This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS.

Station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

This project is funded by Putnam County with support from a grant provided by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.

In the heart of Tennessee, there's a little slice of heaven you've just got to see.

[Dramatic music] Oh, man.

Wish you were here.

Welcome to Wish You Were Here.

Adventures in Tennessee's Upper Cumberland.

I'm Shan Stout, your guide as we explore the scenic beauty, rich history and creative spirit that make this region of Middle Tennessee so special.

Each stop on today's journey celebrates the people and places that preserve the past with inspiring the future through craftsmanship, community, and a deep love for everything that makes Middle Tennessee so very special.

Let's begin today's adventure in one of Tennessee's most storied communities, where history isn't just remembered.

It's lived.

Tucked inside the historic village of Rugby, Tennessee, the R.M.

Brooks General Store is more than a place to shop.

It's a portal to step back in time.

Since the late 1800s, this cherished general store has served as the heartbeat of this community, offering everything from old fashion candies to handmade goods and local charm.

When you step through the doors, you want to slow down, enjoy the nostalgia shop a while and you never have to go away hungry.

Before catching up with our Wish You Were Here field correspondents, let's take a moment to explore what makes this iconic store a must see stop for anyone visiting Rugby.

[♪♪] There's a place in Rugby, Tennessee, that offers a unique opportunity to peek into the past and find a place that makes you feel right at home.

Since the early 1930s, R.M.

Brooks General Store has been a local landmark, bringing the community together to buy goods, sit down to a delicious meal, or just hang out and enjoy the company of friendly neighbors.

And that small town feel is still alive and well.

today.

I'm here with Tiffany Garrett and she is the co-owner of this beautiful general store.

Tiffany, thank you so much for having us.

Welcome to R.M.

Brooks General Store.

This is my wheelhouse.

I love old general stores, and my husband and I have been here many, many times.

And so I was very excited when we decided to feature this beautiful historic location.

But I want to know your origin story.

Okay, so, it's over 100 years old and I am fourth generation.

My great grandparents built it.

We don't have an exact date for whatever reason.

And my mom was born and raised here.

And like me, and my dad was born and raised about ten miles from here.

They moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, and they moved back to help my grandparents.

So I have lived here ever since.

And then when my dad passed away suddenly in 2010, it kind of worked out where I became the owner.

Did you see yourself in the family legacy?

Was this the goal for you?

Did you have other goals?

Absolutely not.

No, not at all, actually.

And, to be honest, I wanted to move back to Saint Louis.

And because it was very much a drastic change for me, and as God would have had it, He kept me here.

And so, no, I did not envision, running a country store, my family's country store at all.

Well, we're so glad you changed your mind, because this is a wonderful place.

It is buzzing with sights and sounds.

There are people everywhere.

This is a bustling place.

Yes.

And as low key and stepping back in time as this feels, you have a thriving business here.

You have all kinds of things on display.

But let's talk about the food.

The food menu is not something that I come up with to begin with.

It's something that kind of developed.

So a lot of my stuff on my menu has stories, but the two things that I'm known for, or maybe the three things I'm really known for, is my fried baloney sandwich and, my hand padded out cheeseburgers and then our hand-cut fries.

If anybody has followed me for a long period of time, you know, I'm a big fan of a fried baloney sandwich, so.

And you claim yours is the best.

Well, that's what they say.

So I was just here making a fried boloney sandwich one day, and someone from the village came and they decided to have a contest.

And so we did a Facebook contest, and I won that.

So the fried baloney is the thickest I can cut it on my slicer.

It has egg.

It has our famous cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard and mayonnaise.

And part of the reason that I do such a thick cut, sliced baloney is the locals, when I started, would talk about another store and how she was very thin on her meat, so I made sure I did not what we talked about.

So my fried baloney was originated from not wanting the local guys to say anything bad.

You did not want to make the bad side of the rumor mill.

That's a that's a great business decision.

Yeah.

And then it just took off from there.

So it's called The Tiffany.

Okay.

Now you're keeping the historic value of the general store.

