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- Wish You Were Here.

Produced under an agreement with the Upper Cumberland Development District and made possible in part through support from the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration - In the heart of Tennessee, there's a little slice of heaven you just gotta see.

(serene music) Oh man, Wish You Were Here.

- Hi, I'm Katelyn Steakley.

Welcome to Wish You Were Here.

Are you ready to explore more of Tennessee's Upper Cumberland?

Before we meet up with our Wish You Were Here field correspondents Matt and Shan, let's have a little adventure of our own right here in Red Boiling Springs.

One of the city's oldest and most beautiful landmarks, the Thomas House Hotel.

(relaxing music) I'm here today with the co-owner of the Thomas House Hotel, Cherry Cole.

Cherry, thank you so much for having us today.

- Oh Caitlin, we're so glad you're here.

Welcome to the Thomas House.

- So it's my understanding that travelers would come to the Thomas House from all over to experience the healing properties of the mineral springs here at the hotel.

Is that accurate?

- That is very accurate.

At the turn of the century, in about the 1920s was probably the heyday.

This place at that time was known as the Floyd Hotel and it had three outdoor bath houses, an outdoor bowling alley, a 100 room annex on the hill and a nine-hole golf course.

And this was not the largest complex in Red Boiling Springs at that time.

- Wow.

We're standing in a truly amazing piece of Upper Cumberland history.

What are some experiences guests can look forward to when they visit the Thomas House Hotel?

- Well, we have 15 different guest rooms.

Every room is decorated differently.

As you can tell, we all love antiques and what you see came out of our homes when we came here from Nashville but you'll come, we'll have dinner.

My brother-in-law David is an amazing chef and he's pretty well known for his food, but you can have dinner, you can wander the property.

We do dinner theater shows.

You can come and have dinner and have a show.

And then you can either spend the night or you can just come for dinner and the show.

(relaxing music) - Now it's my understanding that there may be some paranormal tours as well.

- There are it's, it's so funny to us.

We heard stories about this place before we bought it.

And you're just like, yeah, okay.

And then, you know, things start happening on a small basis and you're still like, no.

And so as a family, we made the decision not to talk about it for a long time because we thought it would put us outta business.

So interestingly enough, that's probably a good 90% of our business now.

Seems like after our fire in 2001 the paranormal activity really escalated.

And those of us who live here have all experienced different things - On that note, are there any scary stories or experiences that you can share with us?

- Yes.

You know, it's not unusual for us to hear someone walking over our head with really heavy footsteps and you'll go investigate and there's no one there.

That's a little unsettling.

Personal experiences, I mean, there's a whistler that everybody hears.

The most famous little ghost is Sarah.

People come from far and wide to maybe see her.

They bring her toys and and put it in a little room for her.

My husband Darrell had a recurring dream about a little girl when we came here.

And so that's when we started asking questions.

So the story is her family brought her here for the healing properties of the water which is why people came to Red Boiling Springs, but it was unsuccessful and she died here.

For me, I actually was cleaning the balcony one afternoon and looked into our museum rooms that are upstairs.

And I saw a woman.

I didn't think it was a ghost.

I saw a woman bending over to pick up a toy.

And then I was looking at her and then she's disappeared.

So I did not expect to see that.

And certainly was surprised by that.

- After hearing all of those stories, I'm really excited to see more of the Thomas House Hotel.

Thank you so much, Cherry, for having us.

- You're very welcome.

We're glad you're here.

(lilting music) (spooky music) - Take a step back in time with us into the charming days of Mayberry.

I'm excited to hear what our field correspondent Matt Beal learned when he took a walking tour of the historic town of Granville.

(jaunty music) - I'm here in beautiful and historic Granville, Tennessee, nestled in between Cordell Hull Lake and the Cumberland River.

And today I'm joined by president of historic Granville, Granville Museum, Randall Clemons.

Randall, thanks so much for being here with us today.

- Thank you for being here.

- We appreciate it.

We've seen so much on our tour today and we are standing inside the T.B.

Sutton General Store.

I feel like I have been transported back in time.

Tell me why that is and what's around me.

- Well, you've just stepped into a store that was built in 1880 by the Cooper family.

It was purchased by Mr. T.B.

Sutton in 1925 and he operated it until 1970.

It was closed for 30 years and then a couple, Harold and Beverly Sutton from Mount Juliet purchased it.

They restored it and then in 2007, they gave it to the Granville Museum.

- And so Randall, we can tell by the activity around us that this general story is always bustling.

- Well the store is the center of the activity.

We have some 35,000 guests a year that visit our town and they start at the store and they end up eating here.

