Scenic Roots

A Gibson guitar. (Songbirds Foundation) Just two years ago, a radio show recorded in front of a live audience at Songbirds would have been impossible. At that time, as the pandemic forced the earlier version of the museum to close, Dagan Beckett - a Chattanooga native - captured that story. He is the director of “Songbirds,” a feature documentary that won an Emmy - now available through video on d...

Tomorrow night in downtown Chattanooga, the debut of something new: “The Songbirds Radio Hour.” It’s a new monthly show of music and interviews, hosted in front of a live audience at the Songbirds Guitar and Pop Culture Museum - and each show will have a theme that digs into and beyond the music. The first show begins tomorrow night at 7 PM at the Museum - and we will air each show on the second S...

Reed Caldwell on the premiere of “The Songbirds Radio Hour.” Dawn Hjelseth of River City Company on this year’s “Noontunes.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

At the Festival at Creative Arts Guild in Dalton. (Creative Arts Guild / Facebook) Next year, Creative Arts Guild will celebrate sixty years as a home for the arts in Dalton and surrounding counties in Northwest Georgia. It is the oldest multi-disciplinary community arts center in the state. Next month - from Friday, September 16th to Sunday, September 18th - the Guild will host its annual Festiva...

A can of Double Cola. (The Double Cola Company) A century ago, as the 1920’s began to roar here in Chattanooga, Charles D. Little and Joe S. Foster founded Good Grape Company to sell their brand-new grape soda. Eleven years later, in 1933 during the Great Depression, what had become the Seminole Flavor Company perfected its cola recipe, selling the drink in 12 ounce bottles - double the size of it...

Lee Fields & The Expressions performing live. (Simon Ertler) This weekend, the Rail & Hops Brewers Festival returns to downtown Chattanooga. Lee Fields and the Expressions will headline Saturday’s gathering, which starts at 5 PM in Miller Park. The festival supports SoundCorps, the nonprofit for Chattanooga area musicians. Stratton Tingle is executive director of SoundCorps.

The Bethlehem Center’s sports program gives children in preschool through middle school the opportunity to belong to a league and develop skills such as trust and teamwork. (The Bethlehem Center) The Bethlehem Center is a faith-based nonprofit that serves children and families in Southside Chattanooga. It is located in the Alton Park neighborhood, where most residents are African-American with low...

Reginald Smith II of The Bethlehem Center in Chattanooga. SoundCorps’ Stratton Tingle on the return of Rail and Hops. The taste of success at Double Cola turning 100 years old. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

From 2019 - Fred Cash, at left, Sam Gooden, Cheaa Mayfield and his mother Altheida Mayfield enjoy a humorous comment at the moment unveiling of The Impressions sign in front of the Bessie Smith Cultural Center in Chattanooga. (Tim Barber / Chattanooga Times Free Press) Down the road from our new space here at WUTC in downtown Chattanooga is the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Martin Luther King, J...

“Chattamatters” logo (The Enterprise Center) Homelessness continues to rise here in Chattanooga. Earlier this year, the Chattanooga Regional Homelessness Coalition counted more than a thousand people experiencing homelessness on a given night in Hamilton County. That number was up from just 201 people two years ago, during the 2020 count. More from Mary Helen Montgomery of Chattamatters, a civic s...

United Way of Greater Chattanooga “100” logo (United Way of Greater Chattanooga) The United Way of Greater Chattanooga is celebrating a century of impact in our community. Joan McClane is a reporter for The Chattanooga Times Free Press - and this weekend in the Sunday edition, she will dive into the history of United Way, where the nonprofit stands today and where it is headed. Check out the lates...

A child in Haiti receives a checkup from the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti. (Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti) For more than twenty years, the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti - a nonprofit here in Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley - has helped women and families to break the cycle of malnutrition in a remote, mountainous area of southern Haiti. The staff on the ground - in th...

CNP Haiti’s Dr. Anany Prosper & Patricia Cyr-Watlington. Joan McClane, Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter. From Chattamatters: homelessness in Chattanooga. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Credit: Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga) For thirty years, “Together We Can” has provided scholarships to eligible public high school seniors here in the Chattanooga area - targeting college students who are first-generation or otherwise in need. It is one of the most successful scholarship programs run by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga - which created “Together We Ca...

(WTCI PBS) As the homeless population grows in the Chattanooga area, so does the urgency to assist those in need. People and agencies alike understand the struggles of being unsheltered and work hard toward a common goal: providing help - and eradicating homelessness. Learn about this important work in "Unsheltered” - the latest story by “Greater Chattanooga” from our public media partner, WTCI PB...

McDonald Farm in Sale Creek, TN in 2020. (Troy Stolt / Chattanooga Times Free Press) This fall, the Hamilton County Fair moves from Hixson to the McDonald Farm in Sale Creek. Late last year, the county purchased the farm, which will host the fair on October 1st and 2nd. Barry Courter is a reporter and columnist for The Chattanooga Times Free Press.

An aerial view of Point Park and Moccasin Bend. (partyatpointpark.com) National Park Partners supports the preservation of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park - including the Moccasin Bend Archeological District. On Thursday, September 8th, the nonprofit will host its annual National Treasures: Party at Point Park - and on Monday, September 12th, it will open this fall’s Moccasin Be...

Cam Doody in 2021. (Matt Hamilton / Chattanooga Times Free Press) Cam Doody is a co-founder of Bellhop, the moving company startup here in Chattanooga launched a decade ago as Bellhops. Just last month, U.S. News & World Report named Bellhop one of the best moving companies in the country for 2022. These days, Doody is one of the business partners at Brickyard, which provides early-stage capit...

Cam Doody, co-founder of Bellhop, talks about Brickyard. The Party at Point Park & the Moccasin Bend Lecture Series. This fall’s Hamilton County Fair heads for McDonald Farm. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Ben Van Winkle at Coosa Mill. (The Pop-up Project) At one time, the Standard-Coosa-Thatcher Mill was one of the largest employers here in Chattanooga. Years ago, the textile machinery fell silent - but on Labor Day weekend, what is now known as Coosa Mill will hum with music. On Saturday, September 3rd at 7:30 PM, “Classical x Candlelight” will be the first in a series of shows hosted at Coosa Mil...

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly (City of Chattanooga) Last week, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly stopped by our new space at WUTC - on McCallie Avenue, with a panorama view of downtown - for our latest monthly conversation.

Our monthly conversation with Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. Ben Van Winkle & Jules Downum on the Coosa Mill series. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

William Shakespeare statue at Chattanooga Theatre Centre. (Steven Stiefel / Chattanooga Theatre Centre) For the creative professionals at Chattanooga Theatre Centre, podcasting is a brand new stage. Recently, CTC launched “The Community Theatre Podcast” - hosted by Mary Eliza Hendricks, a theatre artist who assists in CTC’s education program and box office. I spoke with her - and Chuck Tuttle, dir...

A map of park investments in Chattanooga. (The Trust for Public Land) The Trust for Public Land is a conservation nonprofit dedicated to bringing the benefits of parks and nature to the places, people and communities that need them most. Here in Chattanooga, the Trust is partnering with the City of Chattanooga on a project to solicit input from communities that have been underserved and hard to re...

The home bleachers at the Ooltewah High School football field in Chattanooga in 2015. (Chattanooga Times Free Press) For years, athletics at public schools here in Hamilton County have fallen behind to the point that even revenue-producing sports - such as football and basketball - are incapable of competing statewide in Tennessee compared to only a generation ago. Stephen Hargis is sports editor...