tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191611652024-03-19T04:48:30.411-04:00Vince StatenOne Stop Shopping for Everything KingsportVince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.comBlogger576125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-78012869142675028912024-02-23T10:47:00.000-05:002024-02-23T10:47:30.169-05:00Wedding announcements of the 60s<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOunnsKGy91nKE5BkZiBcPhZNzv3nXKgbI9sZZiM0KXC6IyfI3q2svDtNqzulhp1uG3tCKvCXNJcSusXU12Zsy9fe8dA8-hwkswV86X-dvX4hmp5asOSts17XBiBBZXvnCK6L-SqqoEcqsvva9F55-dd6HR9KtwAcr4nuRNA4M3wERF4wd0Nm8aA/s814/Typical%20bridal%20portrait%20from%201965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="606" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOunnsKGy91nKE5BkZiBcPhZNzv3nXKgbI9sZZiM0KXC6IyfI3q2svDtNqzulhp1uG3tCKvCXNJcSusXU12Zsy9fe8dA8-hwkswV86X-dvX4hmp5asOSts17XBiBBZXvnCK6L-SqqoEcqsvva9F55-dd6HR9KtwAcr4nuRNA4M3wERF4wd0Nm8aA/s320/Typical%20bridal%20portrait%20from%201965.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Wedding announcments used to fill the Sunday newspaper</b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It’s
a different newspaper today than it was 50 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No
baseball box scores, no full-page stock tables, no TV and radio listings. And
obituaries? No problem as long as you are willing to pay for the obituary, by
the word. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A
staple of the Sunday paper in those bygone days was the wedding announcement.
The Sunday “Home and Family” section was filled with them. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Typical
was this wedding announcement that I picked at random from the January 17, 1965
of the </span><i style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kingsport Times-News</i><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">, headlined:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Melinda
Edwards Becomes Bride<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was one of 19 (!) wedding announcements in that Sunday’s paper! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wedding
announcements always began by setting the scene:</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Broad
Street Methodist Church was the scene of the wedding of Miss Melinda Carol
Edwards and Stephen Kent Fritschle. Rev. Ted R. Witt Jr. performed the
double-ring ceremony at 4 p.m. Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
they introduced the bride, groom and their parents:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd L. Edwards, 2352 Pendragon Road.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clifton E. Fritschle of 4171 Skyland
Drive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Next
came a narrative of the ceremony:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
L. P. Gregory, organist, and Mrs. F. L. Hamilton, vocalist, provided a program
of wedding music.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
church was decorated with a background of smilax with large cathedral candles
at the front of the church. Arrangements of white snap-dragons, gladioli, and
chrysanthemums were used on each side of the altar. The pews were marked with
white bows and white flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">[For
the uninitiated, like me, smilax is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in
the tropics and subtropics. They are climbing flowering plants, many of which
are woody and/or thorny.]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Perhaps
most important in those days, a detailed description of the bride’s gown:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Given
in marriage by her father, the bride wore a silk organza floor-length sheath
with scoop neckline and bridal point sleeves. Re-embroidered chantilly lace and
pearl trim encircled the bodice and skirt, which had a detachable bouffant
chapel-length overskirt. Her shoulder-length veil was of English silk illusion
with organza petals of Chantilly lace and seed pearl trim. She carried a
cascade bouquet of white cattleya and phalaenopsis orchids.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Now
the wedding party with more fashion descriptions:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
maid of honor was Miss Mary Lawson Groseclose. She wore a floor-length
turquoise chiffon sheath with scoop neckline, empire waist, and matching
chiffon overskirt edged in velvet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Her
headdress was a matching velvet bow with tiers of turquoise veiling. She
carried a cascade bouquet of white camellias and roses.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bridesmaids
were Miss Paula Ripley and Miss Vicki McIntyre. Their attire was identical to
that of the honor attendant. They carried cascade bouquets of white camellias.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
father of the bride-groom served as best man. Ushers were Mark Fritschle,
brother of the bridegroom, and Albert H. Agett Jr. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Next
came details about the post-wedding reception:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Following
the ceremony, a reception was given by the bride's parents at Ridgefields
Country Club, under the direction of Mrs. Graham Porterfield and Mrs. Blake
Faris. [I should note that my mother baked many groom’s cakes for Mrs.
Portefield and Mrs. Faris and I suspect she did the groom’s cake for this one,
too.] <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
Henry C. Meeks introduced the guests to the wedding party. Miss Gay Edwards,
cousin of the bride, presided at the bridal register.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Assisting
in serving were: Mrs. Russell H. Miles, Mrs. Wiley H. Weaver, Miss Cathy
Weaver, Mrs. C. B. Duke, Mrs. Kenneth Umberger, Mrs. W. Allen Exum, Mrs. James
Edwards, Mrs. T. W. Glynn III, Mrs. W. B. Greene, Miss Jan Fritschle, and Miss
Elizabeth Fritschle, sisters of the bridegroom, and Mrs. Val Edwards.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">And
finally the honeymoon details: <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For
her traveling costume the bride chose an aqua blue three-piece double-knit
suit, with a jacket of matching suede. Her accessories were beige and brown.
She wore the orchid from her bridal bouquet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Biographical
sketches of the bride and groom followed that:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
bride was graduated from Dobyns-Bennett High School and attended East Tennessee
State University where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. She is
employed by Bennett and Edwards, Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
bridegroom was graduated from Dobyns-Bennett High School. He is attending the
Georgia Institute of Technology where he is majoring in engineering mechanics.
He is a member of Theta Chi fraternity. He is employed by the firm of Wallace
and Poole, associated architects.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Let
us not forget all the folks who feted the bride in the weeks leading up to the
ceremony:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pre-nuptial
parties included an open house given by Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Looney and their
daughter, Allison Looney; a linen shower given by Misses Paula Ripley, Mary
Lawson Groseclose and Vicki McIntyre. A kitchen shower was given by Mrs.
Heywood Modlin and Mrs. Thelma Blankenbecler.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
Kenneth Y. Umberger, Mrs. E. J. Triebe, Mrs. Ralph Baldock and Mrs. Millege
Daniel were hostesses at a coffee. A luncheon was given by Mrs. C. A. Ross Jr.
and Mrs. Russell H. Miles. A miscellaneous shower was hosted by Mrs. Harley
Needham, Miss Margie Fleenor, Mrs. R. G. Dillard, Mrs. A. P. Harkins, Miss
Melba Minton, Miss Peggy Leonard, Miss Rita Archer and Mrs. Ray Clark. A coffee
was given by Mrs. Henry C. Meeks, Mrs. C. B. Duke, Mrs. W. B. Greene, Mrs.
Wiley H. Weaver, and Mrs. James Edwards.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
rehearsal dinner was given by the bridegroom's parents at Ridgefields Country
Club.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">[Melinda
Edwards was D-B ’63; Stephen Fritschle was D-B ’61. The wedding pictures here are not of Edwards but are typical photos of 60s brides. Her wedding picture on the microfilm was too dark to reproduce here.]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJN85qsX78tY-6jDA4n1aP6N7ybyFIdKT0N2ICXUh7n1RCBPqAHJvawFVelGwpwWbTwPIGpuv8QbTnQHT4mptPvP2kNyT8BIn2pIsJ2prZH8QUH1Q6Yk5QEDj9NU53pLR2OAjsQ2Ij12zD0FeQRScHwnQUp2nGXXQiOW27RnP9NkGDDNnKX4QYA/s635/Typical%20bridal%20photo%20from%201965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJN85qsX78tY-6jDA4n1aP6N7ybyFIdKT0N2ICXUh7n1RCBPqAHJvawFVelGwpwWbTwPIGpuv8QbTnQHT4mptPvP2kNyT8BIn2pIsJ2prZH8QUH1Q6Yk5QEDj9NU53pLR2OAjsQ2Ij12zD0FeQRScHwnQUp2nGXXQiOW27RnP9NkGDDNnKX4QYA/s320/Typical%20bridal%20photo%20from%201965.jpg" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wedding
announcements weren’t so elaborate thirty years earlier. Here’s a typical one
from the April 11, 1935 edition of the <i>Kingsport Times</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr.
and Mrs. John N. Lady announce the marriage of their daughter Margaret Maxine to
Mr. Faustine I. White Monday, the eighth of April nineteen hundred thirty-five in
Bristol, Virginia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
wedding was solemnized on Monday morning at 11 o'clock in the home of Rev.
Sullins Dosser. A few out-of-town guests of the bride and groom attended the wedding.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
White is the attractive daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Lady of this city.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr.
White is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. White and is an employe of the Meade
Fibre Corporation. He is a graduate of the Dobyns-Bennett high school.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mr.
and Mrs. White will leave today by motor for Washington. They will be at home
after April the fourteenth, at 837 Dale street.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lest
we forget that not all weddings go according to plan, here is this 1935 story
from, where else, Newport, Tennessee:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">WEDDING
GUEST IS CAUSE OF MIDNIGHT FIGHT AT NEWPORT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Two
Newlyweds and Three Guests Are Locked In Jail, Awaiting Charges of Last Night<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Newport,
May 5. - Two newlyweds and three guests at their wedding celebration are locked
in the Newport jail today, awaiting charges of breach of peace as the result of
a midnight fight in which the son-in-law of the new bridegroom was shot thru
both hips, struck with a poker and stabbed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Howard
Morgan, 40, the wounded man, is alleged to have sat in the lap of a 17-year-old
girl at the wedding party, bringing on the general fight. Ill feeling between
Morgan and several other guests is known to have existed for some time, the
police were informed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jBpzqqutpzZdhl0KUHK2fQE_M8_8snPltFovw0oLIlii9j_88zFdG__l-uTpPj6So_RRLbOLBvtEXuNDHKt-uWJXHUunmJ0m80XZeDvAkJrdPUykpJ_7mzfnd_3UWGqRaei7rXoEZh23Hew3Ex6yhGEHkqQEbZpob9pcE9Hv-FmC7P8eQFvP-g/s904/Bobby%20Peters%20recording%20of%20A%20Sunny%20Day%20in%20Dallas%201963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="904" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jBpzqqutpzZdhl0KUHK2fQE_M8_8snPltFovw0oLIlii9j_88zFdG__l-uTpPj6So_RRLbOLBvtEXuNDHKt-uWJXHUunmJ0m80XZeDvAkJrdPUykpJ_7mzfnd_3UWGqRaei7rXoEZh23Hew3Ex6yhGEHkqQEbZpob9pcE9Hv-FmC7P8eQFvP-g/s320/Bobby%20Peters%20recording%20of%20A%20Sunny%20Day%20in%20Dallas%201963.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
Peters, Singing Star<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport
football star and state senator Bobby Peters had another claim to fame in the
sixties, a recording career, albeit a brief one. From the Dec. 13, 1963 <i>Kingsport
Times</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
Peters Records Ballad About Kennedy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Former
state Sen. R. L. (Bobby) Peters has turned his talents to the field of music.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peters,
a Kingsport businessman, announced today that he has composed the music and
written lyrics for a ballad titled "A Sunny Day In Dallas" in an
effort to express the emotions felt by Americans and other peoples following
the assassination of<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">President John F. Kennedy.
