- This time on Tennessee Crossroads, Tammi Arender goes to a Nashville museum that honors the top pickers of Music City and beyond, Ken Wilshire goes to a Cleveland home of family-owned fine dining, Rob Wilds meets the middle Tennessee artist whose work is literally on the rocks, then we'll take off to Lebanon for a fly-in full of vintage airplanes.

Well, sure glad you landed here for this edition of Tennessee Crossroads, I'm Joe Elmore, welcome again.

(soft jazzy music) Music may be the closest thing we have to a time machine.

Just think about it, a few notes of a popular song and you're transported back to a special place in your life.

Well, chances are it took a host of talented players to make that musical magic, and there's a hall of fame that pays homage to them.

Tammi Arender takes us there.

(honky tonk piano music) - [Tammi] Here at the Musicians Hall of Fame, it's not necessarily about the journey from the discovery of sound waves to digital downloads, it's about the people who played the pianos, picked the guitars and other instruments that were played on the soundtrack of our lives.

- I think one think that people will take from here is the simplicity of, that you know you don't have to have a million dollars worth of electronics to write a song.

You can still write it on paper or in your head, and you don't have to have a $2 million studio.

These songs were all recorded in studios with materials that you could buy in a hardware store.

- [Tammi] Joe Chambers is the creator of the Musicians Hall of Fame.

Joe is a talented songwriter having written several chart-topping tunes, including "Somebody Lied," the first number one song for Ricky Van Shelton in 1987.

Chambers and his co-writers started that song on this piano.

It originally belonged to CBS Records where Billy Sherrill tickled these ivories to co-write such hits as "Stand by your Man," for Tammy Wynette, and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" for Charlie Rich, among others.

Chambers was given the piano when Sherrill upgraded to a baby grand.

- When I took this home, my wife said, "Oh, we've gotta refinish that."

I went, "No, no, no, no."

This is maybe Charlie Rich, I know Billy Sherrill and Glen Sutton who were co-writers on so many of the songs.

They were on this piano, but just about anybody that came into Billy's office, and everybody smoked pretty much back then.

They just lay the cigarettes up here 'til they burned out.

- [Tammi] Absolutely, that's the character.

- Well, there's probably a gallon of scotch in here too, somewhere.

(Tammi laughing) - [Tammi] The Hall is filled with instruments that made musical magic.

Those songs that have permanently taken up residence in our memory.

- [Joe] People come through here, and, "I just relived my whole life."

- [Tammi] There are also artifacts of the artists' life like a cast of Roy Orbison, when he broke his foot in a motorcycle accident, or his signature sunglasses, or this hand-scratched lyric sheets of "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," which won Steve Wariner and his co-writer a Grammy, or the actual walls of the American studio in Memphis where Elvis recorded "Suspicious Minds" and "Kentucky Rain."

Chambers says the Memphis boys who played on so many of the monster hits of the '60s and '70s have come to visit.

- [Joe] The guys were here, and they walked around the corner, and they about fell out.

They were speechless, actually.

And that was one of the best times I've ever had was seeing their reaction to seeing the place they had created so much great music, in some form still existed.

Something they thought was long gone.

- [Tammi] One thing that was almost long gone was this storied upright bass belonging to Lightning Chance used on Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe," Everly Brothers "All I Have to Do Is Dream," and Hank Williams Sr. "Your Cheating Heart," just to name a few.

During the flood of 2010, the bass was destroyed, decimated, but Williams Fine Violins miraculously restored it, even replacing the map that helped hold the homemade drum head on its left shoulder in place.

- [Joe] It's still attached with the same, you can look in the picture, they took a 1957 Texaco road map, I know because I took the time to unfold it, and fold it up and made a wedge out of it to keep it tight along with they took the tension bar off of a screen door and cut it and bent the ends and used the little tension rod in the middle to squeeze the drum head to the bass.

That's how they attached it, that's that.

(guitar picking) - Anyway, that's what I used to do when I was a kid, and then I used to try to imitate Chet.

- [Tammi] Duane Eddy, the legendary guitarist is honored here.

Best known for "Rebel Rouser," which he wrote in 1958.

