Store Closing In Centerville

Once again the news is not good for the citizens of Hickman County. Donna's Cee Bee store in Centerville is closing its doors on November 7, 2010. After about 60 years in business, and changing hands a few times during that time, the grocery store will be missed by the local people who sometimes walk to it.

A casualty of rising rent and unable to negotiate another lease, the present owners believe that it is better to close now than to wait any longer.

If anyone out there would like to build another store that is definitely needed, I can help you find a good location. Just let me know. I would not recommend that location, but, I think that the opportunity to make lots of money is there. According to one study I saw, there is an $18,000,000 opportunity in the Lyles, Bon Aqua area alone.

Grinder's Switch Hour On Tennessee Crossroads

The Grinder's Switch Hour, named in honor of Minnie Pearl's fictious hometown, is held in Centerville, TN every Saturday has been featured on Tennessee Crossroads on the local PBS TV station. The segment has been uploaded to Youtube.com. You can catch the radio show live from Hickman County on CountryKIX96.com at 10:00 a.m.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_YQsr93tyo

Remote Controlled Electric Meters

According to an article online at The Tennessean website, early next year, the Dickson Electric Service will begin installing remote controlled electric meters for all 28,000 residential and 6,000 commercial customers. Dickson Electric Service provides electricity to about 4,000 customers in the Lyles and Bon Aqua area of Hickman County. According to Darrell Gillespie, the General Manager, the DES should realize a savings of $650,000 per year and the upgrade is expected to pay for itself in five to seven years.

The entire article from The Tennessean can be read here.

It's Hickman County!

Small towns usually do not have big acts to perform on the local stage. However, Hickman County - at times - seems to be the exception. Hickman County has been home to some big country stars throughout the years.

Minnie Pearl was born in Centerville, Tennessee and Grinders Switch was her fictitious home in her comedy routine. Del Reeves lived here for decades. Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown lived here for a few years. Alan Jackson, Ed Bruce, and Blake Shelton have all called Hickman County home.

And, last Saturday night the Crickets which includes drummer and songwriter J. I. Allison, who lives in Lyles, TN, played at the Ag pavilion in Grinders Switch. Although not as many people attended as I would have liked to have seen, they put on a great show. It was billed as "Saturday Night In Hickman County" and was a fundraiser for victims of the "Great Flood" in May.

And The Winner Is...

This past Saturday was the 1st annual Banana Pudding Festival in Hickman County. If you did not attend, you missed a treat. The lady that won the contest has written a blog post and you can read all about it in her blog here. The festival was a big success and I hope it grows bigger every year. However, I have a feeling that roads will need improvment to support the increaed traffic through Centerville and Grinder's Switch. But, that is a good thing.

Car Show, Quilt Show, Banana Pudding Festival - Whew, I'm Tired!

Yesterday was a busy day in Hickman County. Usually in small towns, people seem to complain that there is not much to do, however, if you were anywhere near Centerville, Tennessee you knew something was going on. People were everywhere.

While my wife, George Ann was at the quilt show, I started out at the Car Show at the Hickman County Justice Center. Even though this has been held for over two decades, I have never taken the time to go there. I know how to put gas in and change the oil. That's about it. But, walking by and seeing these cars - many from years ago - really was fun. I liked the '56 T-bird convertible and the Austin Healy (that is the one Jill had on Home Improvement.). There were lots of Corvettes that I would get a ticket in if I owned one. And there were plenty of trucks. Some of the vehicles looked as though they were handled with "kids gloves."

Next, we - my youngest son Zack and I - walked to the quilt show. A lady at the door handed us a piece of paper and said to pick out the quilt we liked the most. I don't know anything about quilts other than when I was young they would keep me warm at night. However, I know what I thought was pretty so we wrote down a number. There were lots of quilts there and to my surprise, I spent a little time looking at them. I could not imagine how long it took people to make a quilt in the "old days."

From there we drove to the Banana Pudding Festival at the Ag Pavilion and Fairgrounds in Grinder's Switch - the place Minnie Pearl made famous in her comedy routine. I really did not know what to expect and wondered if very many people would show up. Wow! What a surprise. When we arrived, the lady collecting money at the gate said that it had been lots of people through there. We parked in a field and walked to the main pavilion where there were hundreds of people listening to music. People were everywhere. I would like to know exactly how many were there, but I bet throughout the day there were thousands. There were two areas for live bands, a small area for children with the bouncy things, food of all kinds. Free Ice cream from Purity. I ate the rib-eye sandwich from the Lions Club - it was delicious. We ate the banana pudding and put our dollar in the one we thought was best. George Ann and I disagreed - which is not unusual. But, she has the right to be wrong.

I was happy with the way the day turned out. I had a good time although I was tired by the end of the day and I look forward to next year. After seeing the crowds in Centerville yesterday, maybe better days are ahead for Hickman County.