Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/04/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi, Harrison, Couch's store is still open, having been passed from the elder Mr. Couch to his son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Dot Couch. Bob is now in his eighties, but still gets to the store. His second daughter, Candy, is the active photographer in the family. The clutter of the store has not changed much over the years. The place next door, Daddy Billy's in recent years, was named for the father of the elder Mr. Couch that you recall. I haven't been there recently, but it is still in business. I discovered Couch's when I came to Tullahoma in 1953 as perhaps the only Leica owner within 50 miles. They were the only photo goods source available locally until the advent of the Wal-Mart type of operation. They have had a difficult time competing with the big boys in selling to the general public, but get requests for help with photo questions and repairs. Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harrison McClary" <lists@mcclary.net> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org> Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 11:03 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: American small towns > Larry Z did a good job summing this up. Too often people in large cities > forget how very rural this country is. When I lived in Atlanta and was in > the city for several months straight I'd sometimes forget that Georgia is > a farming state. You drive 3o minutes from the cities edges and you are > in farm land. You drive two hours out and the cities are gone and all are > towns, small towns. > > Here in Tennessee you are stretching it to call any of our cities large, > they are all on the small side. And towns, well most are just wide spots > in the road, without even a traffic light, and no they are not tourist > traps. > > If you come here and want to get a real feel for small towns just drive > from one small town to another and avoid the interstates and you will see > many very neat little towns, all with an interesting character. I really > dislike where I live now, Brentwood TN is all "plastic" the only good > thing here is the schools are excellent. Once the kids are out of school > we likely will move somewhere more "real" > > Oh...go visit Jim in Tullahoma, that is a neat little town...best burgers > in the state used to be made there right next to Couches Photographic > store, old man Couch was a very interesting fellow, made his way in > photography with Graflex and had one of those photo shops where everything > was to be found, plus he was one of the friendliest people you'd ever want > to meet. Is that burger place still there Jim? If so I need to come over > and join you for a burger. :) Also did Mr Couch's daughter keep his store > open? > > Harrison. > > Lawrence Zeitlin wrote: >> Most Europeans and Asians assume that the USA is characterized by the few >> big cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.) shown in the movies and >> in TV. In fact the USA has a very low population density when compared >> with most countries in Europe and Asia. Australia excepted, of course. >> About 80% of the US population lives in cities along the coastline and >> major waterways. Most of the rest of the country is sparsely populated. >> The actual population density of the entire country is 79 people per sq. >> mile in comparison to India's 898 people per sq. mile, Denmark's 328 per >> sq. mile, Japan's 867 per sq. mile, France's 283 per sq. mile or the UK's >> 640 per sq. mile. Even Kiribati has 340 people per square mile. >> >> Once you travel a short distance out of any big city in the US, even New >> York, you are in rural countryside. I live about 40 miles north of New >> York in a small town in the Hudson Valley. We have weekly open air >> Farmer's markets just like those shown in Sonny's picture. I cannot see >> my neighbor's house from any window and I have to drive several miles for >> the closest shopping. That's the case over most of the non-urban US. I >> grew up in the rural Midwest where the closest neighbor was six miles >> away. >> >> The concept of a country with vast open spaces is hard for most people in >> this overpopulated world to accept. When I lectured in India and the UK >> it was hard to convey the image that the US was not a vast urban >> metropolis. GeeBee has the remarkable facility of photographing a portion >> of the generally crowded UK as a bucolic country largely without people. >> But it is as much of an illusion as characterizing the US as a vastly >> expanded Los Angeles. I lived for a number of years in North Wales, >> hardly a densely populated part of the UK, but it was far more crowded >> than my home town in the US. Living in New Delhi was like a perpetual >> ride in a New York subway car. When we had visitors from India, their >> first comments at getting off the airplane at Kennedy Airport was "Where >> are all the people?" The only time they felt truly at home was visiting >> New York City at the height of the rush hour. >> >> Larry Z > > > -- > Harrison McClary > Harrison McClary Photography > harrison@mcclary.net > http://www.mcclary.net > ImageStockSouth - Stock Photography > http://www.imagestocksouth.com > Tobacco Road: Personal Blog: > http://www.mcclary.net/blog > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >