Tennessee Crossroads Flashback Special

- This week on "Tennessee Crossroads" we're taking you back, way back with a special episode of our new monthly series, "Retro Tennessee Crossroads".

First, we're traveling to Music Row in the late '80s, then we'll take you to The Farm, home of the Summertown hippy commune.

We'll journey back to the show's first season and learn about some cutting edge video dating technology and finally join Jerry Thompson as he explores a downtown landmark, "The Arcade".

That's the lineup for this special edition of "Retro Tennessee Crossroads".

I'm Joe Elmore, welcome.

(smooth jazz music) Well I'm joined in the studio by our president and CEO at NPT, Becky Magura.

How you doin', Becky?

- I'm great, Joe, thanks so much.

I'm so excited to be here.

- Well, you know, I can't believe it but we've been on the air 35 seasons here on NPT.

But actually, after looking at that opening, I can believe it, whew.

- You know, it's amazing how fast time flies and I'm not surprised though, by the show's longevity.

I can't tell you how many viewers all across Tennessee tell me that "Tennessee Crossroads" is their favorite show.

They watch every week and they've been watching for decades.

- Well it sounds like "Retro Tennessee Crossroads" will be a perfect fit for our viewers as we dig through those 35 seasons of episodes to uncover some of our archival gems.

- You know, I'm so thankful that this station has made such an effort to preserve these episodes, not only for the station's history, Joe, but really for our state's history, as well.

- Yeah, we certainly have captured a lot with our cameras over the years.

The City of Nashville, in particular, has grown and amazingly in the last 10 years, and looks what's happened on Music Row and the city's bustling tourist industry, amazing.

- Absolutely, you are absolutely right, Joe.

And you know, that sounds like a great segue for our first story.

Let's go back and look at Music Row through the eyes of a tourist circa 1989.

- In our first story this time, we're going to go where no man or woman has dared to travel before, at least very much, and that is, if you're from Nashville.

You see, this is a place that's inhabited with a strange and mysterious breed of creature that we all know as tourist.

(trumpet music) Every year in Nashville, there's an invasion from outside forces.

Their mission, country music.

At the annual fanfare, their troops numbered 20,000.

Their uniforms may vary, but some of the soldiers are highly decorated.

And even in the off-season, while most of Nashville looks and lives like a normal city, there's another side where these invaders are found daily.

Many are armed with cameras and some are considered dangerous to the motorist, and some even bring guitars in hopes of drawing fire.

For all of them, the target is this mysterious mass of museums and stores just across the road from the Country Music Hall of Fame.

And while many of you may pass by here daily, going to and from work, you probably never dare to stop.

But have you ever wondered what it would be like?

Well, we did too.

("Jail House Rock" music) (Elvis singing) ♪ The warden threw a party in the county jail ♪ First stop, a shop dedicated to the king where tourists explore a bounty of gifts of and about Elvis.

(Elvis singing) ♪ You ain't nothin' ♪ but a hound doggie ♪ Cryin' all the time ♪ You ain't nothin' - You can buy Elvis mugs, eat off of an Elvis plate, even decorate your tree with Elvis.

Why, there's even an Elvis Presley shampoo and rinse.

Now in the museum, you can see where the king might've slept and study the lavish costumes he once wore now donning a gray mannequin.

(Hank Williams singing) ♪ I gotta get ready ♪ Make everything right ♪ 'Cause all my rowdy friends are comin' over tonight ♪ There's even more star merchandise here in Hank Williams Junior's place.

Why, you can buy Hank's suspenders to keep your pants up.

You could wear Hank on your back or on your head.

Or no, this is actually a litter bag for your car.

(George Jones singing) ♪ Aw she was hotter ♪ than a two-dollar pistol ♪ She was the feistiest thing around ♪ This car museum with George Jones' name on it claims to be one of the top tourist targets and it's indeed a nice break from the front lines of souvenir shops.

I think the most interesting ones are the cars of the stars.

Here's a '34 Packard owned by the late Marty Robbins, a '53 Cadillac owned by the old opossum himself, George Jones, and this little '58 model maybe owned by Little Jimmy Dickens.

