Walking In History

 

   I remember this site from the many times we flew into, or out of, Lovell Field in Chattanooga. We were low enough on approach, or takeoff, to see a wooded section of land just north and east of the airport. In any season of the year, but especially winter, when the leaves were off the trees, we could trace roads through the forest, and branching off from the main roads were a lot of small and short roadways leading  into the woods. 

   I had fancied being able to walk those roads and see where the little offshoots ended. 

   A short history: Back in 1942, at the beginning of WWII, the federal government purchased 8,000 acres, more or less, and proceeded to put up the VAAP (Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant). The mission of the project was to produce TNT for munitions in the war effort. 

   The explosive material, after manufacture, was stored in bunkers which were scattered over the wooded site. These bunkers were built, covered with earth, and, when the trees sprung up, they would be invisible to any enemy bombers. 

   Of course, the planes of the Axis powers never became a threat, but early in the war, no one really knew how the war years would unfold.

   The plant and the accompanying bunkers were phased out after use in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the buildings either demolished or left to deteriorate, the bunkers emptied, and the area left fenced off from the general public.

   I won't go into the minutia of historical progress, but the county purchased the land for an industrial park.

   Today it is home to, among other businesses, a Volkswagen assembly plant, and an Amazon Distribution Center.

   The area, called Enterprise South, is also home to a nature park, filled with hiking and biking trails. These paths were constructed using some of the interior roadways of the TNT plant, and containing 100 of these storage bunkers.

   Carolyn and I found these roads and walking trails in the opening days of our courting. We wanted to do things together, but were not too keen on being too public a couple. It was a perfect spot.

   It still is....  

   

   This has become a very popular spot for mountain bikers, hikers, families on a stroll and dog walkers There are separate trails for bikes and hikes so congestion is held in check.

   And, if you care to look and think, there is history everywhere in this nature spot.

   The sound of making things and the voices of workers still whisper on the winds as we walk amidst these relics of a bygone era.

   An area used for the storage of explosives, once filled with the sounds of preparations for war, is quiet in the peace that came after. 

   A great place to remember the past and be grateful to be living in that peace that the war produced.

   And carry that gratitude with us as we use these roads and trails, and look on those remnants of storage, and thank God that we can.