September 8, 2011, Spring Hill Informer

One of the busiest side streets in town during rush hours must be Locke Ave. That's the short street used as a shortcut by many drivers going from Main Street to Duplex Rd., and vice versa, of course. It's just too tempting to pass up, especially when heading south and seeing a long line of cars at the Duplex stoplight.
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The "Tour Stop 5" sign across from Jerry Erwin Park on Kedron Parkway is staked next to a shed and combination table and benches. The location is tied to Lane's Brigade and the Spring Hill Battlefield, a prelude to the Battle of Franklin. Other such numbered tour stops in and around the city include battlefields and historic homes involved with the Civil War. How come I have never seen an actual tour bus at any of these locations?
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How many neo-Spring Hillers remember when this city was being groomed as the future home for old age country music industry retirees? A sign saying as much was staked in the grass on Stephen P. Yokich Parkway across from the post office. The Country Music Association in Nashville had for years wanted such a retirement home. It looked like it might become a reality in 2000 when SunTrust Bank donated to the CMA five acres of land in Spring Hill on which to build the home. At that time, the CMA had already spent six years contemplating the project. The plan fizzled for some reason and in 2004 or so, as soon as it was announced that Spring Hill would actually not be the locale, the sign was snatched up immediately. If it was a political sign I suspect the sign might still be there.
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While on the subject of homes, did you know that Nick Lachey, best known as the former husband of Jessica Simpson, once called Spring Hill his home? It was during a time he and a pal formed a music production company.
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The "GM Plant," formerly known as "Saturn Plant," once held regular tours to show off its manufacturing facility? Okay, how many then recall why the practice, once initiated, stopped? The answer: The practice was suspended when our U.S. Government raised the national terrorist alert level to "orange" on the eve of the war with Iraq. Once the alert level was lowered to "yellow," in the spring of 2003, the practice resumed, for a few years anyway, until other considerations stopped the regular plant tours.
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Traveling south on Highway 31 out of Spring Hill proper one can soon see a sign on the right that welcomes travelers to Columbia. Right after that Spring Hill High School becomes visible on the right. So, is the high school in Columbia? No, and it is not in Spring Hill either. It is in the county, Maury County. It seems the welcome sign on the highway frontage is in Columbia, but further back where the school is situated rests on county land.
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The Battle of Spring Hill will soon be a yearly battle. No, not a reenactment of the Battle of Spring Hill, the one that took place during the Civil War, Nov. 29, 1864, between a Federal Army of the Cumberland under Gen. Schofield and a part of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Hood. This one will be on the gridiron when new Summit High School takes on Spring Hill High School for the first time in football. Mark your calendars. It's slated for October 21 on the Spartans' turf.