I’m just back from another trip to my beloved Hayslope (sure wish I lived closer!), this time shorter than the last. It was productive, and also a little frustrating.
The goals for this trip were to get the three closets upstairs cleared out, along with the mattresses still sitting in the upstairs rooms and maybe even get starting hauling stuff out of what will be our kitchen.
OK, I got the closets cleared. Barely. The smallest of the closets – and the one I tackled first – nearly did me in on Day 1. I am pretty sure the former tenants sucked all the air out of it and compressed everything down so they could put even more stuff in there. I mean, there was a television! I filled SEVEN contractor bags, dragged one other, already filled contractor bag, and several more filled boxes and bags along with assorted shelves outta there.
The next closet didn’t have nearly as much stuff, but it did contain some weird things, like the pedestal from a pedestal sink and a broken glider. Also a door. It was red! And then the third closet … frankly I almost gave up on it. It was truly the junkiest of junk closets. While the other two were mainly old and moldy clothes, this one was full of broken things, boxes of pieces of something or another. Another television. An artificial Christmas tree in multiple pieces.
I determined on the very first day there was no way I was gonna go up and down those stairs with all that garbage to get it out to the road (my original idea) and decided then and there it was gonna stay upstairs until next time, when I can bring another dumpster in. While I’d like nothing more than to be able to donate this stuff, it’s in no condition to go into anyone else’s home, let alone be worn on their bodies!
Treasures
I didn’t tear anymore wall boards off to find logs, although getting all the junk out of Closet Number 3 allowed for a clear view of the original front outside wall of the cabin (photos in the gallery in the first section). Closet Number 1 contained some really old vinyl records, including one that was specifically recorded for use with a Victrola – it was recorded on only one side – and featured early 20th century opera singer Enrico Caruso. Now I want a Victrola for the house.
The bestest treasure came from Dakota of The Old History Project. He had taken a couple pieces of the wall boards that we tore off last time home with him. What I didn’t know is what he did with them.
First, he planed all the paint off and had an arborist take a look. The arborist confirmed that the wood covering the walls in what’s to be our kitchen (at least) is indeed American chestnut. And that’s not all. Then he researched what font would have been used for signs in the two historical eras of the house – Roddye’s Red Door Tavern and the Rogans’ Hayslope – had an artist sketch out signs, and then painted them. It was all I could do not to cry when he gave them to me. They’re going to have places of great honor when all this is done!
I got another treasure when I stopped by the Crockett Museum in Morristown. Actually, I stopped by twice – I wanted to give them a copy of my Hayslope book and drop off some brochures and also chat with the museum director, Sally Baker. Sally wasn’t there the first day I stopped by, so I tagged along with an absolutely terrific tour by guide Christina (who really knows her stuff – and it was her FIRST day staffing the museum alone). I came by the next day and caught Sally. We had a wonderful chat and she gifted me a book of the ledgers from the general store at Cheek’s Crossroads, about a mile from Hayslope where the Kentucky Road crosses the great trail that comes down from Virginia. Editor Ann Bloomquist did an amazing job – she created an index of the people who bought things at the store AND an index of what they bought, which also serves as a glossary of sorts because some of the items are just not known to us now (do you know what “fearnaught” is?). Naturally I looked up Our Man James. He bought a lot of thread and fabric and other assorted things, including some “small blue-edged plates” and a “fine man’s hat.”
And also
Figuring it’s good to have some things going on at the house that are visible, I actually started out the week doing some outdoor things. I had roofers come by and install a tarp over the dormers, where there was a significant leak on the second floor. I’ve not found any other spots where there’s leaking, but I’ll be keeping a close eye out in case we need more of the blue stuff up top.
I also added the Hayslope sign I had made some time ago. It’s down closer to the road, in the middle of the two driveways. I specifically left out the Civil War history – touching only on Roddye and the Rogans’ resort – because the Civil War Trails signage will cover McLaws stay at the house as well as Father Abram’s preaching there.
The sign was my final outdoor chore, and it’s second post was a problem from the start. Ran into a giant root, I know not from whence it came, about six inches down and had to shift the hole slightly, then the post hole setting foam I was using expanded weirdly and made the post lean, and finally when I tried to do something about that, I grabbed one of my leveling sticks too soon and got that crap all over my hands. For future reference, alcohol removes the stickiness.
The first thing I did this past week, though, was dig the first of the three post holes, this one for a 20 foot flag pole. It’s looking good, in the center of the driveway curve closer to the house. Hayslope is flying the 15-star, 15-stripe flag that was the official US flag from 1795 to 1818. It was the official flag when Tennessee became a state in 1796 and was the flag flying over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Tennessee, interestingly, didn’t have an official flag until 1905. There were several designs in use prior to that, but the flag we know and love today is the only one that can be said to be the official state flag. It was designed by a Tennessee National Guard colonel named LeRoy Reeves, who was an attorney from Johnson City. And that’s the flag that’s flying under our 15-star flag.
By the way, did you know that the governor and the state general assembly have their own flags?
Anyway, that’s a recap of last week’s trip. Stay tuned to our Facebook page, the easiest way to find out when my next trip up will be. I’ll post it there as soon as I settle on the dates.
P.S.
Oh, I almost forgot! I’m super excited about this. I’ve been asked to speak at the Hamblen County Genealogy Society about Hayslope and its people We’ve scheduled that for August 4. Society meetings are from 5:30 p.m. to 7 -7:30 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center in Morristown.
And one more thing – a comment on a post in the Hamblen County History Group on Facebook alerted me to Hayslope’s dinner bell, bought by a local woman at an auction on the property in the late 70s or early 80s. She says the yoke isn’t original, but it has a clapper, and she’s thinking about if she wants to sell it to me. It’ll just go right back to Hayslope!