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There is a place near here called Pressmen's Home. It was the headquarters of the printing pressmen's union from 1911-1969. They built several buildings there, the most impressive of which was the Technical Trade school Building, a massive 5 story structure built at a cost of a million dollars in 1948. It was a swanky place in its day-the lobby had 2 man elevators in it, & was finished in pink variegated East Tennessee marble. Anyhow, I took a self-guided tour of the place in Feb 1991-by myself. The main floor was where they had printing presses set up, above that, the various floors had layout/stripping equpment, offices, classrooms, drafting/layout light tables, darkrooms, & the top floor was a 1000 seat auditorium. All the photographic/printing press equipment was long gone, but quite a few of the layout/stripping/drafting tables were still there. I guess I spent an hour or so wandering thru there, it was a bright warm Sunday afternoon, NOBODY else was there-And I had no real business being in there, either-But I'll swear on a stack of Bibles that I was positive I was being watched the whole time I was there. Nothing malevolent, you understand, just "under observation". There was one section of the building that I didn't go into-it was built into the side of a hill, & was black as pitch, & my Spidey-Sense said "Stay the F out, Fat Boy !" & I did. I guess I was so fascinated by all the stuff that was in there, that overcame my fear of being in a potentially dangerous place. I drive thru that settlement every so often, & almost every time I do, I get a feeling of almost indescribable sadness. But y'all know how sentimental about stuff I am. Maybe that's why the spooks 'n' ghosts didn't bother me the day I was there...
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Benevolent Despot
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