Tennessee Crossroads 3516

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- This time on Tennessee crossroads, we first find out how moonshine and cookies come together in Knoxville, then we'll meet the talented owner of Nashville Hippie Jewelry, we'll visit a museum dedicated to local veterans in Lebanon and enjoy an at-home dining experience in Ashland city.

That's the lineup for this edition of Tennessee crossroads everyone, I'm Joe Elmore, sure glad to have you.

Moonshine goes by many names: Mountain Dew, Corn liquor, or as the old possum sang it White Lightning.

Whatever you call it, it's a Tennessee tradition.

Now in our first story Miranda Cohen takes us to a Knoxville shop where the tradition is alive and well in some delicious baked goods.

- [Narrator] Rick Dunlap is from McMinnville, Mike Maddux is from Mount Juliet and Robin Maddux is from Knoxville.

And this dynamic trio has been friends for nearly 40 years.

It all started back at The University of Tennessee.

From their sophomore year, Rick Dunlap and Mike Maddux were college roommates.

Mike and Robin were sweethearts, now married for 35 years.

- I saw something in him that, he just became my dearest friend and here 40 years later, he's still my dearest friend.

He a thinker.

And so it doesn't shock me at any of his ideas that he comes up with.

- Robin thinks I'm a serial entrepreneur.

So I would say that I'm guilty as charged.

- [Narrator] So no one was surprised when Mike opened a pizza restaurant in Knoxville, in his twenties.

Always the thinker, he wanted to make his business stand out.

So he talked his new bride into making her delicious home made cookies.

- [Mike] So we started sending out the cookies in with the pizzas that day and in about thirty - forty five minutes later, the phone starts ringing off the hook and it's people, not calling back to order an extra pizza but they're wanting extra cookies.

- I thought it was amazing.

I thought it was just like, unlike any cookie I'd ever tried before.

- [Narrator] Fast forward 30 years, now older, wiser, and with the desire to do something a little different.

The old friends were brought back together by fate and those amazing cookies.

Robin still had the great recipe for the cookies they called Rocky Top and Peanut Butter Cup Rocky top.

But they wanted to give their new cookies, a little, something extra.

- And I knew that there was one thing that was smoking hot at the time.

And that was moonshine.

It had just been legalized.

The whole idea for the moonshine was really just to get people's attention.

- [Rick] It was such a novel thing, but also delicious, you know, novelty only goes so far.

And when they taste it was unlike anything they had ever tried.

- [Robin] So we start the moonshine it was like just trial and error starting another one, can we do one with strawberry moonshine?

Well, how about orange moonshine?

Well, how about, you know so we just kinda went from there and just, started creating different recipes.

- [Narrator] And that's how the Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company started.

Now they have two locations in Knoxville and a busy mail order business.

And though each cookie has a little something special, they are still completely family friendly.

- [Mike] This is not an adulterated product in any way.

We had it tested by the state and they kind of laughed at us.

You're not going to taste the alcohol.

Some people are disappointed about that and some people are happy about it, but it's safe for kids, it's safe for everyone.

- [Narrator] In fact, spirited baking has been around for centuries.

- [Rick] We know from our past that a lot of our grandmothers, our great-grandmothers put alcohol in your baking and that extends the life of it.

- For me, in east Tennessee, when you say moonshine, you think Tennessee.

It helps keep our cookies moist, and as the alcohol bakes off, most bakers will tell you that the alcohol bakes off, the flavoring that was used in that flavored moonshine stays.

And it gives the cookie and extra flavor burst.

- [Rick] It really does, you know, accentuate the taste and the moisture content.

- [Narrator] And the founders of The Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company didn't have to look far to find the perfect libation.

They used old smoky moonshine.

- We're very proud of being a Tennessee company.

So we're very proud that it's Tennessee moonshine.

- [Narrator] In the beginning they enlisted a small army of family and friends.

Now they have a full-time staff, who carefully oversee the mixing of only the finest ingredients.

- [Robin] We just don't want to scamp and we're like, you know what?

We think the cookie's worth it, we put our love and a lot of time into it so we want them to be the best.

- [Miranda] And the Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company cookies are true to their name.

In each cookie there is a little splash of moonshine.

And if you look closely on each cookie, there is a mountain.

- [Rick] We found the novel approach to use a ice cream scoop so therefore we had Moonshine Mountain because our cookies are shaped like a mountain.

- [Mike] I think it's our signature.

I think every single business needs a brand and something that reminds them of what it is and to stand out from the others.

- [Narrator] And stand out they do.

In fact, the cookies made with a little secret recipe are hardly a secret any more.

