The Mary Sack Trip Day Two
Cookeville Edition
On Tuesday we woke up to a dreary day in Nashville. We pondered our next step but after a bit of map consideration, we decided to head to Cookeville, Tennessee. It was perhaps not the best day for a drive or taking pictures. Many of these signs and bits of history are disappearing more quickly than ever though, so off we went.
A neon lightbulb. ❤️
And this is why we go out even on rainy days, because I doubt the sign below will be standing next time we’re in Tennessee. What a gorgeous sign, the colors, the design, I absolutely love this. It must have been stunning when lit. Nice job, Leo DePriest. Nice job.
I love the little bubbly top of this sign!
Isn’t this ice cream sign glorious? As I understand it, the city maintains it and holds an annual fundraiser to keep it going.
We didn’t do our standard breakfast that morning as we thought we’d stop at John’s Place for lunch. Reportedly the first fully integrated establishment in Cookeville, it is famous for its John Dogs and is now on the National Register to boot.
No, this John’s Dog didn’t particularly agree with me but it was absolutely wonderful. Sometimes you have to take one for the team, in this case it was my stomach that bravely stood up for the task.
I was a tad jealous of Ernie’s grilled bologna but he let me have a bite. I’m pleased that they were awarded $40,000 by the National Trust (via an American Express sponsorship) a few years back. This is the coolest program, focused on small and independent restaurants. Locally, Flesor’s Candy Kitchen received a grant, and I believe my beautiful Chinese restaurant in Janesville will be getting their neon sign restored via this program. Everyplace from Antoine’s and Dooky Chase in New Orleans to Ben’s Chili Bowl in DC. I love it, I love it, I love it. Yay American Express, yay National Trust!
As we headed back to Nashville in the rain we saw so many hints of history poking up in the landscape.
I tried to find out a bit about this as I was smitten. I didn’t have much luck apart from finding that it sits on 31 acres.
A good day.
Onward.
Love,
Cynthia