Great American Story from George Webb
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Chris: Our Great American Road Trip. As we all know, sometimes trips don’t go just as we planned. Well, that brings us full circle to the source of the intriguing history we’ve been discovering today–historian and antiquities dealer George Webb and his Great American Road Trip that didn’t go so great…
George: I went to Tennessee Tech and I ended up with a degree in mathematics and a secondary school certificate. Of course, I didn’t have a car in college. There was another guy, an upperclassman from Rogersville, and I would always catch a ride with him. And one Thanksgiving he did something else. And at that time there were Greyhound and Trailway bus services.
One came through Bull’s Gap, and so I’m going to catch a bus. I catch the bus early in the morning in Cookeville, and my mother and dad are going to come over to meet me. And the schedule was posted and they gave, like, eight hours for the bus to get there. So, they came over to pick me up. I wasn’t there; they go back home. It’s about 15-mile drive to Bull’s Gap.
Next one came in two hours, they went back a second time. I wasn’t there; they came back home. Next one was two hours later. They went back over there. The problem was, this bus stopped at every little town from Cookeville to Rogersville. I got here about, I think, two o’clock in the morning and got off the bus and of course, they’d been asleep for a long time. Didn’t have cell phones back then.
My mother’s from Bull’s Gap and I walked about a half a block and saw this house with the light on, so I go over and knock on the door. And this was in, probably, 1968, and people would come to the door at nighttime. And I told her who I was and who my mother was. She said, “Oh, yeah I know Elizabeth.” Said, “Come on in here.”
And [laugh] she called my mother and daddy who got up out of bed and finally came over to get me. Needless to say, that was a double event. That was the first and last time I rode a bus back here, you know? I’d just—I’d skip Christmas before I’m going to do that again. [laugh].
George: I went to Tennessee Tech and I ended up with a degree in mathematics and a secondary school certificate. Of course, I didn’t have a car in college. There was another guy, an upperclassman from Rogersville, and I would always catch a ride with him. And one Thanksgiving he did something else. And at that time there were Greyhound and Trailway bus services.
One came through Bull’s Gap, and so I’m going to catch a bus. I catch the bus early in the morning in Cookeville, and my mother and dad are going to come over to meet me. And the schedule was posted and they gave, like, eight hours for the bus to get there. So, they came over to pick me up. I wasn’t there; they go back home. It’s about 15-mile drive to Bull’s Gap.
Next one came in two hours, they went back a second time. I wasn’t there; they came back home. Next one was two hours later. They went back over there. The problem was, this bus stopped at every little town from Cookeville to Rogersville. I got here about, I think, two o’clock in the morning and got off the bus and of course, they’d been asleep for a long time. Didn’t have cell phones back then.
My mother’s from Bull’s Gap and I walked about a half a block and saw this house with the light on, so I go over and knock on the door. And this was in, probably, 1968, and people would come to the door at nighttime. And I told her who I was and who my mother was. She said, “Oh, yeah I know Elizabeth.” Said, “Come on in here.”
And [laugh] she called my mother and daddy who got up out of bed and finally came over to get me. Needless to say, that was a double event. That was the first and last time I rode a bus back here, you know? I’d just—I’d skip Christmas before I’m going to do that again. [laugh].
Great American Story from Susie Alcorn
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Chris: It’s our great American road trip story and a young driver’s unexpected lesson on the Hernando de Soto Bridge. Here’s Susie Alcorn, creator and executive producer of Highway See to tell her story.
Susie: So, I had an important driving and life lesson, when I was 16, related to the Hernando de Soto bridge. My parents and I had been to visit one of my sisters, who at the time was living in Louisiana, and we were on our way home. I’d been asleep in the backseat. I naturally woke up and we stopped for gasoline. And my mother suggested when we were finished and about to get on the road, that it would be a good time for me to get more interstate driving experience.
