Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sa.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Okay, as you can see, we're here at the Defeated Creek Marina, and, well, go ahead and introduce yourself. Tell them who you're with and why you're here dressed as you are.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Okay. Well, my name is Vonda Dixon. I'm a board member at the Smith County Heritage Museum, and I'm just here to talk about William Walten Day.
I'm a. Actually a Civil War reenactor.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Right.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Thus my attire.
But we just would like people to know that Walton Day is coming up and to invite you to be there.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: Yeah. And if you are one of those folks that are in a group, like, for instance, DAR or in the Confederate
[00:01:10] Speaker A: Rose, Daughters of the Confederacy, Daughters of
[00:01:13] Speaker B: the Confederacy or one of the other organizations, and you do costumes and things like that, we would love to have you come to Walton Days and be a part of that. Because what we're doing is we're celebrating our history prior to where we are now, and that includes the 1790s and the 1860s and those eras, you know. And of course, you're celebrating the 1850s-60s. Yeah, yeah. Which is the era that the Civil War took place.
In fact, there's a big monument there on the courthouse ground, Captain Henry Hart and I think the Daughters.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: That is our monument, United Daughters of the Confederacy. Of course, that was before our.
There was a chapter, and it folded and we restarted it about four years ago.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Oh, I see.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: So, yes, the original chapter for Captain Henry Hart, who was a local, and many of his family are buried in the old city cemetery, and he has children that are buried up here and defeated on Harris Hollow.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Well, and at risk to stay too far in that era. But a lot of those people that came down during that time, they stayed.
Stayed in the area and raised families and had farms and businesses. And so there was a lot of folks that stayed in Carthage because of that conflict that took place.
But getting Back to the 1799, William Waltham was the founder of, basically, Smith County. Him and Tillman Dixon came down the river, and Mr. Dixon settled in Dixon Springs, and Mr. Walton came up to Walton's Landing, which is what it was called then, and he, for a dollar, he gave them a title to land to be able to start the city of Carthage. And that's how it all began.
Now, we're both associated with the Heritage Museum, so, you know, maybe you want to go and just tell them a little bit about the Heritage Museum and what's going to be happening, hopefully, that day, September 26th.
[00:03:23] Speaker A: Okay. Well, we are very proud of the museum and I would like to invite everyone to come visit. We have a great museum. It's behind the main street of Chops.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Is that future alley or.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: No.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: Anyway, you turn by the Hotel Walton and then go behind it. And the museums are back there.
[00:03:48] Speaker A: Yes. And it's big. We have all eras. We have from. From the Indians, artifacts. We've got a display to Captain Walton. You know, Captain Walton came from North Carolina, so there is quite a bit about him there. And our century farms. We have, of course, a Civil War Department. We've got churches, schools. We've got music.
We've got Al Gore of his contributions
[00:04:18] Speaker B: to the cast and juniors.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: Right, Exactly.
We've got a wonderful World War I and 2 display.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: Right. Cordell Hull.
[00:04:28] Speaker A: Yes. So we've got all eras and we would are just very proud of it. Now, we will be open that day. We're normally open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 2.
So we will have items for sale. We have T shirts and caps. And our big thing is our Christmas ornaments. We do ornaments every year and we will have those on sale. We have reprinted the history book. I believe you still got some at the Chamber.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: We have several copies still available at the Chamber. And there's also, of course, the digital edition that you can get where you can search for real quickly. It works really well.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Yep. You just plug it into your USB drive. And so that's a wonderful resource for people interested in Smith county history.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Well, and if you're doing genealogical study and you want to find out kind of family history, there's a lot of stuff about the local farms and things like that and people that were in the area that is in the museum as well.
[00:05:32] Speaker A: Absolutely. And absolutely. That book contains many of the families as well as history of the different towns and the river.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Well, and if somebody wanted to sign up, they could sign up for the newsletter and they would be able to have information about when events are taking place. I know we had a members reception here not long ago.
[00:05:54] Speaker A: Yes. We have that every April, a membership supper. We invite everyone who is a member and there's always a special speaker and a meal. And that is once a year, always in April.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Yeah. And a lot of people don't realize, but the museum is really important to keep our heritage and keep records and things of things that happened in the past that sometimes people have a tendency to forget because.