It became part of the iconic movie "Forrest Gump" released in 1994.

Eddy says he's humbled Joe included him in such an elite group of music makers.

- When I came through and saw he had it started, and I saw his first version if it, and I realized, "I know all those guys," and it said what records they were on, and like you say, you get chill bumps.

- [Tammi] Although the Hall is located in downtown Nashville on the bottom floor of the Municipal Auditorium, it encompasses every genre and geographical area of music.

- [Joe] We represent Motown to Muscle Shoals to Los Angeles and New York, and, of course, Nashville, and everything in between.

- [Tammi] For Jay McDowell, the upright bass player of the Grammy nominated group BR549, the Hall is about honoring the unsung heroes of an industry that touches us all, and in this day of digital everything, it's purpose is also about sheltering the tangible tools of tunesmiths from years ago.

- We have to preserve the history of it and teach the kids coming through the process of the recording and the way it's evolved, but it is a little sad at times that these instruments are behind glass.

They should be making music.

- Very good point.

Thanks a lot, Tammi.

Opening a new restaurant can be rough and risky.

There's the financial investment, the long hours, the hard work, but if you're young and passionate about your dream you can override that fear of failure.

Ken Wilshire says that was the case with a man who opened the first fine dining restaurant in downtown Cleveland.

(jazzy piano music) - [Ken] Historic downtown Cleveland, Tennessee is becoming the center of activity again for this growing community.

It's also what attracted hometown restaurateur Shannon Ritzhaupt, who was looking for a place to begin living his dreams.

(jazzy piano music) So when Shannon came to downtown Cleveland looking for a place to open his restaurant, it was right here where downtown was under renovation right across the street from Court Square.

- Great to see ya!

How was everything tonight?

- [Ken] And when Shannon opened Cafe Roma in 2003, it became the first fine dining experience in the developing downtown area, and it's led the way for other businesses to move back.

- I came into downtown Cleveland, and it's historic downtown.

We're in an old building, and we're really trying to reclaim downtown with other retail, other restaurants, so I think it was just kind of a perfect situation for myself to come into downtown, and people were ready and they were waiting for it, and I couldn't be happier.

Kathy, are you ready for that penne con.

- [Ken] Actually, Shannon had planned on a much different career path when he began at UT Chattanooga with a degree in Biology.

He went on to graduate school in Colorado, and this is where he acquired a taste for Italy.

- It just wasn't really the right fit for me as far as the degree program I was in, and I'd always worked through restaurants, and I started working for a gentleman from Naples, Italy, and he kinda took me under his wing.

He kinda taught me everything I needed to know, so to speak, about Italian food, Italian wine.

The reason I'm here today is there's a lot to do with him.

Josh, are you ready for those tomatoes?

- Yes sir.

- [Ken] With all his training, touring, and passion for Italian food, Shannon prepares some of the finest cuisine this side of the Smoky Mountains at Cafe Roma.

- We still are an Italian restaurant by name, and we have very traditional Italian dishes on the menu, like a lasagna or a penne bolognese or a bruschetta, to name a few, but over the years, our food has kinda transformed into we're bringing a lot more southern, maybe flair, or southern ingredients into our menu.

Like on the menu right now, we have fried green tomatoes, we use pickled red onions, we have a creamed corn as a vegetable right now on the menu.

So those are not Italian ingredients by any stretch of the imagination so, it's Italian, and we just like to bring in some modern day southern ingredients as well.

- [Ken] Actually, Cafe Roma offers two unique menus, one for lunch and one for dinner.

- [Shannon] Lunch is more casual, so we try and get you in here pretty quick.

I know lunch you have a set amount of time for your lunch hour, so, it's a lot of sandwiches and pastas at lunch time, very casual, priced extremely well to get you in and out as quick as possible.

Dinner then, becomes more of a white tablecloth type atmosphere with candlelight and a totally different menu.

The lunch menu and dinner menu are totally separate and different, so, you can come for lunch one day and that night you could come for dinner and you're looking at two different menus, two different restaurants almost.

