Episode 4014

- [Announcer] "Tennessee Crossroads" is brought to you in part by:

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- [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's Arts Break segment, brought to you by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

- This week on Tennessee Crossroads, Laura Faber finds a secret city near Knoxville. Cindy Carter meets a textile artist in Smithville. Miranda Cohen visits a neighborhood deli in Nashville. And Joe Elmore takes us back in time to meet the unofficial mayor of Beale Street in Memphis. We're going from one side of the state to the other this week, so thanks for coming along. I'm Ketch Secor welcoming you to "Tennessee Crossroads." Well, did you know that the state of Tennessee has a secret city, one that was revealed to the world back in 1949? Oak Ridge quickly grew as a top secret government site to build the atomic bomb, and it cemented Tennessee as a leader in nuclear energy. It's also home to several outstanding museums that tell that story. Laura Faber headed east to one of them, the American Museum of Science and Energy.

- [Laura] Tucked inside rolling hills and valleys of East Tennessee, there lies a city that many believe helped end World War II, and a museum that tells how that happened. On a daily basis, kids and grownups roll in to get immersed in science.

- This morning, we're at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It's been a part of this community since 1949 in a couple different locations. It opened the same day the city opened to the world, the formerly Secret City.

- [Laura] Oak Ridge quickly grew, and it continues to be at the center of the nuclear energy industry today.

- It's a lot of fun for them, but they're learning along the way.

- [Laura] Alan Lowe runs the nonprofit Oak Ridge Discovery Foundation and says AMSE is just one of four museums in Oak Ridge. Inside this one, there are exhibits highlighting projects involving national security, the work of Y-12, and the nuclear navy. But it all starts with the Manhattan Project.

- The very first section of the exhibit talks about that, that amazing story, really, of going from almost this farmland, essentially small communities, to a town of 75,000 people almost overnight to help process uranium for the atomic bomb.

- The two artists are Mary Rudin and Robert Benfield.

- [Laura] Jim Dotson sits on the foundation board, but is also vice mayor of Oak Ridge and a middle school art teacher. He says this museum is a destination for all ages.

- When I was in elementary school, that was my first experience coming to the city of Oak Ridge, and I still fondly remember that. And to this day, the American Museum of Science and Energy has upholded that tradition of being the leader in science and all the things that make Oak Ridge what it is today.

- So cool.

- [Laura] The exhibits are educational, but fun too. And yes, there is a Van de Graaff generator, static for the web.

- Good job.

- Inside the museum, there are interactive displays for every age. This is the plasma ball, a really popular one that's energized gas that's in there that follows your hand around. But the importance and real world significance of understanding plasma is this, is the next level of energy production. While science and engineering are the main ingredients, you also get a dose of history here too.

- This is really the special exhibit space, the Innovator's Gallery, we call it. And you'll see every six to nine months, we'll put something new in here. Right now it's called the Information Nation. We go from the telegraph up to a wonderful telephone booth we got from an old hotel in Georgia. That sound familiar?

- Yes, it does. Art is integrated with science, like this sculpture that's a working sundial with Einstein's face on it.

- [Jim] Again, this is an integration of the arts and science. You can see Albert Einstein's face up there, but you can also see that it's very artistic in nature. And I'm just really pleased that we were able to make this a part of a museum that embraces the STEAM model, if you will.

- [Laura] And this sculpture by a Knoxville artist.

- [Jim] You have DNA strands and you have the atomic symbol.

- You know, I love to see the impact on the community and being part of the community.

- [Laura] AMSE's mission is to introduce visitors to science and engineering and spark interest in future workers for an industry that's experiencing a renaissance.

- [Jim] You know, exposure to this place gives our young people an opportunity to see what can be on the horizon for them.

- [Alan] I think it's the largest multidisciplinary lab in the country. So almost any topic you mention, the experts at Oak Ridge National Lab. So people are shocked that you can just name almost any topic, and the experts right next door.

- [Laura] Remediation of the grounds on the 35,000 acre campus started in the '80s. The result, those areas are now prime for development and new nuclear business with millions being invested. Oak Ridge is also a fascinating place for a weekend visit. Thanks to the gorgeous surrounding green space, it's one of the top tourist destinations in the state. There are miles of trails here for backcountry hiking, off-roading, and mountain biking. The waterfront brings an annual regatta event and world-class rowing.

- Of a community like Oak Ridge that's very small, to be that diverse and to be kind of an oasis in this area is really quite unusual. So we're really fortunate to be just a small part of that.

