Episode 3821

- [Miranda] "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 get caught with our hand in the Cookie Jar Cafe, take you on a tour of the oldest town in Tennessee, and meet a group of talented volunteers who help heal with a song. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Miranda Cohen along with two of my dearest friends.

- Laura Faber.

- And Vicki Yates.

- [All] Welcome to "Tennessee Crossroads."

- Now, if you've been watching "Tennessee Crossroads" for a while, you know our crews love to venture off the beaten path, and Cindy Carter did that just recently after discovering a popular restaurant near Dunlap. The Cookie Jar Cafe may be out of the way, but that just means folks arrive with an appetite.

- [Cindy] In the heart of Tennessee's Sequatchie Valley, country roads wind through picturesque pasture land, straight to the front porch of the Cookie Jar Cafe, where you can always stop in for a homestyle hot meal or a slice of pie.

- You wouldn't think out here in the middle of nowhere we'd do the business that we do, but we do. It's the epitome of, if you build it, they will come.

- [Cindy] Sue Ann Lockhart and her sisters built the Cookie Jar Cafe in 2002 on the family's ancestral dairy farm in Dunlap, Tennessee. And despite the somewhat remote location, the cafe has never lacked for business.

- [Sue Ann] We like to say it's Mamaw's cooking with a million-dollar view. And that's exactly where we are. You slow down a little bit when you come over here. Take a little step back even, 'cause most of our customers come outta Chattanooga and they're on Eastern Time, so I like to say even the time is a little bit slower over here on this side of the mountain.

- [Cindy] Time may move slow, but the tables sure fill up quick.

- [Sue Ann] Take this party of eight over there to Brent's big table, please. All right, she's gonna get y'all right over here.

- [Cindy] The Cookie Jar Cafe benefits from strong word of mouth because everybody talks about how good this home cooking really is.

- The food, all the food is really good, and the service. Desserts are wonderful.

- It's just a good country meal. There's not, it seems like there's not very many places left that served country meals, and this is a good place to get a country meal.

- [Cindy] The menu features plenty of hot entrees, and oh, those country sides!

- We have turnip greens, we have pinto beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, white beans, cream, corn, deviled eggs, slaw, potato salad, fried okra.

- [Cindy] Delicious dishes made from recipes handed down from Sue Ann's grandmother.

- Her name was Ruby Johnson. We called her Mamaw.

- [Cindy] Sue Ann says when Mamaw was in the kitchen, local farmers across the valley made a beeline for her dining room table.

- That's what she was known for. She would have two or three meats and about 16 different vegetables, and you knew that 11 o'clock sharp every day that dinner was ready and it was time to eat.

- [Cindy] Today when it's time to eat, the Cookie Jar still has them beelining for a seat at the table.

- [Sue Ann] One of our top sellers is our grilled meatloaf. When we first opened, we cooked it like normal-style meatloaf in a loaf. But we had some leftover, and going back to the no food waste, we would warm it up the next day on the grill, and our customers absolutely loved it.

- [Cindy] And here's some friendly advice: Don't just try to save room for dessert, make this a priority. Your taste buds will say thank you.

- [Sue Ann] Our coconut pie, our coconut pie's probably our most popular dessert. We make all of our desserts from scratch, even down to the pie crust. We bought a pie press machine out of Canada 20 years ago, and we still use it every day. The butterscotch is probably my favorite. We actually brown the brown sugar, make the butterscotch from scratch, so it's one of my favorites.

- So, how sweet are the desserts here? Well, Sue Ann tells us they'll make 15,000 pies in a year and 150,000 cupcakes, all to satisfy the sugar cravings that come through their door. The Cookie Jar Cafe is such a staple in this community it's hard to imagine not being able to enjoy those delicious meals and stellar views of Lewis Chapel Mountain, but an electrical fire in 2023 devastated the cafe's original building, and Sue Ann considered letting it all go.

- It was a big decision because I didn't owe any money on the building and we didn't have insurance, so I wasn't really planning on building back, but the community kinda rallied around me and told me that they needed it, so here we are.

