- [Miranda] This time on "Retro Tennessee Crossroads," we'll get a glimpse into a day in the life of a drawbridge operator.

Jerry Thompson will show us if a concrete canoe can actually float.

And Janet Tyson will take us back to meet the second generation maker of these beauties.

I'm Miranda Cohen.

Welcome to "Retro Tennessee Crossroads."

We're glad you're here.

(upbeat music) In 1965, a man named J.W.

Gallagher started making guitars in Wartrace, Tennessee.

Almost a quarter of a century later, Janet Tyson caught up with J.W.

's son, Don Gallagher, who was then carrying on his father's legacy of handcrafting these exquisite instruments.

And they went on to have a huge impact on the music industry today.

- Wartrace's Tennessee's chief claim to fame comes from being the cradle of the Tennessee walking horse.

This historic hotel is even dedicated to the honor of that majestic animal.

Its lobby is adorned with portraits of champions like Strolling Jim.

Well, across the street from here is the birthplace of another famous pure bred, this one setting the standard in the music world.

Wartrace is also home to the champion of flat top acoustics, the Gallagher guitar.

(upbeat guitar music) Don Gallagher, the fifth generation Gallagher, born in Wartrace, literally grew up working in his father's furniture making shop.

J.W.

Gallagher started building furniture with impeccable craftsmanship in 1939, but he found fame after he began crafting guitars in 1965.

Don built his first guitar at age 16 in his father's shop.

He continues the tradition today, single-handedly building every guitar that bears the Gallagher emblem, an old English G atop the bellflower, a traditional furniture making design underscored by a trio of tulips.

- My father was very quiet person and I think he expressed himself through his work quite well.

And a lot of people, you know, I hope get that feeling when they see the instrument or play the instrument, that there's been a lot put into it that they can appreciate.

- [Janet] Among the famous musicians who do appreciate Gallagher guitars are Paul McCartney, Neil Diamond, Charlie Daniels, and Grandpa and Ramona Jones.

You hear the Gallagher influence in the music of super duo Naomi and Wynonna Judd.

But the celebrity who first fell in love with the Gallagher was Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.

They wanted a sound that hallmarked the mood of the '60s.

- They wanted a full sound, they wanted an acoustic sound.

And so that deep, full sound of a solid wood guitar like we were building was something that was important to them.

But even more so for Doc Watson who began to take violin music and transpose it to the acoustic guitar.

Doc first got one of our guitars in Easter of '68.

That had a great deal of influence in the direction that we were taking for what we were trying to do in terms of developing the guitar acoustically because our objectives became very quickly and in large part based on the feedback that we were getting from Doc and other musicians, trying to achieve a guitar that had a good range from the high to the low end.

A good balance in the tone.

- [Janet] There are 2000 Gallagher guitars in existence in places as far away as Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem.

Its distinctive resonance caused the National Flat Pickers Association to award it as top prize in its annual championships for the past 10 years.

It's the sound that J.W.

Gallagher diligently created by shaping, carving, and finishing wood with measured precision.

You say you approach the making of these guitars from a woodworking standpoint, but there's also an art form involved here.

- It's basically woodworking and there's a certain amount of technology involved in terms of working with the wood.

But there comes a point that you transcend just the technology and it moves into an art form.

It really does.

And you have to develop a feel for the wood and a feel for what you're doing because every piece of wood is a little different and has to be treated a little different to achieve what you're after.

- Okay, Don, would you share with us the fine art of making a Gallagher guitar?

- Sure, let's step back in the shop.

(upbeat guitar music) - So this is where it starts?

- Yes.

We use several different types of woods, Janet, in making the instrument.

We use rosewood for the backs and sides on some instruments, African mahogany on some instruments for the backs and sides.

Sitka spruce for the tops of all instruments and a pattern grade Honduras mahogany for the necks.

That wood when it comes into the shop is put up on curing racks and cured for at least eight years.

- [Janet] After the multi-step curing process, fine wood is ready for the lattice work of braces.

- The braces play a very important role, not only in sound production, but also in the structural strength of the instrument.

So they have to be put on at a particular location and shaped in a particular way.

And that's important to maintain that consistency from one instrument to the next so that the sound remains fairly constant within a certain range anyhow.

- [Janet] Integration of the separate components begins.

- After the top and back have been braced, the next step is to fit them to the frame of the instrument, and that's done by shaping down what's called a liner strip, which is a thin strip of mahogany that serves like a series of gluing blocks.

The size themselves are only ninety thousandths of an inch thick.

Which doesn't provide much gluing surface.

The series of miniature gluing blocks is what the top and back are glued to.

They have to be worked down precisely to get the proper contours in the top and back.