- The American Museum of Science and Energy is just one way to introduce yourself to Oak Ridge, the historical birthplace of nuclear technology, and now a hub for the next generation of development.

- This is really a center for the nation of science, and we tell that story, big science, national security, things like neutron science, nuclear energy, nanotech, everything, you see Oak Ridge National Lab and Oak Ridge in Tennessee leading the way.

- Wow, fascinating history there. Thanks, Laura. Well, now we're heading to Smithville, where Cindy Carter met an artist who loves to work with textiles of all sorts, and her work isn't just meant to hang on the wall in a gallery somewhere. She'd rather see it used in everyday life. Here's the story of Tennessee Craft artist Jeanne Brady on this week's Arts Break.

- [Cindy] It's kind of hard to pin down textile artist Jeanne Brady. No matter what she's working on, no two items will ever be alike.

- I really wanted to be one of a kind, so I do not set up like a screen printing shop. I don't have a screen printing thing. I like each of my items to look different from the other.

- [Cindy] Her canvas is always fabric. She stencils, paints, prints, and sews on it. Jeanne says she is consistently inspired by colors and nature, but a creative spark can come from anywhere. And when it does, the design in her head that she starts with isn't always what she ends up with, and that's exciting.

- If you think about it, I'm creating something from nothing. The one thing I have is fabric on the table. That's it. Everything else is a hope and a prayer and a lot of experience and a lot of critical analysis of what's happening on the fabric. What you don't see is all the thinking that goes into my work.

- [Cindy] Thoughts that include considering the best way to bring her handcrafted designs to life. She's got options, lots of options, such as block printing. In this process, Jeanne stencils then carefully carves her design into linoleum secured to a block. She then presses the raised surface, which is covered in a water-based ink onto the fabric.

- [Jeanne] This is giving my technique away.

- [Cindy] Another technique Jeanne uses is screen printing. This involves pushing the color through a screen that has her design embedded in it.

- And then what I'm doing is I'm laying that screen down onto the fabric, I'm putting the pigment on there, and I use a squeegee to squeeze that pigment through the openings in the screen. I hope to God this looks good. Nice.

- [Cindy] Ultimately, all of that studio-based creativity moves into the sewing room, where Jeanne stitches and sews her designs into artwork that is proudly meant to be user-friendly.

- [Jeanne] So then the button will go right about there.

- For Jeanne, it's important to create art that is also functional, from aprons to potholders to tote bags, she wants people to live with her art, not just admire it from a distance.

- For me, it was really important to have the courage to buy and use beautiful things that I know I'm gonna get dirty, but they're washable. They're not just decorative, they're not just pretty. It's just giving that richness, adding a richness to your life.

- [Cindy] A richness you just can't get when something is mass produced.

- [Man] What happened?

- [Jeanne] I'm cutting away the wrong thing. Oh, this is great.

- [Cindy] Don't call that a mistake. Jeanne says it's a design opportunity, taking a flaw in that original design and reworking it. Why? Because Jeanne wants everything she designs to feel and look like it's made by hand, something a mentor taught her early in her career.

- I showed him my work and he said, "It doesn't look handmade. It looks too perfect." It freed me up to really be who I was. I like the wabi-sabi quality of work. So, when I design, particularly my blocks, I design them so even though I'm registered printing them, I am making it so that they don't fit exactly together and I'm carving in a way that's a little funkier.

- [Cindy] It's a funky approach, but if you spend any time with Jeanne at all, you'll learn the funkier, the better.

- A lot of the times, I don't think about how it's gonna look and repeat because I can change the pattern by how I orient the block. So like this one, if I were to repeat it this way, it's gonna look totally different than if I print it and then pivot.

- [Cindy] Beyond her talents, Jeanne's strengths are how she locks into her creative process even as she leans into all the possibilities that pop up along the way. It's what makes her art as personal as it is perfectly imperfect.

- [Cindy] It's a rare day, I'm bored. Let me put it that way.

- Thanks, Cindy, and a very special thanks to our friends at the Tennessee Arts Commission for that Arts Break segment. Well, next, there's something to be said for that little place in your neighborhood where the staff is always friendly and you feel right at home. It's even better when they serve up great food that gains national attention. Miranda Cohen takes us to Mitchell Deli in East Nashville, one of my favorites, where some very special sandwiches are proving to be very popular.

- [Miranda] David Mitchell and wife, Wendi Mitchell-Leto, are the owners of the East Nashville landmark Mitchell Deli. Open since 2008, they started out with all the local deli favorites, but it was the iconic handheld that quickly became their calling card.

- Oh, that's yours. Thank you.

