02 Message from the editor 04 Pickleball in the fall:
East Tennessee’ s Premiere Pastime 06 Movers & Shakers: Mark Oldham 08 Blount County is doggone fun! 10 Pages and programs 12 Autumn on Washington: Walnut Kitchen
& Foothills Milling Company 14 5 hikes for fall foliage 18 The Quiet Turning: Autumn in the Smokies 22 Pumpkin spice and everything nice 24 Beyond Blount: Brushy Mountain
State Penitentiary 26 In search of sound?
30 Clayton Center for the Arts expands its line-up and previews the 2025 / 2026 season
31 The Clayton Center For The Arts: 2025 / 2026 season at a glance
BCQ
Blount County Quarterly
Fall 2025
INSIDE
02 Message from the editor 04 Pickleball in the fall:
East Tennessee’ s Premiere Pastime 06 Movers & Shakers: Mark Oldham 08 Blount County is doggone fun! 10 Pages and programs 12 Autumn on Washington: Walnut Kitchen
& Foothills Milling Company 14 5 hikes for fall foliage 18 The Quiet Turning: Autumn in the Smokies 22 Pumpkin spice and everything nice 24 Beyond Blount: Brushy Mountain
State Penitentiary 26 In search of sound?
30 Clayton Center for the Arts expands its line-up and previews the 2025 / 2026 season
31 The Clayton Center For The Arts: 2025 / 2026 season at a glance
Product of THE DAILY TIMES
GENERAL MANAGER DARREN HAIMER
NEWS( 865) 981-1139
ADVERTISING / DISTRIBUTION JEFF CRAFT( 865) 981-1192 jeff. craft @ thedailytimes. com
Blount County Quarterly is published quarterly by THE DAILY TIMES, a newspaper of Adams MultiMedia. Reproduction of the whole or any part of content herein is prohibited without prior written consent from the publisher. Opinions expressed by contributing writers and editors are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or Blount County Quarterly.
Copyright 2025 by: Blount County Quarterly magazine 226 Gill Street Alcoa, TN 37701 Phone( 865) 981-1100
EDITOR SHANON ADAME shanon. adame @ thedailytimes. com
ADVERTISING SAMANTHA GENTRY KENNETH HICKSON BECKY PAYNE
CONTRIBUTORS Shanon Adame, Erin Rosolina, Mathaus Schwarzen, Lee Zimmerman
LAYOUT & DESIGN DARLA ALLEN dallen @ apgcreate. com
ON THE COVER:
Daniel Adame plays pickleball at the Bassel Courts in Alcoa.
BCQ | SHANON ADAME
FALL 2025 • BLOUNT COUNTY QUARTERLY | 3