In an effort to establish a theme for an annual community event and, in turn, for that theme to serve as an identifier for the city, was "ham" the first thought choice for the original organizers of the annual Spring Hill Country Ham Festival? The husband and wife team of Eric and Chris DeBerry got the ball rolling. "Myself and a couple of ladies kicked some ideas around," said Eric. "I wanted a community event, and having a theme seemed natural. The history for Early's came to mind, plus there are other area families who produce and market a lot of hams each year. Me and Chris went from there." Early's is a local business that started out as a honey stand in 1925 and was a favorite for motorists passing through when Highway 31 was the major artery to Florida from the north. Back for season eight, this year's expanded autumnal event will take up two days for the first time, October 1-2.
City overseers at Thompson's Station, our northerly neighbor, seemingly liked the concept so well they hosted a first annual Sweet Tea Festival at the historic Homestead Manor August 18 of last year. A flier suggested "come hungry" for its "whole hog cook."
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Back in 2003, during Spring Hill's early boom rise, some Thompson's Station residents took verbal potshots at our "progress." They warned their own about becoming like us. With state Route 840 scheduled to change the topography in Thompson's Station with its opening late next year, citizens there are again worried about losing "bucolic character." The most recent slam to our bow came from a planning commission member when he said about Spring Hill, "We don't want to look like our southern neighbor, where our entire route through town is strip malls." (For attribution, that quote came from a piece in the August 22 edition of The Tennessean's Williamson A.M. news section.)
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It is difficult to miss the big house and grounds of the Tennessee Children's Home on Main Street, but the lake behind it all is secluded. The only time most Spring Hill residents and other visitors see the lake is during the annual Country Ham Festival, where the shimmering waters enhance an already beautiful tableau. Its name is, perhaps, even less known: Orphans Home Lake.
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HOW QUICKLY THINGS CHANGE DEPT.: When the shopping strip anchored by the since departed Kroger store, and the immediate area surrounding it, was booming with new Williamson County commercial building ventures, city hall officials hoisted the notion of building a new city hall in the general region where Publix is now located, so as to be "current," I guess you might say. The idea had little support and such talk quickly abated. Now, the winds have changed. The once mostly ignored Maury County side of the city, where city hall still sits, is where most of the commercial growth has moved.
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Plans for a Saturn car museum floated around a couple of years ago. Not much since has been heard on the subject. Expect it to become a reality one day.
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Not only does the Farmers Market on the grounds of the previously referenced Childrens Home offer such vendor delights as jarred spicy squash, local honey, and whoopie pie, Rick Dracup's jazzy guitar strains soar across the lawn to the delight of all within hearing distance. The transplanted Aussie appears there on most Saturdays from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
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FLIGHT PLANS CANCELLED?: Before burghermaster Michael Dinwiddie was mayoral, the private citizen publicly suggested how Spring Hill could benefit from having its own airport. Dinwiddie, not surprisingly, is a pilot himself. To my knowledge he has not broached the subject from his pulpit as mayor.
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