- [David] The sandwiches kind of took off, so that kind of became our focus, and that was like within the first day. People were just-

- [Wendi] It was insane.

- [David] I guess there was a lack of sandwiches here, and we just kind of filled the niche.

- That first day I was on the slicer, there's a line out the door and people are like packed in, and I just remember slicing turkey the entire day. We just had no idea that was gonna happen. And looking up and thinking, "This is amazing," and looking down and thinking, "I'm going to cry, I'm so overwhelmed."

- [Miranda] Word started getting out among the locals that if you wanted a fresh, handcrafted, made to order sandwich stacked with the finest ingredients, Mitchell Deli was the place to go. Then in 2016, a national competition named a tasty flavorful concoction dubbed the Asian Flank Steak Sandwich, first, the best sandwich in the state, and then the best sandwich in the country.

- In actuality, the only thing that's really Asian about it is the marinade on the flank steak, but it also has Giardiniera, which is, you know, an Italian condiment and mayonnaise and provolone cheese. So it's probably more Italian than Asian.

- [Miranda] No matter what region inspired it, it's delicious and in demand. Their menu is packed with bold, unique flavors featuring locally sourced bread, coffee, produce, bacon, and more.

- There you go.

- [Miranda] All of their sandwiches are handcrafted little works of art, and they have a very loyal following. It is the Asian Flank Steak Sandwich that really put Mitchell Deli on the map. In fact, it won a national competition as the best sandwich in the country. But that is not their best seller. It is this little gem called the Turkey Bacon Avocado, and it is a treat all in of itself.

- Ever since the beginning, it's always been the turkey avocado. That has been our most popular sandwich by-

- Yeah, sells four to one, any other sandwich.

- [David] Yeah. Well, it's on Silke's wheat bread. We get all of our bread from Silke's Bakery in Clarksville, Tennessee. It's got Benton's Bacon on it, it's got braised turkey and sharp cheddar avocado spread. We get locally grown sprouts from a friend of ours. Tomatoes, which we also get locally when they're in season, and Duke's Mayo.

- [Wendi] I think it's comfort food. Like, you can go in and you get a sandwich. We have 20 different sandwiches on our menu, so there's probably going to be something that will meet everybody's need.

- I love that they have vegan options. They're, you know, one of the places that have offered, like, artistry sandwiches for a really long time. I eat the Barbecue Asian Tofu, actually. That's my favorite. So, yeah, that's my favorite on the menu. They also have a really good garden veggie bagel in the morning that's really good.

- [Miranda] The staff has remained the same for most of the last 15 years. You will always find someone out back smoking meats or harvesting the very best produce. They also have a very busy and thriving catering business.

- Three sandwiches for Mike.

- [Miranda] And then there is that famous sandwich call. You place your order and they call your name, and it never ends.

- Order for Ram. Six sandwiches for Boo. I think it's just important to kind of support the local community, and that's something that we've always kind of strived for.

- [Wendi] When you go to a place like ours that is owned and operated by local people, literally, 80% of that money stays in your local economy. It supports the local people around us, and we're able to make a place that is good to work and good to come. Again, for me, it's another kind of feels like home. I love this place that we live. I love East Nashville.

- [David] You know, the community is the reason why we're here. They've supported us from the beginning. So, in times of need, it's like you wanna kind of be a pillar or a place that's available, and we're invested in the neighborhood and we definitely want to be here as long as we're able for the neighborhood. Even as much as it's changing, we still have the same regulars that come in almost daily. So, that's kind of why we do it, is for the people.

- Hey, that's a great spot. Thanks, Miranda. I love the breakfast buffet and the tofu banh mi. Well, in our Retro Crossroads segment this week, Joe Elmore takes us back to the 14th season of the show and to Beale Street in Memphis. His tour guide was a man whose names become synonymous with the famous road and whose desire to promote the area was unmatched. ♪ Yeah if Beale Street could talk ♪ ♪ If Beale Street could talk ♪

- [Joe] Beale Street can't talk, but it sure is humming these days with people, music, and the noises of merry making. Beale Street is also the home of some pretty unforgettable characters now as always, and you're about to meet one. He's the owner of this corner hotspot and our official guide to Beale Street, Silky O'Sullivan.

- People have come here, they have a good time, and that's what this is all about, hospitality and making people having fun. You haven't been here but about a half an hour, it seemed like you've been here a day. You've had so much fun, isn't it?

- [Joe] Well, not yet, but I knew we were off to a good start when Silky showed me the famous goat tower on his patio. Yeah, it's home for some goats with an uncanny appetite for beer.

