The Kindness of Friends

65 Miles to Rock City

US Hwy. 127, Bledsoe County, TN

Olympus OM2n, 60-200 f4 Zuiko lens, Fujichrome 100

 

Reposted from September, 2021.

In late summer of 1993, Louise and I were going through an especially difficult time. The contractor who was building our home had just gone bankrupt, holding 82 percent of our money and leaving us with a house that was not 82 percent finished.

Our friends John and Ann Huckaba took note of our discouragement and invited us to come with them on a Sunday afternoon outing to Crossville, Tennessee to see a performance at the Cumberland County Playhouse.

Afterward, we ate at the excellent restaurant at Cumberland Mountain State Park, then walked down to the lake. Naturally, I had a camera with me, so I made a few photos of canoes pulled up on the dock.

Driving home on U.S. Highway 127 in rich evening light, we passed a barn with one of  Rock City's ubiquitous signs. I asked John if he would stop so I could make a picture. He did, and I did, resulting in one of my favorite Rock City barn photographs.

This was more than a year before I actually began commissioned work on my book Rock City Barns: A Passing Era, but I was already gathering photographs of the barns as I found them. Having a number of good barn photos to show Bill Chapin, the president of See Rock City, Inc., was what actually sealed the deal on the book project. 

Canoes at Cumberland Mountain State Park

Cumberland County, TN

Olympus OM2n, 60-200 f4 Zuiko lens, Fujichrome 100

It was a refreshing and encouraging day for Louise and me. We will always be grateful for the kindness of friends. And because I had a camera with me and my eyes were open to noticing things, I have two of my favorite pictures to help us remember the day.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2021-25 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel photography    film photography     Olynpus OM2n camera     Olympus Zuiko 60-200mm lens       Fujichrome 100 film     Crossville, Tennessee    Cumberland County Playhouse     Rock City barns     Cumberland Mountain State Park     Rock City Barns: A Passing Era     canoes     barns