(Little Jimmy singing) ♪ And the bird of paradise ♪ fly up your nose ♪ May an elephant caress you with his toes ♪ All this souvenir shopping sure works up an appetite.

You know, we middle Tennesseeans know of fancier, more out of the way places to dine, but where else are you gonna find the world's greatest footlong?

It says it right up there.

And where else are you gonna have an elephant look over your shoulder while you try to eat it?

This is Music City, folks.

(Barbara Mandrell singing) ♪ I was country ♪ When country wasn't cool Our last conquest is a country within a country.

It's the multimedia temple of superstar Barbara Mandrell.

Again, the bedroom seems to be a favorite feature.

When you cross over into this world, fantasy is foremost.

And dreams of fame are even more vivid.

And you kinda understand why so many people come here to fulfill those dreams.

Well, downstairs at Mandrell Country, we found the highlight of our quest, a recording studio where you can go through the motions of stardom.

- Well, basically people just come in and they pick out a song from a list on the wall and we give 'em the words.

And they go in a booth and we play the music, and they hear somebody singing.

And they sing themselves then it comes out on tape with just their voice and the music.

It takes about 10 minutes.

- You see then you can go ahead and make a music video, if you so choose.

- Do the music video and they could lipsynch it.

And it looks real similar to stuff back here on the wall.

- [John] People come in doing stuff for like, "Star Search", makin' demos for "Star Search", for "You Can Be A Star" and yeah, a lot-- - Quite a few people are serious but we're more geared for, you know, people to come in and have just fun with it.

- Tourists.

Just tourists.

- Well I'll tell you what, speaking of the ones that are serious.

- You've got somebody over here that you wanna bring into this now.

- My production assistant, Susan Allen and I have been thinking about giving up our day jobs and doin' a duet.

Could we maybe do one?

- You've come to the right place for this.

You really have.

I think we can help you.

Can we help 'em, John?

- Oh yeah, let's help 'em.

- [Man In White Polo] Let's do that.

(The Beatles music) ♪ Oh yeah I ♪ Tell you something ♪ I think you'll understand ♪ When I say that something ♪ I wanna hold your hand ♪ I wanna hold your hand ♪ I wanna hold your hand ♪ Oh please - Well Susan, you think we showed we have a little talent, huh?

- Yes, Joe, very little talent.

- Yeah, that was what I was afraid of.

Well anyway, it was a lot of fun and I got my Christmas shopping done early.

And you folks got to see a side of Nashville you probably never saw before, huh?

Now, why don't we try some Sonny and Cher next, you know?

- [Susan] I think that would be good.

(Joe singing) ♪ They say we're young and - This year marks a special Tennessee anniversary you may not have paid too much attention to.

You see, 20 years ago, a community was founded near Summertown by a group of California hippies.

It became known nationwide as The Farm.

Well, in this show in two, separate stories, we're going back to The Farm to meet some of the people and see how two decades have changed their dreams and lifestyles.

(soft acoustic guitar music) - I wanted a peaceful, slower existence and I liked being around children.

It was out in the country away from the city.

Most everything I was lookin' for at the time.

- When I came here, I had one of my babies on the caravan on the way here.

And I've had five more since.

And raising them out here in the country is the best possible place.

- Beyond this quaint visitor's station is a collective community simply called The Farm.

To many people, it may be considered a hippy commune.

If it is, it's one of the last remaining in this country.

Whatever it is, it began as an experiment in alternative living, a reaction if you will, to one of the most turbulent periods in American history.

(Jimmy Hendrix "Purple Haze" music) The hippy movement widened the generation gap first generated in the 1950s.

Turned off by the materialist world of their parents, many young people tuned in to an alternative culture of their own.

Steve Gaskin was a writing professor at San Francisco State when he first encountered the movement.

- Some people think that I think I'm a prophet and I've invented this way.

This is not the case.

What happened was I was a middle-aged Beatnik already or at least mature, had kids, divorced, what not, an MA, taught college and such.

And then I saw these hippies and they were amazing and their heart was so good.

Whew, really nice, you know?

And I just admired them so much and I thought, "Look at this beautiful ethic that these people are deriving "out of such simple stuff."