And schools have a issue.
They have to teach world history and then the US History and then Tennessee state history and Smith county history sometimes doesn't get as much time as we would like it to have. And that's why the museum is such an important piece in that.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: Absolutely. We need to know where we live and why, how we came to where we are.
Why is Defeated Creek where we are?
[00:06:47] Speaker B: You know why it's called Defeated Creek?
[00:06:49] Speaker A: Defeated Creek.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: And if you don't know the answer to that, you ought to come to the museum and find out.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: And then there's difficult. Just up the road.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: Up the road. And that's where I live. Yes. And there is so much silliness on the Internet. I saw a video the other day that was totally wrong about defeated and difficult. So come to the museum to find out the truth. Don't go by.
By YouTube.
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Yeah, that's true. There's a lot of information on the Internet that is way off, way off. And so if you want to find out real story, then you need to come to the museum and see what these people did and why they named the places like they did. It's just like over near Lancaster, there's a little. Little community called Temperance Hall. And a lot of people wouldn't know the story for that if you hadn't kind of studied it, because it's an odd name.
[00:07:43] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: I don't know that one. You'll have to.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: I'll have to.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Let me know if you want to know about it.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: Come to the museum.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Okay. Well, on Walton days, the museum's going to be open. You're going to.
You'll have some items that they can purchase. And of course, it's just a short walk down, like maybe 150ft down to turn from the festival down to the museum.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: Exactly. And we'll have a booth up on the square, too. But the museum will be open.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: Okay. And if you're a reenactor and you want to get involved in this, let us know and we'll try to get you.
Well, I'm thinking about having a contest and paying a prize to. To the most historically accurate. See, I can do it that way. Not to the period, but to the period that you're dressing to. So maybe we can get a prize for that. And that would be wonderful.
[00:08:37] Speaker A: That would be fun. Yes, that sure would.
[00:08:39] Speaker B: Yeah. So we're hoping that we get a lot of people out.
One thing we failed to mention, the Daughters of American Revolution, the Smith County Chapter, they have a ceremony down at the Walton Grave site.
And that's, oddly enough, Sam Walton formed Walmart. As far as we know, there's no connection. But the Walton Grave site is right in front of Walmart.
[00:09:03] Speaker A: Absolutely. He and his wife are buried there,
[00:09:06] Speaker B: Sarah and Mr. William and. And the daughter.
And I'm gonna.
[00:09:13] Speaker A: Little Sarah, one of the daughters.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: One of the daughters. And then I think his son and her. His wife are buried there as well. And I need to educate myself a little more and names. But anyway, if you want to go and attend that, they do that usually on September 26th during the morning, about 9, 9:30, something like that, 10 o' clock and it's right there at the graveside and you can't miss it. If you turn to go into Walmart, it's on the right hand side and you can see that. And this is basically where the Walton Tavern was located near there. And also the Walton cabin. And they had the ferry. Walton's Ferry was just down toward the river there.
In fact, the chamber is on Upper Ferry Road. And if you follow Upper Ferry Road and you go around under the bridge where it is now, it takes you on up to where the ferry used to cross the river where they could cover both places. It was above the Caney Fork there, where the Caney Fork comes in.
A little too much information probably. Anyway, if you want to get involved in this, let us know. Smith County Heritage Museum. Vonda thank you.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: Oh, you are so welcome. I love the museum and I'm glad to talk about it.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: Okay, thank you very much.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: Okay. We're still here at Defeated Creek. It's a great day to be here, actually. The weather is not too bad, is it? It's not real hot.
[00:10:41] Speaker D: I'm loving it. I love this weather.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: Yeah, that's true. Me as well. Would you tell them who you are and who you're with, please?
[00:10:48] Speaker D: Absolutely. My name is Jessica Lafferty. I am the director at the Pregnancy Resource center here in Carthage.
[00:10:53] Speaker B: Okay. Pregnancy Resource Center. Some people may not know what that means, so you might want to go through a little description of what Pregnancy Resource center does kind of give us the elevator speech.