And I said okay, if you think that’s what I should do, that’s what I’ll do. And it was only a short time that we’d been on the road that I started seeing the upper arches of the Hernando de Soto bridge. Now, I only knew it as the Mississippi River Bridge and the fact that it was a very big bridge, but some time in my past I had expressed some sort of trepidation about driving across bridges. And almost immediately when I saw it, it was like, “I can’t do this. I can’t drive across this bridge.”
And my mom said, “You have to. There’s no place for us to pull off now. So, you just need to pay attention to the lanes, focus on the lines like you would any other time you’re driving on the interstate.” And so I followed my mom’s instruction, and I drove across the bridge. The good news was once I driven across the longest bridge in Tennessee, all the other bridges were easy.
So, my mom knew what she was doing when she put me behind the wheel of the car, even though it freaked me out just a little bit when I saw those upper arches. I kept going, and once I driven across that bridge, I knew I could go anywhere in Tennessee and beyond.
Susie: So, I had an important driving and life lesson, when I was 16, related to the Hernando de Soto bridge. My parents and I had been to visit one of my sisters, who at the time was living in Louisiana, and we were on our way home. I’d been asleep in the backseat. I naturally woke up and we stopped for gasoline. And my mother suggested when we were finished and about to get on the road, that it would be a good time for me to get more interstate driving experience.
And I said okay, if you think that’s what I should do, that’s what I’ll do. And it was only a short time that we’d been on the road that I started seeing the upper arches of the Hernando de Soto bridge. Now, I only knew it as the Mississippi River Bridge and the fact that it was a very big bridge, but some time in my past I had expressed some sort of trepidation about driving across bridges. And almost immediately when I saw it, it was like, “I can’t do this. I can’t drive across this bridge.”
And my mom said, “You have to. There’s no place for us to pull off now. So, you just need to pay attention to the lanes, focus on the lines like you would any other time you’re driving on the interstate.” And so I followed my mom’s instruction, and I drove across the bridge. The good news was once I driven across the longest bridge in Tennessee, all the other bridges were easy.
So, my mom knew what she was doing when she put me behind the wheel of the car, even though it freaked me out just a little bit when I saw those upper arches. I kept going, and once I driven across that bridge, I knew I could go anywhere in Tennessee and beyond.
Great American Story from Cecil Cook
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Chris: We’ll take a moment for a Highway See tradition of honoring an American tradition, the great American road trip, which began closer to home when the advent of the automobile and the early paved roads made it possible. It has continued into the age of our modern interstates, allowing the American road trip to go anywhere in the country. Cecil Cook remembers travel in both eras, the three generations after Cecil can’t remember a time the family road trip wasn’t their annual event.
Cecil: Mother always wanted the family to get together, so we’d get together in the summer, go to the Charleston, Isle of Palms, because Mother always took us to Isle of Palms when we was kids growing up. And then as my generation, we married, and then we started having kids, so in ’73 timeframe, there was a lot of–because five of us all had kids at about the same ages.
Chris: It’s a tradition that grew to include five generations of Cecil’s family, but it started before any of the interstates they now travel were built.
Cecil: Mother took us five kids and in an old 30-something car—after I got out of school, it was a 50-something car—and go to South Carolina to visit her mother and brothers and cousins and aunts there for a week or two weeks every summer. And so, you’d go across two-lane roads, going across North Georgia, going to Charleston, South Carolina, and then think nothing about it. Old car may break down on road, but there’s somebody would help you get it fixed and get it back running. Where you wouldn’t even think about doing that now.
Cecil: Mother always wanted the family to get together, so we’d get together in the summer, go to the Charleston, Isle of Palms, because Mother always took us to Isle of Palms when we was kids growing up. And then as my generation, we married, and then we started having kids, so in ’73 timeframe, there was a lot of–because five of us all had kids at about the same ages.
Chris: It’s a tradition that grew to include five generations of Cecil’s family, but it started before any of the interstates they now travel were built.
