On Friday morning, we met Carl & Edna at Lakeview for
Breakfast. We did not have to get up early, but Edna did! Carl normally goes to
breakfast alone …
If you are visiting Reelfoot Lake and are looking for a
great place to start your day with breakfast you will want to eat at Lakeview.
It has an extensive and not very typical breakfast menu. Items such as grilled
or fried Pork Tenderloin, Omelets, Country Ham and Red Eye Gravy, Pancakes to
Bologna and eggs and fresh home biscuits with sawmill gravy. You may have a
hard time deciding what to order. However, the name is deceiving … If you are
looking for a view of the lake while you are dining this isn’t the restaurant
... while there is a view of the lake the best view is from the parking lot.
After breakfast we visited the RC Donaldson Memorial Museum
at the Reelfoot Lake State Park Visitors Center which features a variety of
exhibits and audio visual programs explaining the ecology, history, and culture
of the area.
This looks more like an abstract piece of art than it does a mapping of the the Mississippi River. It shows how much the river has moved over the years.
The nature center at the museum contains various non-releasable
raptors, several snakes, and other wildlife. The facility has a gift shop that
features wildlife field guides, nature books, and books on area history.
We took a self-guided stroll along the cypress boardwalk
nature trail. It took us along the edge of the lake and next to large Cypress
Trees with large knees.
We found tress with lightning damage. They have a reddish
streak and some bark is missing. You will also note, that some of the knees are
reddish too.
Conifers like the bald cypress and the pines have high resin
content and are more susceptible to internal heating from a lightning strike.
They have almost 100 percent survival rate. Bald Cypress Tree can grow to 10
feet in diameter and can be as old as a 1,000 years old.
The shallow, cypress filled waters are recognized as one of
the world’s greatest natural fish hatcheries. Anglers can catch fish in shady
cathedrals of the stately trees or on the open water or from shore. Bald
cypress trees grow alone and in clusters throughout Reelfoot’s 10-mile length. Remnants of anglers can be found in the trees!
The Tiptonville Museum became a reality about 15 years ago.
But the idea was years in the making and is finally a reality. It chronicles
life in a typical agricultural community of the Mississippi River delta. The
museum is located in the Emmett Lewis Heritage Center adjacent to city hall in
Tiptonville.
The museum was named for a man who served as fire chief for
more than 40 years. Lewis loved the history of Northwest Tennessee and
especially the history of the Mississippi River.
Throughout this life, he
collected books, photographs and artifacts that told the stories of countless
men and women who had died in relative obscurity and yet, their lives shaped
the destiny of the region. Even when he was fire chief, he became the
unofficial "city historian" and whenever there was a question from
visitors about Tiptonville's past, they were usually referred to him at the
firehouse. Following Lewis' death in 1996, his wife, Mary, gave his
collection of regional history books to the local library. But many of the
other items, including several notebooks filled with Mississippi River
steamboat photographs, were placed on permanent loan with the city and are now
on display in the new museum.
When Tiptonville built a new fire station on Kentucky
Street, it left the old fire hall on South Court Street across from the County
Courthouse open for renovation. This was deemed an ideal location for the
museum, which actually occupies the garage that once held the city fire
engines. One room of Lewis' old apartment in the back of the hall has been set
up as a replica general store.
The Tiptonville Beautification Council, now called the
Tiptonville Main Street Association, started working on the museum in 2000.
Local residents began to send articles of historic significance as support for
the project grew. Virtually all of the money for the building renovation, about
$20,000, was collected within the community. The association held bake sales, a
Victorian garden party, arts and crafts sales, dances and dinners to raise cash
for the project. Work setting up the museum and cataloging and labeling
donated items was largely done by volunteers.
Displays include a traditional lake boat built by Dale Calhoun, longtime
resident of the Reelfoot Lake area. The Reelfoot "Lake Boat", or
"Stumpjumper" is the oldest tradition at Reelfoot. Four generations
of Calhoun's have built these unique boats and they are a true collector’s
item. They are featured in numerous museums all over the country, including the
Smithsonian Institute and are also still used on the lake to this day. Even
though the lake boat's origins are unclear, they were believed to have first
been built around 150 years ago. There have been many builders of stumpjumpers over the
years, but the longest lasting and most recognized are the Calhouns. It all
started for the Calhouns around 1910 in Hornbeak, just a few miles from
Reelfoot, where Dale's great grandfather had a woodworking and blacksmith shop.
He practiced part time boat making, but it wasn't until his son Boone took
over, that it became a full time lake boat operation. Designed to help navigate
the many stumps and trees still standing in Reelfoot Lake, these boats are
unique in every way. The slim design and shallow draft of these boats were
perfect for navigating the shallow waters of Reelfoot.
An exhibit of General Clifton B. Cates, former Commandant of
the U.S. Marine Corps. Cates was born on 31 August 1893 at Cates Landing, the
family farm on the Mississippi River where his father grew cotton, near the
little town of Tiptonville. Growing up, he lived a farm boy's life with plenty
of time spent on the river and in the fields and woods. He attended country
schools until old enough to go away to Missouri Military Academy, a preparatory
school across the river in Mexico, MO. His performance with the 6th Marines campaign
in the town of Vierzy, got him a citation for gallantry in action that became a
Silver Star when that medal was established in 1932. Between 1932 and 1945 he had
assignments in the Pacific and stateside assignments. In December 1945 Cates
came back from the Pacific and was made president of the Marine Corps Equipment
Board at Quantico. This was sort of a holding job until 6 months later he could
become the Commanding General, Marine Barracks, Quantico. On 1 January 1948, with a promotion to four
stars, Cates became the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Gen Cates, 19th
Commandant, died on 4 June 1970, just short of age 77, in the naval hospital at
Annapolis.
Rock-and-roll pioneer Carl Perkins has a display in the museum. He was born in Tiptonville in April 9, 1932. His boyhood home was moved to the Carl Perkins Visitor Center in Tiptonville. Born the son of a sharecropper and made it to the top of his profession. Proclaimed The King of the Rockabillys, his best known song was Blue Suede Shoes, recorded in 1956 and yes this was before Elvis recorded his version.
As well as a host of items that were part of the general
history of the community. We found many posters from WWII and had to grab a picture of this poster for COL Kym! It was an awesome place to see local history, and we would
have missed it … if not for having friends from the area! If you are in the
area, it is a must see destination for regional history.
We enjoyed the food (hamburgers on the pellet grill) and fellowship at James & Debbie’s campsite. Naturally, we had awesome desserts too!
The night ended with awesome sunset photo opportunities.
Thanks to the anglers who made this photo a bit more special!
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