[00:11:06] Speaker D: Absolutely. So in 2009, actually the pregnancy Resource center started up as a help center. And then in 2022 we rebranded into or relaunch into becoming a resource center. That just means that we take resources in the community and we try to help serve the community better by offering different resources.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: Okay, well, I'm going to hit this again at the end. But how do they get in touch with you? And then we're going to go into what you do. But how do they get in touch with you?
[00:11:34] Speaker D: They can call the Pregnancy Resource center at 615-281-8054. They can reach out on our Facebook. We would love for you to go follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: Okay. Now a lot of people may be going, okay, what exactly do you do? So give me the basic, what is the client you're looking for? Who are you wanting to help?
[00:11:59] Speaker D: I'm so glad you asked that. So, Mr. Bill, we are.
We are helping women and families with unpredictable, unplanned pregnancies and planned pregnancies from the very beginning. We're walking with them as soon as they walk into the door. We want to meet them with compassion and love and just offer any resources we have to them. So we have free pregnancy tests and we do ultrasounds in first and second trimester. But a lot of people don't know this. Our resources reach beyond just pregnancy. We just started our men's counseling. We do peer to peer counseling with other women that have older kids. Maybe they need marital problems and they need help. Just talking about that.
We offer parenting classes now. Just got in. In our judge, in our judge system, judicial system.
And then we are offering our parenting classes in the. In the jail also. So we have different avenues. Our main point is to help the family as a unit. We want to embolden them to have a brighter future and to walk in who they are in Christ.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: Okay. And it's my understanding you even have ultrasound equipment, is that right?
[00:13:11] Speaker D: Yes, we do.
[00:13:12] Speaker B: Okay. So you can help somebody from the moment they suspect they're going to have a child all the way through. And I don't want to get too far into the depth of that yet. But say, for instance, a young couple comes in and they're struggling with diapers and formula and just the basic stuff. Can you help them with that?
[00:13:34] Speaker D: Yes, absolutely. You do not have to be a client to come in and get diapers and wipes and formula, baby food. You just come in and you tell us what you need and if we have it, we give it to you.
[00:13:43] Speaker B: Okay. Do you have like a registry or something like that? Do they need to sign up? I know you would like to keep in touch with them, but do they have to necessarily become a part of a program?
[00:13:55] Speaker D: No, they don't. We do kind of give them a tour and we ask them if they would like to be part of our program because we do have an earn while you learn program. It's as you do courses, you earn points, and then you get to go shopping in our boutique. But no, they do not have to be part of that.
[00:14:10] Speaker B: Okay. And you're located right behind Heartland Realty. Is that right?
[00:14:13] Speaker D: Yes, sir. Right across from Wildflower.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Okay. And I noticed you. You mentioned earlier about classes.
You have a nice boardroom there to where you can sit around the table, so you. You've got room to be able to teach and. And actually have the courses and show them videos and things of that nature, right?
[00:14:29] Speaker D: Yes. And we also have the luxury of being able to send courses with them so they can do it in their own. Own home, too.
[00:14:36] Speaker B: Okay. So that. That's a wonderful thing because sometimes you'll. You'll be in that setting and you forget some of the important stuff that's been said. Well, that's. That is wonderful. Now, you keep an inventory of supplies there too, as well, right?
[00:14:49] Speaker D: Yes, sir, we do.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: All right, well, now, we've mentioned diapers and formula. You go beyond that. Correct. What else do you have?
[00:14:55] Speaker D: We also. Well, since we're opening up our other avenues of parenting classes, we also have a dad box in our boutique. So we offer deodorant essentials for our men and then also for our women. So we have the essential baby stuffs, and we have everything that men and women may need also.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: Okay. When you see couples coming in, are you seeing a definite age range or demographic that's coming in to see you?
[00:15:23] Speaker D: We probably get a lot of the young. The younger demographic that you're talking about, but I have seen them older. Yes, sir. There's a range.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Okay, so there is a range. Is it?
And this is a sad thing to say. Do you see a lot of single mothers, or do you usually have a dad and mom as well?
[00:15:41] Speaker D: To be honest, it's a lot of single mothers. It can be a lot of mothers coming out of the. I mean, abuse. There's a lot of abuse going on that we don't know about. You know, they're. They're leaving those abusive situations, and they're seeking help.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: Okay. And that's where you can also kind of guide them if they're in a situation like that. You can help them get away from that. Is that correct?