Cecil: Mother took us five kids and in an old 30-something car—after I got out of school, it was a 50-something car—and go to South Carolina to visit her mother and brothers and cousins and aunts there for a week or two weeks every summer. And so, you’d go across two-lane roads, going across North Georgia, going to Charleston, South Carolina, and then think nothing about it. Old car may break down on road, but there’s somebody would help you get it fixed and get it back running. Where you wouldn’t even think about doing that now.
Great American Story from Raul Lopez
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Chris: It’s only fitting to close this episode of Highway See with a Great American Road Trip story, starring Tennessee’s topography and quickly changing weather. When this adventure on the road took place, Raul Lopez, now a long-time Tennessean, had recently moved to Nashville from Florida, and he was not yet familiar with how much where you are driving on Tennessee’s topography can matter during a time of year the weather might get very cold and be unpredictable. Raul will travel from Nashville to Knoxville for the first time, intending to return that same day. Here’s Raul Lopez to share his Great American Road Trip adventure.
Raul: I was very excited. I’ve never even been to Knoxville, so that was my first trip. And I left really early cause I’m coming from Nashville. And it was a beautiful, cold day driving there.
Chris: But while Raul was at an event in Knoxville, the weather began to change, as it often does in Tennessee.
Raul: It was still early afternoo-nish. And then we walk out, and all of a sudden it was like snowing. I had no idea that it was going to snow that day. Back in that day, we didn’t have apps or 24/7 weather, nor did I know about the famous Cumberland Plateau. Even though I drove over in the morning, I didn’t realize what could happen.
So anyway, so I got in the car and said, “No, I’m going to go home,” so, I went on the road, and the snow just started coming down and it just kept going. And then it started getting really, really cold. As the traffic flows slowed down just before the Cumberland Plateau and it started slowing down more and more. And then I started getting—you know, maybe I should pull off or go to the next exit, but there’s really not many exits in between there. And I just abruptly just went to a complete stop.
And so, we couldn’t go to the side. You couldn’t do anything. You’re basically stuck where you were and that’s what it was. It was a parking lot, and I was going okay, there must have been a wreck or something down the road. And again, there wasn’t much information back then.
I was idling there and we were all there. And then, it went five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. And then it was like an hour and we didn’t even move. So, I got out of the car to try to find out some information. Does anyone know why we’re stuck here?
And it was like ice and I almost fell. It was—wow—it’s cold. And there was a car right behind me, it was a young lady, and I said, “Do you happen to know what’s going on?” She goes, “No, I don’t know what’s going on.” And, “My heater works sometimes or not.” I said, “Well, just be careful. I’ll try to find out what happened.”
So, there was a truck next to her and then the truck drivers, I guess, had CB’d down the road and said, “Yeah, they’ve blocked off the whole road.” I said, “You’re kidding!?” And he goes, “Yeah, and they don’t know how long it’ll be. People can’t get off exits.”
I went back and told her, and you could tell she was really scared. So, then I went back and I sat down in my car for a little while, and I was going, “Man, this is crazy.” At first, people stayed in their cars and then, of course, after a couple of hours, some people started coming in and out and a lot of us were reliant on the truck drivers because they knew all the information. Again, there just wasn’t information out there back in the day. It wasn’t 24/7 news and all that.
So, the truck drivers were our source of information. So, you would see people going and knocking on the truck because they gave us the updated news flash, I guess you would say. And then, I started looking at my gas tank, and it was, like, a quarter tank. And I started having flashbacks of stories of people running out of gas where they’ve been stranded. It became another hour.
And so, then I was saying, “Man, we can not run out of gas.” So, I went back to her car and I said, “Hey listen, I got a plan. You can come to my car for an hour and turn off your car, and we can just go back and forth so neither of us runs out of gas.” And she goes, “Okay.” And then we started talking and just had a great time.
And, the time just kept slipping away. We started shifting back and forth. And I think we were there—whew—four, five hours, I don’t know. It was dreadful. And they finally opened it up again.
And then I told her, “Okay, it’s time to go back home. Get in front of me and I’ll follow you.” Because the snow was still coming down. It was just unbelievable. So we, literally from the Cumberland Plateau—and she was a student at Vanderbilt University—to Vanderbilt University, we averaged about 20 to 30 miles an hour till we got back. So, it took us hours and hours and hours.