And then before they leave, they wanna go down to the ice cream counter and finish it.

But everybody can relate to a general store sometime in their past.

And that is what is made Granville is the T.B.

Sutton General Store.

And in addition to that there are also dinners and, and music nights.

Tell us about that.

- We do the Sutton Old Time Music Hour every Saturday night year round.

Some of the best country cooking.

All you can eat.

- So we have a Grand Ole Opry type show tight here.

Grand Ole Opry type show, but you get to eat on top of it.

Live with radio commercials.

- Live commercials.

It's a wonderful time.

- A lot of things to do in Granville.

We have eight museums, the Whistle Stop Saloon.

We have the historical Granville Museum that is a history museum as well as an exhibition center.

We have the Pioneer Village that has an antique car museum in it.

It has a historic cabin.

We have the Mayberry Lucy museum that has large collections of both Andy Griffith and the, I love Lucy show.

And then our most recent museum is a Jim Beam whiskey decanter museum that features over 2000 regal china decanters - So much to see and to do.

Let's go check out some more stops on the tour.

We are now here at the Clemons Antique Auto Museum.

Tell us a little bit about the, the cars behind us and why you chose these particular vehicles.

Well, you have a' 56 Chevrolet and a '54 Chevrolet.

My mother's father had a '54 Chevrolet here in Granville like that one.

And my father's father lived here in Granville too.

And he had a '56.

So I set out many years ago to try to find a car like both of those.

We have been doing car shows here since 1999 on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

(jaunty music) - Right now we're right in the middle of town at the Sutton Homestead.

So tell us about this historic home and who lived here and what visitors can expect to see here today.

- Ben and Ethel Sutton who ran Sutton General Store lived here longer than anyone else.

We've tried to restore the house to what it was like when they lived here, the '40s, the '50s.

We have the silk and lace purse that Ethel Sutton carried on her wedding day.

And then again on her 50th wedding anniversary.

In the sewing room, there's quilt on the wall.

It's called a signature quilt.

People paid 10 cents to have their name embroidered on the quilt.

The ladies at the church would embroidery your name on the quilt.

And then the church auctioned it off as a fundraiser.

People come and look at that quilt and kind of get teary eyed when they find their grandmother's name on there.

So we were listing all the names on the wall and I saw my mother and dad's name, which I had not seen on there as, and I had been doing tours here for some time.

So.

- You just never know what you may find new in a in a place that's old.

Help us understand how Granville got here.

I understand it has a rich history from a riverboat town to a ghost town, and now Tennessee's Mayberry.

How did we get here?

- Oh, thanks for asking that.

Yes, we were a riverboat town from oh, the mid 1800s until about 1920.

At one time I'm told there were 45 steam boats that came down the Cumberland River and docked here in Granville.

We were a big farming community and then Cordell Hull Dam came in and covered all the good farmland.

So there was really no place for people to go.

There was a mass exit from Granville.

The stores had to close and we became a ghost town.

So in 1999, we started trying to rebuild.

Everything you see here today has been accomplished since 1999.

We are now a tourist destination known as Tennessee's Mayberry town.

(jaunty music) - From banjos to buck dancing, the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree has drawn musicians and artists from all over the world.

Let's join field correspondent, Shan Stout in downtown Smithville for the 52nd Annual Fiddler's Jamboree.

(lively banjo music) - Welcome to downtown Smithville, Tennessee, home of the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree and Crafts Festival.

Now this being a 51 year festival, you're gonna see people that have been coming for generations and people come from not just across the United States, but all over the world.

And I have proof right here.

This is Christine Cardova and Christine, where have you traveled from to enjoy the Jamboree?

- Uganda, East Africa.

- You heard that, it bears repeating.

Uganda East Africa.

Now, Christine, have you enjoyed your weekend here at the Jamboree?

- Yes, very much.

- Now what's your favorite thing to do at the Jamboree?

- I think it's just to watch, especially the young kids when they're buck dancing and clogging, just to see those fiddles and banjos.

And I love the earrings.

I got my earrings from here.

- Oh, shopping.

Absolutely.

We're kindred spirits.

I can sense it.

I love the shopping as well.

That's what I'm gonna be doing when this segment's over.

And we are gonna go and take a look at all the fun we're having here at the Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree.

Come with us.

(lively banjo music) Now, when you come to the Smithville Jamboree, people come for lots of different reasons because it is a 51-year free family friendly festival.

But one of my personal favorites is to come and visit under the shade tree and watch the shade tree pickers.

But to explain what that actually means I've brought a long time shade tree picking veteran.

This is Trenton Tater Carothers, and you've been coming for many, many years, right Tater.

- This is my 11th year.