Peters said he has recorded the song and that the record, released to area
radio stations Thursday, will be available to the public here soon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peters,
who narrowly lost the nomination for Congress in Tennessee's First Congressional
District in 1962, is a graduate of Princeton University.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While
at Princeton, he met Kennedy who was a student at Harvard and then did not see
him again until the two met in Nashville while Kennedy was campaigning for the
presidency.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peters
said he composed the song "out of great respect” for the late President.</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Link to Peter's recording:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWRtXWTKpCY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWRtXWTKpCY</a><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">If this link doesn't work, go to YouTube and search for "Honorable Bob Peters.")</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At the time of this recording, Bobby
Peters was, in addition to being a State Senator, the president of
Clinchfield Supply, a building supply company on East Market Street. He named
his record label “Clinchfield Records.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The recording is
included with 15 other songs on the album “Tragic Songs from the Grassy Knoll:
John F. Kennedy 50<sup>th</sup> Anniversary” (Norton Records of Cleveland, Ohio, 1994, $14.95).</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTrRcbJbwfsTy7a4cSEHhWx9KSbStGPzk6IUt1G0dMdHQei_FEBhV8VhfxbT7sFXPH4611BTklPJTfApFs4qH2GxWkCLJVF4qv6yZlnfmNIOLdbiciUMLT7eKQfyE3op0FWsc6Zu6x_R2VTXzM9HKPH_S768vAM98eQgEe9I_YDRLd3rp_N5hGA/s7379/Bobby%20Peters%201956%20campaign%20ad%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Nov_4__1956_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7379" data-original-width="4258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTrRcbJbwfsTy7a4cSEHhWx9KSbStGPzk6IUt1G0dMdHQei_FEBhV8VhfxbT7sFXPH4611BTklPJTfApFs4qH2GxWkCLJVF4qv6yZlnfmNIOLdbiciUMLT7eKQfyE3op0FWsc6Zu6x_R2VTXzM9HKPH_S768vAM98eQgEe9I_YDRLd3rp_N5hGA/s320/Bobby%20Peters%201956%20campaign%20ad%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Nov_4__1956_.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-73500303035583693582024-02-16T07:58:00.000-05:002024-02-16T07:58:22.558-05:00Kingsport in 1911, Robert Leonard, Bobby Cross<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1Z5P5_boEh5QgImOaZzWjZv3r44BlbME0BK_UHuFAf8DRX1fAvB0v2bG7HmZ3bM_nRNJxirjOYYaOb-c6BMXJnJc2Wbaxvqcbtf8FcmuejeSUyzO5_3_J62Au4PFvUDTF-URivAv2-Fn8QYnjmEH29x_pY2NffgAUOnYc4Q8GXEQh3wmDJbSBQ/s2981/Kingsport%20in%201911%20in%201951%20-%20photo%20of%20W.G.%20Davidson%20-%201912%20Kingsport%20memories%20in%201951%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Mar_18__1951_%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2981" data-original-width="2265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1Z5P5_boEh5QgImOaZzWjZv3r44BlbME0BK_UHuFAf8DRX1fAvB0v2bG7HmZ3bM_nRNJxirjOYYaOb-c6BMXJnJc2Wbaxvqcbtf8FcmuejeSUyzO5_3_J62Au4PFvUDTF-URivAv2-Fn8QYnjmEH29x_pY2NffgAUOnYc4Q8GXEQh3wmDJbSBQ/s320/Kingsport%20in%201911%20in%201951%20-%20photo%20of%20W.G.%20Davidson%20-%201912%20Kingsport%20memories%20in%201951%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Mar_18__1951_%20(1).jpg" width="243" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport
In 1911 As Told By W.G. “Gould” Davidson To Mary Clement In 1951: </span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">"</span></b><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport
Was One House Wide and Two Miles Long"</span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I
used to ride up to Kingsport from New Canton [a neighborhood in what is now
Church Hill] on an old pack horse with two rolls of wool to swap. There were
lots of boats on the river then hauling grain and wool. And a sight o' logs
rafted down to Chattanooga.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I’ve
slept all night on the ground where Kingsport is when the river was so high you
couldn't ford it or ferry it."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Davidson
was born November 19, 1861, in Hawkins County, 3 miles from Rogersville. He has
been married four times, each time to a girl from East Tennessee, and has two
sons living, Charley, of New Canton, and Jim, of Ellensburg, Washington. A
Southern Methodist and a Democrat, he once served as a constable and also as
deputy for Sheriff John Barton in Hawkins County.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
the year 1922 alone, he says, he helped capture 272 moonshine stills. He has
little sympathy with lawbreakers of any sort. "Any good citizen ought to
be a law-abidin' citizen," he says emphatically. "Just because a man
is a poor man doesn't mean he can't abide by the law if he tries."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Davidson
spent 22 years as a farmer and now makes his home at 533 Peach Orchard Drive,
Lynn Garden.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although
he uses a cane for walking, he is still robust. He has a keen memory and a
lively sense of humor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An
"exhibition" held at the Bradshaw's Chapel School when he was 14 is
one of his most vivid recollections.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I
was just a chunk of a boy then," Davidson explains," but I always had
a lot of brass. There were 32 young men on the platform that day. I gave a
speech about Indians and I won the medal."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
old man paused for emphasis, and directing his level gaze at his listeners,
repeated from beginning to end the oration that won the medal for him - the
saga of a lonely Indian in a land won by the white man.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Davidson
recalls the time when he could milk 28 cows in an hour and a half, and stack as
much as fifty tons of hay in one day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
in spite of that, he thinks life was better in the old days when Kingsport was
just a little boat port on the Holston and beef sold for 4 1/2 cents a pound.
His heart is with the carefree days when money didn't mean so much and people
took things a bit slower.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"My
grandfather, Gould Davidson," he recalls, with a twinkle in his eyes,
"owned all the land that Gate City now stands on. But he was an awful
feller to drink.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"One
day he went into the court house over there at Gate City and the judge fined
him ten dollars for cussing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Gould
pulled a twenty out of his pocket, handed it to the judge, and headed for the
door. The judge called to him to wait a minute and get his change. ‘Oh, no,
Judge,’ Gould said. 'You just keep it. I may want to cuss again
directly.'"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b> Name Your Baby "Bobby"</b></span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
was a big name in Kingsport in the fifties and I can trace that fact to a
column that ran in the <i>Kingsport Times</i> on Sunday Oct. 16, 1938.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was a sports column by sports editor Frank Rule and the headline read </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">NAME
YOUR BABY "BOBBY"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Kingsport
has had its Bobby Dodd, its Bobby Peters and several other
all-something-or-other stars in recent years and now comes along a lad who so
far has bewildered this corner by his dazzling feats on the gridiron. Bobby
Cifers. well on his way to establish a new scoring record for Kingsport, the
Big Six conference and the state, has another year to shine with the Indians,
but already he has marked himself as one of the immortals.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Those
three Bobbys – Dodd, Peters and Cifers - gave us many of the local high school
sports stars like Bobby Tate, Bobby Bedford, Bobby Slaughter, Bobby Reagan and
Bobby Strickler.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We
lost two well-known Kingsport Bobs last month: All-State basketball player Bob
Leonard and All-Conference football quarterback Bobby Cross. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">Robert Leonard RIP</span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Robert
“Bob” Leonard, star of the Dobyns-Bennett basketball teams of the early
sixties, died January 18th in Winston-Salem. His obituary mentioned his NBA
career. I didn’t remember it, probably because I was in college at the time,
the time being before ESPN and sports talk radio. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
dug around and discovered the Robert Leonard-NBA connection. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A May
12, 1966 <i>Kingsport Times-News</i> story was headlined “Leonard Drafted By
Lakers” and gives a good overview of his basketball days:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2k9El921PLMrrhDHzDYz2SzGV_4qo4uQ4OG3i3Yw0CSZBsk0LWGHkhyz45NqRZBEsV1Mwynbar0d36PeXt9i3QwdkrNHqILz44VQwvBOEcCTH5pvGcNuco27NEIi7sAANZZ-RphP_dXcuPR32d21t2h9oSggpiT4Vb9Bka1kRHYsv3yJ5VfFBw/s7418/Robert%20Leonard%201962%20mug%20shot%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Fri__Feb_16__1962_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7418" data-original-width="4373" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2k9El921PLMrrhDHzDYz2SzGV_4qo4uQ4OG3i3Yw0CSZBsk0LWGHkhyz45NqRZBEsV1Mwynbar0d36PeXt9i3QwdkrNHqILz44VQwvBOEcCTH5pvGcNuco27NEIi7sAANZZ-RphP_dXcuPR32d21t2h9oSggpiT4Vb9Bka1kRHYsv3yJ5VfFBw/s320/Robert%20Leonard%201962%20mug%20shot%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Fri__Feb_16__1962_.jpg" width="189" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Robert
Leonard, an All-State basketball player at Dobyns-Bennett High School, was
drafted yesterday by the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball League
in the fifth round of the NBA draft.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An
All-American standout at Wake Forest last season, Leonard now has his chance to
have his dream come true, and that is to play pro basketball.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While
at Wake Forest, Bob tallied 1,637 points in his 80 varsity games over a three-
year period and averaged 20.4 points per contest. His freshman average was a
neat 19.9 points per game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob's
1,637 points is the school's third highest. Bob netted 603 points last season
playing for the Deacs and he joined three other Deacon standouts in this honor.
The others were Dickie Hemrick, Len Chappel and Paul Long.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
was also an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer for the past three seasons
at Wake Forest and picked by the pro scouts to the second team All-American
team last season. He made the Helm's All-American squad in his junior year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not
only did Leonard lead the Deacons in rebounding last season but averaged 23.3
points a game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><i style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">The
Winston-Salem Journal </i><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">of June 29,
1966 picks up the story under the headline “Bob Leonard Fails to Make Laker
Roster:”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
pro basketball career of Bob Leonard, the Wake Forest standout, lies somewhere
between Los Angeles and Baltimore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Leonard,
picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the college basketball draft this year,
attended tryout camp in Los Angeles recently.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I
did all right," Leonard said yesterday, "but they just have too many
guards. They told me that they would get in in touch with Baltimore (the
Bullets) to see if they might be interested in having me try out."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Lakers have signed John Wetzel, who played at Virginia Tech. according to
Leonard. "They have always wanted to get a tall guard, and Wetzel is 6-5.
I don't know how he will do when he runs up against some fast guards,"
Leonard said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Concerning
his immediate future, Leonard said, "Right now I just want to get through
with school; I can think about basketball later."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Leonard
is completing his requirement for a bachelor's degree at Wake Forest by taking
one course this semester.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>True
to their word the Lakers got him a tryout with the Baltimore Bullets. According
to an Oct. 5, 1966 report in the Winston-Salem </i>Twin City Sentinel<i>: <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Paul
Long, who will captain Wake Forest's basketball team this winter, and some of
his buddies went to Charlotte Saturday night to see the Baltimore Bullets play
the St. Louis Hawks in a National Basketball Association exhibition game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Long
was hoping to cheer for Bob Leonard, who is now on the Baltimore roster, but
the former Wake Forest captain didn't get into the game. Mike Farmer, the Bullets'
coach, used only six players as his team beat the Hawks, 114-109, and snapped a
three-game losing streak.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Leonard
said he hadn't played much in the exhibition games. He suffered a groin injury
early in the Bullets' training camp and it slowed him down some. But he's
feeling fine now, has survived the first squad cut and thinks he may stay with
Baltimore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I'm
trying to sharpen every phase of my game now," said Leonard. "Your
whole game has to be better to stick up here. I really haven't had trouble with
any one thing. I'm just trying to improve everything."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob
Ferry, the Bullets' center, is one of Leonard's biggest boosters. "I've
been in this league 10 years and Bob is the best defensive rookie to come up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-6fkrxt0Fq5aGdoXE3mt2wyefD0_a9fACIGSmkJYjYauGJ4crRxArMNAqJgGPn5grwBO0P9F9cwyNSpdrov_sZtE5ouFoQgc3HdkODc6m7FFTjrMIb6oPRa-Kzwe-Eco-Krc6R8eoH1FBZzM1oyY1_zh6RL-bTDG21o9zvzgZ3GXAhijy3DrVA/s512/Robert%20Leonard%20-%20Wake%20Forest%20'66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-6fkrxt0Fq5aGdoXE3mt2wyefD0_a9fACIGSmkJYjYauGJ4crRxArMNAqJgGPn5grwBO0P9F9cwyNSpdrov_sZtE5ouFoQgc3HdkODc6m7FFTjrMIb6oPRa-Kzwe-Eco-Krc6R8eoH1FBZzM1oyY1_zh6RL-bTDG21o9zvzgZ3GXAhijy3DrVA/s320/Robert%20Leonard%20-%20Wake%20Forest%20'66.jpg" width="253" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Leonard
made it to the final 16 on the roster but on Oct. 8, 1966, he was one of the
Baltimore Bullets final three cuts. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">He
returned to Winston-Salem, finished his undergrad degree and began law school,
all the while staying in shape by playing in the local city league.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
on June 12, 1969 the Winston-Salem<i> Twin City Sentinel </i>reported:<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob
Leonard, a former Wake Forest basketball star, is listed on the rookie camp
roster of the Carolina Cougars. But Leonard, who is in law school at Wake
Forest, says this does not mean that he is trying out for the team.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I
have finished two years of law school and I am in the summer break," said
Leonard yesterday. "I have been playing basketball every winter in the
City League, on the same team with Whitey Bell (a former N.C. State player).
