If you like to hike near water, then Burgess Falls State Park, near Sparta, Tenn., needs to be on your destination list for 2019. It doesn’t matter what time of year, you are guaranteed great views of the gorge and the angry Falling Water River cutting its way through Chattanooga shale, limestone and slate.
According to its website, Burgess Falls State Park is a day-use park, noted for its natural beauty and four waterfalls that cascade down from over 250 feet in elevation. The last of these falls is the most spectacular, plunging more than 130 feet into the gorge.

The area was originally populated by Native Americans of the Cherokee, Creek and Chickasaw tribes. These tribes used the land as a hunting ground until the late 19th century when a gristmill and sawmill began operating on the river.

The Falling Water River was used to generate hydroelectric power for the city of Cookeville from 1928-1944. In 1973, the territory became a designated Tennessee State Natural Area, protecting the diverse forest and aquatic habitats.

Remnants of the hydroelectric flume are still visible today as it once crisscrossed the river on a suspension cradle made of wire and wood. The flume is long gone, but its harnesses still hang high above the gorge.

Entering the park, you’ll see a large sign warning about the strenuous hike to the falls. If you hike at all, you will not find it strenuous, but the hike will require you to ascend and descend many many stairs, requiring you to be alert and sure-footed.

This park is very dog friendly. In fact, my mini-golden doodle, Mayme, met many well-behaved dogs, as well as several eager children along the way.
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A nice pavilion and modern bathrooms are available next to the parking lot. I noticed some of the park’s flora are tagged for easy identification. Benches dot the trail, with scenic overlooks developed for optimal viewing.
Those who want a closer, more adventurous view of the falls can hike down several hundred feet to the water’s edge. There you can feel the frigid white water as it rumbles by and feel the mist as it rises from below.

Plan on staying an hour and a half at this location – even longer if you plan to see the native wildflower and butterfly garden.

Burgess Falls is gorgeous during the dead of winter, so spring, summer and fall must be spectacular. The park was busy but manageable in February. Its website says to consider visiting during the middle of the week to avoid the crowds.
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If you are looking to make a day of the area, consider visiting Window Cliffs State natural area just south of Burgess Falls. Window Cliffs is a 275-acre natural area that opened for public access in April 2017. This day-use area is located in southern Putnam County, approximately 18 miles south of Cookeville; it is managed by Burgess Falls State Park.

Town of Signal Mountain
Public Works Department
611 Timberlinks Drive
 
$5/LOAD
 
Saturday ..................... March 23
Saturday ..................... March 30
Saturday .......................... April 6
Saturday ........................ April 13
Saturday ........................ April 27
Saturday ........................... May 4
Saturday ......................... May 11
Saturday ......................... May 28
Saturday .......................... June 1
Saturday ........................ June 15
9 AM – 2 PM

by Greyson Brown

This spring, Susan Stein coordinated lighting and draping for her garden club’s flower show with Molly Robinson from Luma Designs. Impressed by Susan’s knack for layout and knowledge of the set-up process, Molly asked Susan about her expertise.

“I used to work as an interior designer, then I worked in development for The Chambliss Center, and I also sold clothing. Now, I’m hoping that, somehow, all of the things that I have enjoyed mesh together into my next venture,” Susan said.
Boom. Molly mentioned that Homes and Havens, a new nonprofit started by her friend, needed Susan’s expertise, and the seed was planted.

True to form, Susan listened. “I checked out Kaysie Strickland’s Homes and Havens Instagram, Facebook and web pages, contacted her and met with her the following week,” Susan said. “I was so moved by her efforts that I immediately offered support and my expertise if she thought I could assist the growth of her idea.”

While Kaysie was working with the Renew Program at Calvary Chapel on Broad Street, she found a gap in the services provided to bolster a successful outcome for women in recovery. Kaysie realized that many women endure hardships, suffer and, finally, hope to begin anew, but they often return to the toxic living environment where much of their pain began. Researching the benefits of living in a tranquil environment to promote healing, Kaysie utilizes the concept of therapeutic design.

Both she and Susan shared difficult times in their lives when their homes were their sanctuaries, offering them calm spaces to heal.

“Extensive research has proven that environment impacts emotional and mental wellbeing, especially for individuals recovering from trauma. Homes and Havens developed and implemented Trauma Informed Design, which uses specific color palettes, textures, space considerations and layouts to promote visual comfort, order and peace within a home. This is the design lens that we use when we create a restorative healing environment for every client,” Susan explained.

Currently, Homes and Havens partners with 14 different agencies, including Partnership for Families and Adults, The Renew Ministry of Calvary Chapel, Love’s Arm, The Next Door, Family Promise and Chattanooga Room at The Inn. “Our clients come from various backgrounds, nationalities and age groups. These women are on the healing side of severe life crises such as sex trafficking, addiction, abuse, incarceration and homelessness,” Susan said.

Many of Homes and Havens clients have fled a home or have no home, and no furnishings. Returning to an environment of blight is sending these women right back to chaos and trauma from which they are recovering. 

“Research proves that these unhealthy environments can trigger a nervous system that is trying to heal from trauma, neglect and abuse, often leading to relapse,” Susan says.

Homes and Havens volunteers step in to work with caseworkers and meet with each client in her new home, coming up with a design plan for her needs and those of any children in her care. “We start with a wish list of needs that usually includes beds, blankets, sofas, chairs, dressers, lamps, artwork, and curtains. We then go gather what we can,” Susan says. “Most of the furniture we receive is donated from the community. We ask for slightly used sofas, dressers and tables. We use what we call the ‘sister standard.’ If you would not put it in your sister’s house, then we can’t use it. We are very cautious as to what we put in these women’s homes. They are used to getting the worst of the worst, and our mission is to let them receive and experience a clean, organized, healing environment. That can’t happen on a soiled ripped sofa. We believe the furnishings communicate value, and we want each client to know how much we value them as women, mothers, members of our community and, most off all, survivors,” Susan says with a smile.

