Bristol in Pictures: Week 3

Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
Psalm 119:73

You guessed it. Last weeks location is The Burger Bar. This is one of those places that I always said I was going to patronize, then never did. When the announcement came that it was closing down, I felt bad. Perhaps if I, and others like me, had visited this place it would not have closed. The owner cited financial reasons for it's closure. The Burger Bar is somewhat famous in that Hank Williams stopped here on his way from Knoxville to a concert in Canton, OH. He never made that show as he was discovered dead in the back seat of his Cadillac in Oak Hill, WV. Strangely his stop occured on December 31st, 1952, and the Burger Bar closed on December 31st, 2009.
The good news is that on the day I went to take these photos there was a news crew out front and I had to wait for them to finish to take the shots. I decided to ask what was going on and found that Mr. Ben Zandi, owner of the Troutdale Dining Room and several other area eateries, had purchased The Burger Bar and is planning a re-opening in March 2010. Mr. Zandi is planning renovations including restoration of the original neon sign, and some additional seating. He plans to keep the menu the same. This time I will make a visit!

I'm going to step outside the purpose of this blog this week to pay a tribute to a young man, his family, and his friends. Quentin Lowe, and his family at Sullivan East High School. Quentin lost his life in a tractor accident shortly after Christmas, while removing snow from his grandmother's driveway.

There has been a tremendous amount of support shown by the students and staff at East high school, as well as the entire Bluff City community. Quentin was well liked aand as one student expressed to me " He always had a smile and a kind word for everyone at school. It didn't matter who you were. " During the basketball game between East and Sullivan Central, the students paid a fine tribute to Quentin with a stirring and heartfelt display of what they termed " all things Q " . From the opening prayer by fellow student Chase DePew, to the ringing of a cowbell by his closest friend, and all the students giving Q's trademark thumbs up. The basketball team all wore white headbands this night with each writing a personal message to Quentin. His mother was in attendance surrounded by all of her sons friends and a memorial of his personal belongings. To me it was an amazing display of love and support not seen every day.