“I just wish they would see it like I can remember it…”
Mildred Bruton, born Mint Spring, Tennessee, Between the Rivers
Connecting People & Place is a 13-part radio series that celebrates the rich heritage of the people who lived on the peninsula between the Cumberland and the Tennessee Rivers from its earliest settlement until the late 1960’s, when the Tennessee Valley Authority displaced the last residents to create a national recreation area, Land Between The Lakes. The series features simple stories of everyday life, including: home remedies, hog killings, pie suppers and school days. Complex tales about the impact of displacement on families that lived between the Rivers since the Revolutionary War are shared, especially the devastating effect of unwilling relocation on the elderly. Memorable events like the annual arrival of the showboat are recalled, along with once-in-a-lifetime occurrences such as the day the boys left Tharp, Tennessee, to serve in World War I. Many of the interviewees are in their 70’s, 80’s, and some even in their 90’s. Their voices are still enriched with the vitality of youth, when they tell about the old days and their cherished memories of life Between the Rivers.
Land Between The Lakes Artist in Residence, Constance Alexander, writes, edits, and hosts the series. WKMS-FM provides technical support and assistance. The series is broadcast on WKMS at 91.3 in Murray and 92.1 in Paducah. Each segment is a half-hour.
Lesson Plans Now Available:
Click here to download A Teacher's Guide to Multi-Disciplinary Activities (.doc)
Click here to download Disconnecting People & Place: The Impact of Technology on Between the Rivers and Teaching Strategies (.doc)
Segment #1 (airdate August 4, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 7, 2011 9:00am)
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The series begins by exploring the history of the peninsula between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, all the way back to the Ice Age, when much of this area was covered by an inland ocean. Interviews with prominent geologists and archaeologists from the region relate what little is known about the history of the land and its earliest inhabitants. Also featured are interviews with three former Between the Rivers residents. Mildred Philips Bruton, Oneida Ahart Boyd and Verona Smith Grogan provide background about what it was like living Between the Rivers before bridges and dams were built.
Segment #2 (airdate August 4, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 7, 2011 9:00am)
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Historian Betty Joe Wallace, author of Between the Rivers, talks about the Scots-Irish heritage of 19th century Between the Rivers settlers. She examines the fierce independence of the people, and discusses the making of moonshine whiskey as part of that heritage. Also featured is a reunion of three BTR residents – Mildred Bruton, Bea Quinn Adamson Kennett, and Maretta Quinn Knott. When Stewart County ran out of funds to pay for a bus from BTR to Dover during the 1937-38 school year, the three got together with two others and rented a room in town so they could finish high school. They tell tales of their teenage escapades, including pie suppers and cake walks.
Segment #3 (airdate August 11, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 14, 2011 9:00am)
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Mavis Lilly Stone, of Pleasant Hill, recalls the 1937 flood and how it affected her family’s life Between the Rivers. This segment also includes reminiscences of the Golden Pond community, with former residents Jim Wallace, Butch McElwaine, Diane Knight Banister, and Barbara Fulks Stallons. Wallace, who is now a superintendent of Schools in Trigg County, recalls school days in Golden Pond. Cousins McElwaine, Banister and Stallons reminisce about the closeness of families and the part that music played in social life Between the Rivers.
Segment #4 (airdate August 11, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 14, 2011 9:00am)
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Includes memories of Golden Pond’s bustling downtown from the 1930’s to the early 1960’s. Interviews with former residents Evelyn Chilcutt, Mary Jean Turner, and Jim Wallace. Mrs. Chilcutt’s father owned a general store, and she remembers late night visits by mysterious customers buying sugar for their moonshine activities. Mrs. Turner and Jim Wallace remember The Sunset Inn, a popular eatery in downtown Golden Pond. Donnie Holland recalls the impact of displacement on families in the 1960’s, and how residents of BTR were stereotyped as “hillbillies” in the media.
Segment #5 (airdate August 18, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 21, 2011 9:00am)
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Dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Hosford, former BTR resident who died a month after she was interviewed for this oral history project. Mrs. Hosford recalls her father, Dr. Ryan, and his skills as a farmer and a physician. Mavis Lilly Scott Stone remembers growing up in Laura Furnace and Pleasant Hill, KY, and talks about her grandmother, Polina, who was a mid-wife BTR.