- Guitar beginning to come to life here, now- - It's really beginning to take shape at this point.

After the top and the back have been glued to the frame, next, the inlay is placed on the instrument.

- [Janet] What kind of materials do you use to do your inlays?

- [Gallagher] Either wood or in this case abalone.

- This is real precise work.

Does it... Do you enjoy that part of this business?

- I think that's the part I enjoy the most.

This is the part of the work that you can kind of get lost in, you know, in doing.

In fact, this is all done under a lighted magnifying glass, these joints that are fitted around here.

- [Janet] The neck is reinforced with a steel rod.

- The neck has to be very rigid in using... A U channel bar like this reinforces and makes the neck stronger to help drive the sound in the body.

- [Janet] Assembly of each guitar takes one month.

The vital finishing process takes another month and consists of multiple cycles of lacquering and sanding.

A Gallagher sells from just over $1,000 to just under $2,000.

This solitary labor of love is more than livelihood for Don Gallagher.

Though by his own admission, he's not a musician, he is the guardian of a legacy.

The living proof that technology and art can merge to enhance the human experience.

(J.W.

Gallagher playing guitar) - What a great story and what a great legacy.

Gallagher Guitar, always synonymous with top quality guitars and so well known among so many musicians and truly around the world.

Now joining us is David Mathis, the current owner of Gallagher Guitar.

What a legacy you're at the helm of now.

- Oh, absolutely.

And even more so, you know, we've come to realize how important that legacy is.

- Yes.

- 'Cause there's such a history there for Tennessee and for so many artists and players that have owned these guitars.

- It started way back in 1965, J.W.

Gallagher started it.

And so just walk us through the timeline and how did you end up with it?

- Okay, well, J.W.

started, he had been a master woodworker and had some experience in the military and over at Arnold Engineering Air Force Base.

But he was a woodworker.

Queen Anne style furniture, really nice stuff.

I've seen some of those pieces.

They recruited him to come help start a guitar line at Slingerland drum factory in Shelbyville and it was called the Shelby Guitar.

And that was what whetted his appetite.

But he wanted to build Queen Anne style guitars.

So he started in '65.

At '75, his son Don came home from his PhD program in psychology to take over the business and ran it for 40 years.

- Wow.

- And then his son Steven, took over in '15 and then had it for a few years before he decided to do something else.

And that's when my wife and I, Rena, stepped in and purchased the company to reopen it.

- [Miranda] And what made you want to open such a phenomenal company or continue the legacy of such a phenomenal company?

- [David] Part of part of that answer is pretty easy.

I learned my first guitar chords on a Gallagher.

My youth minister had taught me how to play on his 1967 G-50.

I grew up close to Wartrace, that area, had been by the shop in the past.

And so I just had this connection and, you know, here this iconic brand was gonna be a footnote.

And one thing led to another as we had discussions and looked at it and we decided to go ahead and they agreed to transfer ownership so that they could keep it going.

- [Miranda] Wow, tell us what is so special about a Gallagher guitar.

- You know, the level of quality of craftsmanship we have really elevated that and I have great confidence in this team and the ability that we exhibit in every guitar that we build.

Now as important as that is, it's also the story.

It's the history that guitars that have been played by, think about Doc Watson and Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, so many different players that have played this through the years.

But the story of the guitar continues with each guitar that we build.

- So David, we just watched this old story back from 1990 and it was an amazing story to see then.

He had been at it 25 years then.

What is it like for you to see that, to see that old story, to see the history, to see Don, the son, carrying on J.W.

's legacy?

What is it like to see that?

- It's humbling in some ways, again, to be now part of that ongoing story now.

Now Don has been absolutely wonderful to us.

I was just talking with him last week about something, have a great relationship with him.

He's proud that we're continuing the name, but we're really proud that we get to.

- Yeah, true.

Okay and I suppose last, what are your hopes for the future?

Where do you wanna take Gallagher Guitar?

- Well, in the climate that we're in is very different than 1965, very different.

And in the climate that we're in, it's important that we really establish ourselves very firmly as kind of upper echelon guitar company that's available to people.

So we've been expanding our availability throughout the nation, different dealers and such.

And then you see more and more artists that are playing us.

So we're on a good path.

- Thankfully, the great Gallagher name continues on with the new operation and the legacy of great music continues today.

And speaking of operations, have you ever wondered how a drawbridge works?

You probably think it's all computers and automation, right?

Well, actually most drawbridges have a 24/7 operator.

And while the technology has certainly changed since the story aired back in 1989, it is still a fascinating job.

Joe Elmore takes us back to spend the day in the life of a railroad drawbridge operator on the Cumberland River.

