George,
You're no doubt right that the flag is some kind of SCV flag. I'm lucky I guess. Even though Ohio is a good drive from East TN, I can still get down there pretty quick. You can read all the history books in the world but there is something special about actually walking the ground it happen on.I used to argue with my wife about traveling...I didn't want to go anywhere... I would say that the country and local had changed and it wasn't the same place it was at another point in time. I would still say that is true to an extent. However in isolated and rural areas, you can still seem to connect with that time and place and "book larnin" will never give you that feeling. You just connect with your people in a special way.
James.