They will ship all over the country from this Kingston pike location.

And once you've had one of their creative libations you'll be coming back for more.

With flavors like Barry White, John Lemon, Mint Jagger, Fall and Oats, Happy Pappy, Decadent, Choco Khan, and many more.

They even make giant cookie cakes with handwritten inscriptions, like happy birthday, congratulations, or even the name of your favorite TV show.

- We try to be creative and a wholesome company.

And we put the two together and we really are just looking for fun and we want it to be an excellent product, but we want to be a wholesome company that has fun and is fun.

- [Mike] We really emphasize the customer service because I can't control whether you like our cookie or not, but we can certainly control whether you were treated well when you came in.

- [Rick] We've put out a product that comes from Tennessee, from products of Tennessee.

And nothing makes us happier than to represent the state of Tennessee with a cookie that is worthy of all Tennesseans.

- Thanks Miranda.

Our next story is about an artist who brings beautiful old jewelry designs from Northern India back to life.

Cindy Carter shows us how Mary Elizabeth Long handcrafts new treasures for her company called Nashville, hippy jewelry.

- [Narrator] You might say Nashville jewelry designer Mary Elizabeth Long has a flair, for the dramatic.

- [Mary] It does come in waves though, my creativity, so I have to strike when the iron's hot.

- [Narrator] A creative spirit with a Bohemian sense of style, Mary Elizabeth is every bit the embodiment of her company's brand NashVegas Hippie Jewelry.

And the jewelry, like the designer, is unique, dynamic, and yes, dramatic.

- I just get lost in the process and time goes by so quickly, I'll be working on something and the next thing I know it's two o'clock in the morning and it's like, wow I need to go to bed, but I get a little obsessed with it.

- [Narrator] An obsession that totally makes sense.

If you spend some time with the artist, as we did, inside her home studio.

- [Mary] Well, I make rings and necklaces, I make earrings.

I make it all.

But with the metal clay mostly pendants and rings.

- [Narrator] This former stylist and makeup artist got serious about jewelry design after her father was diagnosed with dementia and moved in with her.

She needed a new creative path, one she could pursue at home.

- [Mary] Mm there it is!

- [Narrator] That's when Mary Elizabeth rediscovered something she'd dabbled in, decades prior, Jewelry making.

As an added bonus, it was also something she could do with her dad.

- I got really excited about all the different things I could make.

And I found a guy down in New Orleans.

And he had all this beautiful jewelry and I asked him what the medium was and he said metal clay and that was my introduction to metal clay.

- [Narrator] Bronze, Copper, Silver, Mary Elizabeth makes her own clay with these precious metals.

She then molds the clay into her designs, often using one of several unique dyes she's collected over the years to make impressions in the clay, giving her work an old world look and feel.

- So Mary Elizabeth, you really enjoy working with these antique metal dyes.

What is it about them that excites you so much?

- Well, I really love to see these little works of art being brought back to life.

They're over a hundred years old and they're hand engraved by Indian jewelers.

And it's a pleasure for me and an honor, honestly, to bring them back to life.

- [Narrator] As you can tell Mary Elizabeth is thrilled to share this unique artistry with a new generation and says the history tied to each dye inspires her work as much as the dyes actual design.

- [Mary] Each one is so special.

And I really love it when they're signed on the back.

And that makes it special.

- [Narrator] Each piece of jewelry takes a few days to create.

Once she makes her clay, molds it into her vision and makes impressions with the dyes, the pieces are dried, sanded, burnished... - [Mary] This is the fun part.

It starts looking like metal - [Narrator] ... and perfected.

- [Mary] And it just, makes it really smooth.

- [Narrator] Then it's off to the kiln, which Mary Elizabeth admits was initially pretty intimidating.

But now she can't wait to see how the pieces turn out.

- [Mary] Ooh!

Once you burn off the binder, you just have the metal left and then you put it in harden and you fire it at between 1500 and 1800 degrees.

And that makes the metal center and it becomes a piece of metal and a piece of jewelry.

- [Narrator] It's a process that makes this designer's modern jewelry, again, look and feel as if the pieces have been around for decades.

- Mary Elizabeth can certainly fashion her precious metal clay into a variety of pieces, but admits rings and pendants work best.

That's because this material has some weight to it.

- [Mary] I like to make big pieces so it can weigh up to 50 grams.

It can weigh a hundred grams but it just depends on the piece that I'm making.

- [Narrator] And the jewelry she makes does make a statement.

One of a kind handmade adornments that have also caught the attention of a few prominent Tennesseans.