[00:16:02] Speaker D: Yes, sir. So we offer the resources, maybe Emanuel House. We'll get in touch with them, or we'll get other resources they may need. We get them with Karen Enoch, get them on Tenncare, you know, whatever they may need. We try to help them with that.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: Okay. And so that's a wonderful thing that you have there. All right.
Once you get a couple going, they got the newborn and everything, how far down the road do you stick with them?
[00:16:27] Speaker D: We are now Sticking with them up to 5T. We're going further.
And then we also have people that just come and they maybe they want to just go through a marital book and they have older kids, so we're open to that too. But we are walking with them to 5T clothing now.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: Okay, so basically diapers, formula clothes, car seats.
[00:16:49] Speaker D: Yes sir. We, we do the infant car seats, but we are needing some car seats that are rear facing and for the older ones.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Okay, so, so you're, you're trying to work that out. Now if somebody sees this, if this catches somebody's heart out there and they want to help, I'm sure you take monetary donations. Do you have volunteer corps as well?
[00:17:12] Speaker D: We do. We have volunteers that come in. Is that what you're asking?
[00:17:15] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:15] Speaker D: Okay. We do have volunteers that come in and they may do some clothing rearrangements and they might do some shredding for us. So we do need volunteers. So if you ever want to just come toward the pregnancy center or come and volunteer, we welcome you. Please come.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: Well, and I think that would be kind of therapeutic. I mean, if you get a donation in say a large group of clothing or something like that, somebody needs to sort it. And I'm sure as director you have a lot of irons in the fire, so to speak. So if you have somebody there that can help you sort stuff out and, and arrange it and everything, I'm sure that really helps.
[00:17:53] Speaker D: Absolutely.
I know a lot of people, they, they try to tithe, you know, they try to give things and we love that. But that's another way you can give is, is your time.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: Okay? Now I know.
And during the year you have a fundraiser, about what time of year does that happen and where do you have it generally? And what do you expect to go on with your fundraiser?
[00:18:16] Speaker D: You are on point with these questions.
Our fundraiser is actually coming up in October.
So we are now having a fall fundraiser this year. So they put it off a year. So it's going to be in fall. It's October 8th at the AgCenter. It's at 5:30. That's a big fundraiser for us. So we're actually looking for businesses to sponsor our events and silent auction items.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: Okay. And I know it's a real big event and it's a really good event and a lot of people get involved. Now let's go through how they get in touch because I know you got Facebook.
How. Give me all the ways that someone can get in touch to find out about you.
[00:18:57] Speaker D: I would definitely reach out to us through our Facebook page. Or you can just call 615-281-8054.
If that phone number does not work, please reach out to me at 615-489-2014.
Those are my phone numbers.
[00:19:13] Speaker B: All right. Well, Jessica, thank you. We really appreciate you coming by. You are doing a mission that is vital in our county, I believe. And I really appreciate the job that you do and your volunteer group and everyone that's involved in that. And give them the address to the house as well.
[00:19:31] Speaker D: Yes. So Our address is 108 College Street, Carthage, Tennessee.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: Okay, Jessica, thanks for coming. Thank you, guys. Support the Pregnancy Resource Center.
[00:19:42] Speaker D: Thank you so much for having me. And thank you, everyone that will come out and volunteer and help us in any way. Thank you.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: Okay, we're here, and our host is with us now. Ms. Bernadine, if you would introduce yourself, tell them who you're with.
[00:19:56] Speaker C: Hi, I'm Bernadine Thornton. I'm one of the owners here at the Defeated Creek Marina and Campground.
[00:20:01] Speaker B: Okay. And you guys have. You've been here long enough now that you're natives, right?
[00:20:05] Speaker C: Right. We've been here for 12 years now.
[00:20:07] Speaker B: 12 years. That is. It seems like just yesterday.
[00:20:10] Speaker C: It really does.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: In fact, we were just talking about your little girl. She was in some of the first interviews we did, and now she's in, what, seventh grade?
[00:20:18] Speaker C: She's in seventh grade now at Smith County Middle School.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. That is a wonderful thing. I'm glad you're getting to raise your children here. I think now I'm prejudiced, but I think this is a great place for kids to grow up. I really do.
