This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

K-Town: Knoxville, Tennessee

          I keep seeing where Blabbin' Grammy is going over to Knoxville to do this or do that and I'm getting a bit jealous.  I'd like to go to Knoxville, but that's not so easy coming from L.A.  Grammy is only about an hour away from K-Town, as many of the locals call it, and she can hop right over.  Why do I want to go to Knoxville?  Well it's my old stomping grounds--it's close to my home of Maryville, Tennessee.

            A few days ago B. Miller was talking about her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina and it just got me thinking about home towns.  I wasn't the only one.  Roland D. Yeomans posted his eloquent reflections on his home town of Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Knoxville actually was the first K idea that I had come up with back when I made up my original calendar of ideas back before the challenge began. Knoxville just seemed like my logical choice for K.

          Knoxville is about fifteen miles from where my parents lived, which is where I continued to reside during my years at the University of Tennessee.  As the urban center of East Tennessee, Knoxville sits at the junction of the major interstate arteries of I-40 and I-75.  Only about 30 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville attracts tourists from all over the world.  In 1982, Knoxville hosted a World's Fair and parts of the fair park remain for recreational use and nightlife entertainment.

          Back in the early 70's when I attended the University, Knoxville was the go to place for liquor and wine.  Weekends invariably began with a run over to the Cumberland Avenue strip to one of the University area liquor stores or to the blue collar area of Vestal, depending on which side of Maryville we were coming from.  I would often attend concerts at the Civic Coliseum or at one of the University venues.  Knoxville was our destination for partying "supplies" or urban entertainment, but Blount county was our running around area.

         Of course, I spent much time in Knoxville attending classes at the University of Tennessee, but I also worked for a while at a business in Knoxville.  For a few years I worked at a carnival supply company called Acme Premium Supply.  People used to like to kid me that it was the place where Wiley Coyote got all of his gadgets to try to capture the Roadrunner.  Acme was on East Jackson Avenue, which at the time consisted of older warehouses, many abandoned and on the verge of collapse, and homeless men and winos who tended to congregate at the corner of Jackson and Central.  Now this area has been reclaimed by developers who have converted the old buildings into lofts, restaurants, and night clubs.  Old Town Knoxville is now a popular area of galleries and boutiques by day and dining and drinking at night.

       If you are visiting East Tennessee you are more than likely going to be spending most of your time around Gatlinburg and the Smokies.  However, you will find much to do in Knoxville and the surrounding area.  Knoxville is well worth a visit.  Any time of the year you can find something interesting going on.  I wish I could hop over to K-Town right now.  But I guarantee you if I could, I'd soon be over in Maryville visiting my family and friends and then maybe heading up to the mountains.  There's no place like home.

Speaking of home here's a few homestyle blogs for you to check out:

Kellys Home --The Hoosier family from North Carolina invites you to stop in for a visit. 

Families Are Forever -- and that's what it's all about on Kristen C's messages from home down Georgia way.

Everything Emerald -- Marjorie always takes an interesting approach in her posts.  Not sure where she is but my guess is somewhere in Arizona.

Becoming Three --  Family thinngs and other things, a bit of this and some of that.

Randomness with the Whitings --  Fun and frustration of family life.  Nifty ideas, crafty crafts, and musings about whatever randomly might come up.

Stop by these blogs and pop your head in the door and say howdy.   You may even want to come inside and sit a spell. 

33 comments:

  1. This is a great post...how interesting that so many have chosen to post about their home towns...I wouldn't have thought about it myself. I have until the letter 'S' to decide!

    Knoxville does sound like a fun place to visit...I will have to put that on my bucket list! My father was stationed in Tennessee for a while when in the army, but for the life of me, I can't remember where!

    Have a blessed day Lee!

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  2. Arlee, I am so sad that April is almost over and those Ato z posts will be too, I need to do 2 or 3 in one day soon to keep up, but I am so enjoying it, thanks for the people you showcased today I love the emerald one and then the emerald one had homesteadrevival and I loved that as she is a beekeeper and so is my husband and myself.
    Thanks for this great challenge, did you join the ultimate blog party or did you decide next year, it's over soon.
    I like your K post.

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  3. I went to boarding school for a little while in Chattanooga. We traveled to Knoxville every once in a while for football and basketball games. East Tennessee is a beautiful place.

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  4. I love hearing people talk about their hometowns. Great post!

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  5. I spent a few days in Knoxville on business once; it's a pretty city. When work was done we went to a restaurant that served beer by the "yard." I enjoyed watching...had I tried it I'm sure I would have been "wearing."

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  6. Love the hometown story. And thank you for putting up other blogs for us to check out. It has been much fun. What are we going to do in May? I already dread the end of the April A-Z

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  7. Hey, Lee,
    I had not read your posting until after I had done mine, and how funny that we both speak of Knoxville as our old stomping grounds. Ha.
    Actually, it only takes about 25 minutes to drive into Knoxville from where we live, so it is like nothing to drive in. We are exactly 25 miles from where we live to my sister-in-law, Imazo's house, and she is only about 8 blocks from where Mae's home.
    Thanks for the mention in your posting. OH, also, I went to UT in the evenings and summers from 1969 to 1972 when I earned my Masters degree in Library Science. So we were actually "going" to UT during the same years. Ha. how about that?
    Ruby

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  8. I skipped over my hometown but will probably be writing about my current one later in the week. I enjoyed reading your post about Knoxville! I've been there a few times but never for a vacation-type trip. East Tennessee is amazingly beautiful though and I would go there much more often if I could!

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  9. Yeah, I clicked my ruby slippers too, and after 11 years in Vancouver, moved back to Barrie ONT, and glad I did!
    Thanks for the shout-out yesterday! Got a ton of visits & some new followers!

