Episode 4015

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- This time on "Tennessee Crossroads," we'll meet a man who stays in the Christmas spirit year round. We'll give you a preview of an annual tradition that brings holiday joy to rural communities. We'll discover a recreational haven in West Tennessee, and we'll go way back to the early days of a well-known restaurant in Nashville. Thanks for joining us again here on "Tennessee Crossroads." I'm Ketch Secor, and I'm glad to have you along. Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, at least for one man. For many of us, the decorating may be just starting, but in our first story, Miranda Cohen finds a man in Lebanon who starts thinking about his spectacular light display in January and works all year to make it happen.

- We're here at Chad's Winter Wonderland in Lebanon, Tennessee. I've been doing it for 43 years, so it's kind of a family tradition, something I started when I was 12.

- [Miranda] Chad Barnard has always had a passion for lights, but unlike some who long to see their name in lights, Chad has always loved to see Christmas in lights, and the very best part is sharing his dream with others.

- [Chad] How are y'all?

- [Miranda] Chad started out with a big display right in his own backyard. As his passion and his collection grew, he opened this massive, magical winter wonderland to others. Now, you can drive through 12 acres of twinkling holiday splendor.

- [Chad] Everybody come around, the first year, they're like, "Oh, it's beautiful. Does Santa ever come?" So I talked to Santa and I started having Santa on the weekends, and he was real popular.

- Merry Christmas.

- [Miranda] Luckily, these days, Chad has a long list of celebrities in his contacts, and you can see them all seven nights a week. You've got some connections. Frosty, Santa, the Grinch, you're connected.

- [Chad] That's right. We've got 'em here, and people love it. And you know you think little kids and stuff, but the grownups love it.

- [Miranda] And speaking of connected, it takes a lot of voltage to keep this display lit.

- So I've got 10 meters, 25 breaker boxes, and then with the LED, it's been a blessing because the amperage is not so much, so I've added a lot more. It's been an unbelievable experience.

- [Miranda] Chad's Winter Wonderland in Lebanon has been a family tradition for decades. Our Joe Elmore paid a visit way back in 2014. Now, with lots of technical advances and state-of-the-art enhancements, the lights are brighter than ever.

- With the LED and stuff, I've been able to add four more acres to my display since y'all was there before. So now it's 12 acres. And like I said, with the LED, I've been able to add, I've got four million lights now. I've got like a 18-foot tall, 12 days of Christmas that I've added since y'all was here. I've got just... I mean, just I've added a big 65-foot ship. Every year I try to come up with different ideas and I'm always adding something.

- [Miranda] Singing, dancing, twinkling lights, a live nativity scene with donkeys and a beautiful camel. They can all be seen from the comfort and warmth of your own car.

- Merry Christmas.

- And you can see Santa Claus when he is sleeping or at least where he should be sleeping when he is not busy preparing for the big day. 12 acres to drive through, all beautiful to look at. But all of this merry making, you are bound to work up an appetite. And one of the things that sets Chad's Winter Wonderland apart, he has built a drive-through concession stand, and one of the secret recipes he works on all year is his famous cinnamon bread. Thank you, Ginger.

- So I have a drive-by concession stand, and people absolutely love the concession stand. I have hot chocolate, and shirts, and cookies. We make our cookies here. I bake 'em every day before I open. I get up here about three o'clock, and then I make the cinnamon bread. I tweaked around with it for about a year in different recipes and doing different things. So I made this cinnamon bread, and so people absolutely love it. On our busy nights, we can sell 400 loaves in one night.

- Merry Christmas.

- [Miranda] One fee per car will get you and your whole family through the gates from Thanksgiving until the first week of January. Millions of lights to see and a million memories to be made.

- It's a good thing too because there's not many things you can do nowadays that you can load up the family and it's a... Whether it's your grandparents, your kids, neighbors. So we have people come in truckloads, carloads, whatever they can get in the vehicle, they'll bring 'em. Dogs, cats. We've seen it all. It's 12 acres. If it's not busy, you could drive through it in 15, 20 minutes. And you can see people when they come in, they've had a busy day or just doing their life thing. But when they come out, they're all hooked up and singing Christmas carols. And we want 15 or 20 minutes of their time to be able to think about Christmas, you know? It's just been a unbelievable experience and it's amazing that I've been able to do it this long. And I just wanna thank the people for supporting me all through the years. And it's amazing each night you think, "Well, that was a busy night. Everybody's done." And then the next night, here they come again. So it's just been a really kind of unbelievable, humble experience. It's just a love and I really and truly enjoy getting out and working on it and stuff. And yeah, it's been a blessing.