[00:20:31] Speaker C: It really is. Our kids have been really lucky with just, you know, their upbringing getting here to, you know, grow up on the lake and all this awesome nature out here, and just like a nice small community where it feels like everybody's family. It's fantastic.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, it is. And you guys have fit in really well over the last year. But let's. Let's talk about. I want to talk about two things. I want to talk about Creek View Cafe, and I want to talk about Defeated Creek Marina. So let's start out with a marina.
And I know that's Tom's thing mostly, but you can still talk about it.
Tell us. Give us the elevator speech about Defeated Creek Marina.
[00:21:07] Speaker C: Well, so, you know, we're a basic marina where, you know, we have boat rentals, obviously, ice cream. We've got some wildlife that you can feed down there on the docks.
I think this Marina's been here for. Since the 70s, right?
[00:21:21] Speaker B: 70, 69 or 70.
[00:21:23] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: And you got fuel and gas.
[00:21:25] Speaker C: Yep, we got gas dogs down there, boat slips that you rent, that we rent out yearly. You know, pontoon boats that we run out.
Sorry. Tom's much better at this than I am.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: Well, I know this is. This is not your side of it. I know. I see some boats that look almost like yachts back there that are parked so people can come through the lock and come up here and park their boat and stay for a while. Now, do you still do jet skis and kayaks and things like that or.
[00:21:55] Speaker C: We do not. It was the. The demand for that just kind of went down, so we stopped doing that and we just do, like, the fun boats with, like, the water slides and stuff like that.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: Now, what about the words escaping me? A houseboat.
[00:22:07] Speaker C: We do not have any houseboats for rents.
[00:22:08] Speaker B: Okay, all right, so. So there. But there. There are people that have them parked here.
[00:22:12] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:22:13] Speaker B: Okay. So you guys are basically a full service marina.
If somebody's got a boat and they want to park here, they can do that. Now, we're not going to get into fees and anything like that because that's Tom's.
[00:22:24] Speaker C: That's Tom's. And I don't. I don't know what those are, so.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. And of course, you're in a cove right here. It's pretty sheltered, so if you put a boat in here, it's safe.
[00:22:33] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:22:34] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. And, you know, we've got security cameras up all over the marina, so we make sure that nobody can come in and mess with your stuff and keep everybody safe.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: Okay. And then Defeated Creek Marina is right on the edge of the Defeated Creek Campground. And I believe, if I am told right, that's in the top five.
[00:22:52] Speaker C: It is.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Of the campgrounds that the corps have in the nation.
[00:22:55] Speaker C: It is. It is. It's one of the busiest campgrounds in the. In the country.
[00:22:59] Speaker B: And I. I maybe you know that the seasons better than I do. But they open.
[00:23:05] Speaker A: What.
[00:23:05] Speaker C: So they open typically around St. Patrick's Day is how we kind of kick off our season two. And then I think, think they closed the second week of November. It varies, I think, depending on what the course says. Honestly, I'm not quite sure on that.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: Yeah. But. But they're open several months of the year.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:23:23] Speaker B: And there's a lot of people. My. I can't remember now how many visits. It's up in the. An astounding figure of several tens of thousands of people that Come here every year.
[00:23:35] Speaker C: Someone told us once a million people a year come through that campground.
[00:23:38] Speaker B: I believe you're right on that, because I know this is an odd figure of the rest area up there on the interstate that comes by. That's over 3, 3 to 5 million, depending on the year and what's going on. So there's a lot of people that know about Smith county and a lot of people that stop and come in here.
As a matter of fact, when we were waiting to get in, a lady come up with an out of town. They tag and she popped out. And we said, well, the restaurant's closed right now. She said, well, we were wanting to buy a T shirt, so we sent them down to Tom at the store.
[00:24:11] Speaker C: We actually had people come in here.
It was last year in October, and they were from Germany and it was. And so we taught them it was great because there was college football was going on. So we showed them a little bit about American football and they had a great time.
[00:24:26] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. And a lot of people don't realize what you have here, but. Have I hid everything? The marina. You got a store down there?
[00:24:34] Speaker C: We do.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: You sell Cokes, ice cream, candy bars, Just about anything that a normal store. T shirts.