- There's Jeannie Seely who is an opera star, she's worn some of my pieces.

Jared James Nichols, who is a blues guitar player.

He wears some of my jewelry and a lot of musicians around town.

- [Narrator] Not bad for a self-proclaimed NashVegas Hippie, a free spirited jewelry designer with a flare for drama.

- [Mary] And I just turned my music on and I just start creating.

And it's really exciting.

- Thank you, Cindy.

There are numerous military museums that pay tribute to defenders of American freedom.

Wilson county has one that pays tribute to its own local veterans.

Well here's how their artifacts, uniforms and other elements make for a moving very personalized experience.

- [Narrator] This eternal flame in Lebanon symbolizes the ongoing remembrance of Wilson county veterans.

Those who served their country and all US armed forces, including some who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The military museum is the result of hard work donated by four architects and countless volunteers.

Visitors can view a treasure of artifacts, loaned or given by veterans from the area.

All kinds of weapons from frontier days to the present.

In addition to souvenirs, once belonging to the other side.

The wall displays take you through a timeline of sorts, including of course the war between the states, world war one... - And of course now when you get to world war two, we have a special connection because the headquarters for the maneuvers was here at Cumberland university from 42 to 44.

And general Patton was actually here in Lebanon.

During that time period.

- [Narrator] Our campus Linda grand staff was responsible for curating each and every artifact that came in.

- For the last six years it's kept me pretty busy recording all of the items that come in and getting the information about them and cataloging them all and giving them all a number.

And that's very important because if you just take things and lay them down, you have no idea where they come from.

- [Narrator] Mannequins were specially ordered to represent real people dressed in their real uniforms.

- This uniform represents Kenny Rich, one of our county commissioners, and he served in the war of Iraq.

And he brought back several items.

- Who's this?

- That's Emma Tapley.

She served in the military.

She's from here.

She now lives in Texas.

But her family and all are still here, but she's recently moved to Texas.

The majority of our mannequins stand for real people that are from our county or connected to our county through a relative.

And we're very proud of that.

And as I prepared them for display, it's almost like I got to know them.

You know, personally.

I'm dealing with their clothes and their history.

That, to me, was very important.

And it's very touching to be able to have that connection.

- [Narrator] The timeline continues with the Korean war, the war in Vietnam, and finally the Gulf wars.

- The centerpiece of the museum is this 1965 Huey helicopter.

It flew over 1800 hours carrying troops in and out of hot combat zones in Vietnam.

It too has a true Wilson county connection.

- I always tell Miss Linda the dummy looks a lot better than I ever looked in my life.

- [Narrator] Former county sheriff Terry Ash served in the 101st Airborne division in 1967 and 68 at the height of the conflict.

He has three purple hearts to show for.

- I brought some old web gear I wore in Vietnam.

I brought my Bible, which I carried and it's had a purple heart pinned on it for years.

And these are photographs of me.

This could be me in this very helicopter here we don't know for sure.

My old helmet.

- [Narrator] When the helicopter was brought in from storage in Nashville for display, Terry made a startling discovery.

It's very likely he rode in it on a combat mission and during heavy enemy fire.

- Its very strange to see it here sometimes.

But so you just wonder, is that the same one?

But there are certain holes in the floor of this thing that lead me to believe it is flag one, so.

- Bullet holes - Bullet holes, yeah.

They're marked by the red tags on the floor there.

- [Narrator] The famous quote "War is hell."

is attributed to civil war General William Sherman.

Many of the veterans honored here, went through hell to preserve the peace they cherished back home.

This museum is dedicated to all those who served in any capacity.

- Everybody can't be in combat, but those who are back home with the families and the other soldiers who were serving in all the branches they make it able for you to be successful in your mission when you're deployed.

So this is in honor of all the people.

- Ever been to a place that makes you feel at home the minute you walk inside?

Well it didn't take Rob Wilds long to feel comfortable at O'Brien's Southern Diner just outside Ashland city.

Much of that at-home feeling is because of owner Candice O'Brien Beasley.

She makes certain every plate that leaves the kitchen passes her personal perfection test.

- Here we go!

- [Narrator] Come to O'Brien's Southern Diner and you're gonna find Candice O'Brien Beasley going all the time.

- Did everything come out correct over here y'all?

- All good.

- Good?

Awesome.

- [Narrator] On the rare occasion something is not correct.

- Well, darn!

- [Narrator] Candice knows who to blame, not her son who helps in the kitchen, not her daughter who's a waitress, not the other young women who are servers here.

Nope.

Candice would pretty much have to blame... Candice.

- I love touching every plate cause I know it's not going to get messed up if I do it myself.