- [Ken] Shannon and his staff even create two different menus for spring and summer and one for fall and winter, so guests will find a fresh seasonal touch to every meal.

- [Shannon] Everything is made in house.

We bake our own foccacia bread and baguettes for sandwiches.

It's the bread we serve along with pastas at dinner time.

We make our own desserts in house, sauces, basically anything and everything.

It's not a bag and a box type of thing here.

We keep it fresh, and we make everything in house.

(Italian music) - [Ken] With its exposed brick walls and colorful artwork, Cafe Roma is not only a warm, cozy casual dining experience, it's also a gathering spot for locals and visitors as well.

- [Shannon] They're always appreciative that we're here, and they love our atmosphere, our staff, our food.

We've been very lucky to have a very stable staff.

My manager and chef have been with me for 10 years now.

Our customers know our staff, our staff knows our customers, so, if it's that special cocktail they need or that special modification on their entree, we already know it before they sit down.

With those two things, and plus just a very local group of people that frequent the restaurant, definitely those three items are our keys to success.

- [Ken] Well, there is another success factor Shannon never takes for granted.

- [Shannon] This is my hometown, my family, my wife's family is here.

We have two young boys, Jackson and Anderson, and my wife Christy, I mean, could not have done this without her help.

Even though she's not involved day to day, she is involved without a doubt.

So, without her, none of this would be possible, and hopefully there's a legacy here that my sons can kinda grow up and a have a restaurant to call their own at some point, but yeah, we're very grateful.

- [Ken] While Shannon never pursued his degree in Biology, he has scientifically proven life can be given to a dying part of the city.

He simply followed his dreams and created a destination where all of us can enjoy a genuine taste of Italy right in the middle of Cleveland, Tennessee.

(Italian music) - Thanks, Ken, now this would be a good time to mention our website tennesseecrossroads.org, where you can find all the details about our stories and even revisit some past ones.

A rock is just a rock, right?

Well, in the hands of a guy named Johnny Padgett, it can be a canvas for an inspirational message.

That's what Rob Wilds discovered when he met up with the middle Tennessee artist who just has a thing for rocks.

- I'm Johnny Padgett, and I'm not in the rock business.

You would think I should be because I've got rocks in my head, but-- - [Woman] (laughing) You said that!

- I know it, I know it.

- [Rob] Johnny is only kidding, but rocks are on his mind a lot of the time, like tonight, as he visits the Morning Point Assisted Living Center in Brentwood.

His mission includes rocks, of course.

- [Johnny] You want to do it?

- I can't see well enough, I'd spoil it.

- All right.

- That's why I haven't done any of this myself really.

- Okay, let's draw a cross.

- [Woman] That's nice, that's very nice.

- Let it dry, okay?

- [Rob] Helping the residents here is a new experience for him.

- It makes 'em feel like they're accomplishing something while they want to keep it, of course.

- [Rob] What does it do for you to go over there?

- [Johnny] Tickle me to death to see the smile on their faces, and the fact that they were enjoying it.

- [Rob] He's seen that look a lot.

Thousands of times, creating art out of something that really began as a way of collecting souvenirs.

- [Johnny] We'd go on trips and I would take rocks from wherever I went, I've been all over the world, and I would bring a rock back, and I would draw on that rock where I had been, like The Great Wall of China, or wherever, I would write that on there.

That's kinda what got me started doing that.

- [Rob] Now, Johnny is a successful businessman in Nashville, he owns Modern Marine, and a combination of his work and his strong Christian faith changed Johnny's idea about rocks.

- You obviously like hanging out with fishermen and boat owners, and Jesus did that too.

- That's right.

- Hung out on the water with boaters and fishermen and stuff, special place for that.

- [Johnny] And you know, in 2010, which is what got my rock thing going, I went to the Sea of Galilee-- - [Rob] Oh did you?

- [Johnny] and my wife and I and some friends could ride across the Sea of Galilee, and we did in a Chaparral boat, one just like that over there, and we stopped out in the middle, I walked back to the back with my wife, and I said, "Let's try it."

So I tried to walk on the water, and it did not work.

(Rob laughing) I do not have that much faith.

- I'm sure your wife coulda told ya.