I'm not in mid-season shape, but I'm in pretty good shape. I think it will be
fun to go over there and see what I can do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I'd
like to see Coach (Bones) McKinney again and some of the boys who will be in
the camp. I'd like to see how I could do against them. It's sort of a
challenge."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">[Bones
McKinney was his coach at Wake Forest.]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If
things go well, will Leonard play with the Cougars?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob
hesitated. "I just don't know,"
he said. "I think I would have to wait and make that decision when it
comes. I have another year of law school and I have worked too hard these first
two years to give it all up."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
did decide to go to rookie camp but once again the numbers were against him and
he didn’t make the squad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
finished law school, got his law degree, passed the bar and in 1972 was elected
Forsyth County District Judge, at 28 the youngest judge ever elected in North
Carolina. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">D-B
Scoring Leaders<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">From
the March 15, 1962 Kingsport Times-News, Dobyns-Bennett basketball’s top
scorers of the 1961-1962 season, Robert Leonard’s senior season:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Robert
Leonard finished the 1961-62 season with 479 points as Dobyns-Bennett's top
scorer, followed by Walker Locke with 346 and Ken Pruett with 186.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Others
in order were Eugene Bush, 135; Earl Lovelace, 121; Richard Arnold, 120; John
Shipley, 80; Charles Hunley, 69; Dick Nelms, 63; Ron Litton, 35, Tony Poe, 35;
Jerry McClellan, 15.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0eV2tF8s7TvNUECuvUHX5h0JXYnA7NAeXYEk_Gqea6NgsQ6vIq4I-3wMY9qeRucB7bciprcEfJJ_gEhOfCtIvtOBed4gw9OPgRC-XIb5uNj8irx-qhR4Np0YqY9ADgdIENBrm_1CYqiktC3v4_SCn3aMoOLo0IBuXzv8MbecgeEo74rJ5ptg4g/s1134/Bobby%20Cross%20in%201959%20D-B%20football%20program.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0eV2tF8s7TvNUECuvUHX5h0JXYnA7NAeXYEk_Gqea6NgsQ6vIq4I-3wMY9qeRucB7bciprcEfJJ_gEhOfCtIvtOBed4gw9OPgRC-XIb5uNj8irx-qhR4Np0YqY9ADgdIENBrm_1CYqiktC3v4_SCn3aMoOLo0IBuXzv8MbecgeEo74rJ5ptg4g/s320/Bobby%20Cross%20in%201959%20D-B%20football%20program.jpg" width="241" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
never heard anyone call Robert Leonard “Bobby.” It was always Robert or Bob. I
had breakfast frequently in the early 2000s with his older brother Charlie and
he always called him “Robert.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
there was another genuine Kingsport “Bobby” who also died recently. Bobby
Cross’s full name, as announced in the <i>Kingsport Times</i> when he was born
in August 1943 was Bobby Gerald Cross. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
Cross was an Honorable Mention All-State quarterback who led Dobyns-Bennett to
its second consecutive state championship in 1960 (this was before playoffs,
when polls determined the state champion). He died January 28 at age 80.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
1960 football team went undefeated against Tennessee opponents, losing only to
Roanoke (Virginia) Jefferson High 14-12. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
had been the back up to All-Southern quarterback Wally Bridwell on the 1959 state
championship team that went 9-0-1, with a tie against Roanoke Jefferson. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
lived two doors down from me when I was growing up. I can remember him as one
of the big kids, playing football in my next-door neighbor’s backyard. Many
future D-B football stars came out of those backyard games, including Bobby,
Danny Minor, Darwin Compton and Ken Tolliver.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Every
now and then the big boys would let a tyke like me play – I was four years
younger than the youngest of the gang, and eight years the junior to many. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On one
of those rare plays that I got in, I decided to use the “body block” technique
that I had just learned on Gary Cox, who was seven years older than me.
Needless to say, I got the wind knocked out of me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
first big kid to run over to me was Bobby Cross, who kept telling me, “You’ll
be okay, just take a deep breath.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
worked. I’m still here.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
was the way Bobby was, a big heart, and the first to notice and run to help
when someone else was struggling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
wasn’t much bigger than a football when I watched those big kids play next door.
There were usually four boys to a side and they wore out the grass in that
yard. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
homeowner, Walter Shankel, was watching the game one autumn afternoon when his
friend Grady asked, “Aren’t you worried that those boys are going to destroy
your lawn?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walter, one of the calmest people I have ever
known, replied, “That grass will grow back. But someday those boys will be
gone.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY04541lM_XBQapNicsaczmkyaLTRc0r9FpfEHytwV5QvlAzUOC3XjEvCdSXa8S3rnNSyHs46w346E10lClcVH4sqWMS1PxMtukqDS0Bq35uOlmYcmlsEqJBLneccoOEUn_bT4vG-HJO5790wQhdw-SiDfl4dOEYkYJe18KXYh41Bbcu7DUtcaKw/s3409/Bobby%20Cross%20in%201959%20D-B%20football%20program%20with%20teammates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3409" data-original-width="3135" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY04541lM_XBQapNicsaczmkyaLTRc0r9FpfEHytwV5QvlAzUOC3XjEvCdSXa8S3rnNSyHs46w346E10lClcVH4sqWMS1PxMtukqDS0Bq35uOlmYcmlsEqJBLneccoOEUn_bT4vG-HJO5790wQhdw-SiDfl4dOEYkYJe18KXYh41Bbcu7DUtcaKw/s320/Bobby%20Cross%20in%201959%20D-B%20football%20program%20with%20teammates.jpg" width="294" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">D-B’s
1960 Football Team<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">D-B’s
football team finished first in the state in both the UPI and Litkenhous
rankings in 1960 but wound up second to Nashville Litton in the AP poll. Litton,
which was undefeated in the regular season, went on to lose in the Nashville
Clinic Bowl to Battle Ground Academy. But that was after the final AP poll. D-B
actually had more first place votes in the final AP poll but were ranked fourth
and fifth on a number of, uh, middle Tennessee ballots. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Litratings, which relied on a mathematical formula based on
difference-by-score, didn’t conclude until after the bowl games. BGA finished
second to D-B in the Litratings. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">D-B
finished with a 104.8 Litrating. BGA had a 101.1, which meant, according to Dr.
Frank Litkenhous, creator of the rating system, that if the two teams met on a
neutral field, D-B would win by 3 or 4 points. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
lowest ranked east Tennessee team in the final Litrating was Boones Creek with
a score of 13.7. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
highest rated team in the state was Chattanooga Baylor with a 108.2 score but
they were fenced off into a separate category with seven other private prep
schools. </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-40846896252994623432024-02-07T08:52:00.000-05:002024-02-07T08:52:44.958-05:00Making the Society Pages Fun to Read<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuazMVQInP3LP348TFjpD9nGeNmEp_bkEzDQLNO7-PMiZ6MoeFcZexUqbVqBM6RjEaeD0vAFys4HpCxA-oawT5OwkQ8uVfnDEtOQvKO04Y4qSyvaYhs0LTfkCtIVZsagDEFDfISpXmCCDt-S6KgxCmIoWcNCY4f6YCnT6w_SiizlA_TIK_nUEEA/s6017/I%20See%20by%20the%20Times%20column%20sig%202-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_20__1943_%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4820" data-original-width="6017" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuazMVQInP3LP348TFjpD9nGeNmEp_bkEzDQLNO7-PMiZ6MoeFcZexUqbVqBM6RjEaeD0vAFys4HpCxA-oawT5OwkQ8uVfnDEtOQvKO04Y4qSyvaYhs0LTfkCtIVZsagDEFDfISpXmCCDt-S6KgxCmIoWcNCY4f6YCnT6w_SiizlA_TIK_nUEEA/s320/I%20See%20by%20the%20Times%20column%20sig%202-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_20__1943_%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">It
was the year the Kingsport Times’ Society pages became fun to read. Normally
the Society section was filled with wedding notices and bridge club scores. It
was a tough slog to read, lots of names of bridesmaids and descriptions of
outfits along with bridge winners and scores. That all changed in June 1943
with the arrival of a summertime hire from the University of Tennessee.
Nineteen-year-old Betsy Morris was named Society Editor that summer, filling a
void created when all the regular Society staffers were moved to the News
department to replace reporters and editors who had been drafted into the
service (19 in total from news, advertising, circulation and the pressroom were
drafted).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyE3r6_FxBKFaZ5QRi4jCj3Jnyy6nE0BN1VCnl6XscW_iVJRQjDVX5OprcqVGyAQ_PUJARes3pRQcPp6CTLmvPkWZQgjVGZuTt20FRDSexzjx4Wn1KYarb76Ftt1-1uo316XsD28u5vTkidyvWJfAiqk_3BRHCh65mrC6QttiEfNSTRPZiCKKnDQ/s2897/List%20-%20WW2%20headlines%20and%20Times%20men%20who%20went%20to%20war%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Sep_25__1949_%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="2897" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyE3r6_FxBKFaZ5QRi4jCj3Jnyy6nE0BN1VCnl6XscW_iVJRQjDVX5OprcqVGyAQ_PUJARes3pRQcPp6CTLmvPkWZQgjVGZuTt20FRDSexzjx4Wn1KYarb76Ftt1-1uo316XsD28u5vTkidyvWJfAiqk_3BRHCh65mrC6QttiEfNSTRPZiCKKnDQ/s320/List%20-%20WW2%20headlines%20and%20Times%20men%20who%20went%20to%20war%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Sep_25__1949_%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
new Society Editor Morris did was create the <i>Kingsport Times</i> first
society column. Wedding notices became more than just a dull recitation of the
flowers and the dresses. And bridge parties became fun events. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
just her third column she interviewed many of Kingsport’s first families about
their summertime plans in the face of war-time restrictions – meaning no drives
to Cape Cod or cross-country trips to the Grand Canyon in light of gas
rationing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
the current news climate interviewing two people is enough for a story and
interviewing three people makes it an investigative report.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Betsy
Morris talked to 21 locals for her story about thwarted vacation plans, among
them such bold-face names as Mrs. J. Fred Johnson, Mrs. Ross N. Robinson, C.K.
Koffman (longtime Dobyns-Bennett principal), Mrs. J.C. White (her husband was
the head of Eastman), Mayor Glenn Bruce and Mrs. W.B. Greene of the hardware
store family. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Morris
called her new column “I See By The Times,” and that name stuck until Betsy
went back to UT four months later. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Her
replacement, Rosemary Stelling, changed the name to “Don’t Say I Told You But”
and the style to a chatty letter from one girlfriend to another. The first
“Don’t Say” column on November 7, 1943 even began: “Dear Betsy [a nod to her
predecessor Betsy Morris], How’s the ole college gal doin’ now?” Stelling, who
was the daughter of press room foreman S.J. Stelling and sister of city editor
Tom Stelling, even signed the column off with “Love, Rosemary.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Stelling,
who was training to be a nurse, wrote 67 columns over the next year before
giving way to Helen West, who would later become women’s editor. Helen ended
her gabfests with “Love, Helen.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The society
column hung around for a decade even as the section changed its name from “Society”
to “Society and Women’s News” and the column was renamed, again, to “Have You
Heard.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The final
Dear Liz-Love Helen column ran on October 14, 1951 with coverage of the weekly
Ridgefields Bridge Club luncheon where a new arrival in town was introduced,
Mrs. Cy Bahakel. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Four
years later, in September 1955, Dia Bahakel, by then general manager of WKIN
radio, would promote a country music show at the Civic Auditorium. The middle
act was a fellow from Memphis named Elvis Presley. Years later Dia would tell
me there were only 270 in attendance that night and that she paid Elvis and his
band $37 for their performance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here
are highlights from a few of those early Society columns, beginning with the
stay-at-homes column (with my own addition of bold-face) of June 20, 1943:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">The
citizens of Kingsport are responding with the urgent request of the government
that civilians refrain from travelling and are going no further than their own
backyards for their vacations this summer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Typical
attitude was that of <b>Mrs. W. C. Hagan</b>, faced with the prospect of a
whole summer in town. When asked what she was planning in the way of a vacation
she laughingly replied, "Nothing, just like everybody else."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <b>Ross
N. Robinsons</b> have a vacation spot in their side yard that rivals any
mountain resort in the coolness. The stone terrace is the center of the
family's social life and many a picnic supper is spread here. Mr. Robinson and
daughter Mary were away when we stopped by, but Mrs. Robinson, daughter
"Tish," sons Ross Brown and Charles, and "Snookums" the
dog, were enjoying life in their favorite spot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Taking
care of three young and lively children is a career in itself but attractive
Mrs. <b>C. J. Bryan</b> manages to keep Linda, Gene and Clark looking as if
they had just come out of a band-box and at the same time she is an active club
woman. The young Bryans were all cleaned up for the afternoon when we arrived
and were enjoying a glass of ginger ale with their mother out on the terrace.
