And now for something completely different.
You don’t have to live like that – in your cave, scared of your fellow man, watching every word, holding your breath. You can escape to the Wild Wild West – West Middle Tennessee, that is.
It’s an easy escape. From downtown Nashville, head west on Highway 70 (aka Charlotte Pike), the first state road in Tennessee. Pass through Pegram. slip by Kingston Springs, and take a right at the McDonald’s in White Bluff to follow Highway 47 to Charlotte, birth home of basketball great the Big O, Oscar P. Robertson. Take another right when you hit Highway 48. At the three way stop, make it a four-way by stopping in at Sweet Charlotte for a popcorn snack and a vintage soda pop. Then up the hill a bit and if it is breakfast or lunch time, get the best diner food anywhere at the Courtside Cafe.
Heck, since you’re not pressed for time, go over a block or two to see the historic Charlotte town square which features one of the oldest courthouses in Tennessee, a beautiful structure set into the hill. Forrest’s rangers mounted attacks on the railroad from there until Grant had enough of it and put a contingent of the U.S. Colored Troops in charge of the town. The Yankees’ supply line from west Tennessee was kept rolling under their guard.
Now head back over to 48, go left at the town’s one traffic light onto Highway 49 and you are on the road to Vanleer! Take your time because the road is curvy as it passes gorgeous working farms down into the valley, much of which is populated by Mennonites. Coming out of the valley in about ten minutes, you will pass on the right Country Gardens, an excellent greenhouse compound if you’re in the market for live flowers or getting ready to plant your vegetable garden. And then you enter the town of Vanleer, NOT Van Leer. You’ll have to work on the correct emphasis to pass as a local. But at worst you’ll get a sympathetic smile if you pronounce it as two words.
Vanleer is a jewel unto itself in a bed of nature’s plenty. Check out the delightful, whimsically stocked antique stores on the main drag. Debra’s (the green building above) also serves breakfast and lunch. Even if you’ve just eaten in Charlotte, you’ll want to eat again.
Saturdays when Tubby’s is open, you’ll often find a chainsaw artist making amazing sculptures out of wood next door.
The new enterprise is Dr. Schrock’s Chiropractic and Mercantile in an old, beautifully remodeled church around the bend from the main drag. Even if you don’t want a bona fide adjustment, their friendly greeting and excellent coffee and healthy snacks will leave you smiling.
If you love local history, research the name Vanleer and discover its intriguing connection to the eccentric ironworks genius of the early 1800s, Montgomery Bell. You’ll find enough about his story elsewhere on the internet, but what you won’t find easily is that he was way ahead of his time, helping his slaves to freedom and if they wished, to return to Africa, and, well, tending to cohabitate with them. In fact, retracing your tracks to Kingston Springs you will see a sign marking Bell Town, a settlement populated by his and his paramour’s (not sure if that should be plural) descendants. You may also be surprised to find out that Bell’s endowment for his namesake academy in Nashville stipulated that it be for underprivileged kids.
There’s still an old A.M.E. church standing in Bell Town where Stokley Carmichael is said to have been elected leader of SNCC. Many of the workers killed in the infamous Dutchman’s Curve train crash in west Nashville were commuting in from Bell Town. And just down from Bell Town, visit Narrows of the Harpeth State Park to see not only evidence of Bell’s prodigious engineering skills, but also from the cliff above it, one of the most beautiful panoramas of Middle Tennessee countryside.
It’s a shame you have to go back to the big city. Nashville is still one of the friendliest, prettiest cities anywhere, but a trip into the Wild West will teach you how Nashville got that way and free you from its traffic and stifling restrictions. In Vanleer and its many sibling towns along the way, you will reach a whole ‘nother level of folks who will look you in the eye, greet you warmly, talk your ears off, maybe even strum a guitar and break into song… and not give a flip if you wear a mask or don’t. You will find yourself breathing easier. And loving where we live. Nashville. Tennessee. The U.S.A. C’mon, as Uncle Joe says. C’mon out of your cave one of these fine spring days and a have nice time out our way. It will quite likely be the best thing you’ve done in at least a year.
For a two-page PDF statement of where Way Out Charlotte Pike is coming from, please CLICK HERE.
