers, knowing what the guests want. I talk to them all the time. Like I'll come out into the dining room and be like, you know, "What kinda food do you like?" You know, "What kinda food would you want to have on the menu?" Some of them will just come to me and be like, "I want shrimp bowtie pasta," speaking for exact example. She'll know who she is if she sees this, but, and I'll be like, "Okay, I'll do that next week," or whatever day it is. So we kinda try to make this place feel like home, and in that we like to do what their mamas and their grandmas would do.

- Try to make it in quite a bit. You know, it's great food and you always see people, everybody in the community, all the locals, Local Joe, they come here.

- [Diner] Well, I got a veggie plate, mac and cheese, creamed potatoes and pinto beans, and the fabulous jalapeno cornbread. It's really good.

- [Joe] Jalapeno cornbread.

- Yeah.

- [Joe] Well you've been here before, I guess.

- Many times, yeah. This is a regular for us.

- Everything's always fresh and really good. My favorite is the Cajun turkey. Anytime it's on the menu, we try to come.

- [Joe] You know, before we go any further, I wanna thank you for naming the place after me.

- Yeah, of course.

- [Joe] In all truth, Joe's the name of the former owner, a man who got it all started. The new owner couldn't be prouder of the leadership Savannah's delivered, although she credits her whole staff.

- We have a great team. It's so important. I mean, there's no way that we could do any of this without the whole team. We're very blessed, honestly, in that. We work so well together. I mean, I'm sure y'all noticed. We're like family. We're very close.

- [Joe] Savannah obviously has great rapport with her servers. In fact, she has a lot of empathy for anyone in this often misunderstood line of work.

- I tell people that you should always serve at least once in your life, 'cause I feel like you can kinda take for granted what all the service industry does for you if you don't, in just little ways. And I think it helps with empathy, when you're going to other restaurants, 'cause you know, some people don't know what it takes, what kinda hard work it takes to put that love into food and serving other people.

- [Joe] Even with almost no advertising, Local Joe's has quickly become a community fixture in Mount Juliet, a favorite place to meet and eat for, well, lots of locals. Savannah and company want to keep it that way. However, the prospects of expansion may be hard to resist.

- You know, we wanna be able to go to different areas. We have a lotta people that constantly ask us, "Will you come to Lebanon," or "will you come to," I mean, I've had Murfreesboro and all kinds of things, and we would love to do that. We would love to expand, but we're really just trying to make sure that we're keeping our quality, and keeping everything that needs to be aligned, if we did get to that point at some day, you know? But it is a dream of ours.

- [Joe] Meanwhile, if you ever get hungry traveling through Mount Juliet, Tennessee, well just go where the locals go. And apparently you don't get much more local than this place.

- And you certainly don't get much better than our own Joe Elmore.

- No, you don't. Joe left us a wonderful legacy, and we intend to honor him by carrying on that legacy. Not long ago he said that we had barely scratched the surface of all the great stories across the state that he loved. And he'll be with us in spirit as we continue to bring the best of Tennessee to you.

- "Tennessee Crossroads" wouldn't exist without the love and support of its loyal viewers, and going forward, as we take turns hosting the show, we hope you'll remain with us as an essential member of our team.

- And as we go, we will leave you with a few memories from Joe's own children, Chris and Lily Elmore. Once again, thank you for watching. And as Joe would say, we'll see you next time.

- Well, he's been on TV ever since I can remember. I mean, and it just kinda escalated. And once he got to Nashville, he found his home. Then when "Crossroads" came along, it just, you know, took off, and he just became a Nashville staple. He made me get up outta bed on the weekends to watch it, and didn't feed me breakfast or anything, you know, so.

- My dad always had made me watch it like Chris did. And then anytime like my girlfriends would come, or boyfriends, anybody would, you know, come visit the house, they would have to watch my dad on "Tennessee Crossroads." I think he of course wanted to continue, but I think he doesn't wanna lose highlighting these small communities. You know, that's what he would've really wanted to just keep covering that.

- [Chris] And had such a wonderful following, and hopefully it goes on forever.

- 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." 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.

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

- [Presenter] 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.

- [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] Amazon, a proud supporter of programming on public television. Amazon focuses on building long-term programs that have a lasting impact in communities where employees live and work. More at aboutamazon.com.