(Credence Clearwater Revival music) - Fueled by resistance to the Vietnam War, flames of protest sent many thousands of hippies into the streets.

But in 1971, Gaskin and about 300 of his followers vowed to change society by starting a new one.

Loading up in buses, they headed west, eventually winding up in Lewis County, Tennessee.

And there, they bought 1,000 acres of rough farmland to begin their experiment in complete communal living.

Well, time changes everything, even here on The Farm.

By the late 1970s, the population had swelled to 1700, far too many to effectively maintain a communal economy.

So in 1983, facing bankruptcy, they changed the system to a co-op.

That meant everyone had to earn his own keep or leave.

Well, many people had to leave but today, those that remained behind still seem to adhere to the principles that brought 'em here in the first place.

- Love and peace.

That's what the whole hippy thing started out as and what it flowered into.

And when we came here to The Farm, it was really looking for a place to plant those ideals and try 'em out.

- There was people who were so young when they joined up that they didn't know what they were.

Like, they suddenly find themselves 27 years old, says, "My god, I'm a Republican.

"What am I doing here?"

(Steve laughing) You know, it just suddenly came onto 'em.

They realized that I don't agree with all that.

(soft acoustic guitar music) - [Joe] Today, The Farm is a rare and interesting slice of America where dreams of the '60s have made peace with realities of the '90s.

A handful of original settlers still live here middle-aged and mellowed a bit, but still proud to call themselves hippies.

- Yes, I still consider myself a hippy.

My mother will probably argue that some, but.

(ladies laughing) You know, it's a religion.

It's not just because you, you know, how you dress or anything, but it's how you think.

- Although tucked away in the country, some Farm members have made an impressive impact on the world outside.

- [Ina] He's got one of the bigger heads that we've seen.

- [Woman] Yeah.

(women chuckling) - Like right here, 37.

- 37, yeah.

- Yeah, right here.

- Ina Mae Gaskin is renowned for her training of midwives and delivering babies at home.

Ina Mae's methods work, she says, because they make birth a natural, happy event.

- I think it's the difference in whether you're a sort of a background character as a laboring woman or if you're the star of the show.

Now I think that any woman that's pregnant has sort of instinctively a feeling that everybody ought to be really waiting on her and catering to her.

And that doesn't just mean hooking you up to this and that monitor.

It means people serving you, people who are so compassionate with you that they know what you want as soon as you want it.

You don't even have to say it.

- When you get to help take part in that natural miracle, how does it make you feel?

- There's something very special, I think, about the way we at this center get to practice too, because it's not like in the situation if I worked in the hospital where I deliver a baby and I never see that child again, or at least I don't know if I do.

But here, we keep track of them.

For a good number of them, we've lived in the same community.

So we see them right on through childhood.

I meet them, I'm also an English teacher, so I meet them in my English class, when they get to high school.

We have a life-long relationship.

- [Joe] Chances are Ina Mae delivered many of the youngsters here at the private farm school where there's an enrollment of about 30.

The atmosphere's laid back and students call their teacher, Cynthia Rowback, by her first name.

- Well we've known these kids since they were babies.

And I've taken care of them, a lot of 'em since my own children were small.

- What would you say are the advantages of teaching in The Farm school over other types of educational situations?

- Well, it's a very relaxed atmosphere and you have a lot of freedom to use your own creativity and do the kinds of things that you like to do and that the kids will like to do.

And we're not real bound up by system curriculums and things like that.

(children squealing, chattering) - There are signs around the school that these young people truly care about their environment and have strong feelings about how to protect it.

Few seem to consider themselves hippies or flower children as their parents did, yet all seem to share a related sense of who they are.

- People that believe in peace and wanna recycle and save the world.

- And don't wanna eat animals.

- Don't believe in violence.

We're vegetarians.

- Vegetarians, yeah.

- We have like voice, like, we believe in recycling, we believe in peace, and we don't believe in eating animals.

But we're like, we're not from the '60s and we don't go around with love beads on us or anything.

(soft acoustic guitar music) - It's evolved like everything else in that most of us they came here with certain ideals.