- [Cindy] The cafe reopened in 2024. Same Mamaw's home cooking, same breathtaking views. The petting zoo is also back, a nod to the family's farming history and a great way to pass the time while waiting to be seated. And, of course, there's the cookie jars. Sue Ann salvaged about 200 from the fire. The Cookie Jar Cafe just wouldn't be the same without 'em.

- [Sue Ann] It's our little slice of heaven, and we like to keep it that way.

- [Cindy] A slice of heaven and a slice of pie or cake or a serving of meatloaf. You'll find all your Southern favorites if you just follow those country roads to the Cookie Jar Cafe.

- I think sometimes people just need a moment to sit back and relax and just, you know, stop for a minute, and that's kinda what we are.

- Thanks so much, Cindy. Wow, those pies look absolutely amazing.

- Sure did!

- Well, folks, we've gathered together again for our second installment in our Keep Crossroads Travelin' Campaign of 2025.

- That's right, Miranda. We're looking for 500 contributions, which will allow us to remain on the air during Nashville PBS's March Membership Drive. Travel and production costs keep rising, and this is the one time of the year when we ask for your support. We're off to a great start, but we have a long way to go to hit our goal. I know we can get there with your help.

- This is the time for you to put a value on your love for "Tennessee Crossroads" and help us share the best places to experience our great state. Call the number on your screen or pledge anytime online at wnpt.org/donate to help us reach our goal. We also wanna tell you about an exciting event happening on February 22nd right here at Nashville PBS.

- [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.

- We know we have the best fans and viewers around, and we're honored to bring you "Tennessee Crossroads" each week. Thanks to you, it's been the flagship show at Nashville's PBS for 38 years, and we have no doubt we can get to that goal of 500 contributions, but we need to hear from you. So call one of the numbers on your screen or visit us at wnpt.org/donate to pitch in. And while you're there, check out the many ways we have to say thank you for your pledge of support.

- [Announcer] You can help keep "Crossroads" travelin' 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.

- I hope you'll pick an amount that is right for you and pitch in. It takes a team to keep "Crossroads" travelin', and no team member is more important than you. We're counting on our loyal viewers to get the job done. Help us keep the stories coming in 2025. We hope to hear from 500 viewers like you so we can keep "Crossroads" travelin'. You can help us get there with your contribution at any amount.

- We can't do it without you. Please take this moment to make a pledge and help us reach our goal to keep "Crossroads" traveling throughout the year. Call the number on your screen or pledge online at wnpt.org/donate.

- Well, ladies, it's time to get back on the road. Laura, the next story is one of yours. Great story out of East Tennessee.

- That's right. Founded in 1779, our next stop is the oldest town in Tennessee. Jonesborough has the charm of a Norman Rockwell painting, and it's known as the storytelling capital of the world. Once upon a time, back in 1779, before Tennessee was a state, the town of Jonesborough was established. Tucked into the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee, what you won't find today is boarded-up buildings.

- I think a lot of people come to Main Street Jonesborough, and they walk through the well-preserved town, they see the 18th century buildings, and they're in awe at the architecture. But after they spend a little time, I think they realize that the special part of Jonesborough is the people.

- [Laura] Cameo Waters is the director of tourism in Main Street for Jonesborough. She grew up just up the road and has seen firsthand the lifelong commitment residents here have had to preserving what makes Tennessee's oldest town so special.

- In the '70s, when downtowns really started to die down, people moved to shopping malls, Jonesborough's community members decided they didn't want that to happen. So for us, we were about 20 years ahead of that national movement.

- [Laura] Of all the events Jonesborough hosts, and there are many, the granddaddy of them all is the National Storytelling Festival. Held the first weekend of October, it draws thousands of people from all over the world.

- Like, this is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, this is the oldest town in Tennessee, and storytelling is the oldest, the world's oldest art form. And what Jonesborough has done over many, many years has cultivated a tradition that's so important to this region, to these mountains, to the ways of life.

- Kiran Sirah, president of the International Storytelling Center, says the festival started in 1973 by a school teacher named Jimmy Neil Smith.