They certainly made a very striking busy family portrait.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3bIh_JiK5pSyFtZfflbQvM-Vt2uptFSGdnW4APHHUM8J0v7ypBWcJR90fTpmT0nbrf00yVi7tfH0a5u5nIM-_NK8Uc-f7DLZp-0GbXUeEgXq2gTz1lyQwyl99skbcf6a-YnVoDcLp4CS8X_C0HhdFDnRDZr9qLY6-MqQm6m4HiQMRcSlU6CA7g/s6017/Goerdels,%20Libbys,%20Bryans%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_20__1943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2044" data-original-width="6017" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3bIh_JiK5pSyFtZfflbQvM-Vt2uptFSGdnW4APHHUM8J0v7ypBWcJR90fTpmT0nbrf00yVi7tfH0a5u5nIM-_NK8Uc-f7DLZp-0GbXUeEgXq2gTz1lyQwyl99skbcf6a-YnVoDcLp4CS8X_C0HhdFDnRDZr9qLY6-MqQm6m4HiQMRcSlU6CA7g/s320/Goerdels,%20Libbys,%20Bryans%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_20__1943.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">1943: Goerdel, Libby and Bryan families.</span></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <b>Glenn
Bruces</b> are looking forward to a delightful summer at Bruce's cabin out from
town on Crescent Drive. [The Bruce home was at 914 Watauga Street, a distance
of a mile and a half from “Valley View Cabin,” as it was known.] They always
spend their summers there and count themselves particularly fortunate to have
such a place this summer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We
could just hear the smile in <b>Mrs. J. Fred Johnson's</b> voice when she told
us on the telephone, "I'm practically running a nursery for the
summer." The neighborhood children spend their days playing on the swings
in the Johnson's back yard and Mrs. Johnson thoroughly enjoys playing hostess
to the little people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <b>C.
K. Koffmans</b> and the <b>Paul Scotts</b> spend all their spare time on joint
fishing trips to Galbraith Springs [in Hawkins County]. Says Mrs. Scott,
"We just sit on the bank and wait for the fish to nibble." Mr.
Koffman has quite a booster in the person of daughter Anne who says "Daddy
catches more fish than anybody." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Mr.
and Mrs. J. C. White</b>, 1224 Linville,
have had as their guests their son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Jack
White, and their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. George Schilling. Mrs.
Jack White is the former Miss Hunter Johnston, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. T. P.
Johnston. She and Jack are home from Cornell University at Ithaca, N. Y. Jack
has been spending most of his time building a children’s house in his parent's
back yard. Mrs. Schilling is the former Miss Barbara White. She and her husband
visited the Whites on their way to Camp Davis where George is to go to Officers
Candidate School.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Mrs.
A. D. Brockman</b>, 1122 Watauga, said
that her garden really doesn't deserve the title "victory garden."
Evidently, she feels that she hasn't been exactly victorious in the game of
gardening. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Mrs.
W. B. Greene</b>, 1647 Belmeade, told us
her family enjoys eating summer meals in the out-of-doors. Valerie, eight, and
Billy, five, gather their young friends in the yard for badminton and croquet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWab3DILEW2lCLGytabe22zDcPJrvnhcNMm1WmWtAlW6CUo1Cmzue2kH49sXLWh82jSZm_kWteWOABawN_Zgj6XwUQ29tbsG8bDJulxKlJV2ktYSwRKCfrsUA39MElEe68iSMnj9jSH-zX4Gu4-X7bPK6M_XMtVyadr6GKPtzZRMEpIVs0XkbUw/s6384/Lela%20Johnson%20engagement%20photo%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_13__1943_%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6384" data-original-width="6052" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWab3DILEW2lCLGytabe22zDcPJrvnhcNMm1WmWtAlW6CUo1Cmzue2kH49sXLWh82jSZm_kWteWOABawN_Zgj6XwUQ29tbsG8bDJulxKlJV2ktYSwRKCfrsUA39MElEe68iSMnj9jSH-zX4Gu4-X7bPK6M_XMtVyadr6GKPtzZRMEpIVs0XkbUw/s320/Lela%20Johnson%20engagement%20photo%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_13__1943_%20(2).jpg" width="303" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">1943: Lela Johnson engagement photo</span></i></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I
knew about wartime rationing: gas, tires, coffee and sugar. But in one of
Betsy’s columns, I discovered another item that was rationed, shoes:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
engagement of the week is that of the popular and pretty Lela Johnson to Mack
Slaughter. Lela and Mack met at a dance down at the University of Tennessee
when Lela was visiting Sherry McClellan. After that Lela found herself
practically a commuter to Knoxville, making all the important football games
and formals on the "Hill.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lela
and her sister, Mrs. Forrest Pilgrim, along with Sherry McClellan, made a trip
to Bristol this week and spent the day just "looking, looking,
looking," for trousseau items. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
we asked Lela if she was having any difficulty with the shoe rationing problem,
she laughed and replied that she had used Mack's coupon that very day. That,
indeed, is true love, when the groom-to-be offers in proof of his affection his
shoe ration stamp.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq1CmfjP9ydnDxKMvK9BkJKCRWFn_E48bK5a06tw-dj8w0aE22qZM4Hv390jKaQsiaP7lUdx6VzYSoy0NucadwqOmeInQnb6Gyp2f5fntP_3KseTFleH0xkIbnH3110owM9jt4RwBceJc1SYlIZ8fJDT2YaGm7NQoyo539RQ2r_8mrF3X5DI1Ew/s7916/Mrs.%20Bobby%20Peters%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_13__1943_%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7916" data-original-width="5439" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq1CmfjP9ydnDxKMvK9BkJKCRWFn_E48bK5a06tw-dj8w0aE22qZM4Hv390jKaQsiaP7lUdx6VzYSoy0NucadwqOmeInQnb6Gyp2f5fntP_3KseTFleH0xkIbnH3110owM9jt4RwBceJc1SYlIZ8fJDT2YaGm7NQoyo539RQ2r_8mrF3X5DI1Ew/s320/Mrs.%20Bobby%20Peters%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jun_13__1943_%20(1).jpg" width="220" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">1943: Engagement photo of Jacqueline Pinckney White of New York City, who married Kingsport (and Princeton) football star Bobby Peters. </span></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">And
talk about bold face names, that same column also announced the marriage of
local football hero Bobby Peters:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport
is all excited over the surprise wedding of Robert Lynn Peters, Jr., and
glamorous Jacqueline Pinckney White in New York.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Plans
for the wedding had to be put on an accelerated war-time basis in order for
"Jackie" to accompany Bobby to California, where he is to be
stationed at Camp Beale, and news of the marriage came as a surprise to the
many friends of the Peters family here in Kingsport.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
ceremony was a very quiet and simple one performed by the Rev. Thomas J.
Delihanty at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Pinckney White,
125 East 84th street, New York City. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lieutenant
and Mrs. Peters left immediately for the west coast. The wedding has been of
much interest in eastern circles as "Jackie" was introduced at the
famous Bachelors' Cotillion in Baltimore last New Year's Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVATecuk-TytINR5885qXRZElNmlYoflNSZJDDYpj0LBqLfuEzL6CRF9swzSQgcVhAIuEkv6QePu_pvmiLJVc_2S3ylOj5U6ov2aePA-xVY2hCpMULUVvAaRHxZwNRvyeKOlLdpOBm7Fvv-dlOAQOK4ASbwowxEvf1Ld42w56HAOs8pANy9uxetA/s4499/Daily_News_Tue__Jun_8__1943_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4499" data-original-width="2028" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVATecuk-TytINR5885qXRZElNmlYoflNSZJDDYpj0LBqLfuEzL6CRF9swzSQgcVhAIuEkv6QePu_pvmiLJVc_2S3ylOj5U6ov2aePA-xVY2hCpMULUVvAaRHxZwNRvyeKOlLdpOBm7Fvv-dlOAQOK4ASbwowxEvf1Ld42w56HAOs8pANy9uxetA/s320/Daily_News_Tue__Jun_8__1943_.jpg" width="144" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">1943: New York Daily News story about wedding of Bobby Peters</span></i></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Footnote
to the Bobby Peters’ wedding story:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>A
day later the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>New York Daily New<i> reported on a honeymoon hoax
perpetrated by Bobby and Jackie: <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
seems a shame to spoil such an amusing story, but the night club set has fallen
for the biggest hoax of the season. Most of them solemnly believe that Lieut.
Robert Lynn Peters Jr. and his beautiful bride, the former Jacqueline Pinkney
White, made the first lap of their honeymoon trip in a railroad baggage car.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob
and Jackie started the story themselves when they were having trouble in
getting train reservations. They finally got a pair of upper berths, but the
baggage car gag seemed good enough to keep up.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Details
were added as the story made the rounds of a bunch of the wedding guests after
the reception on Tuesday. The baggage car became an empty box car. The railroad
had promised to fix them up comfortably with a few wooden crates and a couple
of old gray blankets ordinarily used as packing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H-KNtOfjvNNOF8-jGfLBHamstCeIM8P5MuixCCmkksYxHAzV8ezeyvnmkKrIkKT8nSJYPnr6OQpcW6HrCIog2pzeonxfO987_R9Vz4U2Nv2eYXTnLqxwSSiJT3zNHi2_BGcvG2qlDqwfLuMQ04T37s7mN0yqNJZ5FlxqWp1-mGBaWsd7YxR05w/s6365/Don't%20Say%20I%20Told%20You%20But%20column%20sig%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jan_23__1944_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6365" data-original-width="6026" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H-KNtOfjvNNOF8-jGfLBHamstCeIM8P5MuixCCmkksYxHAzV8ezeyvnmkKrIkKT8nSJYPnr6OQpcW6HrCIog2pzeonxfO987_R9Vz4U2Nv2eYXTnLqxwSSiJT3zNHi2_BGcvG2qlDqwfLuMQ04T37s7mN0yqNJZ5FlxqWp1-mGBaWsd7YxR05w/s320/Don't%20Say%20I%20Told%20You%20But%20column%20sig%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Jan_23__1944_.jpg" width="303" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Rosemary
Stelling also incorporated the war into her Jan. 9, 1944 column:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dear
Betsy,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've
heard of so many interesting things this week. One that I thought might
interest you, is the list of unusual gifts that some of our Kingsport soldiers
sent home for Christmas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
had lunch with Linda (Mrs. M. D.) Massengill the other day. I had to hear all
about the things that M. D. had sent her from Oran, Algeria. The last box had
some beautiful linens in it. There were two luncheon cloths and napkins, one
pink and one white, two bridge cloths and napkins, one green and one yellow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
are all of sheer linen, with hand drawn work, all handmade, and really
something to be proud to own. While M. D. was being transferred to India, he
sent Linda twin brass vases. They are about five inches high, engraved around
the sides in red, blue and gold, which makes a sort of Paisley design.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
J. B. Stevens, Pineola Ave., had some interesting things to tell me. One of the
nicest gifts she has received from her husband, Capt. J. B. Stevens (formerly
with Tennessee Eastman) was a clear glass decanter. It has compartments for
four different wines.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
has sent her several pieces of jewelry, a small mounted cameo, to be used for
either a necklace or a pin, a necklace and pin of silver filigree, an agate
pin, a pair of coral car rings, and a piece of enamel jewelry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
there is the "spread," which is what it will be called, until Captain
Stevens returns home and tells her how it can be used. Elizabeth says: "It
is a piece of satiny woven tapestry, with a native scene woven into it, about
the size of two double bed spreads."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She
says when she does find a use for it, it sure will be a good one. Captain
Stevens said the scene woven into the tapestry, was typical of North Africa,
Sicily and Italy. Mrs. Stevens was the former Miss Elizabeth Cloyd and taught
in the Kingsport schools before her marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tommy
McNeer sent his mother, Mrs. Thomas McNeer, Fair Acres, several grass skirts.