(Johnny laughing) "This is not gonna work for you."

- You're right.

(both laughing) - [Rob] It was when Johnny came back from a trip to Israel, bringing rocks to his friends that the idea to draw and paint on them came to him to mark occasions, joyous and sorrowful.

- [Johnny] If I can bring joy to that person, then I feel like I've accomplished something, and you can see it on their face, and they keep 'em.

They don't throw 'em away, they keep 'em.

Flowers, if you give flowers at a funeral, they dry up, they fade away.

They keep the rock.

If I can touch someone by saying the right thing or by leaving a message about Jesus or whatever it might be, then I've done some good to that person, and I just feel like they get something out of it, and I know I do.

- [Rob] Johnny has painted rocks for funerals, weddings, even vacation Bible school.

- [Johnny] I got involved in vacation Bible school, and I did four or five hundred rocks each time they had that since 2010, and the kids seem to like 'em, and I've made 'em different, I made 'em all something they would cherish when they go to put it in their room.

- [Rob] Since 2010, Johnny estimates he's painted more than 5,000 rocks.

- Every rock is just like an individual.

All rocks are different.

There is no question.

I've never seen any two rocks look alike.

I can come in and look at about 10 rocks, and one will just jump out at me.

That's the one I need for that person.

Again, they're like people, they're all different, but I guess that's the fun of doing it because each one is a challenge, it's different.

- [Rob] Every rock found, cleaned, prepared, and decorated all at no cost, of course, because Johnny Padgett sees these rocks as part of his service, a ministry really.

- [Johnny] I have not doubt that anyone who has artistic ability at all could do what I do.

What is the pivotable point is that desire to create something that demonstrates love to those around you by taking the time to pick up the rocks, to clean 'em, to do it, it's a little process, but it's a fun process, and after I've worked all day at the store, coming home doing this, it's fun.

And most of all, thinking of things meaningful to each person that I'm doing 'em for, whether it be for happy times or for sad times, to make that person feel better for what they've received from my heart, not just from my hand, but I never thought of myself as an artist.

I just like to draw.

- [Rob] Works of art, works from the heart, works meant to permanently remind and comfort those who receive it.

- Thank you.

- [Woman] Thank you so much, sir.

- [Johnny] You're welcome.

- Finally, here's what happens when you gather a bunch of vintage aircraft along with their pilot owners and invite the public in for tours.

Well, the event was a fly-in at Lebanon's airport, and it was a living history lesson in American aviation.

(airplane engine) (trumpet music) ♪ Come fly with me ♪ Let's fly, let's fly away - [Joe] Man was enthralled with the idea of flying long before the Wright Brothers first flight.

♪ Come on and fly with me ♪ Let's fly, let's fly away And more than 100 years later, we're still fascinated with the concept of traveling high above the ground to faraway destinations.

♪ Come on fly with me ♪ Let's take off in the blue (airplane engine sound) Recently, a group of unique aviators convened for what they call a fly-in.

These volunteer pilots flew their vintage planes to the Lebanon airport so visitors could drop by, examine their flying machines, and, in some cases, even enjoy a ride.

Many of the planes date back to World War II, including this B-17 Bomber.

- This is a B-17 Bomber, a B-17G.

During the war, (mumbling) the icon out of England and the European theater, they had thousands of 'em a day en route from England of course to Germany, bombing Germany.

Out of the 12,731 built, there's only about 11 left flying in the world.

- [Joe] The Yankee Lady is part of the Yankee Air Museum Fleet.

It's all volunteer organization based out of Michigan dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of World War II aircraft.

We still get a lot of veterans come out every air show, we're out on the circuit every weekend some place in the country.

We hear some tremendous stories, of course, they're all 83, 84 years old, and I've had some come out and touch the airplane and walk away crying, some that will not get on the airplane, if you do finally get 'em to get on the airplane and take a ride, they come off smiling, it's like they lost a 200 pound monkey on their back they didn't know they had evidently.

Their last experience was probably a bad one.

Out of the 12,000 some airplanes built, I've heard about 4,000 were lost in combat and/or accidents.