We've changed our style and our methods for achieving those ideals.

But they're still not real far from what we originally came here for.

(music continues) - Earlier in the show, we went to the Farm to meet some of the people and learned a little bit about the history of this famous hippie commune.

Right now, we're going back to learn a little bit about the lifestyles and livelihood of the people, and to meet some of their children, and see how they feel about being legacies of the farm.

- I've matured, and learned things, that I didn't know, 20 years ago.

And when you learn, you have to adapt, you know.

- When the farm was founded by those 300 adventurous hippies back in 1970, the average age was about 26.

Today with two generations living on the property, it's probably much older.

And while a few live off the land, as they once tried to.

Most adhere to the principles of a non-violent, non-smoking, vegetarian lifestyle.

Some of the homes here could provide models of land use sufficiency.

The owners of this garden use a technique called permaculture, and grow nearly all their food on one acre.

Some of the vegetables though, like these tomatoes look a little strange.

- [Becky Magura] Tomato, it's brown and ugly.

- [Host] Yeah.

- [Becky Magura] But Randy says this is the best tasting tomato he's got here.

- [Host] Well, I had the good fortune to land a dinner invitation at the home of Sean and Pat McCarthy.

Pat's a doctor's assisted in nearby Mount pleasant.

Sean has just started growing apples here on the farm.

They share their house with Pat's sister Kathy.

Well tonight's menu was tofu from the local tofu dairy, which Pat seasoned, baked, and served with rice.

Along with squash and salad, fresh from the garden.

Pat, is this a typical dinner?

- This is a typical dinner.

That's why I decided to have it.

We have a lot of just plain, broiled tofu which keeps the fat content down.

We don't add much oil when we cook it, and the kids like it like this.

- [Host] It was good.

Really good.

And while we ate my host reflected on leaner times in the farms earlier years - I arrived in 75 when we were at that time in surplus army tents.

And there was no insulation on the canvas.

So that was kind of tough.

Kerosene lanterns for light.

- We had these hot water heaters outside the homes and you had to go out and build this little hot water heater fire underneath the hot water heater.

Oh, it was just so not only you trying to cook dinner and watch about four or five children you're out there stoking the fire to get hot water going.

And you're inside stoking the wood stove to keep the house warm.

But something has made the people here stay.

The ones that are here stayed, and weathered through all the changes and are gonna keep weathering through it together.

And I think our children have learned a lot about getting along with each other and working out problems and living in community.

- These are some second generation farm citizens, very intelligent, very curious about the world beyond and very proud of their hippie heritage.

Although some who go to school outside of the farm say they do encounter some prejudice.

- And we go to summer town school.

They don't, they're like some town's right off here.

It's a little school and a little town and they're just they think we're weird.

And they think we have weird ideas and that, I think they're a bit.

- Cause we speak up.

- They don't like anything different.

If it's different, it's like wrong to them.

- I've had a kid ask me if I lived in a barn - [Host] In a barn.

- Or a tent.

- Cause I live on a farm.

- [Host] Don't you think though, after they get to know you that things are a lot better than they.

- They don't get to know us unless they're really nice.

They don't wanna get to know you.

- They build barriers.

- Their parents tell them not to like us, not to hang out with us cause we're dirty hippies and we're bad influences.

Their churches tell them not to hang out with us.

- They're priests tell them to hang out with everybody.

- Everybody tells them we're bad kids.

- [Host] Nowadays about half the adults work within the farm community.

Taylor and Donna Hay run the local store.

It's a favorite after school hangout.

I noticed a while ago one of the kids got a snack and there was no money exchange.

You just wrote it down the book, that's like they used to do in the old stores when I was a kid.

Is that the way it works here?

- That's the way it pretty much works here.

They don't have to carry money around.

We all know each other.

There's about 50 families.

We know all the children, everyone trusts each other.

You feel very safe.

- [Host] This electronics firm makes a sensing device called the radiation alert.

The president of the farm grown industry is Susan Skinner.

- We've found that most people in industries where they deal with some kind of radioactive substance or like I said x-ray machines are the ones that have an occupation where the possibility is greater for them to be exposed to some kind of radio activity.

