Post # 11

Post # 11

We left off in our last posting in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. We had such a great time during our visit there & it felt real good to just stay put for a while.

Grand Rivers is a great example of “Small Town USA”. The folks there have a great deal of pride in their little city. There are approximately 350 folks that call Grand Rivers home. They are quick to give a helping hand whether it’s a ride to town or a hand.......... well with just about anything. Everyone is friendly & downright happy to be here, chat with anyone on Saturday & chances are they will invite you to church then home with them for their Sunday meal. Miss Alma invited us; we enjoyed a wonderful home cooked meal and visit with her. Miss Alma shared many stories of her life with us; she is a very active 84 & a real JOY to spend time with. She sells her quilts & shares her history of quilting during her lifetime. She shared with us that during her early years her husband asked her if he could have an electric blanket. She said no way “you try in’ to ruin my reputation”! Miss Alma said I’m going to put another quilt on the bed that’ll keep ya warm.

Grand Rivers had their Harvest Festival while we were in town; it is a really big deal approximately 1,200 people attended the event. The parade was typical; fire trucks, fancy old cars, tractors, golf carts (Grand Rivers is golf cart friendly) sports teams well you get the idea. After the parade well food (these folks know how to eat!) country & Christian music, gun raffles, all of your typical festival stuff. Well the gun raffle is a bit unexpected. One other thing we noticed some folks have hunting knives right on their belts, maybe they allow that because Grand Rivers is in a “Dry County”. Many of the locals do not and don’t except folks drinkin’.

Grand Rivers is the first town that you come to Coming of the Cumberland River, through the Barkley Lock. That makes it a welcome site after three days of anchoring out in muddy coves with nothing to offer except a rest from river travel.

Lake Barkley, The Kentucky Lakes & Land between the Lakes Area History. Before these two locks & dams were built many small towns and farms were in the path of where the rivers would be moved to. When boating these rivers it is hard to imagine thousands of people had once lived where now the rivers flow. The villages of Eddyville & Kuttawa were relocated and the Kentucky State Prison which was once located on the outskirts of Eddyville is now waterfront! The “old” towns are totally underwater, just a few of reminders of “old” Eddyville & Kuttawa remain.

The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) purchased over 170,000 acres of land to open this area up to commercial & recreational traffic, to control water levels & it also produces electricity. Miss Alma has lived in Grand Rivers her entire life; she shared with us her memories of the TVA purchase. If your home & land was in the area where the TVA deemed unsafe due to the new path of the rivers you must sell your home & land to them for the price they deem reasonable. She was not bitter over the entire deal; as she says it all works out in the long run. She took us past the property where she lived as a little girl, where her Daddy (as Miss Alma lovingly calls him) cared for his gardens & fruit trees. Her Mother & Daddy owned a home & small farm of 11 acres; the TVA paid them $6,000 dollars in 1963. We were surprised to see that her childhood homestead was located where our boat was now tied to the dock at Green Turtle Bay Marina just outside of the Barkley Lock. It is a beautiful area with rolling hills just up from the boat slips. Miss Alma shared with us that on those hills her Daddy cared for his apple trees & Mother hung her quilts on the clothes line just over there. She shared many wonderful memories with us it’s no wonder we extended our visit to Grand Rivers.

Kentucky Lock & Dam was the first of the two it was built in 1938 & was completed in 1944. It controls water levels & barge traffic on the Tennessee River. The Barkley Lock & Dam was opened in 1964 this lock & dam controls water levels on the Cumberland River, allows commercial & recreational boat travel, it also creates electricity.

After completion of the two locks the TVA wanted to connected the two rivers. This would allow for more access for barge travel. The two rivers are just about a mile and a half apart. So the TVA dug a canal to connect the two rivers & named it the Barkley Canal.

The area between the two rivers is a wonderful recreation area filled with campgrounds, hiking trails, mountain biking, horse back riding, hunting & more. They call it The Land Between The Lakes. You should check it out www.lbl.org

We are currently in New Johnsville, Tennessee..