Showing posts with label ANDREW JACKSON. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANDREW JACKSON. Show all posts

Nashville Tennessee - Music City USA

Grand Ole Opry 89th birthday celebration

In October 2014, Pat and I made our first visit to Music City, USA, and attended an 89th birthday party.  It was not my birthday. Instead it was a birthday celebration by The Grand Ole Opry, the iconic 4000 seat auditorium that is the center of the country music world in America.

Music City, USA, is of course Nashville, a city of 1.6 million residents.  It’s the capital of the great state of Tennessee.  It’s also where The Grand Ole Opry opened its doors 89 years ago this month, although it has only occupied its present site since 1974. The auditorium was packed, but we had great seats from which to enjoy the concert being held to mark the birthday.  Only four years ago, the place was under water.  I do not mean financially, because I have rarely seen an operation in the entertainment industry making so much money.  It was under water, because the nearby Cumberland River had burst its banks and left The Grand Ole Opry under four feet of water.  It’s made a great recovery from that disaster.  In other words, it has dried out, which is something that many a country music star has needed to do from time to time.

Jimmy Dickens

Keb Mo

J T Hodges

Australian Brother and Sister act

Trace Adkins

The entertainers performing for us included 93 year old Little Jimmy Dickens, all 59 inches of him, Keb Mo, a talented entertainer who reminded me of Nat King Cole, and JT Hodges, a handsome young Texan who looks something like Elvis.  Then there were a cute brother and sister from Australia, whose names I forget. The longest and final act was by the country music star, Trace Adkins, whose face was almost completely obscured by the brim of his cowboy hat.  His ex-wife shot him in 1994.  The bullet passed through his heart and lungs without killing him.  I wonder how he arranged that.  He did not press charges against his former beloved and, when we watched him, seemed none the worse for his experience.

Broadway Street in Nashville

People in Nashville live for country music and performers travel from all over the country just to be there and to have a slim chance of breaking into the big time.  The main drag in Nashville is called Broadway and it’s full of bars, in all of which live country music is sung around the clock, from 11am until 3am the following morning.  The singers in the bars earn little for their efforts, but are simply happy to be performing in Nashville.


Hotel Preston

Angela Oliver and Mike Rogers


When we returned to the Hotel Preston after our visit to The Grand Ole Opry, we stopped downstairs in the hotel’s Pink Slip Bar for a late night drink. The live music in that bar was superb, good enough to be performed on the stage of The Grand Ole Opry itself.  There was a beautiful young singer from Houston, Texas, called Angela Oliver, supported by a talented guitarist called Mike Rogers.  They really deserve a break and, if any country music producers are reading this, try looking at her webpage at  www.angelaolivermusic.com


Listening Room Cafe

On the following morning, we visited The Listening Room Café for a Sunday brunch.  The café lies near Nashville’s football stadium, where the Tennessee Titans were doing battle with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nashville and Titan stadium - photo Bill Cobb

Live music in the café was provided by members of the same family, aged from the mid twenties down to four or five.  A little kid on the trumpet was fantastic. In Nashville, music is everywhere.

Click on the video below to see a video of the family playing.



Mention of Jacksonville turned our thoughts to Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States, after whom Florida’s largest city is named. I usually carry several pictures of him in my wallet, since his stern visage appears on every US twenty dollar bill.

The Hermitage

Hand-painted wallpaper

Kitchen

Smokehouse

Slave cabin

Jackson’s home for most of his life was The Hermitage, which is an early 19th century mansion, sitting on 1120 acres of land and located just ten miles to the east of downtown Nashville.  Jackson and his wife are buried there.

We toured the grounds of The Hermitage in a wagon slowly pulled by two huge and soporific old horses.  We saw where Jackson made a fortune growing cotton and we viewed the slave quarters.  Jackson owned hundreds of slaves, which was fortunate for him – if not for them – because Jackson’s busy life left him little time for growing the cotton himself.

But what a life Jackson led!  Born in 1767 to Irish immigrant parents, his poor childhood included his teenage participation as a courier in the Revolutionary War.  In his early twenties he became a lawyer, who helped to found the State of Tennessee and who fought and killed a man in a duel. Then he became a soldier and was the general who convincingly beat a larger British force in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans.

Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans
Jackson next turned his attention to the Spanish, took Florida away from them without specific orders so to do and later served as military governor of the newly acquired territory.  He became the US senator for Tennessee, narrowly lost the 1824 presidential election and finally captured the White House in 1828. He served as President for eight years and died in 1845 at the age of 78.  No wonder he needed so much help to grow his own cotton!

Country Music Hall of Fame

Johnny Cash Museum

Willie Nelson Museum and General Store

Just as there is so much in Jackson’s life that I have no room to mention, so it is with Nashville.  There are wonderful places in that city about which I have said nothing.   On my next visit, I intend to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Johnny Cash museum and Willie Nelson Museum and General Store and much else.

Gerst Haus restaurant

Bob at Gerst Haus restaurant
We did however manage to lunch at Nashville’s oldest restaurant, established by Germans in 1890. It’s called the Gerst Haus.  It brews its own beer, under the name Gerst Amber Ale, which is much needed in order to wash down the huge portions of German fare that the restaurant serves. Danke schon!

This piece, written by Bob, was originally posted on our website on November 15, 2014.




Inverness Florida - Fort Cooper - A Seminole War Battle Site



The city of Inverness, Florida lies 20 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico and 80 miles to the north of the great city of Tampa. It is the seat of Citrus County, Florida. In April 2017, we moved to live a few miles to the south of Inverness. Our new home is located in a beautiful area of woods and lakes. As the sunlight comes slanting through the trees, there is an atmosphere of total tranquility. The deer, squirrel and sand crane wander around fearlessly, which is clever of them because they have nothing to fear. Yet a couple of centuries ago, it wasn't at all like that. There was fierce fighting in this idyllic setting.


Chief Osceola and Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson seized Florida for the United States of America in 1820 and was elected President in 1828. The Second Seminole War, which began in 1835, was triggered by Jackson's plan to move Native Americans from Central Florida to reservations west of the Mississippi River. However, they didn't want to leave. Close to our new home are the remains of Fort Cooper, built in April 1836 on the shores of Lake Holathlikaha. The crystal clear water of the lake covers 160 acres.

Reenactors portraying US Army soldiers in battle

The fort was built by Major Mark Anthony Cooper, commander of the 380 First Georgia Battalion Volunteers, whose task was to protect the sick and wounded left behind by General Scott who was moving on to Fort Brooke, which is now Tampa. Cooper built his fort close to the lake's edge in order that the sick and wounded could benefit from the fresh water. His orders were to hold his position until the arrival of relief troops which were expected to be there in nine days.

Reenactors portraying Native Americans at Fort Cooper battle

After three days, this seemingly vulnerable target was discovered by Seminole warriors led by Chief Osceola. The Seminoles launched daily attacks upon Cooper and his men, who were greatly outnumbered. At one time, there were over 500 Seminoles attacking the fort and relief from Tampa did not arrive as promised. Supplies in the fort were running out. Yet surely those under attack were merely undocumented or illegal immigrants to Florida? Should they not have received from the Seminoles the same gentle treatment accorded to such immigrants by the US Federal Government in the 21st century. Anyway, the attacks continued, but Cooper held out.

Gun salute 


The relief column arrived on the sixteenth day. Cooper and his Georgia Battalion were saved. Their casualties were 20 wounded and only one fatality. Fort Cooper continued to be used by the US Army during the rest of the war for reconnaissance purposes. The fort and the lake now form part of Fort Cooper State Park, so Major Cooper's efforts have been rewarded and his name is preserved for posterity. So has the name of Chief Osceola, who died in captivity not long after the events described above. Osceola County, Florida is now visited by millions of people from all over the world because it is the home of Walt Disney World. This internationally renowned resort is on the other side of the city of Orlando, about 80 miles to the south east of the crystal clear lake and the crumbling fort in Fort Cooper State Park. Chief Osceola may have failed to win 1836 but, in terms of 21st century fame, he can at least claim victory over Major Cooper in name recognition.

Fort Cooper Events On March 17 and 18, 2018, Fort Cooper was the site of a re-enactment of the battle between the US Army and the Seminoles fought at the fort in 1835. The people who portray the characters take their role very seriously and pay great attention to detail to get an accurate representation of the time period from the clothes to all the paraphernalia used to make up the two camps of the opposing parties.

Video below shows part of reenactment and comments by various actors regarding the history their characters portrayed.




This piece, written by Bob, was originally posted on our website on March 24, 2018.