They are just "grass colored," the ceremonial skirts have only one
layer of grass, but the every day ones have six layers of grass. His present to
"Dr. Tom" was a Japanese clinical thermometer, which Tommy found in a
hospital that once had been in the hands of the Japanese. Other things were
shells, coins and beads.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
called Dorothea Hoskins, she is just recovering from the flu, but she told me
about the box Bob (R. J. Hoskins, Birch Street) sent from North Africa. He sent
her a genuine Egyptian scarab and a sandrose from the Sahara desert. A hand
painted scarf, French perfume and handmade leather pocketbooks filled with
African coins for herself and the children were also included in the box. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rosemary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYkACSv-4Dc1gRe-uHKNquG3hg1ln0-TxsitDMxHNH5sEEPu2ZUZ1qRT-dWvVSAx90JyjjMS8gqdJabmvfEBZcq11S9-wozsyxx__ApYGbC7UTJm5AfVk_kLBaoWAgb8MY_r7xVAQQIGWbkDxL7_LxvImMJqOzCvE2Hz82-6-y5GYBs5iYzwEGA/s6140/Have%20You%20Heard%20column%20sig%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Aug_21__1949_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2584" data-original-width="6140" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYkACSv-4Dc1gRe-uHKNquG3hg1ln0-TxsitDMxHNH5sEEPu2ZUZ1qRT-dWvVSAx90JyjjMS8gqdJabmvfEBZcq11S9-wozsyxx__ApYGbC7UTJm5AfVk_kLBaoWAgb8MY_r7xVAQQIGWbkDxL7_LxvImMJqOzCvE2Hz82-6-y5GYBs5iYzwEGA/s320/Have%20You%20Heard%20column%20sig%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Aug_21__1949_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">In
one of the last Dear-Liz-Love-Helen columns, from 1949, was this bridge club
story that didn’t mention the high score or the lunch spread:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dear
Liz, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You
remember Gene and Jamis Armitage moved to their country home on the Fordtown
road not long ago. [Gene Armitage was the mayor of Kingsport at the time.] She
has the house just about the way she wants it now - and a group of girls while
playing bridge one day, decided it was high time they descended on her for a
day of bridge and lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
were considerate enough, though, to "pack their own lunch."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No,
Liz, I didn't go to Jamis' house. I was in the same predicament that the old
country lady was in when she couldn't attend a party. When asked if she went,
she gave this classic answer: "No, I didn't went, didn't wanta went, had I
wanted went, wouldn't gotta gone." The only difference is - I wanted to
went.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Love,
Helen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I
feel like I should end this post with:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Love,
Vince</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-70564892143088620372024-02-01T14:32:00.000-05:002024-02-01T14:32:16.578-05:00Jean Harris, Neighborhood Mom<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmmBpbkgFKknHja-tGPLPs_OyzaMBf_9CKEWXJICQQzjIRcafiCZRSFByItnr93FZezEfm5ZC4nYCQWpc3R2X-1i4SQ76pqc6BJq08VlRacPu6wN1nNtca2H5HaKl0wvwvY1-P3xW4Z9xaarFyFKKt4kXKFsGjUvME95-o1wDjYe9TK35fK7Rdg/s2765/Jean%20Harris%20turns%2090%20-%20Vince,%20Jean%20and%20Lance%20Harris%20-%20Chippy%20Markel%20not%20available%20for%20photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2765" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmmBpbkgFKknHja-tGPLPs_OyzaMBf_9CKEWXJICQQzjIRcafiCZRSFByItnr93FZezEfm5ZC4nYCQWpc3R2X-1i4SQ76pqc6BJq08VlRacPu6wN1nNtca2H5HaKl0wvwvY1-P3xW4Z9xaarFyFKKt4kXKFsGjUvME95-o1wDjYe9TK35fK7Rdg/s320/Jean%20Harris%20turns%2090%20-%20Vince,%20Jean%20and%20Lance%20Harris%20-%20Chippy%20Markel%20not%20available%20for%20photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Jean Harris on her 90th birthday - her son Lance is on the right.</span></i></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The last
time I saw Jean Harris was about five years ago when we were sitting around her
kitchen table, talking about old times in the old neighborhood. As she lit her
second cigarette, I joked what I always joked when she lit up: “Jean, those are
going to kill you.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
finally did. Jean died yesterday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She was
95. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jean
was more than just my best friend Lance’s mom, she was the neighborhood mom. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Her backyard
was our baseball diamond. Her side yard was our football field. Her basement
was our rainy-day playroom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It didn’t
matter what she was doing inside, cooking or cleaning, she was always
listening. One tiny shriek from the ball field and she was out the door, cotton
ball and mercurochrome in hand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of
the first columns I wrote for the <i>Kingsport Times-News</i> when I moved back to
town 20 years ago was about Jean Harris.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here
is that column:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every neighborhood in the fifties had a Jean
Harris; it just happened that in my neighborhood our Jean Harris was named Jean
Harris. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Technically
she was Lance Harris’s mother but in deed and in word she was the neighborhood
mother. The gang would move from house to house when it rained or when it was
muggy but we always seemed to end up at Jean Harris’s house. She had the
basement room where we could have carnivals and secret club meetings and she
had the refrigerator with a bottomless pitcher of Kool-Aid. But mostly she just
had the house where everyone felt welcome. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
addition to being the neighborhood mom, Jean Harris was also the neighborhood
chauffeur, an important position in the fifties when a lot of mom’s didn’t have
cars or couldn’t drive. Her husband Raymond drove a Foremost Dairy truck so the
family car was available. That meant that when we needed to get to Boys’ Club
for football practice, she drove. When we needed to get to the Strand Theatre
for Saturday afternoon Circle F movies, she drove.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chauffeur,
mom, and, oh yeah, one other job. She policed the neighborhood. Believe it or
not that was a good thing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If a
marauding band of toughs from a nearby neighborhood tried to move in on our
football field, she was out there, mop in hand, to tell them she would
appreciate it if they would leave the local field for the local kids. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If a
teenager drove 100 miles an hour down Clover Street, she was out there, broom
in hand, to tell the young man that children played in that street and she
would appreciate it if he slowed down his driving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No
kid from Clover Street ever ended up on a milk cartoon. And I like to think
that Jean Harris had something to do with that. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was reminded of Mrs. Harris contributions to our neighborhood over the
Thanksgiving holiday. Lance was home and he and I got together to exchange
stories that may or may not have ever happened. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
highlight of our storytelling was the highlight of her career as neighborhood
mother. One summer Chippy Markel - not his real name - began lurking on our
street. Chippy lived a few blocks away but he had decided to make our
neighborhood his. Literally. Chippy was a horrible kid. I’m sure he was
neglected at home and picked on at school. So he took it out on the timid and
the meek. In our neighborhood that was pretty much all of us. He happened to
make the mistake of singling out Lance Harris. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
would be Lance Harris, the eldest offspring of Jean Harris, neighborhood mom. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
stole Lance’s Roy Rogers rifle, which in and of itself, would have been enough
to draw the wrath of Jean Harris. But she didn’t know about it because Lance
didn’t tell her because he was afraid if he told her and Chippy found out then
Chippy would beat him up. In short, Lance was scared of Chippy. There was no
shame in this; we were all scared of Chippy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
where Chippy made his mistake was in attempting to go to the well a second
time. He came back to take Lance’s stick horse, in broad daylight, off the
Harris’ back porch. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Harris’s back porch just happened to adjoin their kitchen, which had a picture
window in it, the first picture window I ever saw, a portal onto our
playground. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Using
that sixth sense that only moms have, she spotted him. And he spotted her spot
him. He leaped off the back porch, a jump of at least four feet, and she leaped
off right behind him. I had never seen a mom move like that before. It was an
all out sprint and she caught him at the gate in the back fence. But just as
she pinched his shirt collar he wiggled loose and broke away, turning west and
heading straight for the Garden Basket. Her dad, Lance’s grandfather, came out
of his house, hollering to see if she needed any help. She didn’t even break
stride as she told him she could handle it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chippy
ran for his life and she ran just as fast. But in the end he managed to dart
across Bristol Highway and disappear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
abandoned the stick horse on his way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She
walked back, carrying the purloined stick horse; she wasn’t even breathing
hard.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We
never saw Chippy Markel again. </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-46050545071954919152023-10-22T15:59:00.001-04:002023-10-24T08:01:16.245-04:00Hurricane Vince<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAE70nl3HCbrDMH8KBFaXiYLy-hoj_bKnzd-lyeIEZdvwWABcN0jDjfYhCGjBiMbvhmKWb3Q4Y1SVQzfI7By1Q_CI955e5A2HSX5xNFveBbdA6AbxR431Vk416CQ-1W1UUUHGlrpf3D3SpXJvuipWb6kKsx66gtyBQytbkeFp4f22QtHgZgPCbg/s1108/Hurricane%20Vince%20is%20next.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="1108" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAE70nl3HCbrDMH8KBFaXiYLy-hoj_bKnzd-lyeIEZdvwWABcN0jDjfYhCGjBiMbvhmKWb3Q4Y1SVQzfI7By1Q_CI955e5A2HSX5xNFveBbdA6AbxR431Vk416CQ-1W1UUUHGlrpf3D3SpXJvuipWb6kKsx66gtyBQytbkeFp4f22QtHgZgPCbg/s320/Hurricane%20Vince%20is%20next.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Hurricane Vince Is Heading My Way!</b></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The anchor
on TV said Hurricane Tammy was bearing down on the Lesser Antilles. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“You're
next,” my wife said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
am?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Yup,
there are no U names on the Hurricane list.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No
Ulysses? No Uma?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Nope,
it jumps straight to Hurricane Vince.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’m
next. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It reminded
me of a Milwaukee Braves phenom in 1957: Bob “Hurricane” Hazle, who got his nickname
from the 1954 hurricane that battered the Carolina coasts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I am
about to become a hurricane: Hurricane Vince.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder what that will be like. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
2005, I wrote a column about a real-life Kingsport girl who got her moment of
fame, or infamy, from a hurricane:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVM9IDdWO5TT9JdGx_a6ZakZallKdBbycR6-BHa7orX7G9DGTLCP3_yfb7pymKYmkrb5WhIVtHLJg6vbr0_tmiv1pNzOFAprVdDGLgghd7xXl3dMe6OsCwvRuTiDlSq1QcukMEUDMNMjnoZ8akm8cMhqe6iI-n3kKO_vBqFXZjXzzecq1U83Vzkw/s3917/Hurricane%20Katrina%20-%20The_Times_Mon__Aug_29__2005_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3521" data-original-width="3917" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVM9IDdWO5TT9JdGx_a6ZakZallKdBbycR6-BHa7orX7G9DGTLCP3_yfb7pymKYmkrb5WhIVtHLJg6vbr0_tmiv1pNzOFAprVdDGLgghd7xXl3dMe6OsCwvRuTiDlSq1QcukMEUDMNMjnoZ8akm8cMhqe6iI-n3kKO_vBqFXZjXzzecq1U83Vzkw/s320/Hurricane%20Katrina%20-%20The_Times_Mon__Aug_29__2005_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Katrina
Lahair remembers when she heard that a hurricane was going to be named after
her. “At first I thought it was kind of neat. Then it was kind of weird.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Katrina,
an eleven-year-old sixth-grader at John Sevier Middle School, says that as the
storm began bearing down on Florida, her friends would tease her and call her
Hurricane Katrina.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
then, when it became clear that the real Hurricane Katrina was a devastating
storm, the teasing died down. And now, three weeks later, the teasing is gone,
the neatness is gone and weirdness is gone. Hardly anyone even mentions it to
Katrina Lahair anymore except the writer who called her from the Times-News,
after clearing it with her mom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was the mom, Trida, who gave Katrina her name. Trida’s middle name is Katrin.