- Your 11th year.

Now, yesterday you competed in lots of different categories.

Today is no different.

- Today is no different.

I think I've got one more today than I did yesterday.

- You know, you're playing with what?

Old friends, new friends?

- Well, the way it started were all new friends at one time.

And I just let anybody come jam.

'Cause the way to make old friends is to gather new ones.

(laughter) - We appreciate your talent.

What's your favorite thing about the jamboree?

- Well, just the shade tree picking and the hospitality.

- Now you can't be under the shade trees and not just enjoy the music without a little dancing.

We have all kinds of dancers here to have the whole immersive experience.

And I'm here with Anthony Harrell and you are a long time dancer here at the jamboree.

- Yes ma'am I am.

- So how many years you've been here?

- I've been coming here since '86.

- So just a little while.

- Yeah.

(laughter) - Now you compete with your friends and you have lots of competitions today, right?

- Yes ma'am, I'm doing four categories today.

I'm doing Appalachian flat foot senior, buck dance senior, clogging senior and I also have a square dance team that we're gonna do square dance later.

- Do you have a personal favorite?

- I love it all.

I love being under the shade tree, dancing with the bands here and just passing that on to the kids.

(lively banjo music) (crowd cheers) - Field correspondent Shan Stout recently took a kayaking lesson at Kane Hollow on Center Hill Lake.

You know, I've always wanted to take a kayaking lesson.

Maybe Shan is gonna need some backup on this one.

(contemplative music) - We're here at Kane Hollow boat ramp on beautiful Center Hill Lake.

And I am here with the lovely Billie Davis with Canoe the Caney, and today we are getting ready for a wonderful adventure.

Now, Billie, this is a great day to be on the water.

- It is a beautiful day.

I can't believe how sunny it actually turned out being.

But yeah, I'm excited to take you guys out.

We're gonna go to Burgess Falls today.

We're gonna do a flat water paddle today.

We actually do a lot of our trips on the Caney Fork River.

So it's a moving river.

So you don't have to do a lot of work on it.

The river kind of carries you.

You just kind of steer the boat - And just so you know, it's also shady because there's a beautiful canopy of trees above you.

So the experiences are very diverse.

- Yes, very different.

But today, since we're doing a flatwater lake paddle we're we're gonna work for it.

It's gonna be worth it, but we are gonna work for it today.

- So these little bitty arms are gonna get stronger.

- That's right.

That's right.

You'll you might feel it tomorrow, but yeah.

So we offer a bunch of different trips.

I'm excited to do this one with you guys today.

We also do this one on a jet ski tour.

So we do we see this one on the jet ski and the the other one, (indistinct) Falls.

We do that.

So if this isn't your cup of tea, maybe we do the jet ski.

- We're gonna find out momentarily.

- And then for Canoe the Caney we also offer a bunch of other trips.

We do a haunted canoe trip that's coming up.

- If you dare.

- If you dare, we do a sunset paddle.

So if you're.

- That sounds lovely, yes.

- And then of course our most popular day trips are just on the Caney Fork.

It doesn't need much.

It's just beautiful paddling.

So we do a six and a nine mile trip - Theme or no theme, we're gonna be happy.

And today, you know, I'm ready to hit the water.

Yes.

This is just the moment that I've been waiting for.

It looks like it's a little overcast, which is gonna be great.

- Perfect.

- But maybe you should give me a few paddling pointers before.

- Oh.

wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait - What is happening?

- I'm here.

- I'm so excited.

- I've never been canoeing.

- You know, I was really upset I was gonna do this by myself.

I always kayak with a buddy.

Now Katelyn, have you ever kayaked before?

- Nope.

- She has never kayaked before.

- Nope.

I'm excited.

I heard you were coming today down here and I was like, I'm gonna crash the party.

- I love you too.

I love you too.

Okay, Billie.

- Yes.

- What do we need to know?

- We're just gonna go over maybe some paddling instructions.

Get you guys familiar with the boats and we'll just do some paddle strokes and we'll get going.

It's pretty simple.

All right guys.

And we're getting ready to push you guys out some final just tips and instructions.

You have your life jackets on.

Perfect.

We've got water shoes, so proud, and sunglasses.

You really want those two when you're out on the water.

So just to make sure we've got our paddles held correctly you wanna hold it above your head.

Like I said, 90 degree angle.

Perfect.

And you want those blades kind of facing down at you?

Perfect.

Perfect.

All right.

So you can put those back down and I'm just gonna show you kind of what we call a front stroke.

So it's just gonna go down into the water kind of want this kind of loose.

So just you're really gonna just use these two fingers right here.

