Episode 3823

- [Presenter] "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.

- [Presenter] 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.

- [Presenter] 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.

- [Presenter] 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 have a late Christmas gift for you from Santa himself. We meet a Nashville artist known for attention to detail, and we'll revisit a popular family restaurant in Centerville with Joe Elmore. The gang's all here, and we're so glad you're with us. Welcome to "Tennessee Crossroads." I'm joined in our studio by my esteemed co-hosts, Miranda Cohen and Laura Faber, for the final installment in 2025's "Keep Crossroads Traveling Campaign." But first, we have a Christmas gift from Laura that we couldn't wait a whole year to share.

- That's right, Vicki. More than eight decades ago, a tradition began in the Appalachian region that continues to this day. It involves a train, Santa, and thousands of gifts. Joe Elmore shared this story with our viewers years ago, and we felt it was definitely worthy of an update. Not much has changed, except it's bigger and better than ever. Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, in the chilly darkness, a very early morning in Shelby, Kentucky, one of the nation's longest running holiday traditions begins. This is the CSX Santa Train, which has been running this route since 1943 carrying Santa, more than a hundred volunteers, and 15 tons of gifts.

- [All] Merry Christmas.

- [Joe] We know that it's part of the heart and soul of this community, and they look forward to it every year.

- [Laura] CSX CEO, Joe Hinrichs, says "The train starts in Kentucky, moves through Virginia and ends in Kingsport, Tennessee." The countryside is stunning, but the purpose of the annual Santa Train outshines the beautiful vistas.

- It's a true testament to who we are at CSX. It's about service, it's about community, it's about our employees, and it's just an environment where we can bring some holiday spirit and holiday cheer to so many people throughout Appalachia.

- For 82 years, the Santa Train has traveled this 110-mile route delivering gifts and cheer to thousands of Appalachian families. This is Fremont, Virginia, one of 13 stops. Crowd size ranges from in the hundreds to the thousands. We met families who've been coming for generations. Many of them who came when they were kids and now are bringing their own kids. This is the Eldridge family.

- I got this like bag and then some teddy bears, and I got like a colored set inside and stuff, and gloves to keep you warm.

- [Laura] So it's exciting?

- Yeah.

- [Laura] Is this your first time here?

- My second time.

- This is only our second time. We just moved here about three years ago, so.

- [Laura] Okay, and what do you think about the whole experience?

- I love it. They were so thrilled last year that we had to come again this year.

- A little toy crab and some other stuff here too.

- [Laura] What do you think of this?

- Oh, I think this is the most beautiful thing ever. I love that this happens for like kids and families and stuff. That really means a lot. It's really beautiful. Sorry, -

- [Laura] Okay, aww.

- I could almost cry. It's really beautiful.

- [Laura] Long-time "Crossroads" viewers might remember that decades ago, the late, great Joe Elmore rode the train.

- [Train Engineer] Last call for boarding.

- [Laura] While the mission is the same, the Santa Train has only gotten bigger and better. Destiny Clemens is the Santa Train coordinator for the town of Kingsport and started volunteering when she was 18. She's never missed one since. Thanks to one monumental moment.

- When I was a little girl, pajamas on, short-sleeved shirt, house shoes, and I said, "I have to find this little girl coat." I went back and I dug and dug through boxes and boxes and boxes. I found a little red coat, fur coat, matching hat. We pulled it out. The mom let me get the little girl up on the truck. We tried it on and it was fit perfectly, and I asked her mom, "If I could please take a picture." She let me take a picture. She left and I sobbed. That moment got me. It hooked me and I said, "This is what I want to be a part of for the rest of my life." And I've been so lucky to be allowed to be a part of it.

- [Laura] How CSX pulls this off logistically is nothing short of amazing. This train and this event are well-oiled machines. Dozens of volunteers pack bags in between each stop. There are bins and bins of gifts, wrapping paper, backpacks, winter weather apparel, and then they have about 20 minutes on the ground to pass it all out. At the same time-

- [Girl] Santa!

- [Laura] Santa and his elves toss gifts to outstretched hands. Everyone is excited to see the man in red. Sherry has been coming since she was four years old.