- [Joe] Duncan Ensen's friends surprised him with a flight in this historic war bird.

(airplane engine revving) Duncan trained as a radio operator and right waist gunner toward the end of the war and was on his way overseas just as the war ended.

He considers himself one lucky man.

- There were a lot who weren't lucky.

My army career wasn't really all that bad.

It's something you don't want to do every day, but I'll always remember it, I wouldn't do it again for a million dollars, and I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience.

- [Joe] An event like this takes a lot of planning, organization, and of course, volunteers.

The younger volunteers are out to prove that airplanes are good for more than just getting you from one place to another.

- Obviously, we've got a lot of history here.

This is flying history, instead of what you see in a museum or read in a book.

If you're anything like me, I learn history a whole lot better seeing, smelling, tasting, touching.

All of these guys out here, they've come in on their own dollar, it's a volunteer deal, just because they're all in the same attitude that I am as far as, we're just kinda stewards of these airplanes, and we try to maintain 'em and keep 'em flying for future generations.

(airplane engine) - [Joe] John Laudermill made a short hop from Ashland City to share his 1941 N3N.

Now, when you think of a bi-plane, you might think crop duster or air show stunt plane.

(airplane engine sounds) This was actually a military plane that World War II pilots used to begin their aviation careers.

- That was strictly a trainer.

That took farm boys, plow boys, and they put 'em in there and that was nicknamed either the "Yellow Canary" or the "Yellow Peril" because a naval aviator was in peril of not getting his wings if he couldn't pass the final test in that.

- [Joe] Pilots can be passionate about their aircraft, and like John, they can tell you the complete, almost 70 year history of their planes.

- [John] This plane started off in Pensacola, Florida.

- A gentleman had found it in a warehouse.

- This particular one is one of the last ones ever built.

It was built two weeks before the end of the war in 1945.

- During World War II, you used to taxi up, the student in the front would hop out, the new student would get in, and they'd stay in these things hour after hour training the new pilots.

- Completely restored it to new condition as you see it today, I've added some things to it.

- Spent nine years restoring it.

- I got it in Clearwater, Florida, and it took us 10 hours just to get to Shelbyville.

(laughing) I was ready to get out.

- [Joe] Yeah, not too many creature comforts in a bi-plane.

Today, we think of flying as a means to an end.

Airplanes are a means of getting us to far away destinations, be it for pleasure or business, unlike these retired military aircraft that had a specific purpose during war time.

The hobbyists who maintain them enjoy sharing them with others and entertaining themselves at the same time.

Michael Kennedy, a retired Air Force fighter pilot brought his BT-13, a World War II trainer.

- It's a pleasure with me to be able to share this because there are so few of these that when you see them on the ground, it's one thing, but when you actually can hear them in the air, airplanes are not a steady thing.

You can have 'em in a museum, but airplanes need to be heard and seen in their element, and that's in flight, and that's one of the reasons I'm doing this 'cause I just love doing it.

(airplane engine) (jazzy music) - [Joe] Well, after our rookie crews flied around Nashville in the B-17, it was time for a photograph of themselves, and the esteemed war bird.

One that's reminiscent of pictures you've seen from the war days.

For a good reason, our bunch was a little more relaxed than the original crew.

(Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me" playing) Well, that about does it for this week's Tennessee Crossroads.

I hope you had a good time, and please join us next week.

That's when we take you to historic Rugby for a getaway retreat into Tennessee's past, then we go to Primm Springs with Ken Wilshire where an annual sweet tradition takes place.

Then Rob Wilds is in Dunlap for some fine family farm dining.

Then it's off to Franklin with Tammi Arender to meet a cowboy turned leather artist.

That's all on the next Tennessee Crossroads, we'll see you then.

(soft jazzy music) - Hi, I'm Joe Elmore.

Where's Tennessee Crossroads taking you next time?

To historic Rugby for a getaway retreat into Tennessee's past, to Primm Springs for an annual sweet tradition, to Dunlap for some fine family farm dining, and to Franklin to meet a cowboy turned leather artist.

The next Tennessee Crossroads, join us.

(soft jazzy music)