The team selects items with each client in mind, often painting furniture pieces to offer a fresh look. Once ready to completely renew their clients’ homes, they schedule a day to install and arrive with a team of volunteers and movers.

“We come with a team of volunteers/movers and set up the entire space while the client and children are away. In about three hours we are ready for the reveal, as we welcome the family back home into a completely designed, furnished and healing space,” Susan explains.

A generous local artist heard of this amazing concept and donated his talents to provide custom painted pieces for these beautiful new spaces. “In collaboration, we can all add something to encourage these women and their families to stay healthy,” Susan says. “When we hang the pieces of art painted specifically for these women, they are visibly moved by the compassion of others.”

Homes and Havens was selected by Causeway’s Social Innovation Studio, which is a pilot program to assist projects in their growth to the next level. Susan says they are looking for a larger studio space in which to house and refurbish donations. They have a goal of becoming self-sustaining by training clients to sew and paint as they learn a trade and become part of the mission that assisted them. Homes and Havens envisions that this new space could also be leased to host small events in the future.

Once Homes and Havens completes a home, the caseworker resumes contact with the client, and Homes and Havens keeps in touch to continue to encourage her recovery. In the past year and a half, Homes and Havens transformed homes for dozens of women, and, at this writing, 100 percent remain in recovery. This remarkable team of women includes: Kaysie Strickland, founder and president; Meg Littell, project manager; Susan Stein, director of development; Brooke Ritterbush, director of events; Lexi Bozarth, community relations; and Suzanne Zimmerman, Nashville community relations.

Go to homesandhavens.com to hear Kaysie Strickland explain the mission of this venture. She calls each home a “tangible piece of redemption” as she explains that she is “a fighter for their stories” as these women try to “step out of the darkness into the light.” In the video, a quotation by Mary Oliver hangs on the wall, which reads, “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Kaysie Strickland and her team are doing just that.

By Natalie Mault Mead

​From its neoclassical architecture to the large gold-leaf frames within its galleries, the Hunter Museum’s mansion represents a traditional, iconic – and often favorite – part of the museum for many visitors. The mansion galleries encompass the oldest portion of the Hunter Museum and today house our early American collection of itinerant portraiture, Victorian furniture, and Hudson River School landscape paintings. For many visitors, the mansion galleries display benign artworks that are easy to recognize and require little to no interpretation beyond exploring the subject or painterly technique. Viewers often see early American portraiture, for example, as a precursor to modern day selfies – an unassuming depiction of the sitter – but these early portraits capture a subject that Americans struggle with today: defining an American identity. Art from the past was often radical, even if we don’t recognize it as such today.

In keeping with our mission to engage diverse audiences in active dialogues about American art, the Hunter has recently started an exciting reexamination of these early American galleries. Our new plan seeks to present art from the past in such a way that viewers will better understand their historical context. We will continue to highlight visitor favorites, but also include less familiar works. These historic paintings and drawings will be presented alongside more contemporary works of art as a way to highlight issues and themes facing early Americans that are still relevant today. The juxtaposition of old and new is intended to illustrate how the American identity has changed over time.

The mansion’s Southern Gallery – located on the top floor – represents the first of these gallery changes. Originally, the gallery housed Southern portraiture and landscape painting from 1810-1880 and explored how art played an important role in establishing a regional identity. Recently, the gallery was reexamined to explore the U.S. Civil War era and to delve further into the issue of race in America – a theme that is still relevant today. The gallery has reopened with the addition of “Southern Souvenir No. II,” c. 1948 by Eldzier Cortor (1916-2015), a loan from Art Bridges, a new non-profit foundation focused on sharing outstanding works of American art.

Cortor is an African American artist known for his serene paintings of strong, elongated black women, but in ‘Southern Souvenir No. II” he positions disembodied figures amongst historic representations and classical imagery to signify the legacy of race in the American South. Although Cortor’s painting is a more contemporary work than others in the mansion, it serves as a powerful comparison to the historic paintings. With the inclusion of “Southern Souvenir No. II,” visitors now have the opportunity to reexamine the historic context of the paintings dating around the time of the U.S. Civil War, while questioning the idea of race in America then and now.

Committed to collecting, studying and presenting significant American art to connect people of every background to creativity, knowledge and ideas, we hope these galleries will prompt a dialogue about the complexity of the American experience and reflect how the American identity may or may not have changed over the centuries.

Keep an eye out for additional gallery changes in the coming year.

High school sophomores and juniors, their parents, and college counselors in the Chattanooga area are invited to attend the Coast-to-Coast College Fair on Tuesday, March 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention and Trade Center.
Admissions representatives from colleges and universities -public and private, large and small, rural and big city – will be present, eager to introduce their schools and answer students’ questions.
For 25 years, the Coast-to-Coast College Fair has hosted a diverse array of schools in higher education from the full spectrum of college options. While students are introducing themselves to college representatives and gathering information about their favorite schools, parents may attend one of two financial aid workshops by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation.
Join friends, bring parents, and broaden horizons at the Coast-to-Coast College Fair on Tuesday, March 5.
Students should pre-register for a personal barcode at www.gotocollegefairs.com. Baylor School, Girls Preparatory School, McCallie School, and St. Andrew’s Sewanee School are sponsoring the event.