By Mike Steely Taking a drive to Tellico Village on an outing puts you in a section of Loudon County where many fine houses, boat docks, golf courses and clubhouses now exist. But more than 200 years ago something else went on there. The tragedy of Coyatee is little known but note-worthy. A small band […]
By Mike Steely I’m old enough and have been reporting long enough to have interviewed Colonel Harland Sanders and lived, as a child, close enough to his original Sander’s Cafe to know his story. Schooled in Kentucky for 10 years, how could I not know about Col. Sanders? It’s like knowing that the cardinal is […]
By Mike Steely You’ve probably driven Interstate 75 north across the mountains into Kentucky. It’s a beautiful drive but busy with trucks and cars. There’s another way to cross the state line along Highway 25W from Caryville to Jellico and on into the Blue Grass State. You’ve seen the Cumberland and Pine Mountain ridges […]
By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com I was born the day after Christmas in 1946, seventy-five years ago. I’m one of the first Baby Boomers and find myself now as a husband, father and grandfather. I met my wife in high school and she and I have moved here and there around the nation as […]
By Mike Steely It’s a great time to get out in the cool weather and take the family for a ride. There are a lot of interesting places to see within a few miles of Knoxville. Old Washington in Rhea County was a small community that was the county seat. Judge David Campbell, a relative […]
By Mike Steely You don’t often think of those small outlying communities but several played an important part in our Civil War era. Before railroads and the creation of the TVA lakes, our area was a much different place. If you’d like to take a nearby trip and drive through history then Highway 333 is […]
By Mike Steely Most people know that Kentucky and Illinois are “Lincoln states,” both honoring the Civil War president with his birthplace, family home locations, and Lincoln’s grave, office and last home site in Springfield. Did you know that East Tennessee also honors Lincoln? Earlier this month, Harrogate was the site of the grand […]
By Mike Steely I’ll bet that if you walk outside at night and look up at the sky you’ll see a few stars. Our lights in the city and much of our region make it hard to see many stars. But if you’d like to see a really full view of the night sky […]
By Mike Steely Unless you’re older than 60 you probably don’t know who Carl Perkins was. The early country-rock artist died in 1998 and was an inspiration to many people including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers and many, many rock and roll artists. You probably know of Elvis’ “Blue Suede Shoes” but you […]
By Mike Steely When my wife and I heard the bridge at Bald River Falls would be replaced later this year we decided to take the drive to Tellico Plains and visit the roadside cascade. We’ve been there a couple of other times and know the area pretty well. We set out on a Saturday […]
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