Preface
Greetings to all national and international readers! To national readers, did you enjoy Presidents' Day yesterday? George Washington, the first President of the United States, was born on February 22, 1732. Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president, was born on February 12, 1809. The celebration of their birthdays, close together in February, was combined into Presidents' Day in 1971 by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established more three-day weekends for American workers.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman didn't have to work in her teaching profession, but she did work by helping me with chores in the house and garage. She also helped detail our 2012 Sentra, after I returned from a nearby car wash. Finally, at 4:30 PM, after enduring a 30-minute wait in the lobby, she had a six-month dental cleaning. The dentist's office doesn't need to overbook patients.
Ironically, on Presidents' Day, a door-to-door campaigner visited. She was taking a political survey and advocating for Nikki Haley. She asked which candidate will get my vote in the upcoming presidential election. I assured her that the current president will certainly not garner my vote. The former president, who has a lot of baggage, will not either. Nikki Haley could win my vote, but polls don't seem to indicate that she has a chance in the primary election against the former president. I am frustrated, not undecided. I will vote for myself if I have to do so. As the article from 1/26/2024 concluded, “Where is the truly Christian constitutional conservative, who can get my vote, in the next presidential election? Could someone please stand up!”
Don't you wish that a candidate, a true states person in the tradition of Presidents Washington and Lincoln, would run for office? With an apology for these personal and political sidetracks, let's walk down memory lane!
Introduction
On Sunday afternoon, my 2006 Frontier and I went to Big Ridge State Park in Union County, Tennessee. I didn't take time for a long hike, but I enjoyed a walk down memory lane, remembering my childhood in Appalachia. (This article is the 28th entry in the topic section Appalachia - Northeast Tennessee and also the 63rd in the hiking topic section.)
Earlier this month, a young man, Jonah, with whom I have become acquainted recently, told me that his brother and he planned to participate in an eleven-mile trail race at the park. The race, hosted by the Knoxville Track Club, started at 2 PM. I told Jonah that I planned to meet his brother and him to talk for a while and encourage them before the race started. I arrived about 20 minutes early and looked for Jonah. I didn't see him, but I enjoyed watching several runners gather at the starting line. At the signal, they took off running! Jonah and his brother may have changed their plans.
Update, Friday, 2/23/2024: Earlier today, I saw Jonah. His brother and he were there! He was looking for me. They were in the group of runners, who started on a grassy area near the starting line. Before the race started, I walked to that area, but the two men weren't there yet. Jonah told me that his brother and he finished the race. We both regretted that we missed each other.
Big Ridge State Park
Big Ridge State Park is a nice park with magnificent scenery and several excellent trails. From the house, the shortest route (on Highway 33 north to a left turn onto Highway 61) is about 35 minutes. Nearing the park, on Highway 61, the road curves and winds up and down several hills. This is why I don't hike often at Big Ridge State Park. The road is so curvy at a couple of turns that the rear end of my truck met the front end as we turned! Hiking Big Ridge State Park is encouraged. Just be aware of the curvy road that takes you there if you drive in from the east! From the house, a longer route, driving on Highway 441 north to Norris and then turning east onto Highway 61, is less curvy, but it adds about an extra 15 minutes to the drive. This way, you reach the park, driving from the west, and avoid the previously mentioned hairpin curves.
Opening and enlarging the Park Map Brochure in a web browser identifies the Big Ridge Lake and Norris Lake areas, the camping and boating locations, fishing, swimming, the hiking trails, and other features. About fifteen miles, in eleven trails, which range from easy to rugged, provide good hiking options. Old cemeteries and remnants of old home sites are along some trails. Three of the 50 campsites are for backwoods camping (without water or electric hookups).
A replica of the Norton Gristmill, once used for milling corn, is in the park. The original mill was built in 1825 and operated until 1930, three years before TVA started construction on the nearby Norris Dam. A photograph of the gristmill at a distance is included in the next section.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
I have been keeping a hiking log since 4/23/2000. The hike on Sunday afternoon was my 244th total. It was only my fifth at Big Ridge State Park. The four previous hikes were on 11/12/2005 (alone), on 7/26/2008 (when my wife and our niece, 20 at the time, joined me), on 10/4/2008 (when my wife, our niece, our niece's female friend, and I camped overnight), and on 1/5/2012.
I didn't realize at the time that I had not hiked at Big Ridge State Park in just over twelve years! During the hike in January 2012, I found and photographed the cabin, which I recalled from my childhood years. I also saw and photographed the deer that were grazing nearby.
I didn't see any deer on this hike, but I did find again the cabin in which I had stayed back in the late 1960s. I took the photograph below at 2:55 PM. The view looks southwest.
The cafetorium in the distance is being remodeled. Several cabins are behind me, and several are to the right (north) of and behind the cafetorium. During my grade-school years—in the late 1960s, or possibly in the early 1970s, before 1974—a group of us young'uns, boys and girls, from the West View Baptist Church in Rogersville, Tennessee, attended a church camp at this location.
I recalled fond memories of the experience. Several godly adult counselors and the director oversaw our activities, which included meals, devotionals, singing, arts and crafts, skits, sports, and swimming. In an evening devotional around a camp fire we sang “Pass It On.” Back then, I had not heard the song before. A choral version is “Pass It On (It Only Takes a Spark)," Frederick Lau (YouTube), 11/12/2018. We sang a cappella. The young boy who I was then and the older man who I am now were and are inspired by the deep meaning of the lyrics.
A minute later, I turned around and took the photograph below. The view looks northeast.
The closest cabin, centered in the image, is the one in which eight of us boys stayed, back in our grade-school days. Several other cabins and a bathhouse are nearby. The cabins are being renovated. I smelled fresh paint. The doors and window screens were not yet replaced.
Shall we walk inside that cabin? Let's do! Walk along with me as Appalachian Irishman - Podcasts (YouTube) presents the third episode in the Appalachian Heritage section, titled Big Ridge State Park, 2-18-2024: A Walk Down Memory Lane (published 2-19-2024; episode 26). Near the end of the three-minute-and-thirty-second video, I point out the bunk where I slept many years ago. Back then, competition for the cleanest cabin motivated us boys to pull weeds and sweep grass and dirt off the entrance steps! I remember it all very well.
After a fairly brief trek, I took the following two photographs at 3:17 PM. The first image, facing northwest, shows a walking path sign with trail directions and distances, the parking area, and my 2006 Frontier.
It was this truck's first venture into the park. He enjoyed the day despite the hairpin curves.
The next photograph, looking southeast, shows at a distance the replica of the Norton Gristmill (mentioned in the previous section). After taking the photograph, I crossed the field to the mill and walked inside.
I wondered what it was like when the mill was still in operation a hundred years ago. I imagined farmers in bib overalls swapping tales, knives, and family stories. Several probably spit tobacco.
Conclusion
One of these days, my truck and I may decide to take the longer route to return to Big Ridge State Park! There are still trails to be explored! I wonder if Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, our niece, other family members, or friends will want to join us. An overnight backwoods camping experience would even be nice.
The lyrics in verse two of the song “Pass It On” are:
When all the trees are budding.
The birds begin to sing;
The flowers start their blooming.
That's how it is with God's love,
Once you've experienced it.
You want to sing; it's fresh like spring;
You want to pass it on.
Signs of early spring were noticeable. The freshness of spring is coming. I hope, dear reader, that you know the freshness of God's love! I do. If you don't, I want to pass it on! Please use the “Contact Form” to email me if you would like me to pass it on to you.
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