- Didn't know whether I'm gonna get to see Santa this time or not. Never know, it might be last time.

- [Laura] That's right.

- I'm 62, so you never know.

- You just keep your eyes open and keep that camera rolling. We've got magic all the way into Kingsport. So the carrying, the generational families in here, the great grandmothers and grandfathers standing there with that infant, you know, starting the tradition all over again is just something you can't give. And then the people that will hand out the gift off that comes off to somebody that needs it. It's truly something I look forward to every year.

- [Laura] One of several partners, Soles4Souls out of Nashville donates about 5,000 pieces of winter weather apparel. Board Chair, Angela Harrell, and COO, Mike Shirey were not prepared for the emotion.

- It's having connections with people that you've never seen before who were here. You're part of a history of legacy that they themselves may have experienced as children that children will experience for their entire lives. And so, just to be a part of that, just for a little small moment.

- Everyone seems overjoyed whenever they're receiving it. And we see, just looking into the eyes of the folks that are receiving the bags and the toys and everything, it's incredible to see how meaningful it is to them. It is clearly a family event,

- [Laura] A gift for the givers and receivers.

- There's a scarf.

- [Dad] Toboggan.

- Yeah, a toboggan. Some headphones.

- [Woman] Merry Christmas.

- [Man] Hey, Merry Christmas.

- And a 23-in-one game.

- [Laura] Okay. What do you think?

- I like it.

- I think it's great. I mean, we're originally from South Carolina, and there's not stuff like this in our area. And to bring a whole community together and just do stuff like this, it's great. Like you can't ask for nothing better.

- Well, I've been here since I can remember. It's a family tradition. It kind of kicks off the holiday season for us.

- [Laura] Hinrichs believes the railroad is a steward of the heritage and history of this region. CSX has moved coal and other goods through this corridor of the Blue Ridge Subdivision since 1827.

- [Joe] Two thirds of the population live in our region where we do business and we touch almost every community. And so, our employees are connected to the communities, and we feel a sense of purpose to the communities we live in and serve to bring joy, also obviously, economic vitality, but to bring joy in holiday spirit. And this connects all those dots and every child deserves that joy of seeing Santa Claus and, "Hey, Santa, Santa, Santa!" And the gift when you give them a bear and that smile. Every child deserves that. You can't get on the Santa Train on without, you know, needing a Kleenex more than once or twice because of just the interaction you have with people and the opportunity to give and the joy they bring.

- [Laura] At the end of each stop, the team boards the train, the engineer gives a whistle, Santa waves his dismissal, and we hear him exclaim as he rides out of sight.

- Merry Christmas, "Tennessee Crossroads," Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.

- [Laura] And to all a good night.

- Wow. What a beautiful story, Laura. They are helping so many people.

- One of my favorites to cover, for sure.

- I bet.

- We take great pride in the stories we share with you, and we try our best to make them entertaining, informative, and occasionally even life-changing. The folks we feature on the show often tell us how our stories have helped their struggling businesses or inspired them in one way or another. Now, we're thankful for the opportunity to tell these stories, and we hope we can count on you to keep them coming. This is our final week of our campaign to Keep Crossroads Traveling in 2025. So if you haven't pledged yet, please do to help us reach our goal. Or if you have, we say a big thank you.

- Think of all the wonderful memories that you and Crossroads have made together over the last four decades. We wanna keep making memories as we continue to bring you the best of Tennessee, just as our dear friend, Joe Elmore, did for so many years.

- Hello everyone, I'm Joe Elmore, and 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. I remember when we were sitting around, Al Voecks, Jerry Thompson and myself, Susan Thomas, as well, talking about what this show was gonna be about. We didn't really know. We thought we might do some kind of more serious stories, but it turned out the viewers dictated what our show was gonna be about. We kind of found our footing after about a year and realized that, well, people wanna know what's going on in Tennessee and the people, the places, and so forth. And that has sort of led to what we are today. 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.

- With your support, we can keep Joe's dream going. We're so proud that you have made "Tennessee Crossroads" one of the most watched, locally produced programs in the entire PBS system. We appreciate your loyalty and love being able to count you as a member of the Crossroads family. You keep us on the road with your generous financial support, and we have some wonderful ways to show our appreciation when you make a pledge.