But since you have taken it over, has anything changed as an improvement?

My goal in the beginning was to try to keep it as original as possible.

There was new coolers in here.

I took out and there was an old cooler that had been sitting in here.

I fixed it up.

I remember it as a child, but I did build this part that you see back here on about six years ago.

We just got busier.

There's definitely some improvements in the kitchen facilities, so to speak.

I started off using a George Foreman grill, which a lot of people don't know.

So I would cook the hamburgers on one side and the buttons on the other side until I went through about, six of those and then we upgraded.

So and anything we do improve, it's got that hole keeping it original as possible in mind.

Your expanded dining area that you added a few years back.

It looks authentic to the store and I know that is that is very hard to take something brand new and make it look like it's been here since the beginning.

So very, very good job.

Thank you.

Now, I've seen the fries come by, I've seen the burgers leaving the kitchen.

The fried baloney sandwich smells like it's almost ready.

Do you mind if we taste test the food?

I do not mind a bit.

I would love for you to.

Best day ever.

If you're feeling hungry for a good old fashioned fried baloney sandwich and want to take a step back into the past, The R.M.

Brooks General Store is the place to be.

Come on by and sit a spell.

Find out what makes this little store in Rugby, Tennessee, such a charming, rustic place to grab a bite to eat.

Find antique treasures hiding in plain sight or just make some amazing new friends.

Founded as a utopian experiment in the 1880s, historic Rugby is unlike anywhere else in Tennessee.

Stone Victorian cottages, quiet walking paths and preserved landmarks transport visitors to a time when community education and hard work shaped everyday life.

Whether you're strolling the village sidewalks, touring historic homes, or simply soaking in the peaceful surroundings, Rugby invites you to slow down and connect with history in a truly meaningful way.

Let's meet up with field correspondent Mirlie Larose to see if she can discover how this small village continues to leave a lasting impression on everyone who visits.

[♪♪] Tucked away on the Cumberland Plateau, Historic Rugby Tennessee is a beautifully preserved Victorian village founded in 1880.

It's a place that offers a unique opportunity to see what life was like for a group of English settlers looking for a place to set out on their own and start a new chapter in their lives.

Today we're visiting the beautiful historic Rugby village.

I'm here today with Brian Whitson, the Rugby interpreter.

Thanks for having us, Brian.

Thank you all for being here.

For someone who was visiting Rugby for the first time, can you share some details behind what brought this whole tour thing to life?

As far as why there's a Rugby community, it dates back to 1880.

The British officer by the name of Thomas Hughes.

Its primary purpose was to offer something for the younger sons of the English gentry or the elite.

The wealthy class families.

Eldest son inherits the entire state.

Younger sons are given like an allowance or maybe a lump sum of money, but they really didn't have a lot of financial backing, and they did not have job opportunities.

The better jobs go to the eldest son.

So what Thomas thought is if they left, England can move here to Rugby, Tennessee.

They could create this community, work jobs that we think of as being more blue collar.

But they wouldn't have that social shame attached to it here.

They could get out of that and make a life for themselves.

Sadly, it's short lived.

One of the better things about it is we do have a lot of the tangible evidence from the 1880s that still exist today, and that includes some of our buildings.

The 1884 Kingston Lyle residence, which was actually built for our founder, Thomas Hughes, didn't utilize it very much.

He used it more as like a vacation home, but it does show you kind of what life would have been like in 1894.

The 1887 Christ Church Episcopal.

And that is still an active church, it retains some of its original integrity.

The 1882 Hughes Public Library.

And you can kind of get a feel of what an 1880s library was.

And then our final building is the 1907 schoolhouse.

Now it is operated more as a museum in the sense that it was our primary visitor center at one time.

So we have displays covering all history here in Rugby from 1880s up until the even the 1900s.

What does this village mean to you?

Now, I have a background in history, so the historical aspect is a big part of it for me.

But this is not just a historic community.

It's a living community.

We have people who live here and private residents, many of them volunteer for different aspects for those larger events that we can't handle ourselves.

That all is very important to me, and one of the things I like about it.

