IN THE FAR WEST OF NASHVILLE AND BEYOND
Photography by Carol Serna and Pam Serna

 

In my last posting, I wrote a bit about the changes in #Bellevue which is located in the west section of #Nashville.  Bellevue is basically the last stop in the road before leaving the western section of #Davidson#County which is in Nashville, and then if you are traveling on Highway 70, entering into Cheatham County.  If you travel down #Highway#100 from Bellevue, you soon enter Williamson County.  But what many people don't realize, particularly those who are not from the region, is that beyond Nashville, there is still much sprawling rural land which seems to have escaped, for the most part, the raping of its land by developers.

Last Sunday, my sister Carol and I did something neither of us had done in years...we hopped in the car and took a drive down to none other than Hickman County, Tennessee.  Hickman County can be reached any number of ways, but the route that we chose was the very scenic route of Highway 100.  The sights you encounter as you leave Nashville are enough to cause your senses to stir, to somehow awaken once again to that beauty which is called nature. 

As children, my siblings and I once played in the front yard of our grandmother's old family homestead and in the ice cold water of the creek which ran along the  edges of the property.  That property had belonged to my grandmother's mother and father at one time.  I've heard the stories about my great grandmother who was a midwife.  Apparently, back in those days, midwifery was not quite as sophisticated or as glamorous as some may perceive it to be today.  As I have heard it told, it could possibly be that at midnight, there would be a knock on the door of their home...KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!!!  As someone would rush to the door and throw it open, there might be a neighbor or the husband of a woman already in labor, hysterically asking for the services of the midwife.  My great grandmother would throw on her clothes, or her housecoat, apparently depending on how much time she thought she had, grab her bag and to the horse and buggy she would go, through the hollows of Hickman County without street lights.  In particular, the part of the county they lived in was Bon Aqua. 

 

Rosanna Ledbetter/Midwife
(photographer unknown)

My great grandpa was apparently a former tobacco farmer from Robertson County who one day decided that it was time to try something different, and moved his family to Hickman County where he grew corn.  His name was Clarence Ledbetter, and it is my understanding that he was part Native American, which is not so unusual in these parts. 

Clarence and Rosanna Ledbetter w/her daughters Etta and Ruby Buchanan
(photographer unknown)

At any rate, I've only been able to go back on one occasion and find that same hollow where I played as a child.  The second time I attempted to find it, I didn't.  Not that the old hollow had disappeared, it's just that even in a place like Hickman County, things change, old homes are torn down, sometimes replaced by trailers, new homes or maybe not even replaced at all, and soon, you may no longer recognize that secret place of your childhood.

Since Carol and I had gotten such a late start on our journey to Hickman County on Sunday, I must report that we did NOT find the hollow this time either, as we did not really have the time to search for it on this particular road trip; however, Carol did manage to take some pretty interesting photos and a few cool snippets of video.  The photos are a brief summary basically of our trip there and back, and it will become obvious rather quickly that there is a ton of shubbery and much open space as you leave Davidson County and find your way toward Hickman County.

You can share in some of our adventure by checking out some of the three-minute video that Carol shot with her cell phone on the way there at the following link.  Video is a little shaky at first, but it quickly gets better.  You will also notice that we were not actually narrating the video.  This is very raw footage of a ride to the country and some frank conversation between sisters --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXHQNb173qk&feature=youtu.be

As an afterthought, I have included a few shots from the construction at former Bellevue Mall site which is to become something of a mix of mall, movies, apartments, etc. once the construction is complete.  While providing jobs for the citizens of Nashville is a good thing, I cannot help but wonder what will be the end result.  In several areas of town where malls were built, one would have had to have their head in the sand (tongue twister, no?) not to know that those areas often experienced huge increases in crime. 

But, I digress.  Please allow me to also share with you now a few photos from my and Carol's road trip and photos of what greets you as you re-enter the city.

You don't see many of what appears to be old abandoned general stores in Nashville, but you just might on the road to Hickman County.

How about a country boy's truck out in the open field?  Looks like fun.

 

So, please let me say that no, I'm not a hater of progress.  Progress can save many lives sometimes.  I'm just someone whose family has had roots in the region for generations.  I've heard the old old stories from and about those generations before me who were farmers, midwives, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.  I can't help but wonder if my generation is the last in my family that will visit such places as Hickman County and keep those memories of a beautiful, mostly undeveloped land alive.