- [Presenter] You can help Keep Crossroads Traveling 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 blends, short-sleeved 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.

- You have helped make "Tennessee Crossroads" what it is today. And together, we can continue to provide the stories you look forward to. We constantly receive comments telling us how much you love the show. Your encouragement inspires us to keep searching for great stories. And right now, we need your support to keep bringing you those stories from across this great state. So please take this opportunity to support the show that you helped make possible with a contribution that's comfortable for you. And again, we say thank you.

- Very well said, Miranda. And now, it's time to get back to the show with a segment that you produced about a real Tennessee treasure.

- He is absolutely a treasure. It is truly an honor to share the story of incredible artist, Phil Ponder.

- Here's the trick is how do I capture the spirit of a building on paper? I'm just talking about the feeling, the aura, the whatever it is that's special about what I'm looking at.

- [Miranda] If it is a trick, Phil Ponder mastered it years ago, meticulously hand painting architectural structures brick by brick, by brick.

- I wanna know the history of that building, and that helps me to internally figure out what I'm translating down to paper.

- [Miranda] Phil Ponder has etched his name among Tennessee's most renowned artists, but his art is a second act. For years, he was a successful executive until a persistent friend noticed one of his paintings.

- [Phil] And when I met him, he said, "You know, you've gotta have prints." I don't know anything about it. Don't wanna get involved. Nope, I got a full-time job. This is just a hobby. And he called the house six times. He had talked to myself and my wife and finally, to get him off my back, I said, "Okay, if you'll help me, I'll go do it."

- Ponder's second career grew in stature as quickly as the facades themselves. His vast portfolio boasts nearly every historical landmark and mansion in the city. His work reflecting meticulous and mathematical attention to every detail. Like many artists, Phil Ponder will use an array of small brushes and pencils to create his masterpieces. But perhaps one of the most important tools of his trade is a calculator. And he uses it in almost every one of his masterpieces.

- Because I use a lot of basic math in what I do, use a calculator and figuring out the size of bricks and 'cause I count bricks and then I have to figure out what size each one of 'em is. And in some cases, I have to do 40 rows of bricks per inch. So I'm having all these little figures, and I'm using my calculator to do all this. I take a lot of photographs. That's my first step. And I'll go out and stand in front, and every 15 feet or so, I'll take another picture, so I can get my information I need that is as close to a architectural blueprint as possible. After I do a rough sketch and pencil, then I do a finalized sketch. And that's after I make sure all the bricks are the right size. Then I use a very fine pinpoint, and this is size 005. It's about the size of a human hair. And that's because if I'm doing 30 to 40 bricks per inch, that's why you gotta have very, very fine lines to be able to get all those bricks in there. So then it's very dry. When I take the water and a brush and I bring it to life, I bring those watercolor to life. It's kind of more than being an artist. I'm a historian too.

- [Miranda] And perhaps his most recognizable pieces are stylized renditions of urban skylines. Some like the ever-changing Nashville skyline will feature more than 200 complex structures. And though, Ponder tends to focus on the architecture, there is one small, beautiful, hidden piece of nature in every one of Phil Ponder's works and his name is Happy.

- I looked at my photographs and up on the upper right hand corner of the roof was a little pigeon sitting up there, and he looked like, draw me. So I'd put him in the picture. The very last step is painting in the bird. I always save that till last. And he's always painted with one color. So I thought that was appropriate for a pigeon. It's relaxing because it takes me away from what's happening in the rest of the world. It really kind came about by accident as far as, you know, using it as a second career. So just extremely blessed and happy that I'm able to share with people their special memory on paper. You know, it's not that I am creating something, God and has been the Creator, and people have worked all these particular buildings I do. They've built the building. I'm the guy that's in charge of creating a memory of those particular subjects for somebody because it's gonna hang on their wall, and they're gonna see this every day, and it's gonna bring back a good, good, wonderful, hopefully, warm memory to them. And that's my blessing.

- Nice job, Miranda. I love his work almost as much as Joe Elmore loved,

- Barbecue.

- Here's a look back at Joe's visit to Papa KayJoe's in Centerville.