I can't help it, you know, if somebody sends something back, I know it's my fault.

And I can't get mad at anybody else but myself, you know, I've always been that way though.

I just want to touch every plate that goes out.

- [Narrator] For Candice there's a lot of pressure when every plate has to pass the perfection test.

But you know what they say, "If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen."

Candice may feel the heat sometimes, but she's not going anywhere.

- I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, - [Rob] Really?

- Just a little bit.

We do everything big here, you know, our pancakes are huge our burgers are huge, plate lunch, we give a little more than we probably should.

- [Narrator] Part of the checking every plate is making sure her customer's eyes are not bigger than their stomachs.

So along with each hamburger, each hungry guest gets a friendly warning.

- We always make sure when somebody orders a double that's new, that's never been here, we're like you do realize that's a pound of meat.

And nine times out of ten, they change their mind and they get the single.

So I try to get the waitresses to just, you know, tell everybody cause I mean, they come in and get this massive burger, this little lady, you know, she can't eat that.

And I want everybody to be pleased.

I'd rather them be happy than to make that extra five bucks off of a double, so.

- [Narrator] It's about letting her customers enjoy lots of good food and still feel good about it later.

It's sort of like Candice and her customers and crew are all part of a dance, choreographed to deliver the favorites that come out of her kitchen.

- The biggest sellers are our burgers, our half pound burger and our fish, which we hand batter fresh each order.

We do catfish, but we do ours a little different, it's more of a Louisiana style catfish, but everybody seems to really like it.

We do breakfast, lunch and dinner, Wednesday through Saturday.

And then we do breakfast and lunch on Sunday.

And we're closed every Monday and Tuesday.

It's coming it's got cheese.

- Oh OK. - Hot one here just stay right there.

I got you right now.

- [Narrator] If Candace sounds a little like everybody's favorite grandma, there's a good reason.

- I basically cooked all my life and, or waited tables somewhere.

I've worked in the restaurant industry since I was 14 years old, but I grew up cooking with like my nanny and my grandmother.

My nanny and her husband owned wine and balls restaurant that was on Broadway in Nashville for years.

So she taught me some things as I was young, you know, kind of what they cook there and things like that.

And then me and my grandmother, we cooked everyday together.

You know, we were always making food for somebody at church or taking it to someone.

- [Narrator] So with that sort of example to follow, every Christmas, Candice and her crew feed all comers for free.

- [Candice] And we'll hit all of the local nursing homes, we'll hit all the shut-ins here, anybody that's just down on their luck we'll feed them as well.

On Christmas we do about six, seven hundred meals, so, it's a lot.

- [Narrator] It is a lot running your own business.

- [Candice] I love it.

You know, I like being my own boss.

- [Narrator] Which means bossing members of the family.

Daughter, Brooklyn Beasley says "Yes, mom is a perfectionist, but that's okay."

- I love working with my parents.

I think it's the best thing I've ever done.

- [Rob] Is it really?

- Yes and I'm so glad that this is like my first job and it's with my parents and my brothers.

- [Narrator] O'Brien's Southern Diner is out in the country a bit, outside Ashland city, but it's a pretty drive.

- As you're driving down the road looking for O'Brien's, you may miss it!

Cause there's so many cars parked along the road you can't see the sign.

You know what?

I think she's gonna need a bigger sign and a bigger parking lot.

- On the weekends.

People park on the road, like almost to the bridge some days, but we have that field over there we just try to make it work.

- [Narrator] Work it does!

People come from all over and still Candice knows her customers well enough to miss one who hasn't been around in a while.

- Thank you all for coming in!

- There's one of your old busboys.

- I know right!

How are you?

- Good, how're you doing?

- I ain't seen you in forever.

Forever and ever.

- [Narrator] Knowing who's coming and going could be part of being a perfectionist, a perfectionist with a passion.

- We try to give back to our community as much as possible.

We try really hard.

We work really hard to please everyone, so, we love our little shack out here.

- [Narrator] Well if you like good food and friendly folks, I'd say the chances are pretty good that you're gonna love Candice's little shack too.

- [Candice] How are y'all doing?

Is everything good?

- Well, that's it for this edition of Tennessee Crossroads, be sure to visit our website Tennessee Crossroads.org.

You can follow us on Facebook of course, and join us here next week.

See you then.

- Tennessee.

Crossroads is made possible in part by: - Discover Tennessee trails and byways.

Discover Tennessee's adventure, cuisine, history and more made in Tennessee experiences, showcased among these 16 driving trails.

More at TNTrailsAndByways.com.