“We wanted something different so we added an ‘a’ to Katrin,” Trida explains.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
writer had called because he saw a list of hurricane names for the remainder of
the 2005 hurricane season and spotted his own name.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After
Hurricane Katrina, there were Hurricanes Lee, Maria and Nate, which fizzled out
before landfall, then Hurricane Ophelia, which is currently lashing North
Carolina, which will be followed in order by:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Philippe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Rita<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Stan<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Tammy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Vince<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Wilma<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hurricane
Vince?! There’s a Hurricane Vince on the horizon?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
the writer named Vince called the student named Katrina to find out what it was
like to have a hurricane named after you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Are
you glad there was a hurricane named after you?” future Hurricane Vince asked
the experienced hurricane-name-sharing Katrina Lahair.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“In
some ways yes and in some ways no,” Katrina answered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
future Hurricane Vince asked Katrina for advice: “Should I hope it fizzles out
before it makes land?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
Katrina Lahair, who had just lived through having a Hurricane share her name,
had a simple answer: “Yes.”</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I think I'll hope for a fizzle. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-6471757049726743182023-10-11T08:37:00.001-04:002023-10-11T11:04:14.970-04:00Civic Auditorium in for Some Changes<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineWXk2-4sYeOrB3s4AaPNw9sVu0mGTTamMHoTt_3eIyGltOhzaW5dtbtiwpouSxQ2OrEyb5Bms_z9Lt3EEJ4tMXgj5t41Q8x0aGU2lTIMu5pQ8D6QAIRiDG2rrkoZ9UmvlpnNVZYGMLJTP4i1WZ6gvp5DrTR-pL5vUbFRjU7ewIR6KSl1nyU4pA/s1423/Schools%20to%20take%20over%20Civic%20Auditorium%2010-11-23.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="1423" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineWXk2-4sYeOrB3s4AaPNw9sVu0mGTTamMHoTt_3eIyGltOhzaW5dtbtiwpouSxQ2OrEyb5Bms_z9Lt3EEJ4tMXgj5t41Q8x0aGU2lTIMu5pQ8D6QAIRiDG2rrkoZ9UmvlpnNVZYGMLJTP4i1WZ6gvp5DrTR-pL5vUbFRjU7ewIR6KSl1nyU4pA/s320/Schools%20to%20take%20over%20Civic%20Auditorium%2010-11-23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Your <i>Civic </i>Auditorium</b></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was
always the most aptly named of Kingsport’s municipal buildings: The Civic
Auditorium. It was truly a civic center, home to so many different activities,
from proms to industrial league basketball games to weeklong preaching
missions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And now
the Depression-era building is in for some changes. As reported by <i>Times-News</i>
education reporter Rick Wagner this morning, the Kingsport Board of Education “has
approved a memorandum of understanding for its takeover of the Civic Auditorium,
which will be utilized mostly by the school system. Voting, event rentals and
parks and recreation use of the facility are to continue as scheduling
constraints permit.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
will that mean? Nobody knows. The Civic Auditorium is right at Dobyns-Bennett’s
front door. Classes may be held there. The main auditorium has been home to
many basketball games over the years. It would be perfect for gym classes,
especially while construction continues on the D-B Dome. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Over
the 83 years of its existence the Civic Auditorium has been home to professional
wrestling, golden gloves boxing, rock and roll concerts, gospel shows, country
jamborees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q0r_ztwRfZTrdnRhimavCvTmE0E0dqWQPAHKLPvZAYc9dd2Q8Zonb5tZIE0dh4ubNYM4zhK79KPo0737TRUA4M9Lgy24LzPEwtryCST4f14GHDPHtodWAr9WJupMQSt6AteVA6gEeNMzEgBHDgJ-ly18KvXuSGHsFgyrzKWaN43I43Z_ZdAmmw/s5129/Kingsport_Times_Tue__Jan_18__1955_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4616" data-original-width="5129" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q0r_ztwRfZTrdnRhimavCvTmE0E0dqWQPAHKLPvZAYc9dd2Q8Zonb5tZIE0dh4ubNYM4zhK79KPo0737TRUA4M9Lgy24LzPEwtryCST4f14GHDPHtodWAr9WJupMQSt6AteVA6gEeNMzEgBHDgJ-ly18KvXuSGHsFgyrzKWaN43I43Z_ZdAmmw/s320/Kingsport_Times_Tue__Jan_18__1955_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Classy Freddie" Blassie, later star of a Cyndi Lauper video, wrestled in Kingsport in 1955.</i></span><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Count
Basie and his orchestra performed there, as did the big bands of Erskine
Hawkins, Duke Ellington and Tommy Dorsey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The most
famous performer was probably Elvis, who played there on Sept. 22, 1955 as the
middle act of a country show headlined by Cowboy Copas. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
Lee Lewis was booked to play the Civic Auditorium on July 24, 1968 on a double
bill with Conway Twitty. There were two shows scheduled for that night, one at
8 p.m. and a second at 10.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
Lee was the headliner. Conway was the opening act even though both were equally
big stars at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jim
Sauceman told me about the show; his brother-in-law, the late Tiny Day, was the
promoter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Conway
was always late. Jerry Lee’s bus came in the parking lot about 2 p.m. Conway
called about 6 p.m. and said he wasn’t going to make it on time. Tiny took the
message to Jerry Lee, who said, ‘Killer don’t open for anybody.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Killer
is Jerry Lee’s nickname. He pretty much gave it to himself. When he was a kid,
he called all his buddies “Killer” so they started calling him “Killer.” It
stuck and years later it would become even more appropriate but that’s a story
for another day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
Jerry Lee told Tiny that he would not open the show, Tiny replied, “To get your
money, you’ll open.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
Lee hit the stage at 8 p.m. sharp.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LRY3iir-w8fNeXW11HWaocOJSdj1MMwuo5CUnVmCTtIJG94WMA1sDx-GOscMsn9iMWbhYmFPpw5BFNFgjITX2bhypwQO6FfXl0Lofz65e2xuTMSvLRbX5Kusi8c5eoD1wvDEwy-j6PRydsfdsJjOvq4_xmN8odoSZOpfZ7JGNS-WHOT6k_tA8g/s7576/Kingsport_Times_Mon__Nov_21__1960_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7576" data-original-width="3040" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LRY3iir-w8fNeXW11HWaocOJSdj1MMwuo5CUnVmCTtIJG94WMA1sDx-GOscMsn9iMWbhYmFPpw5BFNFgjITX2bhypwQO6FfXl0Lofz65e2xuTMSvLRbX5Kusi8c5eoD1wvDEwy-j6PRydsfdsJjOvq4_xmN8odoSZOpfZ7JGNS-WHOT6k_tA8g/s320/Kingsport_Times_Mon__Nov_21__1960_.jpg" width="128" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rock
legend Chuck Berry performed at the Civic Auditorium on November 22, 1960.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chuck
had learned early the lessons of the road. Al Wilkes told me that Chuck had had
problems throughout his career being ripped off by promoters so he began taking
a proactive approach. According to Al, when he played the Kingsport Civic
Auditorium, Chuck dressed up in disguise - glasses, a wig and a hat - and sold
tickets at the door. Not a soul recognized him! Chuck kept his eyes – and his
hands – on his money.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
was a famous Scat Cats concert at the Civic Auditorium in 1965: a fight broke
out and people scattered everywhere, even the band members. Except for drummer
Donnie Flack. Jim Beck, who was at the show, remembers, “Everybody was running
and he just kept playing.” Donnie shrugged it off to me years later. It was
just his Symphony to a Knife Fight. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcP5FbrMLsYhdon7ifJDarxBNgaWmjuT94GqmJ9a2nCgo7M3FnAG7bp7OOMPZrdW6mNmrUaQDmhMZLnexxd6Aj7RgKD773K_ZSTcSnEzNlu8X_9raBA3sOQKT0mVaHrUQNwWY_UpXg6ZduyVU9bOwCRcx0_uj-NGM_RI3BA1BlGRR3JaILvmKsoA/s3862/Kingsport_News_Sat__Jul_10__1954_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2068" data-original-width="3862" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcP5FbrMLsYhdon7ifJDarxBNgaWmjuT94GqmJ9a2nCgo7M3FnAG7bp7OOMPZrdW6mNmrUaQDmhMZLnexxd6Aj7RgKD773K_ZSTcSnEzNlu8X_9raBA3sOQKT0mVaHrUQNwWY_UpXg6ZduyVU9bOwCRcx0_uj-NGM_RI3BA1BlGRR3JaILvmKsoA/s320/Kingsport_News_Sat__Jul_10__1954_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first
Miss Kingsport Pageant was held there on July 9, 1954. The winner, Dottie Teter
Slaughter, told me years later that they didn't have a runway, just a bunch of
tables placed end to end and she had to walk down that in high heels!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Kiwanis Kapers moved from the Strand Theatre to the Civic Auditorium in 1941
and continued there till the Kapers ended in 1977. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
learned Ballroom Dancing – it’s still debatable whether I really learned - when
I took lessons in the Teen Center in the winter of 1959. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My 7<sup>th</sup>
Grade Prom at Robinson – RNRJHS – was held at the Civic Auditorium. The Frolics
were held there after every home football game. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And my
60th Birthday Party, Dance and Hula Hoop Competition was held in the main
auditorium – the same place where Elvis had performed 52 years earlier in 2007.
Over 300 people wandered in and out during my party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But the
heart and soul of the Civic Auditorium was always its local events: wedding
showers, bridge tournaments, fashion shows. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
friend Margy Clark and her tennis group were playing tennis in the main
auditorium during the winters up until the pandemic. (Margy would have been 90
during the last year of her tennis group; her fellow group members were her
age.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The breadth
of activities that could occur at the Civic Auditorium during one week in its
heyday was breathtaking. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Take
for example the Civic Auditorium Schedule for the Week of January 31, 1955, as
published every week in the <i>Kingsport Times-News</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Monday<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Basketball
Games in Main Auditorium. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">National
Guard Vs. Mead - 6:30.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Munal
Clinic Vs. Fashion Beauty Shop - 7:45.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Boys'
Club Vs. W. B. Greene - 9:00. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Table
Tennis League in Game Room. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Young
Republican Club in Club Room 5. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">AAUW
in Party Room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Tuesday<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">National
Guard Drill in Main Auditorium. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Teen
Dance Class in Game Room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">D.A.R.
Meeting in Corner Room. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Wednesday<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Golden
Gloves Boxing Tournament in Main Auditorium.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Teen
Dance Class in Game Room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chess
Club in Corner Room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Thursday<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Audubon
Screen Tour in Main Auditorium.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hooked
Rug Making in Club Rooms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">District
Committee Boy Scouts in Corner Room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Girl
Scout Meeting in Party Room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Boxing
in one area, Teens learning ballroom dancing in a second and the Chess Club
meeting in a third. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
a great civic auditorium!</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-9280405060256430252023-10-03T08:48:00.001-04:002023-10-04T08:11:56.607-04:00Sunset at the Stadium<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAAVdaqWTOQ9i1CvipgQ1wvrJNxksVGk9dlG5z5JKetpyzWPOKDI4dww8qx9Ps6el09WEdz1BiQhU7ZcYSxrkuL5nTkhlkSqhS8K31bLgTH9xPNPgZOrQbBOtrVbgKy_TsEQ3H90vyhU1fJDA_xhiX3oNd0fLhO-znpIpGYjrO_T9QaZiYKhe9A/s2400/IMG_2981aaaaa.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="2400" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAAVdaqWTOQ9i1CvipgQ1wvrJNxksVGk9dlG5z5JKetpyzWPOKDI4dww8qx9Ps6el09WEdz1BiQhU7ZcYSxrkuL5nTkhlkSqhS8K31bLgTH9xPNPgZOrQbBOtrVbgKy_TsEQ3H90vyhU1fJDA_xhiX3oNd0fLhO-znpIpGYjrO_T9QaZiYKhe9A/s320/IMG_2981aaaaa.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>The Sun Setting over Bays Mountain as Viewed from J. Fred Johnson Stadium</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Photo by Earl Carter</b></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Earl
Carter, my longtime colleague at the <i>Kingsport Times-News</i> and one of the
finest photographers I know, posted this gorgeous sunset over Bays Mountain, as
seen from the homestands at J. Fred Johnson Stadium on Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Earl
wondered if perhaps Kingsport’s founders “stood on this spot long ago and made
the decision to build the stadium in this exact location so future generations
would have a prime view of the setting sun at football games.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's
a nice thought: J. Fred Johnson and John B. Dennis scouting out future building
sites for industry and residences and having that ah-hah moment when they saw
how the sun set over the hills. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I wish
it had happened that way. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But it
was mostly accidental and in fact the building of the stadium was originally opposed
by a few Kingsporters, most notably the <i>Kingsport Times</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10161315659164136&set=a.64808744135" target="_blank">Facebook link</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">The stadium
didn’t begin with J. Fred Johnson or John B. Dennis but with the local American
Legion Post which in early 1936 was proposing a city recreation center and public
swimming pool on land near Lincoln School.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The headline
on Jan. 7, 1936 read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">LEGION
POST OKAYS PURCHASE LAND FOR RECREATION CENTER; <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Land
Will Cost $6,300 for Site; Clubhouse, Pool and Sports Activities Are Included
In the Plans<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
Legion voted unanimously at its meeting held in the Municipal building last
night to purchase the 10 and one-half acres of land at the junction of the
Bristol and Johnson City highways, on which the center will be built. A
swimming pool, Legion clubhouse, a softball diamond and carnival grounds will
be placed in the "Y." Work is expected to get under way within the
next few weeks.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No
mention of a football stadium. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlACxGon7OdOlBjTnGsqe0B5Y7JcYH1LGhxTfroOv109BZuxqM_WGldqTeTiGfib-bgBCgNJA4ksK2zSmjnsotcZjxtmBQ_uzTTK4CSF6-JmzG6RfxAJFShhfScYZbe77k2wq6wf-7fsP3Gp8g4Jq4kYjDJ5uEu5yQ8Y26u4gnPu4_RloDXnv3jg/s6372/Kingsport_Times_Sun__Sep_17__1939_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5513" data-original-width="6372" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlACxGon7OdOlBjTnGsqe0B5Y7JcYH1LGhxTfroOv109BZuxqM_WGldqTeTiGfib-bgBCgNJA4ksK2zSmjnsotcZjxtmBQ_uzTTK4CSF6-JmzG6RfxAJFShhfScYZbe77k2wq6wf-7fsP3Gp8g4Jq4kYjDJ5uEu5yQ8Y26u4gnPu4_RloDXnv3jg/s320/Kingsport_Times_Sun__Sep_17__1939_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>Sept. 17, 1939</i></span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It would
be a couple of years before stadium talk started. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An April
11, 1938 headline read:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">City
Will Take Steps to Get Athletic Stadium, Armory<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Prospects
for a new athletic stadium and armory for Kingsport loomed today as authorities
announced that steps may be taken to obtain WPA grants for their construction. Construction
of a stadium has been discussed by city authorities and civic leaders several
times, but on each occasion, it was decided that the city should not assume the
entire debt of the project.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Just
where the two projects would be constructed has not been discussed. Heretofore
suggestions have been made that the stadium be located on the old flying field
at Lovedale and on Dobyns-Bennett’s athletic field. Location of the armory has
been suggested on property of the Legion Park.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So in
1938 possible locations for a new stadium ranged from the field down the hill from
Jackson School to the grounds next to the “old” D-B on Wateree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Public
opinion soon started crystalizing around building a new stadium, especially
after Johnson City and Bristol both constructed new facilities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Mayor
and Board of Alderman scheduled a meeting for Feb. 21, 1939 to discuss the
matter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That’s
when the <i>Kingsport Times</i> weighed in:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">STADIUM?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Kingsport
is still a young city, with every prospect of continued healthy growth. If we
could be given a glimpse into the future, say about 1959, it is quite possible
that we would not recognize our city. That in the years to come many other
large industries will locate plants here, is quite certain. That the population
will increase steadily and that large tracts of land, now vacant, will be
occupied by hundreds of homes, is also quite certain. Consequently, if it is
desirable to have a large stadium later on, it is only the part of wisdom to
set aside a desirable site now while it can still be bought at a comparatively
low figure. That is strictly logical and admits of no argument.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"There
is an 'if' in the above sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Is a
large new stadium desirable? Certainly, a great many people think it is.