Segment #6 (airdate August 18, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 21, 2011 9:00am)
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Features 90-year-old Cleo Grogan, the first woman to swim across the Cumberland River. Also, Clyde Lyon, former newspaper editor and author of A Country Boy From Owl Hollow, shares anecdotes about life BTR, including the first radio and the first car.
Segment #7 (airdate August 25, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 25, 2011 9:00am)
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Opens with poet T. Crunk, Hopkinsville poet and winner of Yale Series of Young Poets Award, reading excerpts from unpublished manuscript of BTR poems. Also features Jerald Turner, former BTR resident, who takes the audience on guided tour of Turkey Bay and the area where he grew up BTR, which is now a playground and campground for Off-Highway Vehicles. Mary Harriet Vinson Dill, Dover, TN (88 years old) tells stories about her grandfathers, one a Bohemian tanner and the other a Civil War veteran.
Segment #8 (airdate August 25, 2011 12:00pm; repeat August 25, 2011 9:00am)
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Features 93-year-old Vara Sykes Wallace, whose father was a prominent BTR politician and entrepreneur in Tennessee. Vara recalls the showboats coming to Sykes Landing; the day all the boys in Tharp were shipped off to World War I; and the many treasures one could find in the general store her father owned. Maggie Carter, editor of the new “Between the Rivers” magazine discusses the publication’s first issue.
Segment #9 (airdate September 1, 2011 12:00pm; repeat September 4, 2011 9:00am)
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Contrasts “Summer Between the Rivers” in the 1850’s and 1950’s. Includes interviews with interpreters at Homeplace – 1850, a living history site at Land Between The Lakes. They demonstrate how a farm family in 1850 would cook, garden and quilt in the heat of summer; and also discuss typical family summer activities. Marilyn Cassity, former Golden Pond resident, recalls summers in the 1950’s BTR. She also relates stories of her grandfather, who had to move twice because of the right of eminent domain.
Segment #10 (airdate September 1, 2011 12:00pm; repeat September 4, 2011 9:00am)
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Features the Rev. William Miller, who officiated at the “burial” of Golden Pond in 1967, when the town was laid to rest forever. Also includes an account of the Golden Pond fire of 1936, which destroyed much of downtown. Lucille Wofford, Mint Spring, Tennessee, 86 years old, tells more stories of Dr. Ryan and the old days Between the Rivers.
Segment #11 (airdate September 8, 2011 12:00pm; repeat September 11, 2011 9:00am)
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Lorene Turner Higgins and her husband, Lawton, were the “Bonnie and Clyde of Golden Pond,” she says. Lawton was a moonshiner, and Lorene talks about the impact his vocation had on their family. She also recounts the pain of watching her house being bulldozed and buried after TVA took over the entire length of BTR to create Land Between The Lakes.
Segment #12 (airdate September 8, 2011 12:00pm; repeat September 11, 2011 9:00am)
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Songwriter Chris Wallace lost his mother in childbirth and then, 8 years later, lost the only home he knew when his family was forced to relocate from Golden Pond in 1967. Through his songs, Chris expresses a child’s point of view about dislocation. To him, TVA was an enemy; he wanted to wage war against the government. Chris also discusses the future of LBL, and why it is important for the heritage of the people and the communities to live on.
Segment #13 & wrap-up with Constance Alexander (airdate September 15, 2011 12:00pm; repeat September 18, 2011 9:00am)
Segment 13:
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Wrap-Up and Reflections:
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Margaret Bleidt Newby and Thuston Duncan, both former BTR residents in their 70’s, talk about oral history and why it is important for families to make sure their stories are passed on to future generations. Also featured is a 1977 tape recording of Thuston Duncan’s mother, Rosa Kuhn Duncan, at 84. He came to America, found in the Civil War, and then settled BTR as a farmer.
For more information about this unique oral history project, contact Land Between The Lakes Association, Golden Pond, KY. (1-800-455-5897)
 About Constance Alexander
Constance Alexander is Faculty Scholar/Arts & Humanities at Murray State University’s Teacher Quality Institute. Kilroy Was Here, her newest book of poems, tells stories of one Kentucky family and the impact of World War II on each family member. Her essay collection, Who Needs June Cleaver? is a compilation of works adapted from here award winning newspaper column, Main Street. Her books are available at the Murray State University Bookstore or through Amazon.com. |
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