- [Joe] If you're driving along Highway 100 just south of Centerville, don't be surprised by the tempting aroma of barbecue. And the source? A Hickman County dining favorite since the year 2000, Papa KayJoe's. Papa KayJoe's is a true family business headed by a man known as the pit master Pastor, Devin Pickard. While the fruits of Devin's labor are savored in the dining room, the real work happens in the state-of-the-art smoker. Thanks to experience and some special cooking techniques.

- So everything pretty much is wrapped up right now 'cause you know, it only needs so much smoke. And once it gets enough smoke into color, then we just wrap it up and then it kind of finishes off in its own juices.

- [Joe] After trying both, Devin prefers Boston butt to pork shoulders for apparently good reason.

- Shoulders are good. They have a lot of waste. And so, as I opened this place, we transitioned just to cooking Boston butts, which as you'll you'll see, just has one bone in it, very little waste. And so, you get a lot more yield out of that. And we'll pour just a little bit of this back over the top of it. You don't want too much because it'll become greasy, but if you don't put enough on it, it'll dry out over the course of time.

- [Joe] The same cooking and marinating process. as used on his chicken quarters and ever popular ribs.

- People talk about a fall-off-the-bone rib. I mean that is fall off the bone. We only serve these on a Friday and Saturday, and we go through 'em pretty quick. What I have learned in the restaurant business is consistency is key. People want to know that what they got on their first visit, hopefully it's good, they're gonna get that same product on the second visit, and on the hundredth visit.

- [Joe] That consistent quality caught the attention of both "Southern Living" and "Garden Gun" magazines. Now, the whole Pickard family is involved in dishing up the barbecue and sides from beans and potato salad to turnip greens, all with a free serving of friendliness. Thanks in part to Devin's mom, Debbie, better known as Oma.

- [Debbie] And how are y'all today?

- [Customer] Hi, how are you?

- [Debbie] Haven't seeing y'all in a while. How are you, buddy?

- I'm okay.

- [Devin] And mama is like a Walmart greeter. She'll come in here and she'll just walk to different tables and talk to folks and, "Hey, how are you, where are you from? This is my son's restaurant." And then she still finds time to make the pies and the cakes like she has done here. And we have a banana pudding today. That's her recipe as well. So she's got a finger, especially in all the sweets.

- [Joe] While the Pickards have been blessed with success, it wasn't always smooth sailing. Back in 2016, a kitchen fire completely destroyed the original structure.

- You know, somebody said, "You really can't be a legitimate barbecue joint unless you've burnt down at least once." And so, I got that dreaded knock on the door at three o'clock in the morning in 2016, and they said, "We got a problem." And I remember, I came down here, all the electricity was off. It was in the middle of the night. The shell was still standing, but everything was gone.

- That fire destroyed just about everything inside the structure, except ironically, the wall mementos, which pretty much make this place like a Pickard family museum. There are all sorts of surviving family and local sports photos and souvenirs, even the old scoreboard from the Hickman County Gym. In addition to pitmaster and restaurateur, Devin is pastor of his own non-denominational church just down the road.

- The Lord has blessed me with just the best parents, the best friends, the best coworkers, the best children, all that. And so, we really see Papa KayJoe's here as a real, an offshoot or a branch to Hope Church. Nobody's ever gonna go hungry here as long as they come in and say, I'm hungry. We're gonna feed 'em.

- [Joe] Oh, about the name Papa KayJoe's. Papa stands for Devin's dad. Kay and Joe are a couple of his kids. For customers, the name has been synonymous with extraordinary barbecue and friendly service. Devin and his family wanna keep it that way, and no doubt, Poppy will be watching.

- [Devin] I can't imagine doing anything else. I can't imagine living anywhere else. Hickman County is just, is the most, it is God's country. It's just the most wonderful place. We have a kind of a leave-it-to-beaver life, and I wouldn't want anything else.

- We've run out of time, but there's always time for you to help Keep Crossroads Traveling.

- And if you haven't, please consider making your pledge.

- And if you have,

- Thank you.

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

- [Presenter] 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.

- [Presenter] 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.

- [Presenter] 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.

- [Presenter] 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.