- [Kiran] It was part of the folk revival movement, so there was folk festivals happening across the country. And the word spread. Now, this was before the internet. Word spread, and people thought, wow, there's a storytelling festival, and storytellers that were performing at folk festivals descended on Jonesborough, and what were 60 people turned into a few thousand. And now we have about 11,000 people that come here for the National Storytelling Festival.

- [Laura] There are unique places to stay, like the historic Eureka Inn, currently under renovation and for sale. The Butterfly Cottage, private and quaint, sits on the first plot ever recorded in Jonesborough. The historic Stone Cellar Suite offers a private stay on the lower level of one of the town's oldest homes. Though people don't stay here anymore, the famous Chester Inn is where we met Anne Mason. She knows this town's history. She gives tours and is the executive director of the Heritage Alliance.

- [Anne] So this is the parlor room. This is where guests came and they checked in. And this is where you spent your time.

- [Laura] Today the Chester Inn is a State Historic Site and museum, the oldest commercial building in town.

- We definitely have had famous people stay here. John Sevier, which is Tennessee's first governor. All three of Tennessee's presidents, Jackson, Johnson, and Polk stayed here. Jackson probably has the most colorful history here. He was staying at the Chester Inn one time when there was a fire in town, and he had to come out and help fight the fire. Most sources say he was still in his night shirt.

- All along Main Street, which sits on the National Register of Historic Places, architecture buffs will revel in the many styles on display. It's a living timeline, with buildings from the 1700s through the 21st century. A modern distillery sits where the old salt house was, making bourbon, barrel-aged beer, and other spirits. The building dates back to the Civil War. There are so many old things in the town of Jonesborough, including this elevator in the Tennessee Hills Distillery. In fact, it's believed this might be the first elevator in the State of Tennessee. Used to be hand-cranked, it's now been mechanized, obviously, and still works to this day. Lots to eat here too. We stopped in at the Main Street Cafe & Catering.

- We make everything ourselves. We grind our own hamburger, we cook it to order, we make our own chicken salad, we make our, you know, sauce for the potato salad and the the dressings and everything, the quiche, the pie, the cookies.

- [Laura] Zac Jenkins' parents started this restaurant in 1987. Zac and his wife now run it. Located in the 1930s building which used to house the post office, they've kept much of the history in place.

- You have the original pressed-in ceiling, original globe lamps, the original wood floor, original giant windows that are very cold in the wintertime, and we still use a boiler for our radiator system.

- [Laura] The cafe is known for its chicken salad. The Beverly Salad is named after Zac's mom, the homemade thousand island dressing named after his dad, Herman. It makes the Reuben sandwich a top seller too. Then there are the events. Every holiday offers something special. The Farm to Table Dinner features a harvest table three blocks long, serving up food that comes from within a hundred miles of the town. The Boone Street Market, a year-round farmers market, is gorgeous. And for the kids, the nearby Wetlands Water Park offers a cool escape in the summer. When a place is made up of thousands of stories like Jonesborough is, it's hard to sum it up in just one for TV. Maybe the best idea is for you to visit yourself and tell your own story.

- Great story, Laura. What a perfect slice of Americana. Next, we'll wrap up the show with a heartwarming story from Miranda right here in Nashville.

- Absolutely. Now, I think we can all agree hospitals aren't the most cheerful places to be, but we found a group of talented volunteers who can help cure your ills while carrying a tune. This may look like a group of doctors getting ready to make their rounds, but actually it is much more. ♪ I'm sitting on top of the world ♪ ♪ Rolling along ♪ ♪ Rolling along ♪ ♪ Bum, ba-dum-ba-dum-bum ♪

- [Miranda] These men are medics, Nashville Music Medics, to be exact, and they are administering the very best medicine. ♪ You got a friend in me ♪

- I've been singing barbershop music for about 38 years, and without a doubt, the most meaningful thing I've ever done singing this kind of music is for these children in this kind of an environment. They see the staff come in in scrubs all the time and they equate that with, oh, we're gonna get some medicine, maybe we're gonna get an injection. We just got the idea that, let's put ourselves in scrubs, and we'll just go in and start singing to these children. And it's just made such a difference. ♪ 'Cause you've got a friend ♪ ♪ In me ♪ ♪ Shoo-be-doo-wop ♪ ♪ Wop ♪