"Stadium" means football to most people, as football is the principal
use of such a place. Now football has become so popular as to be almost a mania
with some people. The emphasis on football in our colleges and high schools is
getting greater every year. Over emphasis, some think. But the fact remains
that the "fans" want more and more of it and are willing to pay more
and more for it. So it has developed, not so much as a sport but as a spectacle
and a big business. As a sport, as it affects those who play, football is a
little different but no better than it has been in past years. But there is no
blinking the fact that gate receipts affect the attitude of a school or college
toward football. They bow to the will of the people-and to the click of the
turnstiles. All over the country we see it; more football, more stadia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>There is not in this country, a
heavy-over-emphasis on athletics. There is a heavy over-emphasis on the use of
athletics for business purposes. That is not good for anyone concerned.
Kingsport should avoid the danger of becoming an example of that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"For
the real good of the city, would it not be better to start planning on city
parks that would serve a much greater number of people. Such parks will be a
greater necessity in the future when the population is denser, than a stadium,</i> and the land for them will be as difficult to get
later on. We will need parks, so located that they will be close to the people
who need them most; people without cars.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"The
question is, will a stadium be a necessity of the future, or just an expensive
luxury? The board would like to know what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So the
<i>Times</i> wanted parks and playgrounds not a stadium."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The will
of the people was decidedly not on the side of the <i>Times’</i> editorial
writer. Folks flooded the Municipal Building for the city government meeting
that February night in 1939.. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Mayor
William Holyoke called upon the group for expressions of opinion on the
purchase of the property for the proposed stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“A.
D. Brockman, executive vice-president of the First National bank and chairman
of the city school board expressed himself as heartily in favor of purchasing
the property, declaring that the sooner the stadium is built the quicker it
will "enable us to tear down the wooden fence at the school."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“’I
feel,’ he added, ‘we should get government money while we can.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“H.
G. Stone moved that the board proceed with the purchase of the property. I. M.
Fuller seconded the motion and appealed for immediate construction of the
stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“This
motion also carried without opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“In
passing an ordinance authorizing the purchase of the property which is to cost
$1,000 per acre, Mayor Holyoke commented that sentiment expressed at the
meeting had shown the consensus of opinion of a large majority of citizens of
the city was heartily in favor of the stadium and urged the board not to delay
in the purchase.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WBrRN1wRb4CaCWbR2nzcVwJjaXjgYO4dROTIM1MjXizY7IQGYsISrPS0_yWtifvJ4HwWc9X24M2V0Ld6SgzXp5FgbV2JGMaWF60x05feiGAqf9jx13bOpPOxBAznB0plae2q8ka2KQjNyPxGeHa_8Tj3k0Cza2erZbNbLdzSX1vuV5WMQn5lsg/s5871/CH3%20-%201942%20-%20ad%20for%20Greer%20Garson%20at%20opening%20of%20J.%20Fred%20Stadium.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5871" data-original-width="4575" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WBrRN1wRb4CaCWbR2nzcVwJjaXjgYO4dROTIM1MjXizY7IQGYsISrPS0_yWtifvJ4HwWc9X24M2V0Ld6SgzXp5FgbV2JGMaWF60x05feiGAqf9jx13bOpPOxBAznB0plae2q8ka2KQjNyPxGeHa_8Tj3k0Cza2erZbNbLdzSX1vuV5WMQn5lsg/s320/CH3%20-%201942%20-%20ad%20for%20Greer%20Garson%20at%20opening%20of%20J.%20Fred%20Stadium.png" width="249" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">J.
Fred Johnson Stadium opened on Sept. 3, 1942 with a War Bond Rally headlined by
Hollywood star Greer Garson who was introduced to the crowd by E.W. Palmer,
head of Kingsport Press. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She arrived
45 minutes late so she missed seeing that spectacular sunset over Bays
Mountain. </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-57682786411946566242023-09-21T09:46:00.000-04:002023-09-21T09:46:56.726-04:00Extra! Read All About It (on your iPad)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEJMW6y2QGAARflqYn1pT1_tYU5ndS_zeAxZ1jGgqvnlmTHrdb-lo3jXBoEWOf4pCFox6lIZefeg8ZJWGGgNmmeSMKEQd7fc1zkWMt2FE9tcTPyBsZcTkYV9cKpADGJEh2mMFtjFW7meVyi-jjQ4NOs1vNdS8njakXG2SgwO19CukGGqIiSzzCmQ/s6167/Kingsport_Times_Sun__Sep_29__1940_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3541" data-original-width="6167" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEJMW6y2QGAARflqYn1pT1_tYU5ndS_zeAxZ1jGgqvnlmTHrdb-lo3jXBoEWOf4pCFox6lIZefeg8ZJWGGgNmmeSMKEQd7fc1zkWMt2FE9tcTPyBsZcTkYV9cKpADGJEh2mMFtjFW7meVyi-jjQ4NOs1vNdS8njakXG2SgwO19CukGGqIiSzzCmQ/s320/Kingsport_Times_Sun__Sep_29__1940_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Flash!
Newspapers are dying!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If
you consider that “old news,” you are in the minority. According to a 2018 Pew
Research study, a majority of U.S. adults (71 percent) believe their local news
media are doing well financially.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
guess they haven’t noticed how the price of a daily newspaper has been going up
while the number of pages has been going down. That’s probably because that
same study found only 14 percent pay for their news anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(Where
do they get their news? TV? Facebook? They don’t get any news?) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes,
it’s true. Fewer people – many fewer – get a daily newspaper anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just
check the numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
thanks to an obscure 1912 law, newspapers are forced to disclose their true paid
circulation numbers in their own pages every fall (usually early October): they
must reveal, among other things, the actual number of newspapers they print and
the number they sell, which is always different. Newspapers bury this little nugget
of information in tiny print in the classified ads, surrounded by lots of
legalese. But they publish it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even
if you’ve never paid attention to newspaper circulation numbers – and most
people haven’t – these will surprise you. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before
I get to the <i>Kingsport Times News’</i> subscription numbers through the
years, let me amaze you with the circulation numbers of a newspaper I wrote for
in the 1990s, the <i>New York Daily News</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <i>Daily
News</i> is best known for a 1975 headline during New York City’s financial
crisis:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Ford
to City: Drop Dead<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionvL5bDehS-4oSrfmT9IFIhRueFVGTj-2SMG6U7xSjF8oG5HZP0THEb7BvMGCwoGINSeJqgPbG_nYEMuiwSBnqGjowqWZ1dEtI4gvWhya0lrm-Myf8JJr6E4xYnt_um7lLQBhMvE7epJRvXQYMiaNlpOPIRqnkEFW5P2VGW-pGZHB5pg3kj-SUw/s4778/Daily_News_Thu__Oct_30__1975_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4778" data-original-width="3584" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionvL5bDehS-4oSrfmT9IFIhRueFVGTj-2SMG6U7xSjF8oG5HZP0THEb7BvMGCwoGINSeJqgPbG_nYEMuiwSBnqGjowqWZ1dEtI4gvWhya0lrm-Myf8JJr6E4xYnt_um7lLQBhMvE7epJRvXQYMiaNlpOPIRqnkEFW5P2VGW-pGZHB5pg3kj-SUw/s320/Daily_News_Thu__Oct_30__1975_.jpg" width="240" /></a></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Two weeks
earlier the <i>Daily News</i> had published its annual circulation numbers. The
newspaper sold an average of 2,887,608 copies a day. That’s almost three
million copies! It was the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the
country. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
I started writing for the paper 14 years later, circulation had slipped considerably
to 1,422,837 copies, a decline of almost a million and a half copies a day. But
it was still the largest circulation daily in the country. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The latest
circulation number I can find for the <i>Daily News</i> is from 2019. A total
of 194,504 print copies were sold each day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In roughly
25 years circulation has dropped over 90 percent. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Modern
publishers would note that comparing today’s print circulation to yesteryear’s
numbers is like comparing apples and grapes. Today’s papers have much smaller
print numbers – partly by design - but those are dwarfed by the number of
digital readers. And that’s true. It is a different era for newspapers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now to
the <i>Kingsport Times</i> <i>News</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <i>Kingsport
Times</i> was founded in 1916 as a weekly by Cy Lyle, who already published the
weekly <i>Johnson City Comet</i>. Weeklies were not required to publish
circulation numbers under the 1912 Congressional act but Lyle self-reported a circulation of 1,000 copies
sold weekly to the trade publication <i>Ayer’s Newspaper Directory</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
circulation for 1917, the first full year of publication, was self-reported to
Ayer’s as 1,500 copies a week. Ayer’s noted Kingsport’s population was 6,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1921 the population number changed to exactly 5,692. The census had been
published that year. And the <i>Kingsport Times</i> circulation had taken a
tumble, down to 1,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <i>Kingsport
Times</i> became a daily on Oct. 1, 1924. So in October 1925 the newspaper
published its first “official” “legal” Statement of Ownership. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <i>Kingsport
Times</i> had sold 3,106 copies a day that year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
next year, 1926, circulation had increased slightly, to 3,312.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
as the Depression approached that number of readers began to fall, down to
2,421 by 1928. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By
1929, a scant few weeks before Wall Street crashed and the Depression enveloped
the country, the <i>Kingsport Times</i> listed its circulation as 2,416.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOEcCJuUtblEjM01aQKq6sKT5PIs5S0AIk1Dvfu1_g-KZiw06vR1u-i3bRXkvVjORCsHtAi4cXZsSfJQ8D7EX4GbRdkbfoef9JQiJnwuU_wICdwY2H_Yd8uNH23X7wsWcj1355hLM1H8A3h2BXk3OH7Vl-bABcBbQMhoV-iViWWAZfdsBAjSaRg/s7806/Kingsport_Times_Tue__Oct_1__1929_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7806" data-original-width="5182" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOEcCJuUtblEjM01aQKq6sKT5PIs5S0AIk1Dvfu1_g-KZiw06vR1u-i3bRXkvVjORCsHtAi4cXZsSfJQ8D7EX4GbRdkbfoef9JQiJnwuU_wICdwY2H_Yd8uNH23X7wsWcj1355hLM1H8A3h2BXk3OH7Vl-bABcBbQMhoV-iViWWAZfdsBAjSaRg/s320/Kingsport_Times_Tue__Oct_1__1929_.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
was the bottom. From 1930 until, well, fairly recently, the Times-News
circulation increased almost every year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1930
– 2,692<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1935
– 4,720<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1940
- 8,095<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
wondered if circulation dipped during World War II when so many local men and
women were serving in the military. Those readers must have been replaced by
the influx of defense workers at Eastman and Holston Defense because
circulation held steady (even rising one year) during the war years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1942
– 10,626<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1943
– 11,610<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1944
– 12,659<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1945
– 11,644<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
post-war boom helped boost newspaper circulation, too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
year I was born, 1947, circulation had skyrocketed to 16,695. That’s a jump of
5,000 readers in just two years! That’s the biggest two-year increase in the
newspaper’s history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Circulation
continued increasing into the twenty-first century: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1950
- 19,405<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1955
- 21,047<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1965
- 26,536<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1975
– 37,638<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1985
- 47,158<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1992
- 45,944<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
came the internet and other changes: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2004
– 41,734<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2010
– 38,511<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2020
- 19,438<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2022
– 16,917 (Sept. 28, 2022 issue)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The last
time the <i>Times News</i> print circulation was as low as 16,000 was the year I
was born. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So in
76 years the <i>Kingsport Times News</i> went from 16,000 to a peak of almost
50,000 and now back to 16,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The next
official Statement of Ownership circulation numbers are due in a couple of
weeks. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’m
hoping they will start going back up. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">A
dime would once buy a cup of coffee and a morning newspaper:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The price
of a daily newspaper has gone only one direction over the years: up. The price
of the <i>Kingsport Times News</i> over the years:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1916
– two cents a copy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1920
– three cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1940
– still three cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1942
– five cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1968
- ten cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1975
– 15 cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1982
– 25 cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1988
– 35 cents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2023
- $1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Who
owned the Times-News?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many
well-known local folks were listed among the newspaper’s owners in 1950:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.