(train engine whistling) - [Joe] It happens about 60 times every day, a train carrying goods in and then out of Nashville.

And it takes a lot of hardworking people to keep these trains rolling.

And of all the people working for the railroad, I think the man you're about to meet has one of the more interesting jobs.

It's certainly won many youngsters would envy.

You see, he works up there operating the drawbridge that spans the Cumberland River.

A 130-year-old structure that's one of the last of its kind in Tennessee.

- Can you understand me on this console?

- [Joe] Meet Mike Trank, a railroad man who actually has two jobs.

One involves relaying orders to the 15 or so trains that pass under him every day.

The other involves a little mechanical miracle.

One that helps tall riverboats clear an old low bridge.

(dramatic music) From here, it looks like a broken toy with its middle section turned 180 degrees.

For Mike, it's all part of keeping the two types of traffic running smoothly.

Well, Mike, if a large boat is coming about the same time a train is coming, who has the right of way?

- Boats have the right of way.

It's federal regulations.

Of course, we try to monitor the river traffic and the rail traffic far enough in advance so that we can keep everybody moving and not stop anybody.

And it is a rare thing really and truly to stop a train or a boat for any prolonged period of time.

- [Joe] There's not much room down here on this old bridge for folks to pass through.

Have you ever in here when one of 'em got a little too close and hit it?

- [Mike] Yeah, I sure have, I sure have.

It'll rattle the bridge.

Bring you outta your chair in hurry.

- [Joe] So that has happened a few times?

- It has happened.

We had a boat here a while back that hit the upper river pier and knocked out a line about four foot.

That's quite a lick.

- [Joe] Mike works alone here high above the river and railroad.

But he says he seldom gets lonely.

That's because there's usually plenty to do.

In the past, however, the bridge has had unexpected company of all kinds.

- Before they built a new jail down there, the prisoners, sometimes whenever they would escape, they'd come across this old bridge.

And everyone over here at nighttime always knew how to spot that because you could see all the police car lights over there.

We'd made sure our door was locked.

- [Joe] You never had any company, I hope?

- One of 'em came up here one time, came up halfway up the steps and went back down.

That's as close as we ever come.

We was always leery of that though.

- Well, I tell you what?

I know you don't have to now, but would you turn it once just for us?

- Sure, be glad to.

- [Joe] The equipment used to turn the bridge is fairly old and pretty simple.

A diesel engine and a series of antiquated looking levers.

Finally, with Mike's skill and patience, this mighty old massive steel is ready to rotate.

(upbeat music) The view from a turned bridge is pretty strange.

And you can't help wondering what if a train came along right now?

Of course they never do, but has it ever been stuck in this position?

- Yeah, a couple of times.

One time it broke down, another time we just plain ran outta gas up and down the river.

- [Joe] That must be a great feeling?

- Yeah, it sure was.

Wondering how I was gonna get back on there for a while.

- [Joe] Well, how did you?

- Well, we had someone out of the signal department came out here and they came out on a cart.

There's a big wire that runs across the top of the bridge, like a very heavy cable, and they put the cart on the cable and hand walked the cart and themselves out here with a can of gasoline, put some in and cranked it back up and we turned it back.

- [Joe] And you were back in business?

- We were back in business.

(upbeat music) - Well, this time fortunately it didn't get stuck or run out of gas.

(upbeat music) And within a few minutes it became a regular bridge again.

Ready once again for another train to come crossing the Cumberland.

Well, that's life on the draw bridge or turn bridge if you prefer.

And you might be glad to know that there is someone here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making sure the traffic goes smoothly, whether it's on the river or over the river.

(dramatic music) - Another great story by Joe Elmore.

What a unique look at a job many of us have always been curious about.

And if you don't mind heights and working alone sounds good to you, there are still plenty of jobs around for drawbridge operators or bridge tenders as they are officially called today.

And now for our very last story, have you ever watched someone build a canoe?

You would probably expect to see wood or fiberglass, right?

Surely something that floats.

How about concrete?

Up next, Jerry Thompson found a group of ingenious engineering students who decided to build canoes out of what else?

Concrete, and even better, they decided to race them.

- [Jerry] I'm here today at Old Hickory Lake with about 300 college kids from all over the southeast.

They gather about this time every year get together for canoe races.

It's not all that unusual.

What is unusual is that they're all civil engineering students and all their canoes are made from concrete.

- Give me a paddle.

- [Jerry] When I heard the concrete canoe races would be held here this year, my first thought was how does concrete float?

Well, it's all just a matter of engineering, design and construction.

As Dr. Bob Stammer, who is associate professor of civil engineering at Vanderbilt pointed out.

what makes a concrete canoe so unique?

