2011- 500 Most Interesting Photos

Bumper sticker on a car in Commerce, Georgia. I must say that this husband has his wife trained well! lol

In this photo, the entire upper floor has been ripped from the house. Mostly just a door and a piece of wall are all that are left standing upstairs. Note that while most of the room has been ripped away, the picture is still hanging unmoved on the remaining wall. It isn't even hanging crooked. And below the ripped-away room the hanging basket wasn't even touched during the event. -- Tornadoes rolled through the Southern United States on April 27-28, 2011. One of the areas hardest hit was Ringgold, GA, a suburb of Chattanooga, TN. These are some pictures shared by my Station Manager at WLMR Radio, Jason McKay, that were taken around his home on April 28. Three people across the street from his house lost their lives in the tornadoes, and Jason and his family were very blessed to be across the street and to escape unharmed. More photos will be placed in the set soon, but Internet and cell service in and around the area is very sporadic, and getting these photos is taking some time.

Tornadoes rolled through the Southern United States on April 27-28, 2011. One of the areas hardest hit was Ringgold, GA, a suburb of Chattanooga, TN. These are some pictures shared by my Station Manager at WLMR Radio, Jason McKay, that were taken around his home on April 28. Three people across the street from his house lost their lives in the tornadoes, and Jason and his family were very blessed to be across the street and to escape unharmed. More photos will be placed in the set soon, but Internet and cell service in and around the area is very sporadic, and getting these photos is taking some time.

Tornadoes rolled through the Southern United States on April 27-28, 2011. One of the areas hardest hit was Ringgold, GA, a suburb of Chattanooga, TN. These are some pictures shared by my Station Manager at WLMR Radio, Jason McKay, that were taken around his home on April 28. Three people across the street from his house lost their lives in the tornadoes, and Jason and his family were very blessed to be across the street and escape unharmed. More photos will be placed in the set soon, but Internet and cell service in and around the area is very sporadic, and getting these photos is taking some time.

Tornadoes rolled through the Southern United States on April 27-28, 2011. One of the areas hardest hit was Ringgold, GA, a suburb of Chattanooga, TN. These are some pictures shared by my Station Manager at WLMR Radio, Jason McKay, that were taken around his home on April 28. Three people across the street from his house lost their lives in the tornadoes, and Jason and his family were very blessed to be across the street and to escape unharmed. More photos will be placed in the set soon, but Internet and cell service in and around the area is very sporadic, and getting these photos is taking some time.

Tornadoes rolled through the Southern United States on April 27-28, 2011. One of the areas hardest hit was Ringgold, GA, a suburb of Chattanooga, TN. These are some pictures shared by my Station Manager at WLMR Radio, Jason McKay, that were taken around his home on April 28. Three people across the street from his house lost their lives in the tornadoes, and Jason and his family were very blessed to be across the street and to escape unharmed. More photos will be placed in the set soon, but Internet and cell service in and around the area is very sporadic, and getting these photos is taking some time.

Pardon the sentimentality. This was the old grocery store near where I grew up. It had as many different names as it had owners over the years. It was called "Gilstrap's Store," "Burgess Grocery," "E-Mart," and many other names I can't remember. (We usually just referred to it as "The Store," as in "would you run up to the store and get some paper towels?") Somehow, we thought it would always be there, but it closed for good sometime around 1997 or 1998, judging by the Winston "No Bull" sign in the window. (I remember that sign going up in the window not long before the store closed, and the original Winston "No Bull" campaign came out in '97, so I'm guessing the year the store closed was 1997.) The door on the right was actually a separate business, the town barbershop, which closed long before the store did. That barber shop was the first time I ever experienced air conditioning, and it really helped the guy's business during those hot, sticky summer months, since the neighboring town didn't have an air-conditioned barber facility. Later on, someone rented the old barbershop and tried to make it into an ice cream shop, but it never really did well. It's sad to see something that was once so vital to the community abandoned for so long. We still don't have an old-fashioned barber shop or an ice cream parlor, and another grocery/convenience store opened around the same time that this one closed. That store now has the distinction of being the only convenience/grocery store in town, so I'm guessing he may have had a different attitude toward the old store closing down. (Norris, SC, US)

Pizza Inn, Easley, SC (US), a favorite place to eat, but they probably need to pay closer attention to the condition of their sign. (Having lived in this area for many years, this is mild compared to the sign neglect I've seen at some places!) This sign hasn't been in this condition long- it seems the recent almost daily afternoon thunderstorms we've had have managed to change the lettering a little, and I'm sure this will be corrected as soon as the weather cooperates. (It may even be corrected by the time that you're seeing this photo.)