Thank you so much for that.

Now we're going to go ahead and find some more information from our guy Pete.

[♪♪] Thanks Pete for joining us.

Very welcome.

All righty.

Let's get into it.

Can you share a little bit about the Rugby printing works?

This was a print shop in Deer Lodge in 1887.

And then in 1978 Rugby purchased it, then moved it up onto this building.

So as far as this building goes, it's not an original building, but it is in the same style.

As you see, we have two printing presses here.

This press is a patented 1885 and we call it a flywheel press because of that wheel.

This press here is called a Flat Iron Press because of this flat iron.

This press was built in 1860.

So this press is very, very old and very original.

We do print here.

We print stuff for children, mainly that come in here, but we print for the village.

So we are an operating printing company and we do print every weekend.

So all three of us that are here print.

So we are both all very capable of doing that.

Can you tell me some of the projects you've handled?

All of them.

No.

So when I have a child, it comes in here.

Okay.

I take the child over and make him take his own characters out of the tray and set them up.

And then we bring them over and we print them on top of this card.

So then we put the child's name on here and they get some neat little bookmarks to take home.

It is so cute!

I might need to make one before I go.

I'm a reader so I will need a bookmark for sure.

And we can obviously do that when we get done with this.

Thanks for having us, Pete.

We're going to go ahead and look around.

Is that okay with you?

That's fine.

That's fine.

Enjoy the village.

[♪♪] [♪♪] Come on out and take a walk through this hidden gem of the Upper Cumberland.

And see what makes this quaint historical village such a hot spot for history buffs and curious tourists from all over the country.

Next up, we're traveling to Livingston, Tennessee, where imagination takes center stage at L & K Tiny Town.

This charming miniature town is packed with hand-crafted buildings, detailed scenes, and playful surprises around every single corner, bringing big smiles to visitors of all sizes and ages.

What started as a creative passion has grown into a delightful destination that celebrates craftsmanship, storytelling and a whole lot of heart.

And our field correspondent, Jason Grider is ready to explore this pint sized community that proves great things really do come in small packages.

[♪♪] [♪♪] In Livingston, Tennessee, there's an awesome place where kids can explore and have fun, while parents and grandparents can hang out and make friends as well.

Or just relax and let the kids have fun.

It's an amazing little place to make memories and take a break from the busyness of life and just enjoy some quality time together.

On Wish You Were Here we usually feature small towns across Tennessee's Upper Cumberland, but today we're featuring a super tiny town.

But it's right here in Livingston, Tennessee.

It's L & K Tiny Town cafe.

We're here with the owner of Tiny Town, Claris Dailey.

Claris, thank you so much for having us today.

We really appreciate it.

This place looks like it's a blast.

I will say they seem to enjoy.

They do seem that somebody is obviously getting arrested right now back there.

It happens more often than you think.

The kids can use their imagination with being within a tiny town.

Yeah.

That's really it's a really great thing.

What what was it about Livingston that made it this feel like this was the spot for you?

Because it's our home.

Okay.

Our community is very strong.

We may be small, but I mean, everybody here cares about their kids.

That's what every business in here love.

So without a doubt, they immediately it was a yes.

Right.

They wanted to give to our community.

And I knew that Livingston would be the place to do that.

Claris, what inspired you to create L & K Tiny Town Cafe?

Well, as a mom of two, I know how hard it can be to have somewhere that you can go and build community and your kids can enjoy themselves safely at the same time, emphasis on the safely.

That's that's our goal here.

It's just a place for kids.

And parents can come meet other kids and parents and have fun.

Now there's the what's the cafe portion of this?

So actually we're holding off on that for a little while.

All right.

So we've kind of put a pin in that again back to our community.

They have showed up and showed out.

So we're a little busier than what we had originally planned.

So we're going to we're going to go slower.

What's the most popular with the kids?

I would say each time a kid comes in they have a new favorite.

But as you can hear, the police car and fire truck.

Well, sure, hands down.

That makes.

It.

Every kid that comes in here, they're on them.

It's all day long.

That tracks.

