Norris Dam

Heiskell, Tennessee

Weather: low 63 degrees, high 86 degrees, partly cloudy, scattered showers

The morning was spent washing laundry, changing the bed linens, dusting, vacuuming, and all the other little things we do to keep the RV shipshape and trim. Unfortunately, this work doesn't happen during the night while we're asleep, and we've not been able to master that little trick of wrinkling our noses to make things happen.

After resting from the exertions of housework, we decided to take a little ride north of us toward Clinton and a few points beyond. What a great little trip this turned out to be. The first thing we decided to do was take US 441 north, which led us to the little town of Norris. This town was built by TVA in the mid-1930s to provide housing for workers building the Norris Dam, just north of town. When we first turned onto US 441, I thought we had taken the wrong road. Not so. Almost immediately, we were inside the city limits of Norris, a town of about 1600 people, based on the English garden city model. TVA's intent was to build a town that would serve as a model for other communities. The town was the first use of green belts in the US. What surprised us was the beauty of the little town and most of the houses being smaller than what is being built now. Is it possible we could learn from that? Do we need huge houses with rooms that are unused most of the time? Very nice little town.

Passing through Norris, we chanced upon Norris Dam, built by TVA 1933 to 1936. The dam backs up a lake of 34,000 acres with 800 miles of shoreline. The dam was created to control flooding and generate hydro-electric power. We stopped to check out the dam and lake, and I had a great conversation with a TVA retiree working as a volunteer at the dam's visitor center. Billy has a total of 61 years as a full-time worker and volunteer. Isn't that something in these days when workers are considered disposable?

The rest of the trip was spent traveling through the little towns of Lake City, Caryville, and La Follette. The best part of this part of the trip was that we were driving in valleys surrounded by mountains. Very scenic drive. We were surprised by how busy La Follette was for the size of the town. I don't know what's driving their success, but I'm sure they're thankful. In that town, I bought diesel for $2.249 per gallon, the cheapest I've seen in several months.

Tomorrow, we're going to the Museum of Appalachia. It will be interesting to see how many things they have that we knew about when we were growing up.

I received an e-mail from Jerry, a friend in Texas. The e-mail was about the words that we used for common place things in the old days (like when we were younger). One word in the e-mail was supper, which has been replaced by dinner. I can remember when dinner was the noon meal. Supper was the evening meal for us and still is. That started me thinking about the other meal of the day, and what took it's place. Do you remember breakfast? Does anyone still eat breakfast besides us? Everyone seems to be in such a hurry that they don't have time to eat the most important meal of the day.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - La Follette, Tennessee: Gateway To Norris Lake

Not all who wander are lost.