- [Miranda] On this day, we find them at the Children's Hospital at TriStar Centennial Medical Center, where they are working their magic. Founder Sam English, Wayne Jackson, musical directors Chuck Hamilton and Paul Wietlisbach, along with a dozen other tenors, leads, basses, and baritones make up this incredibly talented all-volunteer group. They have been singing the complex style of barbershop for years, and now they are working together at an outreach mission to bring joy, or, as they like to say, changing the world one smile at a time. ♪ Sweet and lovely ♪ ♪ That's what you are to me ♪

- It's one of the great joys of our singing life, to be able to provide some joy, some comfort, maybe some peace to not only the child that we're singing to but to his parents.

- We're singing to these kids and families on really the worst day of their lives. So for us to come in and maybe bring a smile, that is so powerful. ♪ By my side ♪

- [Miranda] And their soothing melodies are also lifting the spirits of the hardworking healthcare workers that are taking care of the patients. ♪ A little spoon of granulated sugar ♪ ♪ Helps to make the bitter medicine go down, down, down ♪

- We've tried to focus on singing to the nurses at the nurses station, where we get a chance to give them a minute and a half, two minutes worth of the kind of joy and peace that we bring to these children.

- [Miranda] And in the children's emergency department, Dr. Matt Jaeger, also a barbershop singer, just couldn't help but join in. ♪ I ♪ ♪ Love ♪

- It's interesting from the standpoint, it's both a performance art as well as a musical art, because we have, you know, terrible dad jokes, we goof around, we try to get a smile from the kids.

- Sam.

- Oh, gosh.

- Oh, that's not the right one.

- That's not the right key.

- [Sam] Oh, that's the harmonica mode.

- Making 'em laugh, making 'em cry, making them experience the music that you're portraying. So that's our reward, and that's what it's all about. ♪ Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am ♪ ♪ Bigger and stronger too ♪

- [Chuck] Every part has to stand alone, and when they get together and blend, it's like this richness, this chord-ringing-type sound that's just, nothing else sounds quite like it.

- [Sam] I think to the men, they will agree that we get as much out of this when we reflect on what we just did in that room or just did in this room.

- [Chuck] The music is powerful, so that's why we do what we do.

- [Paul] We get back so much more than we give, really.

- [Miranda] To the patients, staff, volunteers, and anyone else within earshot, they are striking the perfect chord and bringing so much happiness along the way. ♪ Oh, Miranda, Miranda ♪ ♪ Bless your heart ♪ ♪ Oh, Miranda that we love so well, so well ♪ ♪ We're here for you ♪ ♪ Our gal, it's true ♪ ♪ You're the Miranda that we love so well ♪ ♪ Miranda, we love you ♪ ♪ Miranda, we love you ♪ ♪ Love you in the spring and in the fall ♪ ♪ Fall, fall, fall ♪ ♪ Miranda, we love you ♪ ♪ Miranda, we love you ♪ ♪ Love you best of all ♪ ♪ Miranda, Miranda, Miranda, Miranda ♪ ♪ Miranda that we love ♪ ♪ So well ♪

- Thank you, Miranda!

- [Sam] Okay. Okay, come on, group hug, group hug, group hug! Group hug, group hug!

- Wow, what a serenade! Nice way to wrap it up.

- It was wonderful, except I wasn't exactly sure what to do, that had never happened before. It was wonderful. And speaking of wrapping it up, we've come to the end of this week's show, but before we go, we'd like to remind you about our Keep Crossroads Travelin' Campaign with one more look at our thank-you gifts.

- [Announcer] You can help keep "Crossroads" travelin' 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 still have a ways to go to reach the 500 contributions needed to keep "Crossroads" on the air in March. Please consider donating at whatever level is right for you. Until next week, thanks for watching.

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

- [Announcer] Students across Tennessee have benefited from over 7.5 billion dollars 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.