I want to give a big shout out, and a thank you, to Donnie Laws, who is running one of the best RU-vid channels on the entire platform. Thank you, brother!
Amazing how they harnessed the creek there to work for them.The Old Mill has withstood the test of time,and still putting cornbread on the table. Thanks Friend for another good one 🙂.
I second the thank you for all the important history you're giving us. Preserving these old ways is so important & so precious to our nation. We enjoy the relaxing nature videos too. All of it. 🐿👏👏👏🦃🐾🦌🦨🍂🙏🇺🇲🥰
I have visited this place many many times ... Got me a bag of cornmeal from there several times.... Such a wonderful experience.... I remember as a young girl helping my daddy with his grist mill.... He Wld make cornmeal for a lot of people
The sights of days gone past but still here makes you admire the old style of engineering that makes you wonder if we went in the right direction where we is today
What a wonderful job you did on the grist mill story. Had the pleasure of visiting Cades Cove years ago and just did't want to leave. It is so peaceful and beautiful. How sad that our daily life seems to be so busy that we can't enjoy the beauty God has given us. Have a wonderful day and good luck on your hunting trip.
Hi Donnie! I really enjoyed watching this video. It really is interesting, the history behind the mill. I've never been to East Tennessee, however, after watching your channel for some time now, I want to come and visit real bad. Thank you for all your hard work on showing us the beauty, the critters and the history from the mountains. God Bless and much love from Ohio.. 🙏🙏
When my son was 7 he became thoroughly fascinated by mills of all kind. That year we went to Great Smokies NP for the first time. As we were driving through Cades Cove my son saw the sign for the Cable Mill and begged us to stop so that he could see the mill. His eyes were so wide with excitement when he saw the mill race, the wheel and the pond outside of the mill. When we went inside the mill he began to “talk shop” with the Park Service miller who was so surprised that a little 7 year old boy knew so much about mills! The next thing I knew this kind man took my son down to where the water turned the gears and was showed my son how each part of the mill worked. Some other visitors wanted to know why he was down on the lower level with the miller when there were “Keep out” signs everywhere. The miller asked if anyone else knew as much as this little boy did about waterwheel mills. Of course, nobody except my husband and I did, so there were no more complaints. The miller even had our son explain part of the milling process to the visitors. We had one very starry-eyed boy for weeks after that. Two years later we returned to the park and went to see the turbine mill on the NC side of the park. Because it was raining heavily our family were the only visitors to visit the mill in 2-3 hours. Once again my son started asking questions of the miller there, and the miller was so happy to have someone who actually talk shop (now at age 9) that he took our son on the most detailed tour of every part of the mill. Our family spent at least 2 hours there, and when we left the miller thanked our son for “the most fun he’d ever had as a miller”. This son is now a watershed scientist who works for the US Geological Survey. Little did those two kind millers know that they would have a major effect on my son’s future life! I bless them both for their kindness.
Good to see the ol Cable mill still turning , I live 3 miles from the Rice mill @ Norris Dam and it doesn't turn anymore, for some reason they don't have the water going to the wheel . Although they have put a new roof and siding on it and it really looks great, so hopefully the water supply will be restored 🤞yes sir it makes amazing cornbread, thanks for sharing Donnie 👍
Love this video! Thanks for sharing! Thought we would not hear from you until after your hunting trip. Pleasant surprise! Good luck on your adventure...stay safe...God bless!
Donnie, I just want to say how much I appreciate your videos. I’m so glad I found your channel! You sound very much like a lot of friends I have in Tazewell County, Virginia! I have Appalachian roots myself, and love to see your pics and listen to your. stories. So glad that we know these things, and rejoice in them! You’ve made a fan, brother. God bless you and yours!
This is a great place to bring the grandkids. What better place to keep history alive than a working Grist mill. this is a living history museum. thanks for doing your part to keep history alive. Your friend, Louise
I was blessed to get to spend a week in the Smokies in 2017 and it was absolutely breathtaking how beautiful the area is. We visited the mill and I really enjoyed getting to see how it all worked. Walking along the stream was probably my favorite part of that day though. It’s so peaceful out there. 🙂
Every video is a treasure. I watch and listen to your videos before I go to work. Regulates and tempers my mood ready to help people. So much information. So much care goes into the production. Much appreciated Mr.Donnie Laws.