They're the ones that are mostly buying these.

And then we get maybe 5% of our business are people that are more your average person that's concerned about possible radio activity like from a nuclear power plan.

- And this has a tradition that goes back thousands of years - [Host] Two other founding farm members, Edward and Janet Sierra have a computer driven mail order business.

They sell clothes, especially imported from the Mayan people of Guatemala.

- This clothing is hand woven out in villages.

And it's usually, the loom that it's woven on is right there in the home.

- For us being in the middle here.

It's the kind of pleasure of knowing that we're not only selling a good product but we're supporting a good cause.

Namely native people being able to live and work like ourselves at home, in their village where they can persist within their culture rather than having to go find work elsewhere on the coastal plantations.

For example.

- So life on the farm has become a balance of old natural values and new modern technologies.

But you have to wonder will second and third generations be living here 20 years from now, probably so.

But more importantly, those who choose to move on will pass through these gates to make a positive impact on the rest of the world.

- After 20 years, we're still living here and we're not overcrowding the land and our roads and our water systems are all adequate cause we're the right size population for the right amount of land that we're on.

So we're not real unhappy that we're not 1500 people here right now.

And it also means there's about 3,700 of us out there in the world, raising hell somewhere.

You know, it's still friends with us and still part of a giant organic network.

- But I think after 20 years we can look back on it now with a little bit of pride and say, well, yes, this we did.

And we have healthy kids to prove it.

And we have a pretty sane sort of life.

- Yeah.

I think I'd like to stay here sometimes and go to California where I was born and different places, travel around.

- Have you noticed lately the many ways people are using video.

Apart from television, I mean.

Why employers are using video to train workers?

Golfers are using video to improve those swings.

Real estate agents are even using video to help them sell houses.

Well, add to the list, video dating that's right.

It's a new way to make Cupid, do his job better.

We thought we'd take a look at this new high tech way to put true love in the picture.

- If you wanna buy a house, you can go to a real estate agent.

Or if you need a job, you can go to a personnel agent.

But if you wanna find a mate that's a little different situation.

There wasn't any formal thing to do.

And I guess we all feel like it's supposed to happen by magic.

And after many years experience found out it didn't happen by magic.

Then I felt there should be something, that fills that need.

- Dan Cantrell is director of Nashville's new video dating service, Great Expectations.

It's a concept that began in Los Angeles years ago and it allows you to get to know a prospective match without having to meet 'em face to face.

- Okay.

Carol, tell me if you had all the money in the world - [Host] Here's how it works for a hefty membership fee.

You get a video interview, a personality profile and some photographs you in turn have access to the library where under first names only you can check out possible candidates.

If they pass the photo and written exam you can move on to the all important BHS test.

- I think it shows you a person's personality.

It at least is an indication of whether or not they can carry on a conversation and how they feel about certain things.

The questions that are asked are, are not really deep but they are deep enough to let you know if that person is interested in some of the same things you are.

(upbeat drumming) - [Host] Frank is a widower, father of two kids, and a newcomer to Nashville.

For him the bar scene was the wrong place to seek out the right person for a relationship.

- Not that quality people don't go to bars or lounges.

It's just that the percentage of finding someone that you really might be compatible with is really very slim, and being a stranger in town.

Having only been here five months, I didn't know where to go to begin with.

- You wanna drink it?

Okay.

It's fine.

- Carolyn who's a single professional nurse, felt the very same way.

Frank and Carolyn joined Great Expectations about the same time and found each other through the magic of video.

- The night I went down to preview my pictures that were going into the file.

They said, well, why are you here?

Why don't you look at some videos?

And I said, well, okay.

So I saw his video and I liked what I saw.

And I liked what I read in the files.

So, he was sent a postcard and then he replied.

- What did you like in the video about Frank that made you think, Hey I'd like to meet this guy.

- There were a lot of things.

Number one, he was very handsome, very attractive.

But he also came across as very mature and had his head on.

He knew what he was wanting to do with his life.

- And strangely enough, when I went down to pick out my photos, they asked me to do the same thing and I didn't have a great deal of time.

So I did go through a few of the files.