The store would have in it?
[00:24:42] Speaker C: Yep. And some fishing and like bait and tackle and stuff like that.
[00:24:46] Speaker B: Okay. All right, now let's segue back up. Well, no, we don't need to yet, because there's a lot of events that go on up here on the stage that you have. So we need to talk about that just a little bit.
You've got an event coming in September, I believe, don't you?
[00:25:00] Speaker C: We do. We have a flea market and craft fair September 5th, and there should be music up on the stage. I think it's Nettie and the Delta Boy, which they're fantastic.
So. And lots of fun for the kids. There's going to be a petting zoo. There's going to be bounce houses, and then, of course, shopping.
[00:25:17] Speaker B: Okay. And we. We need to make sure we advertise those because a lot of people don't realize that you've got that going on. Now, the people in the campground, of course, come, but this is open to folks that live here in the county as well.
[00:25:29] Speaker D: It is?
[00:25:30] Speaker C: Yes, it is. 10 to 4. Anytime we do an event, they'll typically be about 10, 10 to 4.
[00:25:34] Speaker B: Okay. And that's usually on Saturday's weekend.
[00:25:36] Speaker C: On a Saturday? Yep. Depending on weather. Now, sometimes we do. Like the last one we had, we had to cancel because the weatherman told us it was going to be pretty yucky out, so. But hopefully we'll have a good weather for this one.
[00:25:48] Speaker B: Okay. And. And I don't know the answer to this, so I'm asking, like, Fourth of July, do you have some fireworks or things like that?
[00:25:54] Speaker C: We do. We do 4th of July.
This our 12th year that we've done the shrimp boil and the fireworks show, and we had frog legs on stage, which I don't know if you're familiar with them, but they're a great band. And actually some of the local teachers are in the band, and they're fantastic. They bring a really great, fun crowd.
[00:26:14] Speaker B: Well, that is wonderful. And shrimp boil, that's very appealing. I think I would enjoy that next 4th of July.
The fair is going to be the week before, and it won't be open on 4th of July, so maybe I can come to defeated. That would be wonderful.
[00:26:32] Speaker C: We would love you. And our lady that does the shrimp oil now, she's a Mississippi native, so she makes fantastic shrimp oil. Like, if you want, you know, that Creole cooking, she's. She's doing it for.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
One of the fundraisers that we did with the church. And I'm Segwaying a little bit.
We did a crawfish bowl. And I had never really experienced that, and I found out. I really like that. Oh, yeah. And it is odd for a Tennessee hillbilly boy to realize that he. He likes crawfish.
It's. It's kind of. Well, that's different.
[00:27:05] Speaker C: Tom likes it and actually Presley does, too, so I've never personally tried it. Yeah, I'm not that brave.
[00:27:11] Speaker B: Hey, shrimp boil. That's going to be going over big. Fourth of July. Okay. And you. You do other things. Like, I think you're going to have a Christmas in July. And.
[00:27:20] Speaker C: Yes. So next year we are going to be doing a lot of festivals. They're going to be fun for the whole family. We've got a pickle festival plan. We've got a banana pudding festival planned, a cowboy festival, where we're going to have people out there teaching you how to line dance.
And. And then again, we have our haunted woods that are going to start happening in October. We're getting ready to start setting up for those this year, and that'll be, I think, like the seventh year for that.
And Frog Legs will actually be playing on October 26th is, I think, the date. And they're gonna be upstate up on stage doing a concert. And we're gonna have a costume concert contest and should Be a good time.
[00:27:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it. It sounds really wonderful. And now you said October 26th. Yes, so. So that's not gonna conflict with the other Halloween bashes that happen on the 31st.
[00:28:10] Speaker C: Well, that's great now. And I think that actually is when the campground will be doing their trick or treat, too. And that is a great event for families because there are, I'm not sure, but over 200 campsites, I think, over there. And so that means the kids can have a lot of candy, because everybody gives out candy, and we get. I couldn't even tell you, maybe like, 500 kids that come out for that.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah. That. That's not hard to believe, because Gordonville, they have their Halloween bash, and they estimated 5,000 people. People came to that.
[00:28:41] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:28:41] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. That's a amazing figure. But this is open to any kids in the county.