Great video. I have a special friend in NC that restored and makes a new grist mill. We're all so happy his life dream is coming true. God bless Mr. Donnie.
That really is the invention from someone that is a deep thinker. An original inventor for sure. Thanks for showing how this invention works. Understanding this helps us to see inside the mind of a brilliant man. Thanks for sharing, your friend Louise
You're right Donnie there's nothing better than a good pan of cornbread and some butter. Beautiful video thanks for everything you do it takes me back to my childhood. I spent many a day watching that m i l l work we used to go up Cades Cove all the time when I was a kid. Going to have to go back and see that place again. Again thanks for the video
So many treasured memories of the past. Thank you Donnie for keeping old historical places alive and for showing this younger generation the steps that were involved into grinding cornmeal. Now days you just go to the grocery store and buy it , without thinking where it came from. Your right about hot buttered cornbread, buttermilk and cornbread is good too . Stay safe and blessed.
Thanks for the videos and the history! Cade's Cove is my favorite place to go for a true relaxing and heartwarming visit, I absolutely love this place and the history about it and the people who were in my opinion, fortunate enough to live here and the love that they had for it.
Such a beautiful historic place and video Donnie.....with the view up Mill creek and all....I could see doing some fishing off that log off the bank....there's something so peaceful about these old mills ...I believe it would do our country alot of good to keep in touch with the old ways like the grist mills , and keep ready for service what steam power we have left as well , as these things need no grid .... Thank you for this wonderful video Brother.
One of the things that this video did for me was looking at that pan of cornbread was make me wish that mom still around she made the best cornbread Thank you for the memory's
Watched this one early this morning but was not logged in, so coming back to leave this comment. Love these old mills, been to this one a few times but know that I have learned more about the Cable family, even more interesting ! Thanks
We’re going to visit in 6 weeks! My husband and I both love the cove we go every time, you’re story telling makes it that much more interesting! We love your stories! Thank you!
Hey Donnie. Beautiful place. Nothin better than warm corn bread with butter or honey, and a cold glass of buttermilk. Thanks friend and have a great evening.
Where I live in Ohio Lancaster Ohio actually on south end of town way before our time a creek in near called tarhe run now but years ago was called carpenter run after carpenter family in the 1800s had a grist mill which years ago with son I think I found it’s old foundation but it’s so totally lost local history I don’t think anyone remembers but I knew of cause of old county books I found at local library YEARS ago then I found em on eBay and got em. I just love local history of my “home” town and of cades cove/seveirville, pigeon forge, smoky mountains area.❤ thank you so much youtube for finding your videos and thank you sir for your videos most of all. Makes me miss Tennessee so so much yet I feel like I’m back to my secondary home watching your videos❤. We have a original grist mill still stands in Fairfield county Ohio plus a covered bridge i so love covered bridges too but it’s been restored and alot of folk lore with that grist mill and the beginning of the hocking river. I was on front page of lancaster newspaper in the 80s on that bridge field trip nose all bandaged up and super cute older girl kissing me on the cheek🤣. I’ll have to see if my Gma white has that news article lol. My mom God rest her soul cracked up for days over it😂
Again Donnie Great story your the best of the best I think you missed your calling you should have been doing this long time ago!!!! Love your history of the great smokey mountains . Thank you for another GREAT VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!
Another great video Mr. Donnie!! Just shows how nature is very important to us!! Pass the Corn Bread please!! Take care my friend and God bless you Sir and your family. Thank you again my friend.
Like other comments point out this history wouldn't be known to us without you sharing this thank you. We all know smokey mountains but your showing the people's stories that went with it I really love learning that must have been something to live that way few hundred years ago.
