My Visit to the Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Farm “A Pearl of a Tour”
By: Kristi Sayles

I awoke this morning excited about the tour that I was getting ready to take. I was visiting a real pearl farm! Not just ANY pearl farm, mind you, but the ONLY freshwater pearl farm in North America!

What did I know about pearls? I knew that pearls are round, make expensive jewelry, and that they come from water creatures.

As a school teacher on summer break, I was determined to visit the attraction. After all, it was practically in my own backyard, only ten miles away!

I decided to think of this as a virtual KWL experience. Not familiar with this teaching strategy? I'll explain...

When I'm going to teach a new concept to my students, I draw three long lines on the board and label each block as “What I Know,” “What I Want to Know,” “How I Will Learn, ”and What I Have Learned.” See? KWHL. I then ask for volunteers to tell me what they already know about the topic and I write it on the first block. That's my “K.” Then, we move to the second block and I ask them to provide questions about the subject. That's my “W.” We then discuss and write the possible sources we can go to for the “H,” such as the Internet, books, maps, etc. The last block is left empty until after the lesson is completed. I provide a fascinating lesson, then return to complete the chart. The students are amazed at the wealth of knowledge that they've acquired through our studies together and we can all see the progress on the board as we complete the “L” for what we've learned.

So, I had my “K” before the trip. Not much really. Pearls are pretty, round jewelry pieces from water creatures. (Not ready to write a science book just yet.)

As for the “W,” I had LOTS of questions-too many to list here. My main ones centered around how they get in the shell. I've always wondered about that.

Now, for the “L.” Wow! Now that I've taken the tour, I feel that I CAN write a book about pearls. Maybe I will. I'm an expert. Maybe I'll quit teaching and become a pearl farmer!

Well, that may be taking it a bit far... but I have learned a lot about pearls.

One of the first things I learned is that I didn't know what I thought I knew.

Pearls can be formed into all shapes, colors, and sizes-not just round-and you can buy them for as little as ten bucks! There goes my “K!”

The tour was not only educational, it was just plain fun!

First, we were offered buttered popcorn and lemonade. It was a warm June day, so that was a nice touch.

The tour guide, Bob Keast, who happens to be the owner of the pearl farm as well as the surrounding Birdsong Resort, was as entertaining as a stand-up comic in Vegas! All fifty of us laughed at his antics and funny analogies as we experienced the world of pearl farming through his presentation which included a film, amazing photos of famous people like Elizabeth Taylor wearing Tennessee River pearls, and best of all, the show and tell of the museum's treasures!

I was a little surprised when he actually allowed us to handle the lovely shells and pearls. It was breathtaking to see them up close. The iridescent colors sparkled like diamonds in a rainbow. I wondered what kind of cleaner they would trust to buff it to such a shine. “Oohs and ahhs came from all over the room. People were enjoying themselves learning about the official gem of Tennessee. Yes, I've added that little tidbit to my “L.” list.

But the fun had only just begun...

Bob had another surprise. He gave all fifty of us a camera! How cool is that? Then, after putting our names on them, he had the staff gather them and take a group photo with each of them for us! Now, we had a nice souvenir whether we bought one or not.

After the group photo shot, they returned our cameras to us and we boarded the large tour bus to go down to the marina. I had the strong desire to take pictures and sell them to the postcard company.

Sparkling blue water that reminded me of the mother of pearl, (which I learned is actually the pretty shell that supports the gem,) sporty-looking boats of all makes and models, perfect summer weather, and laughing tourists all created an almost surreal beauty. The marina had a slight smell of fish-but it wasn't overpowering. It was just right for a nautical scene.

We were then ushered onto a dock around an old fishing boat that I soon learned was a “mussel” boat. It didn't look built for speed or guests. It was a working man's boat and soon the working man himself appeared in full diver garb that looked like something from the black lagoon! He carried a rather primitive net bag full of mussels which he slung over his shoulder like Santa Claus with his pack. We all went crazy with our new cameras. Many of us had never seen such a sight! Not in real life, anyway.

John, our diver, removed his head gear and led us to a small pavilion nearby where he proceeded to actually “shuck” pearls right before our eyes by splitting the Washboard mussels open with a sharp knife.

Now, I don't know about the other tourists, but I was not prepared for the shock of seeing the nasty little animal inside. It looked like something that comes out of a sick person's nose! If you have that picture in your mind, you now know what a mussel looks like! Not a pretty sight. But, once John removed that disgusting little creature off the shell, the oohs and aahs began again. The Washboard mussel had the exact same shine and iridescence of the one in the museum! They hadn't shined it at all!

