Along The Way: Bombs, Bars & Cars

Departure time was 8 am. We were all getting the hang of the directions! Each of has had a turn at navigating at this point. Today's Secret Tour instructions took us to our first stop, the Oak Ridge History Museum.

We learned valuable information about the people that built Oak Ridge. Born in war time, Oak Ridge never made it into any map until after WWII ended.

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, at the time Oak Ridge did not exist, it was rural farmland. Purchased in 1942 the land was developed as part of the Manhattan Project. And soon had a population of 75,000 people all working to end the war. The collections of personal items was amazing and brought back many memories!

We then traveled to Historic Jackson Square for coffee break where we were treated to donuts and coffee. We had a chance to catch up with both the odd and even groups.

This was originally called "Town Center No 1". It opened in 1943 and offered 24 hour grocery shopping, farmers markets, gasoline, stores, pharmacy, theater and more.

Our tour through the residential areas first took us on a drive thru the Alexander House, a boarding house in the 40s where you would share a room with strangers, now a retirement home and along streets where you could view the Alphabet Houses.From Type A through H Cemesto homes- Cemesto being a mix of cement and asbestos- to Types A, B, C, S, and V Flat-Top designs, Oak Ridge's architectural style was unique in its simplicity, form, function, and space.

A beautiful drive into the foothills led us to Bushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros.

Upon arriving at the Penitentiary, we were greeted by Inmate President Fred Trusty (apparently is demeaned trustworthy by the authorities)

Arriving early we were given an opportunity to rest for a little while and explore some of the grounds.

Served in prison trays our burger from Wardens Table Restaurant could not have been any better. Seated in a jail cell we enjoyed the atmosphere.

We made the "great switch-a-roo" with the even numbers, and we had our chance to explore the prison while they had the opportunity to enjoy lunch. Bushy Mountain opened in 1896 to replace the previous system of using the "prisoners" as unpaid convict labor in the coal mines.

An ex-prisoner told us about all the fellow inmates and their stories.

Then a retired guard told us stories about his experiences with the inmates.

We found cell number 47 to match the inmate number Barrett will portray in his tap dance recital.

We were about the last to leave the site as we all found this venue very interesting.

The East Tennessee Region hosted an Ice cream social at Bissell Park. They served some very tasty ice cream with cookies.

Along with ice cream we joined with locals to hold a Wednesday afternoon car show that was well attended by locals. I saw several people letting youth looking at the car climb in and get photos.