The loudest toy possible.

Well of course, yeah, I'm surprised you don't have a drum set in here.

Yeah.

I was never allowed to have one.

Do you see this is more of a place to just, you know, kids come and play.

I know you mentioned it earlier, but that community connection seems to be more important to you than just come in and play.

Right.

I love just the kids play.

I love seeing imagination click with them.

But my favorite part of owning this business is seeing those kids connect with each other.

Play, build friendships.

But also when a mom walks in, they may have their toddler.

They look exhausted.

The toddler goes to play.

She has a newborn.

She sits down.

Feeds it.

Another mom comes in.

They sit down.

They talk.

They might be at the same stage, they might be at different stages, but they're building that community.

And that's what it's all about here.

Being a mom yourself, does that did that help you plan all of this?

You're like, gosh, my kids would love it if.

Yeah.

Oh most definitely.

Yeah.

Did you do you involve them in the planning?

They were here.

They were here.

Consistently.

So, I'm a nurse.

I work part time at the hospital, but my goal is to be with my kids as much as possible so they were here Throughout the whole thing, they tested all the toys.

Kid tested, mom approved.

Yes.

Yeah, very much so.

Very much so.

Oh, it's, this is such a great spot, for kids, for parents.

You got little baby dolls for sale to very, very lifelike.

By the way.

That is a whole experience in itself.

Okay, so little mamas or daddies, they get to come and adopt their own baby doll.

Okay.

And this is a very, very huge growing experience that my mom and my sisters bring awareness to adoption because I have six younger siblings that are adopted.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, I was a baby.

And then my parents have adopted, like I said, six more.

Oh wow.

So that's their way of bringing awareness to adoption.

The little baby dolls, they are very, very lifelike.

When I came in, it was like, Yeah, yeah.

We'll watch your babies today, but but there's clothes for them and everything.

Yeah.

You've got it going on.

Specific sizes.

We have strollers, car seats, even towels.

Washcloths.

Well, I'll bring my granddaughter and just give you my credit card.

How about that?

That's our favorite thing.

That's how it works.

That is.

Thank you again for having us here.

And, at this point, I think it's safe to say we're going to stay and play a little bit, if that's okay.

Go for it.

Thank you so much.

It's L & K Tiny Town here in Livingston.

Bring your kids, bring yourself and come have a bunch of fun.

[♪♪] Take a trip out to this tiny town within a town.

And find a place where kids can explore, be themselves, and let their imaginations run wild.

You can even join in on the fun with them and be a kid again yourself.

[♪♪] After a long day of exploring, it's time to unwind.

And there's no better place to do that than Dream Country Brewing in Cookeville, Tennessee.

This locally owned craft brewery blends small town hospitality with bold, creative flavors, offering a welcoming space where friends gather, stories are shared, and community thrives.

Dream Country Brewing captures the spirit of Cookeville in every glass, and right now, our field correspondent, Shaun Scantland is ready to see what's brewing and learn the story behind this hometown favorite.

An incredible new brewery has popped up just a short hop in a skip from historic West Side Cookeville, Tennessee that offers a blend of rustic and modern decor with delicious brews on tap for visitors to enjoy, it's become a local hangout for people to come together and find common ground over a tasty beverage and enjoy what the West Side of Cookeville has to offer.

Hey y'all!

We're in Cookeville at Dream Country Brewing, a craft brewery known for their ales that represent both tradition and place.

I've got owner Matt Kirby here with me.

Matt, thank you so much for having us.

Hey, thank you for being here.

We we do appreciate it.

Tell us about this place.

How did it come to be?

I love a good origin story.

I'm sure.

Well, Dream Country Brewing is, the product of a lot of years of planning and, working to get to this point.

I'm a home brewer with about 15 years of experience in making beer.

A good friend of mine, one of our partners in this endeavor, came to me with an opportunity to to make this into a bit of a reality of opening our own brewery here in the community where where I was born and raised and he was born and raised.

You must be doing something right as you can hear, our viewers can hear there's a big crowd here.

So that's always a great sign.