Thank you for sharing, i havd been to that mill before. Great memories, i have always loved that place. I hope you and having a great vacation Donnie. God bless you and your whole family.....🙏❤🙏❤🙏😊🙂😀
Wow! That mill and surrounding area is just breathtaking! Your video is great! I want to drop everything and drive there now😉 I would sit by the stream and just soak in the beauty and pray.
Just incredible creation for so many centuries they were hand made hand ground and the power of water I enjoyed this video and admire how fortunate you were to be able to video it to share beautiful indeed. Blessings 🤠🙏🏻
Stone milled Corn meal rolled with fresh caught January/February Trout skillet fried. With day old big pot of Pinto Beans & Corn bread. Eating don't get any better than that.
Howdy Donnie- them old mills are just about a thing of the past. Used to be one a couple miles south of us but it’s long gone. Thanks for sharing this. God bless
We (my third husband and two youngest out of three step children) were there in summer of 2016 stayed in a motel in Sevierville and I’m such a nature nut I wanted us to get out and drive around didn’t care just headed to the woods so to speak, my step children were 12 and 16 at the time they and their dad didn’t do nature driving without a GPS so I told them to turn down this road and I mean it was a beautiful adventure, we stopped at the primitive church and on to cable mill (which until this video I didn’t know what it was called) took pictures of it all. I’m from Texas born and raised my two kids same and now my daughter and her family live in Tennessee and my son is in Mississippi our family heritage way way back when is Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama I guess in our own way we’re going back home. I will live there in the future myself. I am so glad I stumbled upon these videos while I was researching Tennessee.
Hey Donnie Tommy from Jonesboro another great video and also good luck on your hunt a deer steak 🥩 sounds good right now god bless you and please be safe on that hunt my friend
Donnie when I was young I worked in a metal fab shop I welded up a water Wheel from start to finish and it was a lot of work . I also was hunting some land we rented and found a pile of them old mill stones in a gully I would like to had one but it was to heavy to carry I was told there had been a old mill there at one time . !! ❤😊
This what we made practically everything that we need now, what I mean is less reliable on foreign out sources and more on our own skills. We need to more of this and less of foreign interference.
You need to look up Justin Metcalf here on RU-vid. He is in Mars Hill in Madison County, North Carolina. He dresses millstones and has even built his own mill. His channel is called Metcalf Mills
Hi Donnie! I have no idea if it's still running but there is a beautiful grist mill that was brought down from Ellijay, Georgia (Appalachian town) to be preserved at Stone Mountain Park. In 1977, I got a bag of their corn meal and made about the worst cornbread I'd ever eaten! (And it had nothing to do with their excellent product, trust me!) Well, I was eighteen at the time and so decided I hadn't found the right recipe or the right corn meal so I spent a year of failure after failure spending a small fortune on ingredients and cook books. Finally, I went to my farm-raised Big Mama's house for a family dinner and begged her quietly to give me her prized recipe for her corn bread that she hadn't given to any of her children. I told her of my year long disastrous search for good corn bread and promised I wouldn't tell anybody else. She nodded her head and said, "give me just a second," and she looked until she was sure nobody else was looking at us, then she motioned for me to come into the kitchen with her. There, she got her tall step stool and climbed to the top cabinet over the Frigidaire (still, in 1978!). She looked one more time to make sure nobody was looking, then rumbled around in the cabinet. I was sure some ancient piece of paper from my great-grandma's was coming down when she called me over to get something. Instead, she handed me a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix! As I looked up in shock, she whispered to me, " I made the worst cornbread this side of the Mississippi until this stuff come out in 1932 and I ain't never looked back!" As I stifled my laughter, she admonished me "and don't you EVER tell your Uncles I don't make their favorite thing in the world from scratch, you hear me?!" "Yes ma'am!" I replied with a smile. I kept my word. None of my family knew her 'recipe' until after she and my Uncles were gone. And I still enjoy a box of it too, even today!😊
Hi Donnie. I got a highlighted reply and it said to text you on telegram. I thought I’d ask because sometimes people pretend to be the RU-vidr and it’s not them. If it was you how do I go about using telegram. I’ve never used it before.
