As surveyor Gary Owens informed the Jellico Planning Commission at our regular monthly meeting for June, the Jellico area is full of designated streets and alleys that have been on deeds for years and years but have never been opened. Many of them actually lead to no reasonable destination. (I know that to be true because the first property that I ever owned had such a designation for a right of way that would have led right up to the base of what was virtually a small cliff that I did not even notice on the deed until I was preparing to sell the property. And why anyone would have wanted access to that particular area is way beyond me except for the possibility of the future mining of a very thin seam of "Blue Gem" coal that would appear to have been very unprofitable.
We had two requests brought before the Commission during our meeting to declare a couple of such undeveloped (and virtually unknown) alleys as "closed" - although neither have ever been opened. The Commission decided to await further information pertaining to one and to recommend to the City Council that the other be declared as closed during its next meeting..
(There was also a request from a business owner that Tennessee State Planner Matthew Lambert is to give consideration and then get back to the property owner, mayor and building inspector concerning the best course of action pertaining to that request.)
Sometimes folks wanting to make changes to their property, do new construction, etc., complain about having to come before the Commission to receive permission to make such changes.. But laws requiring the Commission to review changes and placement of structures, etc. are designed to insure that no unsafe, unhealthy and unsightly actions are taken by property owners that can adversely affect an area and its population. It is not an always perfect situation and the Commission being made up of individuals, is subject to make mistakes. And there have been decisions made in the past - that although based upon the information available at the time - that have actually been counter productive. This and previous Commissions would have recalled some of their decisions after having the benefit of hindsight rather than infallible foresight if that were possible. Unfortunately that is not possible!
But the reasoning behind the State of Tennessee requiring municipalities and other governmental entities to establish Commissions to do such reviews is very obvious and the members of our Commission strive to always do what is in the best interests of our town.
The Bucks continue their work on some of our downtown buildings and the improvements that they are making, of course came up just as a topic of general discussion during the meeting of the Commission. Members are very glad to see the work that is being done since those buildings are right in the center of town and as someone mentioned, the keys to getting our downtown once again looking the way we want it to look. (And I recently received real confirmation of the fact that we are making progress in our town when one of the skeptics when we first started the drive to renovate and revitalize our downtown several years ago - and who at that time strongly insisted that Jellico was just too far gone to ever come back and that we were just wasting time and effort - told me that he now has to admit that things are looking up much more than he ever thought possible.. We just have to stay at the job!)
Members are hopeful that once the work is completed by the Bucks, that fabric awnings will be placed on those structures in keeping with the theme that we have been pushing for Jellico to look something like it looked during the heydays of the "roaring twenties" when photos reveal almost solid fabric awnings all up and down both North and South Main Streets - many of which could be rolled up at night and unrolled every morning when the shops, restaurants, drug stores, etc. opened for business. You seldom if ever see such "roll out" awning any more. But colorful fabric awnings sure stand out, present a very pleasing appearance and their materials are now much, much more resistant to wind and weather than those of earlier years. (As I understand it, a decision will be made by the Bucks within the next few days concerning the type of awnings that they will erect.)
Several months ago I had a fairly lengthy discussion with Rarity Mountain Developer Mike Ross concerning some of the types of shops and things that he thinks might attract future residents of that development to Jellico. He mentioned genuine antiques and "old-timey items" along with arts, crafts, foods, etc. with a local area "flavor" - both literally and figuratively. By sheer coincidence, Ronnie Buck mentioned some of virtually those same type items that he hopes to stock in the future. That sure sounded good! Attracting visitors and shoppers from Rarity Mountain could give our local economy a boost.
Wrestling fans (and those who are just curious and/or looking for entertainment) are reminded of the wrestling match/exhibition in Veterans Park this Saturday night, June 11th . I didn't have complete details at the time these notes were being prepared but as I understand it, there will be local wrestlers as well as wrestlers from other areas. Concessions are expected to be available and as always, bring your lawn chair!
And the annual "Classic Car Show" is only a few days away (Saturday, June 18th). There is never a way to estimate the number of classic vehicles that will be entered in the show because most owners wait until the day of the event to register. But indications are that if the weather is good, we can expect a very good turnout this year and may top our previous total of entries.
The Tourism Commission voted at its last meeting to return to the gospel music format for the Fourth of July this year and for the foreseeable future. (Other types of music will be featured for the Fall Fest in October.) The Cupp Family is expected to again arrange this year's program after a layoff of a year and will bring in some outstanding area gospel groups and two or three nationally known groups.