For someone who might be intimidated by a brewery, yet someone like me who's just drinking a lot of domestic light beer, but wants to expand their palate and try new things, What can they expect to find on tap, and is there anyone here to guide them through that process?

Oh, absolutely.

Our core beers that we we make and serve here are farmhouse style ales, a lot of them Belgian and French in origin, but quite a few that just have a distinct American Appalachian flavor to them as well.

We love to help people find the beer that is right for them.

Some people come in only knowing, American light lagers.

And you know what?

That is great.

That gives them a good starting point to explore and discover new things and find out more things that they would like.

Well, I noticed with all the natural light and I saw some, comic books up there and board games.

This seems to be like a place you could bring a family.

Absolutely.

All are welcome here.

You know, we want to make everybody feel welcome.

Even for our friends who don't drink alcohol whatsoever, we have plenty of nonalcoholic choices for them, both in cans and even on tap.

We keep a kombucha on tap from Walker Brothers out of Nashville.

So if you like to keep it funky but you don't want any alcohol, we've we still got something for you.

So to that point, how does the Upper Cumberland influence how you brew and what you brew?

Again, I'm, I'm born and raised from right here in Cookeville and, and my father is from Pike County and his father before him.

So our our roots are deeply tied to the upper Cumberland area.

And I like to think that everything that we do here, we do with intention.

We try to make everything as a local as possible, where possible.

It's not always possible, but where we can do it, we want to make it work.

Well, I've got to ask this.

Do you subscribe to the theory that alcohol is the reason civilization began?

Have you heard that theory?

Oh, yes.

Well, actually, it's definitely one of the reasons that civilization persisted back in the Middle Ages when people were unable to drink water because it was so contaminated.

So in many ways, beer saved humanity.

I won't feel as guilty drinking 1 or 2 now.

There.

There you go.

Yeah.

Matt, this is a wonderful location you have here.

You gotta tell me about the history of the building and what surrounds it and what brings people in here.

Sure.

We're incredibly lucky to be in this space.

It's a beautiful renovation that really incorporates a lot of the original elements of the building as much as possible.

So we find ourselves incredibly lucky to be here, and we find ourselves incredibly lucky to be so adjacent to the west side of Cookeville, where there are tons of other businesses that we're looking forward to collaborating with and keep expanding.

The downtown area of Cookeville as much as we can and, and assist with that.

And so we love to have new folks in all the time and, give them some suggestions of where to go and spend the day afterward.

Well, Matt, thank you so much for having us.

I'm going to throw it back to Shan because I must be her favorite.

A couple of weekends ago I'm eating hot wings now I'm drinking beer.

All the other correspondents here, I hope.

Not doing dangerous work, but I'm getting to have a good time.

So, let's raise a glass.

Yeah.

Cheers.

Cheers.

So take a day trip to Cookeville, Tennessee, do some shopping and exploring, and then stop by Dream Country Brewing and see what makes this local hot spot such a welcoming place to enjoy a drink and be among friends.

Historic villages, timeless traditions, creative passions, and local flavor.

Today's adventure reminds us that Tennessee's Upper Cumberland is rich with stories and places waiting to be discovered, from Rugby to Livingston, Cookeville and beyond.

Four unforgettable destinations.

One incredible journey each stop showing us at the heart of this region lives in its people, their creativity, their history and our passion in sharing these places with you.

We hope today's journey inspires you to explore and experience the magic of Tennessee's Upper Cumberland for yourself.

Thank you so much for traveling with us today.

I'm Shan Stout, and until our next adventure, we'll be saving you a seat right here in the heart of Middle Tennessee.

Wish you were here.

[♪♪] It's time to unwind.

And there's no better place to do that than dream...oops!

[laughter] 490 00:26:03,361 --> 00:26:05,363 I think I'm good.

Yeah.

Lemon face.

Lion face.

We gotta get expressive here.

All right.

I made a pizza.

So anybody want a pizza?

It's fresh out of the oven.

This project is funded by Putnam County with support from a grant provided by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.

This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS.

Station from viewers like you.

Thank you.