And then this is gonna be so flexible.

Just to make it really easy we're gonna engage our core.

So you're actually gonna turn and then that's just gonna carry guys forward.

Alternating, right and left.

It's so simple.

And then we'll go over some maybe stopping when we get out there, but I, I'm confident.

We're not gonna need to stop.

- I need to stop.

- I mean, at least I have Shan who's done this before.

So I'll be taking expert tips from you guys.

- Oh, it's gonna be a lot of fun.

You're gonna love it.

(mellow music) - Let's join field correspondent Matt Beal atop the Cumberland plateau for a tasting at Tennessee's oldest winery and Jamestown's newest tap room.

(contemporary music) - Hello and welcome.

I'm here on the Cumberland Plateau at Tennessee's oldest winery, Highland Manor.

I'm joined today by the owner of Highland Manor, Rhonda Moody.

Rhonda, thanks so much for being here with us today.

- Thanks for coming out.

In addition to the natural splendor and beauty of the area, Highland Manor has a a rich award-winning tradition and history.

How far do your wine making traditions go back?

- We go back to 1980.

We are Tennessee's oldest winery.

Fay Wheeler came back to Jamestown and brought his love of wine with him.

And he lived upstairs.

This was his family home and this was his basement.

And he started making wine here in the basement, invited his friends over.

Some of his friends happened to be other businessmen, politicians, whatnot.

So they all fell in love with wine, the local wines, his wines.

And so when the law come to pass, they made sure that we got the first permit.

- So tell us what are some experiences that visitors can expect here at the winery or that they might do while they're here on a day trip to the winery.

- People can select their wines, cheese, sausages upstairs come down here where it's cool.

We try and keep it a nice 65 degrees all year round.

Come down here and have a little picnic.

Summer months weather's good.

They can go outside and have a picnic in the vineyard.

We also have annual events like our Wine and Swine and Cajun Day.

- So here at Highland you have mastered the art of wine making.

And now you've expanded into other things, including serving beer.

Tell us more about that.

- We enjoy making award winning wines.

That's kind of my pride and passion, but we understand that not everyone's palate is suitable for wines.

So we started offering Tennessee craft beers, trying to offer something for everyone.

So we started out with Red Silo outta Cookville.

So we featured their beers here in our winery.

And then we opened a tap room in 2019.

So we have 12 beers on tap from all over the state of Tennessee.

We also feature gins and vodkas and whiskeys from all over the state of Tennessee.

And so you can come here and get a mixed drink.

You can come here and get a cold draft beer or you can come and get a nice refreshing glass of wine.

(contemporary music) - So Rhonda, we get to now taste some of the delicious wine here at Highland Manor.

So what do you have for us to try today?

- This is the fun part.

- Yes it is.

- So we're going to sample our Highland Sunset first.

This is our number two best seller.

Lots of people are very familiar with it.

A lot of people will call it, refer to it as communion wine or adult grape juice.

It's a semi-sweet concord based wine that's very smooth to the palate.

- Let's give it a try.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

- It's gone.

- Oh, I can see how that would be gone even before sunset.

That is delicious.

Adult grape juice you say - You can put it in a sippy cup and probably get away with it.

(laughs) - Don't tempt me.

Let's go check out Sawbriar.

- Sounds fun.

(swing orchestra music) - This is a great space to spend an afternoon whether we're enjoying beer or stepping out and having a cigar on the patio I noticed is available.

Just a great place to play games and and hang out and spend time with friends.

- We opened up this tap room with every intention of brewing.

Paths kind of changed.

We got into it a little bit and decided that, Hey there are enough great craft brewers in the state of Tennessee.

Let's focus on them.

Let's let them stick to their craft.

We'll stick to the wine making.

So we offer 12 Tennessee craft beers on tap down here for our wine guests and anyone else.

- There you have it folks.

Tennessee's oldest winery and Jamestown's very first tap room right here together in our very own beautiful Upper Cumberland.

Whether you want to try some of Highland Manor's fine wine or Sawbriar's craft beers I'm sure you will find a favorite.

(swing orchestra music) - The Thomas House Hotel remains a living history for travelers of the past and future.

Come stay the weekend at the Thomas House Hotel and experience one of their dinner theater shows, walk the beautiful historic grounds and perhaps have a paranormal encounter of your own.

Join us next time for more Upper Cumberland adventures in Tennessee.

Don't you Wish You Were Here.

(desk bell dings) Don't you Wish You Were Here.

(desk bell dings) (laughter) - Slow down you crazy child.

So ambitious for you now.

- Wish You Were Here produced under an agreement with the Upper Cumberland Development District and made possible in part through support from the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.

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