I did see her video and I thought, well, once mine got put into the file, I wouldn't have the opportunity to come back.

I had planned to pick her.

Well, it was a few days after that, when I received a card in the mail that had said you had been selected and you go back down and then they give you the number of the person who selected you.

You pull their video and lo and behold it was her.

- [Host] But you had seen her before.

- I had seen her before.

- [Host] You're not just saying that cause she's here now?

- No, no, no.

It's really ironic.

But that's exactly what happened.

- [Host] Carol, is a divorced, administrative assistant, who turned to video, dating in hopes of finding a quality companion quickly.

- I'm interested in meeting a man who has a lot of interests, and wants to share them with me.

I have a lot of interest.

I like to go to the theater and I like to go to the symphony.

And I like to go to football games, and baseball games.

And, and that's a pretty wide variety of things to do and places to go.

I would like to find somebody who likes those same things.

And traveling, I love to travel.

I also read a lot and that's asking a lot, I know.

But I think if you can find two or three things in common then you can build a nice friendship around that.

- I tell you what Carol you've made a couple of choices.

Looks like you're gonna have a date soon.

What if we videotape your video date?

- Oh, that would be fun.

I think that would be fun.

- [Host] So a week or so later a date was arranged at this Nashville restaurant.

And this is the man she picked.

A computer consultant named Bill who apparently liked Carol enough on video to meet the real thing.

And here's Carol ready to meet her video date while we videotaped the video date.

- Other than having a TV crew eavesdrop on every minute of your first date, how's it going?

- It's going great.

Yeah.

- You guys have a lot in common.

Don't you?

Both in computer business.

Is that right?

- Yeah.

We are both in computers and that's interesting to talk to somebody who, you can talk the same language with.

- That's good.

Carol.

Do you think you'll make it through the main course?

- Oh, I think so.

Yes.

- Well, Bill, this is probably new to you too.

What do you think about meeting somebody through a a video tape and a written profile?

Is that a good way to do it?

- It's completely new to me, and I really like it.

- [Host] Well, I guess I, I would ask you guys if you're gonna have another date, but it's a little early.

Is that right?

- Well, I mean, that's always a good possibility - [Host] Carol.

Is it a good possibility?

- Oh, I think it's a good possibility.

Yes.

- Will this lead to a lasting friendship?

Will Frank and Carolyn find a more serious relationship?

Well, I guess we'll have to stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, the folks at Great Expectations claim a surprising amount of these video dates that resulted in permanent mates.

And who knows while it's not for everyone.

Maybe some people can find true love in a little black box.

- ♪ There is somebody I'm longin to see.

♪ ♪ I hope that she turns out to be, someone to watch ♪ ♪ Over me.

- For our final story, let's join Jerry Thompson downtown in Nashville.

Jerry's gonna explore a landmark there you may not have seen in quite a while.

Oh, it could be considered a forerunner to all the malls in the area.

And it's still there, still pretty busy, and still simply called, "the Arcade."

- The Arcade, here in downtown Nashville, is unique in many ways.

(people hooting) When it opened in 1903, it was the first, or at least among the first, enclosed shopping centers in the country.

It was certainly the first one in Nashville, and certainly a forerunner of the modern shopping centers we have today.

But most of all, for 90 years, it's been a national landmark.

When Nashville's Arcade opened almost 88 years ago, it housed some of the city's finest stores and shops.

It also was the flagship of the American shopping centers we know today.

As I walked through the Arcade recently, it brought back a lot of memories.

It doesn't seem as noisy now as it did when I was a kid, and walked through it hanging on to my mother's hand.

It's also much smaller, a whole lot smaller than I remembered it.

Maybe it's just that time has a way of making fond memories bigger than they really are.

Almost anyone who has been around Nashville any length of time has a story or a memory of the Arcade.

But without a doubt, the man who has the most of both is Roy Lee Joe.

Roy has worked at the Arcade since September, 1926.

- The reason I got this job, I told mother I wasn't going finish school.

Well, she said, "Don't you go to work?"

And so I just come through here one day, and a white fella stand there, I know he was sweeping.

I said, "You need any help here?"

He said, "Yep.

