Lawrenceburg at the Alamo

No pic of Amos.  Amish do not like to have their photos taken.

Look who we met selling home grown veggies along US Route 64 this afternoon on our way east to Lawrenceburg!  Amos and his horse Dolly had red ripe tomatoes, several kinds of apples and some squash and he loved to talk.  He was talking away with two other locals when we drove up and he happily took our card and talked about Lancaster, County, PA.  He’d never been there, but some day he’d like to go.

It was quite different seeing a normally dressed Amishman who speaks english with a southern drawl. But he assured us that he and his family, and all other Amish he knew speak the original Pennsylvania German at home.  His wife was teaching his three little ones english so they could get along with the ‘English’, like us, once they get away from the farm.

We drove through Lawrenceburg and right to a local propane dealer.  RENT RIGHT Incorporated. The nights are getting a wee bit cooler and our gas furnace has come on twice already this week.  This is the third time we’ve topped off the 45 lb. propane tank since leaving Pennsylvania and we still have not used a full tank of gas, though today’s technician, Ken, told me that no propane tank that lies on its side can be filled right to the top.  So I guess we have maxed it out once by now at least.

The owner of Rent Right in Lawrenceburg, Bill, came out and told us to use his dump station and fresh water fill now and anytime we need it.  Once again, kind southern hospitality shines through.  But then again, the town of Waynesburg, about 30 miles back west on rte 64, had a town operated RV park where we would have paid the normal $10.00 dump fee and then would have had to drive our rig to the water department and pay to fill the fresh tank.  Paying extra for 110 gallons of fresh water would have been a first for us so we kept driving.  And look how we were blessed.

We left Rent Right and drove a few miles past town to park our home at New Prospect UMC in the village of New Prospect. We hope to be able to stay here!  Two phone calls left with the church office got no response so we put a card and note in the office door this afternoon and parked FROG around the corner.  If the office administrator walks around that corner before she gets our messages she’ll be looking right up at FROG’s behind, and that’s a 13 foot tall backside!

 

We are parked beside the lovely church grass park with a softball diamond and picnic pavilion, ringed by tall pine trees.  Central Tennessee is nothing if not GREEN, though leaves are beginning to change a little.  Happy Fall, VERNA!

We took TOAD back into Lawrenceburg since when we drove through town the first time Mona’s BOOK RADAR found the library AND it is having a full on used book sale.  Oh dear.  I found two DVD’s and she found four more books.  And these books aren’t even on her list!  Neither of us have even gotten close to opening the three bins each of books we have stashed on one of the basement slides. That may happen next year.

Lawrenceburg was the county and town where David Crockett (he never liked the name ‘Davy’) made the biggest name for himself publicly.  It was here that he began his political career as a judge, then state assemblyman, and finally a Federal Congressman from Tennessee. He rode Andrew Jackson’s coattails into office when he became President but that was the last time Andrew and David saw eye to eye.

 David strongly opposed the Jackson faction on frontier land use and on the Indian Removal Act. David wanted a truly fair shake for all the Americans who had pioneered the west, like himself and his parents, and not only have land sold at a price the wealthy could afford.  And while David had fought in some heavy and vicious battles in the Creek War, he felt it was wrong for the so called civilized tribes, ‘Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw’ and others to be forcibly removed to west of the Mississippi. But David and his friends lost both battles, and then Jackson’s camp beat him out in the 1835 election. 

Yep. This is just like my 1955 Christmas gift. Ah, memories!

He went back to Tennessee a hurt and penniless farmer. So as his historical quote reminds us, he told one and all that, “If you don’t want me in congress you can go to hell!  I’m going to Texas.”  And he did, and we all know the rest of the story. Or if not, Google DAVY CROCKETT ALAMO, and see what you find.

Back home for a quiet evening and a good home cooked meal and our books and blog.  Nighty-night!

-Ken