“Look, a natural pearl!” John announced proudly pointing to the mussel shell that he had harvested from the river just a few moments before. Inside laid a gorgeous blue jewel. But he and Bob seemed especially excited about this particular pearl. I soon found out that it was not just any old pearl. It was a natural pearl that Bob called a “gift from God,” since man had not touched it. He then explained that on this farm, they grew cultured pearls. These are pearls that have been “manufactured” by implanting the live mussels with a small piece of shell or tissue from another little glob of animal. The tiny creature then secrets a substance called nacre on the “seed” for approximately five years.

The actual implantation process is more highly guarded than Bush's Baked Beans, so don't expect to hear much about that on the tour! Bob admitted that he's only visited the lab three times and that only a half a dozen people actually know how to do the job!

John then retrieved a five-year old mussel and cut it open. It didn't have one pearl-it had three! These were half-man, half-creature produced gems and they were stunning with iridescent colors of the rainbow. The diver put them in a box and passed them through the crowd so that we could all get pictures of the jewels lying on the mother of pearl shell. We had another fascinating Q and A session about pearls and then headed for another nearby pavilion. It was large, spacious, and smelled wonderful.

Just when I thought the tour couldn't get any better-it did.

We were served a meal fit for a hungry king! Just thinking about it now makes my mouth water...

Barbecue chicken, pulled pork, and honestly, the best ribs I've ever tasted. Of course, being in Tennessee, all of the southern fixings were there too-baked beans, slaw, potato salad and of course, corn bread pancakes. I was devouring the creamy banana pudding dessert, when one of the staff members offered to take a picture with my camera. Sure. Why not? I smiled and held up the spoon. That was sure nice of her. They were all nice. I like how they were always there to help, but didn't hover. The service reminded me of my Carnival Cruise Ship experience on the Ecstasy-which is a major compliment.

After lunch, we boarded the bus and headed back to the jewelry shop. Although Bob had not pushed the idea of shopping, we were like a herd of horses trying to get to the carrots. Of course, the main “carrots” everybody wanted were the pearls harvested on the tour. I'm not sure how he actually decided the winner, but I watched one happy senior bragging about how she got the “special” tour pearls.

Pearls were suddenly everywhere. Bracelets, rings, necklaces, shells-even mussel implants were being displayed by the proud new owners.



“What are you getting there?” I asked a man wearing a tank top and shorts that was waiting in line at the counter.

He held up the lovely shell for me to see. “I'm going to take half and he's going to take half,” he said, pointing to the man beside him. “We're doing a joint venture to keep both our wives happy for half the price! Think they'll give us separate boxes with that felt stuff?”

Don't you just love people?

One man stared at the receipt and looked faint. “$150? Woman, I heard Bob say that they had $10 pearls!”

The lady promptly produced the lovely ring. “But look how pretty it is, Frank.” Frank took the ring and studied it. ‘What is it-a nose ring?” He put it to his nose which made his wife furiously grab it and shove it into the box.

“Silly, Guy,” I said, sitting beside him giving his wife a wink. “You should know the difference between a nose ring and a belly button ring, shouldn't he, Mable?”

Mable decided to take me up on the fun.

“You don't mind if I have a belly ring do you, Frank? They can pierce it for me right here. It'll only take a minute.”

I thought Frank was going to pass out before we told him that we were joking.

I love people. Why would anyone choose to go to a zoo when you can just observe humans? They are hilarious.

Soon, it was time to say goodbye. Since most of the people had come from the tour bus from Indiana, Bob set up a small stand right beside the door. It held more parting gifts-one of which was an 11x14 color photo of our tour group and another of a sturdy “Pearl of a Tour” coffee mug. There were various other gifts including a recent Tennessee vacation guide, maps, and pearl info sheets, but I particularly like the photo and the mug.

As I reflected on the day's events, I realized something amazing... I hadn't heard a single negative comment. No complaints about anything from 10:00 to 2:00. How refreshing! What a nice get-away.

Interesting tidbits about the Freshwater Pearl Farm: Bob has such a passionate love of the theme phrases, "Follow Me To Tennessee," and, "There is so much to do and see in Tennessee."

He does everything he can to keep tourists in Tennessee another day or two or coming back to Tennessee in the future.

It is all about tourism in Tennessee. No wonder he is an official Ambassador.