- Give me five, baby. Give me five, give me five. Give me five, give me five. This goat is not an alcoholic. We just give him one or two beers during the week, but he's a happy goat when he gets a beer.

- Let's see.

- So I'm gonna show you what he'll do with the beer. Are you ready?

- Yeah, I'm ready.

- I think he is too.

- [Joe] Only on Beale Street, you might say, and only at Silky O'Sullivan's, the Beale Street ambassador of good times.

- We have the animals here, we have bands on the outside, we have dueling pianos, and it's just a lot of fun because, like I said, Tennessee is tourism. Florida always brags about their tourism, you know how big they are. But to my opinion is, Tennessee's nothing but Florida turned sideways. Came here and I gambled about 10 years ago to come down here, and I opened it up and never looked back.

- [Joe] Silky offered to show us the perfect night on Beale Street, along with the perfect dinner, of course.

- But we have a lot of good barbecue here. We have a lot of fun and we're happy to entertain anybody that comes to me.

- [Joe] Well, as the sun went down on Beale Street, my appetite for some of that barbecue grew. So for the ultimate Beale Street meal, our guide led us here to the famous Blues Cafe.

- [Silky] This is Bonnie Mack, the Lord of the Rib.

- And you better way know it.

- [Silky] Lord of the Rib, Lord of the Rib.

- [Joe] Nice to meet you. Mr. Mack's delicacies have satisfied the appetites of everyone from Tom Cruise to the countless locals who come here hungry and left a lot heavier. Our Silky's special started with appetizers that included Memphis tamales and chili.

- [Silky] We're gonna take a little cracker and put them on there and mash a little tamale, a little green sauce. We're gonna call it a Shelby County Nacho.

- [Joe] For yet another appetizer, Silky ordered a local version of chicken a la king.

- [Silky] Put that on your toast and then try it. Yeah. Like chicken ala king, just spread it out like peanut butter.

- Off to a good start.

- We're gonna treat you right, boys. And this is how we do it. Now look at this, look at this. Hey. Did I tell you we were gonna chow down? Only in America. Only on Beale Street. Only on Beale Street.

- [Joe] Blues City believes in big portions and they've got an open challenge to any diner who thinks he has a super big appetite.

- If anybody wants to come down here and they can eat a six-pound sirloin, I'll give it to them free and I'll comp their food for the rest of the year if they'll come down here and eat a six-pound sirloin by themselves. So that's an open challenge to any of y'all out there that can do that.

- [Joe] Has anybody ever done it?

- No, I had never had anybody do it. Silky's gotten close, but there's no cigar.

- Well, so far, Silky had delivered on his promise of a perfect night on Beale Street. Add to the wonderful food, some R&B music at BB King's Club, and some shopping at a place where you can dress like another king. Thank you very much. I believe you're right. Yes, it was a night worth flipping out over, but the Beale Street ambassador had one final stop on the tour, his own pub, of course, where as the night goes on, there's a St. Patrick's Day party every weekend. Where else can you find New Orleans style twin pianos pumping away, great barbecue on the grill, a rowdy crowd having fun, and even the Irish tenor owner ensuring everyone has a good time?

- Everybody! ♪ When Irish eyes... ♪

- [Silky] You know, there's a lot more than money in meeting people. You get friends all over the world, and it's just a wonderful thing. ♪ Be bright and gay ♪ ♪ Sure they'll steal your heart away ♪

- Welcome to Silky O'Sullivan where every day is St. Patrick's Day.

- Joe Elmore and Silky O'Sullivan, two of the greats right there, and we miss them both. Well, that's gonna do it for us this week, but be sure and check out our website, tennesseecrossroads.org, where you can find all your favorite stories. And be sure to join us back here next time. We'll see y'all then.

- Hi, my name is Claire Purcell-Welsh. I'm from Donelson, Tennessee. Happy 40th anniversary, "Tennessee Crossroads."

- Hey, everybody, I'm Tonya.

- I'm Michael.

- We are The War and Treaty.

- And we wanna wish a happy 40th anniversary to "Tennessee Crossroads."

- [Announcer] Tennessee Crossroads is brought to you in part by:

- [Announcer] With the more than 100,000 tech skill grants that the Tennessee Education Lottery has provided, vocational students in Tennessee wear a lot of different hats. But it all starts with the same one.

- [Announcer] Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways, where adventure, cuisine, and history come together. With 16 scenic driving trails, you can discover why Tennessee sounds perfect. Trips can be planned at tnvacation.com.

- [Announcer] This week's Arts Break segment, brought to you by the Tennessee Arts Commission.