- That's a lot of work, and you can tell that man really loves Christmas. Well, Chad opens his Winter Wonderland on Thanksgiving every year, so plan accordingly. Thanks, Miranda. Now, continuing with our holiday theme this week, more than eight decades ago, a tradition began in the Appalachian region that continues to this day. It involves a train, Santa Claus, and thousands of gifts. Laura Faber takes us to East Tennessee for a train ride with the Jolly Man himself.

- [Laura] Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, in the chilly darkness of 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. Merry Christmas.

- [Kids] 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.

- 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 of 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 some teddy bears, and I got like a colored set inside and stuff, and gloves to keep me warm.

- [Laura] So it's exciting?

- Yeah.

- [Laura] Is this your first time here?

- My second time.

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

- [Laura] 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. 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.

- Last call for boarding.

- [Laura] While the mission is the same, the Santa Train has only gotten bigger and better. Desteny Clemons 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.

- There was a little girl, pajamas on, short sleeve shirt, house shoes, and I said, "I have to find this little girl a 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, 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 your last time.

- [Laura] That's right.

- I'm 62, so you never know.

- [Participant] You just keep your eyes open to keep that camera rolling. We've got magic all the way into Kingsport. So the caring, the generational families in here, the great-grandmothers and grandfathers standing there with that infant, starting the tradition all over again, it's 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.

- One of several partners, Soles for Souls, 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, a 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, a... Yeah, boggin, some headphones.

- [Participant] Merry Christmas.

- [Participant] 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 is great. Like you can't ask for nothing better.

- But I've been here since I can remember, it's a family tradition that kinda 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 'em a bear and that smile, every child deserves that. You can't go to the Santa Train without needing the Kleenex more than once or twice because of just the interaction you have with people and the opportunity to give, and the joy that brings.

- [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."

- [Laura] And to all, a good night.

- What a wonderful Appalachian tradition, and I'm sure those kids look forward to hearing that whistle blow every year. Thanks, Laura. Well, now we head west to another state park with John Guider. He recently visited Chickasaw State Park and brought back these beautiful photos.

- Chickasaw State Park is one of the original state parks in Tennessee. We've existed since 1937. My name is Ron Elder. I am the park manager at Chickasaw State Park. I've worked here at Chickasaw since the summer of 2005, and I've been the park manager here since the summer of 2014. The name Chickasaw comes from the Chickasaw tribe that originally had ownership of this area. It was purchased during the early 1800s as part of the Jackson Purchase, which purchased all of West Tennessee and the Western part of Kentucky. It was developed during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Works Progress Administration. Many of the buildings here on the park originate from those first days of the park. Half of our cabins, several structures around the park were all built in 1937 by that project to help bring the country out of the Depression and create a recreation area that we're all still enjoying today. Chickasaw is a great park. It's a very family oriented park. It's also very compact with the developed recreation areas, so you're able to walk from the cabins to the main recreation area, to the swim beach, and pedal boats, from the campgrounds, you can walk as well. It's got a nice trail that goes all the way there on the lake. But in addition to that, we've got 14,000 acres total of the adjacent state forest, so people are able to get away from the recreation areas. They're able to be very remote as well as be able to do things such as horseback riding, ATV riding, hunting in season. My favorite thing about Chickasaw is the variety of activities that you can do throughout the day. You can spend an entire morning hiking. After lunch, you can go to our swim beach area. We rent a variety of pleasure boats, canoes, kayaks, pedal boats, Jon boats, standup paddle boards. We've got two lakes, Lake Placid at the main recreation area and Lake Lajoie, which is about eight miles to the west of the main recreation area. Both are right at 50 acres in size. Lake Placid has got probably Chickasaw's signature feature, which is a 660-foot boardwalk that goes across the lake. It's a must-do if you come to Chickasaw. One of my favorite areas is the Lake Shore Trail, which would be the backside of the lake. You're starting to get away from the recreation area. It's still within earshot, but you do get away. You start seeing a lot more wildlife on there. Red-eared sliders, one of the turtles here. Love the sun on that backside. There's several springs that actually feed the lake as you walk around. So even on a hot summer's day, just that little bit of 50 some odd degree water that's coming in will keep that a little bit cooler. Here at Chickasaw, we have several overnight accommodations available. We've got 13 cabins that we rent all year round, as well as 114 campsites, and those range from full hookup RV sites to tent camping. We also have, which is somewhat unique, a Wrangler campground where people are able to travel with their horses, be able to camp there at their campsite with their horse and ride the numerous trails out in the state forest from our campground. We've also got a variety of overnight accommodations for groups, a group lodge as well as a group camp that can accommodate up to 125 people. There's also a historic area where we've got a cabin that was built in 1876, so you're able to see what some of the early settlers, what their life was like on that cabin here on the park, as well as a very beautiful historic assembly hall that was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps using 100% materials that was harvested right off the site to be able to build that building. One of my favorite things about Chickasaw in addition to just seeing families enjoying the park is maintaining the facilities here, keeping everything we've got just in tip-top shape, being able to see people utilizing the facilities we have here, whether it's the cabins, or the campgrounds, being able to experience nature while still being in a somewhat developed area, and increasing their appreciation for the outdoors and hopefully pushing them a little further into what they're willing and comfortable experiencing.

