Soaking it all in

  Just a short drive from Chattanooga is the quaint historic city of Chickamauga. It’s a great place to visit and spend your day taking in natural sites, learning about the city’s history during the Civil War, its ties to Native Americans and industry. It also offers a quaint downtown area with places to eat, antique shops, an art gallery and shops. In the heart of downtown Chickamauga near Gordon Street on Cove Road is the historic Gordon Lee Mansion. Just across the street is Crawfish Spring. Both locations are somewhat connected. According to the historical marker, “Crawfish Spring was the first name given to the modern community Chickamauga, Georgia. Cherokees lived in this area before their forced removal in 1838, with their Chickamauga District courthouse located near the spring. In the 1840s an early white settler, James Gordon used enslaved African craftsmen to build an imposing two-story brick plantation house west of the spring, located today just across this highway.” He...

 Residents of Chickamauga have embraced their newest eatery - Railhead Station. Located off Gordon Street, where Phil’s Primetime Pizza used to be, the new restaurant is owned and operated by restaurateur Charlie Eich, who also owns River Drifters and Cesario’s Pizza. The food at Railhead Station features hearty hot and cold sandwiches, smoked meats, salads and pasta bowls. Eich described it as, “A smokehouse with an Italian accent.” It officially opened on Jan. 12, 2026, and so far, it’s been a hit. Each time I visited the place it was packed. People either waited for a table to open, sat at the bar, or took their meal to go and ate outside at the tables at the common area. The menu celebrates Eich’s Italian heritage combined with classic southern sandwiches featuring smoked brisket, pork belly and tenderloin, his Nonna’s house made meatballs, salami, Mortadella and Capicola. His fire box sandwiches all feature meats smoked in-house. On my first visit I ordered the Battl...

 In 2024 Netflix released a film directed by Tyler Perry highlighting the forgotten or unknown history of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, also known as the Six Triple Eight. In reading about it, I learned that many scenes were filmed right here in the city in early 2023.    The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was used for authentic 1940’s-era train and railway scenes. The iconic Chattanooga Choo, Choo Terminal Station dome and lobby were transformed to represent a 1940’s-era Birmingham, Alabama, train station. Scenes were filmed in the downtown area along Market Street with local businesses like Gate 11 Distillery and Nic & Norman's in the Choo, Choo complex serving as crew, cast, and production sites. The production crew sourced props from Chattanooga antique stores like Dirty Jane’s Antiques and The Refindery. In addition to Chattanooga locations, the film was partly shot in nearby Cedartown, Georgia, as well as ...

 As long as I can remember, I’ve always been into classic cars and Hot Rods. I even had a subscription to Hot Rod Magazine during my teenage years. I used to have tons of T-shirts with Rat Fink on them. He is the official mascot of the Hot Rod world created by artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. The artist disliked the wholesomeness of Mickey Mouse and created his larger than life, freakish anti-hero version of the iconic Disney mouse. It was his nod to the counter-culture world of custom cars, and Hot Rods, and as a freakish teenager myself, I could relate to Rat Fink. Thank goodness we have the Coker Museum at Honest Charley in the heart of downtown Chattanooga where car geeks like me can explore whenever the mood hits. The Chestnut Street building is the site of the original Honest Charley Speed Shop, which was owned by Corky Coker’s father, Harold, who also founded Coker Tire Company in Athens, Tennessee. Corky started collecting cars at age 20, amassing an impressive collection of...

  As we honor and recognize individuals and communities during Black History Month, we owe it to ourselves to learn more about the past and the trials and tribulations of many who fought for civil rights, equality and dignity.   In Chattanooga there is no better place than visiting the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.    I visited the center and was awed by the exhibits recounting the story of the Big Nine District, a vibrant center of Black commerce, culture and community shaped by determination and vision of Black individuals in the late 1800s through the mid-20th century. T he Big Nine had private hospitals, Black owned beauty stores, restaurants and the first preschool in the city.     As for the music scene the Big Nine District rivaled that of Bourbon Street in New Orleans and Memphis’ Beale Street as the mecca for Black entertainment.   The Bessie Smith Cultural Center sits in the heart of what was the Big Nine District along East Ninth Street now ...