And, it was just a crazy story. We made it safe, and we developed a friendship. And a week later, her father gave me a call and thanked me for taking care of his daughter. So, every time—I go to Knoxville a lot now—and every time through that pass, I always remember that story. And, also, I am very cautious to know what the weather’s like.
Raul: I was very excited. I’ve never even been to Knoxville, so that was my first trip. And I left really early cause I’m coming from Nashville. And it was a beautiful, cold day driving there.
Chris: But while Raul was at an event in Knoxville, the weather began to change, as it often does in Tennessee.
Raul: It was still early afternoo-nish. And then we walk out, and all of a sudden it was like snowing. I had no idea that it was going to snow that day. Back in that day, we didn’t have apps or 24/7 weather, nor did I know about the famous Cumberland Plateau. Even though I drove over in the morning, I didn’t realize what could happen.
So anyway, so I got in the car and said, “No, I’m going to go home,” so, I went on the road, and the snow just started coming down and it just kept going. And then it started getting really, really cold. As the traffic flows slowed down just before the Cumberland Plateau and it started slowing down more and more. And then I started getting—you know, maybe I should pull off or go to the next exit, but there’s really not many exits in between there. And I just abruptly just went to a complete stop.
And so, we couldn’t go to the side. You couldn’t do anything. You’re basically stuck where you were and that’s what it was. It was a parking lot, and I was going okay, there must have been a wreck or something down the road. And again, there wasn’t much information back then.
I was idling there and we were all there. And then, it went five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. And then it was like an hour and we didn’t even move. So, I got out of the car to try to find out some information. Does anyone know why we’re stuck here?
And it was like ice and I almost fell. It was—wow—it’s cold. And there was a car right behind me, it was a young lady, and I said, “Do you happen to know what’s going on?” She goes, “No, I don’t know what’s going on.” And, “My heater works sometimes or not.” I said, “Well, just be careful. I’ll try to find out what happened.”
So, there was a truck next to her and then the truck drivers, I guess, had CB’d down the road and said, “Yeah, they’ve blocked off the whole road.” I said, “You’re kidding!?” And he goes, “Yeah, and they don’t know how long it’ll be. People can’t get off exits.”
I went back and told her, and you could tell she was really scared. So, then I went back and I sat down in my car for a little while, and I was going, “Man, this is crazy.” At first, people stayed in their cars and then, of course, after a couple of hours, some people started coming in and out and a lot of us were reliant on the truck drivers because they knew all the information. Again, there just wasn’t information out there back in the day. It wasn’t 24/7 news and all that.
So, the truck drivers were our source of information. So, you would see people going and knocking on the truck because they gave us the updated news flash, I guess you would say. And then, I started looking at my gas tank, and it was, like, a quarter tank. And I started having flashbacks of stories of people running out of gas where they’ve been stranded. It became another hour.
And so, then I was saying, “Man, we can not run out of gas.” So, I went back to her car and I said, “Hey listen, I got a plan. You can come to my car for an hour and turn off your car, and we can just go back and forth so neither of us runs out of gas.” And she goes, “Okay.” And then we started talking and just had a great time.
And, the time just kept slipping away. We started shifting back and forth. And I think we were there—whew—four, five hours, I don’t know. It was dreadful. And they finally opened it up again.
And then I told her, “Okay, it’s time to go back home. Get in front of me and I’ll follow you.” Because the snow was still coming down. It was just unbelievable. So we, literally from the Cumberland Plateau—and she was a student at Vanderbilt University—to Vanderbilt University, we averaged about 20 to 30 miles an hour till we got back. So, it took us hours and hours and hours.
And, it was just a crazy story. We made it safe, and we developed a friendship. And a week later, her father gave me a call and thanked me for taking care of his daughter. So, every time—I go to Knoxville a lot now—and every time through that pass, I always remember that story. And, also, I am very cautious to know what the weather’s like.