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  10. Wonderful, full of information and sounds a splendid place. Only 10 weeks to go until I will be in Nashville........It will never be the same again once I hit towm...lol.

    Must say I have read at some time or other nearly everyone who is taking part in the challenge and have learned quite a bit.

    Have fun
    Yvonne,

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  11. I've never visited Knoxville, but the pictures look lovely. Thanks for the virtual tour!

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  12. I love this post! I love Tennesse, particularly Knoxville, Memphis, and of course Nasheville. Have driven through these areas several times.

    I didn't realize how many people mentioned thier home town. That is great.

    Tomorrow I am highlighting my home town becasue we are a very unique city with a very unique beginning. Hope all stops by and will read about Longview! See ya there.

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  13. I’ve only been to Memphis and Nashville. I can see now that I need to add Knoxville to my Tennessee to-visit list.

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  14. Trudy-- I don't know all of the military facilities in TN, but he might have been at Fort Campbell near Clarksville north of Nashville. Look forward to your "S" post.

    N whisper -- glad you joined us. Haven't had time to look at the "party" -- may have to check it out.

    Matthew -- Yes East Tenn. is lovely.

    Palindrome -- thanks!

    Liza -- A yard of beer sounds like it would put you out in the yard.

    Linda -- It's been fun! Might need to rest up a bit in May, but I do want to get some reactions to the challenge around May 3 or so.

    Grammy -- enjoyed your different take on Knoxville. I knew you were close. I guess my driving time was based on L.A. driving times. We may have crossed paths at UT back then, but honestly I don't recall ever having seen you--then again there's a lot I don't remember that long ago.

    Melody -- We'll be watching for your hometown blog bit.

    Will -- Ontario is mighty fine. Glad to have sent some readers your way.

    Yvonne -- You're going to have a great time on your Nashville trip I know. You have amazed me by the way you've been commenting all over the place. That's been great, Yvonne.

    Tamika -- You'll have to do an East Tennessee vacation one day.

    Gregg -- I also like reading about the hometowns. Look forward to yours.

    Jane --- You missed the best part of Tennessee! You must go immediately!

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  15. Though i've been to Tennesee I have not spent any amount of time there. But I would like to really visit all the states in the Union one day.

    Yes, I am in Arizona. Tucson to be exact. Thanks for the mention.

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  16. Thank you for introducing a new vacation possibility. I'm in Virginia, so it's not SOOO far.
    I just returned from Hershey, PA and the surrounding counties...Who knows, K-Town could be on the list for next year.

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  17. Yay Knoxville! I have relatives there; it's a great town!

    What a great post! Thanks for sharing, Lee.

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  18. one of these days, i'm going to visit Tennessee again. the last time i was there was in 69 and had gone over there to camp and fish in the Smokie's. Gatlinburg was okay...a bit poor back then. i'd like to go to Windrock, Tenn. to do some off-roading but it's going to take another 30 years just to cover what i've got here in the west.

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  19. rLEE-b ~
    Well, I still have a few extended family members in Tennessee but I've never been to Knoxville (I like the name though).

    But I have been to Chattanooga (another good name), Nashville, Paris, and Murfreesboro - or as the locals call it "Muffrubuhh." Well, it's hard to write that, and impossible to say it unless you're a native or have a mouth full of marbles.

    Yak later, Bro.
    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe

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  20. As a military brat, I like to hear about hometowns because I never really had one. Moving every two years does let you see a lot though. Knoxville sounds lovely. Hope to see it some day.

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  21. Must be nice to have a home town. My father was military, so we moved a lot.

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  22. Never been to Knoxville, but I've been through Tennessee. And I like it!

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  23. I've lived in Nashville for 9 years and have yet to make it over to Knoxville for a visit. I really like that area of TN!

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  24. I love reading these snippets of other cities! This kind of travelling fits my wallet just fine :)

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  25. I've stayed in Knoxville a couple times. It's a pretty town. Always see it when driving from NC to AR.

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  26. My husband interned in Knoxville one semester, and we honeymooned in Townsend.

    Thanks for the mention of my blog!

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  27. I've never been to Tennessee but have heard how beautiful that it is! Thank you for visiting my blog and wishing me a Happy Birthday! Love Di ♥

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  28. Thank you all for all the additional comments and hope you'll visit K-Town and East Tennessee one day.

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  29. My husband & I have been talking for a while about visiting Tennessee this year. We want to check out both Kentucky and East Tennessee as potential place for us to move one day... Hopefully it all works out! I like San Diego but I'm not crazy about living here forever! :-) I have been checking out Blabbin' Granny's page and totally love hearing her stories...

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  30. Tori -- I've lived in San Diego and East Tennessee and they both have a lot to offer. Overall, San Diego has the best weather. But back East you get the seasons, including some snow and more rain than we get out here. I wouldn't mind moving back to the East Tennessee area. There's a lot to offer, it is centrally located, and the cost of housing is better.
    Can't say about Kentucky. It's a pretty state and liveability is probably similar to Tennessee.
    Lee

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  31. I would love to visit Tennessee; sounds like it has something for everyone! There is no place like home; I went home, last summer to go to a wedding n' high school reunion!
    I didn't want to leave!(I'm from Maine)okay, about 45min away from
    Stephen King's home. His cousin Percy King was my 7th grade Math teacher...looked like him and acted odd. I think he was living up to the hype~

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  32. Ellie -- Your visit home sounds like good potential for a novel. I know conceptually it's been done many times, but everyone has a new story or a different angle for an old one.
    East Tennessee and the Smokies is one of the top vacation spots in the nation.

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  33. Aww thanks for checking out my blog and mentioning it :) give me warm fuzzies for sure!

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Lee