[00:28:46] Speaker C: It is, it is. And don't forget us, because what we do for that night is we let the haunted woods the kids can go through. It's not scary. The actors are there handing out candy just to give the littles, like, something, like, to say that they got to go through the woods too, you know, because they love listening to the big kids talk about, you know, so it's
[00:29:03] Speaker B: not that you're gonna make them cry or anything.
[00:29:06] Speaker C: No, nothing like that. They're just friendly, dressed up, you know, giving the kids candy, trying to get them, like, ready to do the big kids stuff when they're ready for it.
[00:29:14] Speaker B: Yeah. There you go. Well, that is wonderful. Well, it sounds like a lot of things are happening here at the marina. And out on the stage now. Let's talk about Creek View Cafe. I've had some really good meals here.
[00:29:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:26] Speaker C: Well, I think that we're most famous for right now is our pizza. Tom and I brought a gold medal winning recipe down from Pittsburgh that we just decided that we wanted to share with everybody here in Tennessee. And so right now, I think that's our number one seller. And, you know.
[00:29:42] Speaker B: Well. And you guys had experience with that because that you guys had a shop in Pittsburgh.
[00:29:46] Speaker C: We did. We did.
[00:29:48] Speaker B: Was doing pizza, right?
[00:29:49] Speaker C: Yep, yep. Tom, he was in the pizza business for, well, I think since he was 22 years old. So he makes a really good pie.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah. Well. And, you know, oddly enough, I've had other things here, but I've not had the pizza. And it's because when I come, there's something else that I really want more than that, you know, so I'm gonna have to try the pizza.
[00:30:10] Speaker C: Oh, well, it's. It's awesome. It was funny because when we actually started dating, I was pizza snob. I said, and I only ate my pizza from Pizza Hut. And now, well, I only ate Tom's pizza.
[00:30:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, there you go.
Well, you know, at a risk of being.
Well, I better be careful here, but chain pizza and homemade pizza are way different.
[00:30:36] Speaker C: Two completely different things. Yeah, we make our sauce and dough from scratch.
[00:30:40] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. And it's not shipped in or anything like that. So it's the real deal.
[00:30:46] Speaker C: Is the real deal.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, the Creek View Cafe. Now, I think you have enough seating here.
It looks to me like, I think 30, 40, 50.
[00:30:55] Speaker C: I think 60.
[00:30:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's 60 people can get in here. Of course, you got a full staff and you guys do the cooking. I think you do a lot of the cooking, don't you?
[00:31:03] Speaker C: I do most of the cooking. Yes. I am. The pizza maker just uses. I use Tom's recipes, but yep, I do most of the cooking here. You know, I've got a staff back there. Great kids that. We kind of got a whole new staff this year. Great kids are working here now and.
Well, we've always had a great staff, but, you know, everybody's doing a good job.
[00:31:23] Speaker B: And if you come in, you can sit at a table or you have a nice bar there that you can sit at, so. And. And I noticed the tv. So I guess you keep sports on.
[00:31:32] Speaker C: We do. We play all the ball games. We even do, like, the local school sports whenever we're able to get them on the tv.
And this right here is the most table in the whole. In the whole restaurant.
[00:31:44] Speaker B: Yeah, because you got the windows, the
[00:31:46] Speaker C: great view, and you can see the tv, see.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: See the water and everything and see the tv. So that makes sense. Well, Bernadine, I. I really think you got a great place here and I know I enjoy coming. So tell people if they wanted to make a reservation. Well, you don't do reservations.
[00:32:02] Speaker C: We don't do reservations. But if you have a large party that's coming in, we appreciate, like, if you give us a call ahead of time, just so we're prepared and ready, you know, get the tables ready for you.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: In other words, don't show up with 40 people.
[00:32:12] Speaker C: We're fine with that. We can. We can handle that, too. But if you give us a heads up, then we'll make sure that we can accommodate you and like, stick you in your own room.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: So. So if you got 40 people come ahead, give you a call. So you can get ready.
Yeah. And that, that is a wonderful idea because you could, you can handle them here. There's no doubt about it. You have been such a blessing to this because I remember what it looked like before you guys got here and you have really made this look wonderful.