- Great picks, inspiring images. Thank you, John. Well, when we talk about Nashville restaurant institutions, a few obvious names come to mind, and one of those that stood the test of time is the legendary Swett's. Well, in our "Retro Crossroads" segment this week from our 15th season when Joe Elmore visited in 2001, it had already been serving loyal customers for almost 50 years.

- It's located on Clifton Avenue, a few blocks from Tennessee State University. By noon, hungry patrons have lined up almost to the door waiting for the food that Swett's has become nationally famous for. Now you might call it soul food, you might call it home cooking, but some people call it the best of its kind in the country. And after three generations and almost 50 years, well, Swett's has become a Nashville tradition that just keeps on cooking. Since 1954, to be exact, that's when a young David Swett Sr. began learning the art of fine food preparation and the value of work ethic from his parents that he would pass on to his own children.

- I always require my children to spend a certain amount of time here working at Swett's. It's like you can't get out of it. You've got to come here and you got to work. The difference between my children working here and me working here when I was a young man is they get paid. When I was a young man, I didn't get paid. I had to come and I had a long mouth when I got here with my parents, but they kept me fed, okay? This is called country fried steak, you know? And this is the old way of doing it. This is also the old process, the old way of doing the meat. There's nothing new here. The only thing new here is probably some of the equipment we use. The way this stuff is being cooked is the way it's been cooked for years and years, and the type of meat that is being cooked, made out of. There's no fillers. It's all the old world way of doing it. We'll lay a little beef gravy right over the top like so.

- [Elmore] David Sr. handles the business side of the family business now, but he's still at home in the kitchen. And while technology even helps in the making of old-fashioned food, well, he can cut up a chicken in near record time.

- My first job, I was a butcher, and this is the way we did it the old way when we didn't have these things, these modern equipment to do it with.

- [Elmore] Man, you're pretty fast with this.

- Oh yeah. I've done it quite a bit in my life, you know? Yeah, and this is the old way. I mean, you either like what you do or you don't like what you do. Don't like what you do, you need to move on. I enjoy cooking the food. I enjoy being good food, and I enjoy meeting and talking to the people that come in each and every day. In fact, I look forward to some of them coming daily so I can have someone to talk to here.

- David Jr. left home with an engineering scholarship and plans to leave the family business, but soon discovered the restaurant was in his blood.

- It's exactly what it is, a family business. It's just like you're being drawn back to your house, your old house you grew up in, your family, your grandmother, your... I mean, my grandfather started out here, and my father, and my uncles, and this whole family bond is just once I got away and was in school and doing other things, I realized how much I really loved it and how much I missed it, and how much it was a part of who I was. People always ask, how do you keep your food so good? I tell them we cook for ourself. So I mean, that's literally the truth. I mean, my grandfather had 10 children, and my father has four, and all his brothers, and sisters. And in my family, I have four as well. So they eat here almost every day. I eat here every day. My dad eats here every day. And so we cook for ourselves, so we cook it like we like, and hopefully everyone else will like it.

- [Elmore] It's easy to see why Swett's is considered about the best food of its kind. And there's not only a recipe for great food here, there's a great recipe for success in business and in life itself.

- [David] People always ask where can we get country cooking soul food or something like this. And our longevity helps us out in that area. But even though our longevity helps us, we need quality and we need a good product every day because, I mean, this means nothing if you come in and you get a bad meal.

- [Elmore] Well, don't expect that at Swett's now or even in the next 50 years.

- Delicious. Thanks, Joe. And they're still serving up that great food today in the same spot. Well, that's gonna do it for us this week, but thanks for coming along. Won't you be sure and check out our website, tennesseecrossroads.org? We'll see you next time.

- I'm Hayden Summers from Nashville, Tennessee. Happy 40th season, "Tennessee Crossroads."

- I'm Les Kerr, a songwriter and musician from Nashville, Tennessee. Happy 40th anniversary, "Tennessee Crossroads."

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

- [Announcer One] 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 Two] Discover Tennessee Trails and 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.