- Well, just saying the word concrete obviously gets people's attention.

And then the idea that concrete would float or that you could make a canoe out of it arouses people's curiosity.

- Well, you're associate professor of civil engineering at Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt's got one of the fastest looking and fastest performing canoes out here.

What's so different about it?

- [Bob] Well, we've tried to improve on our first one where the end of the canoe fell off before we even got it out of the lab.

But we've made thin concrete and we sew it onto, or really form it around a rebar frame.

And so that takes less concrete and makes it sleeker and lighter and faster.

- [Jerry] The enthusiasm runs high at new races.

Everyone gets involved, not just the people pulling the oars, the people on the beach too.

As your team approaches the finish line, the support rises to a frenzied pace.

(people cheering) Concrete canoe racing has its pitfalls.

Sometimes an accident slows things down while repairs are made.

Then in other times, lake dwellers slow things down too.

- [Announcer] Get set.

(gun fires) (people screaming an cheering) - [Jerry] The Vanderbilt team takes off in the men's slalom races.

As the race progresses, so does the cheering and enthusiasm.

Lieutenant Colonel Bill Allen is a deputy district engineer of the Nashville Corps of Engineers District.

He was one of the judges for the competition.

What do you look for in a concrete canoe?

- We look for a lot of things.

Basically it's compliance with the design requirements as called for by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Once we do the compliance part, we also review the reports that are required to be submitted with the canoe, describes the construction procedure, the design procedure, the activity schedule and materials used, things like that.

After we do that, then we look at appearance and indications of innovation in the design.

- [Jerry] One of the first tests a canoe has to pass is a flotation test after being filled with water.

The University of Miami team just brought the heaviest canoe to the competition.

Didn't pass this one.

- You guys slid it and there's a hole in the bottom like this big now, buddy.

- [Jerry] Despite modern engineering methods and space age materials, sometimes emergency repairs resort to an old standby, chewing gum.

The University of Miami Hurricanes proved its value once again.

The Vanderbilt team resorted to quick drying cement, and all the while I thought such a product was only used by the coyote on the "Roadrunner" cartoons.

- Right in the back of the head.

- [Jerry] During a break for lunch, another kind of competition developed, water bombing with a giant slingshot.

With two strong anchors and a good shooter, water filled balloon can be hurled through the air for several hundred yards.

Our cameraman got dangerously close to the business end of this slingshot.

(people screaming and cheering) I asked the designer of the Miami canoe what made his team's craft so unique.

- It's weight.

- And it's pretty hefty, right?

- Yeah, we estimated around 400 pounds, which is quite amazing that it still floats.

- [Jerry] How long did it take you to come up with this design and construction?

- [Designer] Yeah, this canoe was built in about a week and a half, honestly.

I personally put in about 40, 45 hours into building this canoe.

- [Jerry] Some teams, however, spent considerably more time on their entry.

Reed Adams, a Vanderbilt sophomore, designed the Vandy Canoe, a project that has spanned several months.

- [Reed] Well, Tom May, who designed it last year, decided to get me involved in it this year so I could take over the job next year.

And we started working back in October and he did some of the welding and then together we put on the concrete sides and the panels.

We laid all the concrete with help of a few other people here.

And then I was left up to do the painting and then, you know, the coat undercoat for the... On top of the cement.

- [Jerry] What makes this canoe different and stand out apart from the rest of 'em here?

- [Reed] Well, it's shaped exactly like a real whitewater canoe, so it steers exactly the same way, no keel.

And it's around a hundred pounds, maybe a little lighter.

It's lighter than one we had last year.

- UAH, go.

- UAH.

- [Jerry] The University of Alabama Huntsville not only brought the fastest canoe to the races, they won the overall competition.

They also brought the most organized and the most vocal cheering section.

- UAH.

- Go.

- UAH.

- Go.

- [Jerry] When the races were over, Vanderbilt had nailed down the second place spot behind the University of Alabama Huntsville.

Now many of these future civil engineers will go back home and spend the next year try and improve their design.

Some of the others will just paddle off into the sunset.

(mellow jazz music) - Great story, thanks, Jerry.

Now, the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition still takes place every year.

And Vanderbilt competes along with several other Tennessee schools, including TSU, Tennessee Tech, UT and Lipscomb.

Check out asce.org to find out where you can go and watch the competition.

That'll do it for us this time on "Retro Tennessee Crossroads."

We hope you have had as much fun as we have searching through the Tennessee Crossroads vaults for these stories.

Be sure to check out the PBS app to watch this and all of your favorite local shows.

And be sure to come back next time for more fascinating trips through the '80s and '90s.

Bye everybody, see you next time.

(upbeat jazz music)