[00:32:37] Speaker C: It was. Yeah, it was a bit of a. It was a bit of a. It was a project of love.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: Oh, and another thing, you know, we haven't mentioned you have cabins.
[00:32:45] Speaker C: We do have cabins. We have five cabins.
I think they all sleep six. There's a couple one bedroom ones and then a couple of them are studios, but they all sleep six and they overlook the water. They all but one have a back deck that you can sit out on and, you know, enjoy just the peaceful country setting.
[00:33:02] Speaker B: Yeah. If you want to come and relax and everything. And I haven't been in one of them in a while, but when I was touring, I saw. And they're really nice.
[00:33:11] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. We had just redone them all within the lesson few years here.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: Okay. So. So the things are really nice. So if you want a cabin rental, you can do that and come up here and experience a little piece because I know the deer graze on your property out here.
[00:33:25] Speaker C: There's a lot out there.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:27] Speaker C: And right now it's baby season. I don't know if you saw the babies everywhere, but there's a lot of them. We've had baby ducks and baby deer everywhere.
[00:33:35] Speaker B: Okay, well, that is wonderful. So if you want to relax, this would be a good place to come. If they got questions, how do they contact you guys or where do they go?
[00:33:43] Speaker C: So if you've got questions about boat rentals, cabins, slip rentals, then you would call Tom down at the, the marina with that number is 615-774-3131. And then if you wanted to come in and eat here at the restaurant and you know, bring a big party, that number here is 615-774-3935.
[00:34:01] Speaker B: Okay. And I'm going to have to come and try pizza.
[00:34:04] Speaker C: It's good.
[00:34:05] Speaker B: Okay. Oh, oh, oh. Hours. When are you.
[00:34:08] Speaker C: Oh, I'm so sorry. Yeah, yeah. So we are open Wednesday through Saturday 11 to 8, and then Sunday 11 to 3.
[00:34:15] Speaker B: Okay. So we know when to come and it's great food. So come by and see Bernardine.
[00:34:21] Speaker C: Thanks.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: Thank you. We hope you enjoyed our show this time. Before we wrap up, I want to take a few. A look at a few upcoming Hamptonies that's coming across Smith County, August, filled with a lot of community events.
Youth soccer registration is going on. The Defeated Creek Marina flea market and craft fair.
Family consumer science week activities through the UT extension is going on. And the Cumberland Valley Cruisers Saturday night cruise ends in Carthage. It starts in April and ends about October. And they meet whenever weather is permitting. And this is a kind of an open group. You don't have to sign up for it. You just kind of show up. It's a. Here's the way it was described to me. Gearheads talking about car and hot rods. We're also excited about a major milestone for downtown Carthage.
The beautifully restored, and I literally mean beautifully restored Walton Hotel is scheduled to open on September 1st. And that adds another remarkable destination to our historic downtown and the continuing momentum of revitalization that's been taking place throughout our community. And if you haven't had a chance to go there when it opens after September, it'll be a wonderful thing for you to do. These guys have done a wonderful job with that. And they're going to have. They've got a coffee shop there, rockabilly, of course. They're going to have the Walton Hotel with the restaurant.
They have an art gallery area. They're going to have the general store and then a bakery under that. So there's a lot of things happening just on that one corner. Plus, if you want to make a reservation to stay there, the reservations are open right now. You just go. It's Walton or HotelWalton.com. just look that up and you can look about getting reservations and getting it set up.
Then on Saturday, September 26, you need to make plans to attend the William Walton Harvest Festival. It's on the historic courthouse square in downtown Carthage. And you can see live music, crafts, food vendors, historical demonstrations and family activities and a celebration of the people and the heritage that helped shape spiritual Smith county missions. Free. And of course, everyone's welcome. We'd love to see you there. There's going to be a lot of good folks with a lot of good food that are going to want to see you come by. We're proud to see the continued growth and investment throughout Smith county, and we encourage everyone to support the local businesses and participate in the events that we've got that make our communities such a great place to live, work and visit.
So for the Smith County Chamber Corner, I'm Bill Woodard. Thanks for joining us. And we'll see you next time right here on the Smith County Chamber corner. May God bless.
[00:37:27] Speaker C: It.
