Bethpage-Tribune_2007-08-10

              Volume 45 Number 32 329 Broadway., Bethpage, NY 11714 August 10-16, 2007 (516)681-0440 ext. 21 FAX (516)681-9354 Email: Nuz2u@aol.com 50 Cents
A Stranger in Bethpage
Charles Campagne? Never heard of him, say the folks in Bethpage,
Tennessee.
By Michael Schiavetta
I took Route 109 north towards Bethpage, crossing over the
Cumberland River. I drove by the Gallatin Marina and the Poindexter
Bait Co. before making a right onto Route 3IE. After about 20 minutes,
I passed the Bethpage Methodist Church. These days, most of the area
consists of cattle farms, winding roads, and not a whole lot else.
Besides the church, the biggest attractions in Bethpage are an elemen­tary
school, a post office, and a gas station.
Welcome to Bethpage, Tennessee.
This small, quiet community, about 35 miles northeast of Nashville,
cannot boast playing a role in the U.S. space program or being home to
a U.S. Open golf course. Nor can it claim anything comparable to a
Bretton's Deli, a Who-ville, or a library on Powell Avenue. But the peo­ple
who live and work here are no less proud and enjoy a more peaceful
life than Long Islanders who are enveloped by suburban sprawl, relent­less
traffic, and so much roadwork that I've begun to seriously question
how many orange street cones there are left in the universe.
I first heard about this "other" Bethpage when my nephew and god­son,
Stephen Schiavetta Jr., stumbled across its location while playing
around with Google Maps. The budding cartographer told his father,
who relayed the news to my family. As proud Bethpage natives, we
wondered what our Tennessee counterpart was like. Days later, I
received confirmation that my employer, New York Institute of
Technology, was sending me to a training conference in Nashville-less
than an hour's drive from Bethpage, Tenn. This is the equivalent of fate
nudging your ribs and whispering, "What are you waiting for?"
When I first arrived in Nashville, nearly every person told me to
check out the historic Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of
Fame, or some other famous attraction. I told them there was no place
I'd rather see than Bethpage. They all kind of looked at me funny. One
person went so far as to describe the area as "a wide spot in the middle
of the road."
As I took Route 40 east out of Nashville and headed towards my
Welcome to Bobcat country.
destination, I wondered if I would encounter any eerie similarities to my own home­town,
with perhaps just a few subtle differences. Maybe this Bethpage had a team
named the Golden Beagles, schools on Pine Lane and Kramer Avenue, and a bar
called What-ville.
I'm glad it didn't turn out that way. If there was a "Harry Bretton" who owned a
deli in Bethpage, Tenn., that would've completely freaked me out.
But while there are no Golden Eagles, there are the Bobcats, who play for the ele­mentary
school on Old Highway 3IE. The school's principal, W.J. Johnson, was kind
enough to answer some questions from a curious stranger, as were the friendly folks
at the Sumner County Museum in nearby Gallatin, Tenn.
One of my first questions was about the choice of the name "Bethpage," which, in
the Bible, was a town between Jericho and Jerusalem. On Long Island, this namesake
is spot on for a village situated between Jericho Turnpike and Jerusalem Avenue.
However, this Bethpage has a different origin. According to local legend, it is named
after the deceased wife of Nathaniel Parker, who lived in the Sumner County area
during the nineteenth century.
Her name was Elizabeth Page.
I also learned about another notable resident, State Congressman Josephus C.
Guild, whose Confederate sympathies during the Civil War forced Military Governor
Andrew Johnson to incarcerate him in a Michigan prison until Guild promised to
withdraw his support for the South.
During the early twentieth century, farmers in Bethpage, Tenn., grew tobacco as
their cash crop. Also, there was a high school up until the 1940s (though it only went
up to tenth grade). The unofficial center of the community was the Central Garage
and Standard Gas Station, with a hotel and blacksmith not too far away. And, accord­ing
to John Garrott of the Sumner County Museum, "the prettiest arch rock bridge"
was located in this area.
But that all changed more than 50 years ago, when the state government decided
to shut down the railroad that ran through Bethpage.
Today, old storefronts bearing chipped paint and faded handmade signs stand
silently along the main road. On open fields graze cattle, which are less labor-inten­sive
than tobacco. One of the biggest issues facing the Bethpage community involves
farmers who are resisting government efforts to place pipelines in their lands that
would pump gas from the Texas/Oklahoma area into the Northeast. The farmers are
not expected to win.
And that pretty rock bridge? The state tore that down, too.
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