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 […]
By Mike Steely Re-enactors can add so much to a historic place and Martin’s Station Fort, within southwest Virginia’s Wilderness Road State Park, is no exception. My wife and I drove from Knoxville recently. I’d wanted to visit the fort for some time, having read about the history of Joseph Martin and the burning of […]
By Mike Steely Water towers around our nation can be unusual, either in shape or how they are painted. In Collinsville, Illinois, there’s a water tower in the shape of a ketchup bottle. Happy faces smile from water towers in several states and at least two states have tea pot water towers. Rochester, Minnesota, has […]
By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Years ago, before the automobile, many bridges in our area were covered to protect them from the elements. Few of those continue to exist but there are some here and there that are still in use. It’s interesting to visit a covered bridge to see how our forefathers constructed […]
By Mike Steely Lots of folks in our state are in search of their roots and many often find their ancestors were basically Scots-Irish with a touch of Northern Europe mixed in. Some find Native American or other races in the mix. Yet, in the founding and early days of our state there were places […]
By Mike Steely I don’t fish very often, not as much as I’d like to. I’ve fished deep sea, from ocean beaches and piers, with my kids and wife or by myself, and caught just about every variety of fish. Nowadays I fish occasionally and usually from the banks of the Tennessee River or in […]
By Mike Steely East Tennessee has numerous Native American mounds including in and around Knox County but nothing in the state compares to Pinson Mounds in West Tennessee’s Madison County. Pinson Mounds State Archeological Park has the second highest Native American mound in the nation. The 72-foot tall Saul’s Mound was discovered in 1820 during […]
By Mike Steely I’ve covered thousands of stories in my many years as a reporter. Some I never wrote about because the facts were too unbelievable. I’d like to share a few with you. The Bootlegger Winked at Me I got a call one afternoon that a raid on a local bootlegger was going […]
By Mike Steely Sometimes you just need to take a break from home and work and get away. My wife, Lettie, and I have been working to restore a little camper and have been cooped up in and around our house for weeks. With government public meetings starting up again I get out now and […]
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