The fact that the Fourth this year falls on Monday dictates a change from the schedule of recent years. There will be gospel singing, concessions, etc. on Saturday, July 2nd starting at 12:00 Noon and continuing until 10:00 PM in the evening. There will be no city sponsored activity on Sunday (most local churches have some type of patriotic service in observance of Independence Day) but the singing will resume at 6:00 PM on Monday the Fourth and conclude with the fire works display that will begin at 10:00 PM..
The Tourism Commission again discussed the problem with vendors selecting sites on which to locate in the park and different approaches were considered. But members decided to continue the practice of first come, first served for at least one more year. Claiming of spots will start no earlier than 6:00 PM on Friday, July 1st.. The Commission would like for everyone to have the spot of their choosing, but that of course is impossible since there are only so many "choice" spots available. Hopefully everyone will understand the situation.
Sometimes you have to dig pretty deep but as I often write, look long enough and hard enough and you will generally find at least some remote connection to Jellico . And believe it or not, that may well be the case of the recently very popular movie, "The Patriot". That movie was inspired by the book, A Devil of a Whipping/The Battle of Cowpens.
For benefit of those who are not familiar with the 1781 Battle of Cowpens (near present day Spartanburg, South Carolina) during the American Revolution, it was that battle that is given credit for turning the tide against the British in the South and leading eventually to their surrender at Yorktown and securing our freedom from the British crown.
According to that book, Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, Commander of the American forces at the Battle of Cowpens, had Captain Dennis Tramell as one of his most trusted staff officers. In fact it was Tramell who selected the site for the battle since he lived very close to the area at the time. And he helped plan the strategy that led to the American victory. Tramell also fought in a whole series of battles as a member of the "Rabble at Arms" as the small and poorly clothed, fed and equipped American Colonial Army was known as it faced the British, the most powerful military force on earth at that time.
Records show that Tramell also served under his brother Peter Tramell, a higher ranking officer who also had an outstanding record in the Revolution and who years later moved to Campbell County, Tennessee and settled (probably as compensation for his service in that war) twenty-five acres that included his home site near main Jellico Creek (probably the later Capuchine Mountain area near the Scott County line). A historical notation on the records indicates, "Peter TRAMELL enters 25 acres of land in Campbell County on main Jellico Creek….Beginning ….in his old 25 acre survey made by Joseph HART…to include the place where he now lives. Entered 22 July, 1824." (An interesting note on the side of the document indicates, "This entry made voyd (void) by Affidavit 25 June, 1829..)
The name "Trammell" is spelled in several differing ways including "Trammell", "Trammel", "Tramel", etc.. But the spelling "Tramell" seems to be at least somewhat unique to our general area (I found only one other such spelling in the Jellico telephone directory and could not find that particular spelling in the listings for Lafollette, Williamsburg or Corbin). And it is a distinct possibility that Peter Tramell is an ancestors of Hiram K. Tramell for whom our downtown Tramell Building is named (Library/Tourism Office/Community Conference Room). And that would also make him the ancestor of John and Ned Tramell and some other locals. Those families with other spelling of the name may have seen the original spelling changed from Tramell down through the years and could also be descendents of Peter Tramell.
I had a senior citizen lady to tell me the other morning in Hardees that she can not recall ever having seen a year like our present one -weather wise! According to her, most years at this time we were experiencing somewhat hot and dry days with temperatures soaring as high as 90 degrees and even hotter. We both were "chilly" that morning but things were a' fixin' to change!
The cool weather that lasted so late into spring apparently even affected vegetation. And Jo Ann McGhee told me that after reading my last article and the comments I made about the Dogwood tree at Jellico Housing Authority and how it is was in full bloom this late in the spring, that she had to go and see it for herself. And she emphasized that it is beautiful!
Later I was informed by some folks in Williamsburg that two Dogwoods at the Whitley County Intermediate School are (or were at that time) in full bloom as well. One fellow says that he thinks they may be Japanese Dogwoods. (Gosh! Let's hope the Japanese are not taking over the tree business like they have automobiles, electronics, technology, etc.. If we are not careful, the next thing we know they may replace our almost "sacred" American apple pie with some kind of sweet concoction they have developed over there.. Just kidding! I think!)
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