You mighty young to be talking about working?"

(laughs) - [Jerry] How old were you then?

- Must about 12, I guess 12, 11 or 12.

And mom would say, "Well, if you ain't going school, you gonna get you a job."

And so I just talked that man, and he said, "You come up here Monday."

And I did.

He said, "Well, I'll give you $4 a week."

- [Jerry] Well, what would that $4 buy back then?

- Oh, nothing.

See, I catch the street car right off there for a nickel, right there.

- [Jerry] Yeah?

- Yes sir, a nickel, but anyway- - [Jerry] When I first talked to Roy Lee Joe, he appeared to be a confirmed bachelor.

- Look, oh now, don't you start that.

My sister, (Jerry laughs) I call her last Sunday, talking about when I'm gonna get married.

I asked her, "Did she have good sex?"

(Jerry laughs) - [Jerry] Have you ever been married Roy?

- One time.

Look, you want me to tell the truth?

She took $1,700, my new car, left me.

I ain't seen that woman since.

I was.. That police here say... (laughs) So that left me $70, I was saying I sure did.

- [Jerry] So you never did try it again, huh?

- Ah, for what?

(laughing) - [Jerry] However, sometime later, I noticed Roy and a woman friend, and I began to doubt his sincerity.

As I strolled around the Arcade, the memories came flooding back, but there was one that I didn't remember.

Henry's famous flame shoe shine.

(polish spraying) Henry Adams has only been doing his famous fame shine four months, but he's already another unique feature- - There's quite a few things I know about it.

- [Jerry] of the Arcade.

I had to try one.

- And I don't get paid for it.

(shoe shine machine whirring) Mm hmm.

- [Jerry] That seems to keep getting bigger and bigger.

- [Henry] Yeah, it does.

(laughs) - [Jerry] Well, if that runs up my bridge leg, like a squirrel, I'm gonna have to be gone.

- [Henry] They told me he was a brave man.

- [Jerry] Yeah, I know, but the river about four blocks from here.

I may not stop until I get to the river.

Oh, I can feel the heat.

(flame extinguishing) There's no such thing getting cold feet around one of your shines.

(Henry laughs) - [Henry] No.

- [Jerry] Now this normal shoe polish, will it burn like that or is that normal shoe polish?

- [Henry] Normal shoe polish will burn, but products I use allows it to burn a little bit better.

(lighter striking) - [Jerry] What keeps it from burning your hand?

- [Henry] It does burn.

- [Jerry] Well, man, that's what I call dedication to a fellow's word.

(dryer whirring) Would you advise your customer not to go home, try this at home?

- [Henry] Definitely.

- [Jerry] You don't have to worry about me trying it at home.

I just hope my boys don't see it and try it at home.

- Now that shine will last three times the length of a regular shine or a spit shine.

(brush scratching) - [Jerry] I mean, it is certainly a brilliant shine.

I have never seen one like it.

There's one special place that evokes a lot of fond memories from me.

It's the Peanut Shop.

I remember vividly the man dressed in a peanut costume handing out hot roasted peanuts to all who passed.

The Peanut Shop has been part of the Arcade since 1927, and it's changed very little.

There's still bins and bins of hot roasting nuts, and the aroma inside still makes a person's mouth water.

- A sack of each fine roasting.

- [Jerry] I couldn't resist the temptation.

I had to have some peanuts (peanuts pouring) fresh outta the roaster.

There's something magical about the Arcade.

More than 40,000 people were on hand when it opened, and millions have walked through it since.

A walk through the Arcade is like walking through Nashville's history.

It's fortunate that it has been so well-preserved for future memories by future generations.

You know, as a kid coming up, and a country boy coming to the big city, I use the Arcade as a personal landmark.

I use it to find places like Harveys, Cain-Sloan, the W.T.

Grant company.

Unfortunately, none of those places are still here anymore, but I'm sure glad the Arcade is.

- Thank you for joining us for Retro Tennessee Crossroads.

(jazz music) Hey, be sure to tune in on the first Sunday of each month at 6:30pm for new episodes, as we dig further into those Crossroad archives.

We'll see you there.

(soft music) (upbeat music)