The owner is: (If owned by a corporation, its name and address must be stated
and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses of stockholders owning
or holding one per cent or more of total amount of stock. If not owned by a
corporation, the names and addresses of the individual owners must be given. If
owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, its name and address, as
well as those of each individual member, must be given.) Kingsport Publishing
Co., Inc., C. P. Edwards, Jr., First National Bank and Val Edwards,
Co-Trustees, E. W. Tipton, E. W. Tipton, Jr., Joe N. Tipton, George T. Tipton,
Mrs. Catherine T. Brown, Howard Long, S. P, Platt, Richard Brockman, Mrs.
Dorothy N. Edwards, Val Edwards, A. D. Brockman, S. E. McAmis, Mrs. Vera J.
White, James Brockman, Shirley Joyce Brockman, J. W. West, all of Kingsport,
Tennessee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Other
cities, other newspapers, all available at Kingsport newsstands in the fifties
and sixties. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1967 when the late Troy Brown started working at Wallace News on Broad Street
in Kingsport, Troy told me the newsstand stocked a dozen or so out-of-town
newspapers. (Troy retired from Wallace in 2016.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here
are a few of those papers and their 1967 circulation numbers along with their most
recent circulation figures (in parentheses): <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>New
York Times</i> - 1,419,329 in 1967 (740,000
print subscribers in 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Washington
Post</i> - 702,679 (159,040 – 2023)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Atlanta
Journal-Constitution</i> – 252,439 (52,803
– 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Nashville
Tennessean</i> – 233,121 (19,270 – 2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Knoxville
News-Sentinel</i> – 167,792 (19,430 -
2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Memphis
Commercial-Appeal</i> – 331,672 (13,523 –
2022)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Asheville
Citizen-Times</span></i><span style="font-family: arial;"> – 47,330 (7,058 - 2022)</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-3371300781553287202023-09-06T12:08:00.001-04:002023-09-06T12:08:18.685-04:00Hey, Hey Paula!<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rmhTeaSXbwoV26hHwOp3DwXdM9eGcA1Aau7xnB1xpVJyfrRT8RtTcygnBe4QQsScmSaAls_LncQ09l0YCo9yYct9Hl-WNSP_4qqGXt3jgOsFB4_LkEVg79IlHWKwOVb-L8PudtwJEpIsDL2C8D_HghfSD7CB1vDn3BuMD2lLUdob-gBQcU0Vtw/s7636/Hey%20Paula%20no.%201%20with%20graphic%20-%20%20The_Times_Fri__Feb_8__1963_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7636" data-original-width="4075" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rmhTeaSXbwoV26hHwOp3DwXdM9eGcA1Aau7xnB1xpVJyfrRT8RtTcygnBe4QQsScmSaAls_LncQ09l0YCo9yYct9Hl-WNSP_4qqGXt3jgOsFB4_LkEVg79IlHWKwOVb-L8PudtwJEpIsDL2C8D_HghfSD7CB1vDn3BuMD2lLUdob-gBQcU0Vtw/s320/Hey%20Paula%20no.%201%20with%20graphic%20-%20%20The_Times_Fri__Feb_8__1963_.jpg" width="171" /></a></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ray,
of Paul and Paula, is dead at 82</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ray Hildebrand,
who was Paul of the sixties pop duo Paul and Paula, passed away last week in Kansas.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Paul
and Paula were the stage names of Hildebrand and a college friend, Jill
Jackson, who recorded the song that would make them famous in 1963. The real
Paula was a girlfriend of Ray’s college buddy, Russell Berry. Ray, who wrote
the song at his friend’s request, actually aimed it at his own ex-girlfriend
Judy Hendricks. (It worked. He and Judy got back together and got married. She
survives him.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The initial
recording on a small Texas label was titled “Hey Paula” by Ray and Jill. But
when Mercury Records bought the rights, they changed the duo’s name to Paul and
Paula. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpJRw3jR7GNK3aM2kTs75RwxvSmG6jz363IkzYJnCx95TmzaZK7vafgdacu6DVcHpijtoOLBnrj4oq0yVv0hQCWszI8bFATQkgrJfz45xGDk5fBCCECxhJlK7ZnWW7gthhEn2tys7f-xax8CyyXhW-SJtR9DxbVf4YyXrlrmpwKvA6ycUgtfWAQ/s7599/Hey%20Paula%20first%20time%20on%20charts%20-%20The_Durham_Sun_Mon__Jan_7__1963_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7599" data-original-width="2586" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPpJRw3jR7GNK3aM2kTs75RwxvSmG6jz363IkzYJnCx95TmzaZK7vafgdacu6DVcHpijtoOLBnrj4oq0yVv0hQCWszI8bFATQkgrJfz45xGDk5fBCCECxhJlK7ZnWW7gthhEn2tys7f-xax8CyyXhW-SJtR9DxbVf4YyXrlrmpwKvA6ycUgtfWAQ/s320/Hey%20Paula%20first%20time%20on%20charts%20-%20The_Durham_Sun_Mon__Jan_7__1963_.jpg" width="109" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-indent: 0.5in;">The first time "Hey Paula" appeared on the record charts, in January 1963.</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cut to
Kingsport, Tennessee in 1963. There was a girl in my Latin class named Paula, Paula
Bennett, the only girl I knew at the time named Paula. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And to
this day, I never hear that song without thinking of Paula Bennett. It’s an
easy association. She was a friend then, she’s a friend now. I’ve always begun
letters, emails and phone calls to her with “Hey, hey Paula,” the first line of
the song. Very clever, I know.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Girl-name
songs aren’t as popular as they once were. I can name a dozen girl-name songs
from my youth without even trying: “Barbara Ann,” “Gloria,” “Denise,” “Sherry,”
“Donna,” “Peggy Sue,” “Suzy Q,” “Hello, Mary Lou,” “Linda,” “Michelle,” “Oh
Carol” and “Sheila.” Girl name songs were still popular in the eighties and
nineties with “Rosanna,” “Roxanne” and others. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
I had to search hard in a list of recent hits to come up with three and they
are a stretch: “Stacy’s Mom,” “Jenny from the Block” and “Angel.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
fact I found more songs with “me” in the title (17) than with a girl’s name. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
I wondered, as I listened to Paul promise, “Paula, I can’t wait no more for
you,” how did Paula Bennett felt about that song? What was it like to hear your
name on the radio all the time? Even in a lyric with a double negative? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So I
asked her. Paula, now Paula Bennett-Paddick, lives now in western North
Carolina. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“How
could I not like a song with my name prominently featured?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made me feel special, especially with a
cute guy crooning, ‘I want to marry you.’ All love and tenderness. It was fun
being teased and it did make me feel popular as long as the song lasted on the
top ten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, we all know fame is
fleeting.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That’s
right. “Hey Paula” was number one on the charts for the first three weeks of
February 1963. But by summer the teen idols were singing about Denise and
Judy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paula’s days on the radio, except
as a moldy oldie, were over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
she says she didn’t see much chance of anyone writing a song with her middle
name, Edwina. “I think I'll leave the earth before that happens.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Boy
songwriters have always written about the girls in their lives. But the other
way around, not so much. There are a handful of songs with boy’s names: “Johnny
Angel,” “Eddie, My Love,” “Jimmie Mack,” and a few others. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
there was never a Vince song. Okay, there was Don McLean‘s “Vincent” but that’s
about a tortured fellow who cuts off his own ear. And who wants to be
associated with that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">OTHER
NAMES, OTHER TUNES<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After
my original 2004 column about Paula and “Hey Paula,” I heard from other girls
named in songs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Susan
Z. Barnes said, “The 70's group the Buckinghams did a song ‘Susan’ which is my
name. You did mention ‘Suzy Q’ and ‘Wake Up Little Susie.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always enjoyed those songs, but my name wasn't
Suzy or Susie, it has always been Susan. I remember the first time I heard
‘Susan,’ I thought, ‘Finally, I made it.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sherry
Fouch said she liked having her name in a song. “I have a name that was not
once, but twice the name of a song. You mentioned one in your article,
‘Sherry.’ And it was spelled correctly I might add. The second time my name
graced a song was by Steve Perry, ‘Oh Sherri.’ Not spelled correctly by my
standards, by why quibble over details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Every time I hear these songs, I always stop and sing along. It makes me
smile.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sara
McClanahan Selby also had the name spelling issue. “My first name is Sara with
no ‘h,’ which I have always thought to be the uncommon way to spell it. I was a
teenager in the late 70's and early 80's and in that time period there was not
one, but three songs with my name in the title: ‘Sara’ by Fleetwood Mac, ‘Sara’
by Jefferson Starship and ‘Sara Smile’ by Hall and Oates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always thought that it was neat, but a bit
odd that not only did the songs have my name, but the correct spelling as
well!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sue
Parham recalled the experience of being serenaded in the Everly Brothers’ 1957
hit “Wake Up Little Suzie.” “I was in grad school and as I would go over for
breakfast a fellow student would sing to me, ‘Wake up little Suzie, wake
up!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was not an early riser and it was
hard for me to get up for breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
make it even worse we had work duties - sometimes that was to serve breakfast.
Oh, that was really hard for me! Then he would go through the breakfast line
and see me serving and for sure he'd sing ‘Wake up little Suzie, wake up!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course I still get the Suzie-Q songs, even
from some of my fellow classmates at D-B when I am back in Kingsport.” Sue now
lives in Richmond, Virginia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Laura
White, whose name was used in Ray Peterson’s 1960 hit “Tell Laura I Love Her,”
remembered the first time she heard someone singing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It was one of my girlfriends, and we were
riding our bikes around the Greenfields area where I lived and had been talking
about boyfriends. Then she started signing, ‘Tell Laura I love her.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought she was teasing me by pretending to
be a boyfriend. It was kind of strange then when I heard it on the radio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, during the time it was popular,
people would tease me and sing the first line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was fun for a while, but then it got a little old after a
while.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Being
named in a song isn’t always a pleasant experience. Nikki Cristy told me,
“Unfortunately, the only song with my name featured prominently was ‘Darling
Nikki.’ Although I like Prince, I didn't like the reputation that ‘Nikki’ had
in the song.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For
those unfamiliar with the song, Prince calls Darling Nikki a “sex fiend.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><b style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">The Real Paula</b></div><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhE7pLP4a2omwOm4_ka8Psp9BlMUxf77_nmu627xdtEo5mmxbIFNlgm54TbXL5uLDif83mB6mUe2zbSztuiQgiCd1PmfoUO3nTuNN0f5hkfnmwNhwSAxTHC3Ozcom4T622xG4CWr81U9o97j_ZhoLA_x1Z2p8idaWi_mVvn2s7k328L-VT-CW1pg/s5252/Paul%20Rowlette%20of%20Hey%20Paula%20-%20Johnson_City_Press_Chronicle_Sat__Mar_23__1963_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5252" data-original-width="2796" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhE7pLP4a2omwOm4_ka8Psp9BlMUxf77_nmu627xdtEo5mmxbIFNlgm54TbXL5uLDif83mB6mUe2zbSztuiQgiCd1PmfoUO3nTuNN0f5hkfnmwNhwSAxTHC3Ozcom4T622xG4CWr81U9o97j_ZhoLA_x1Z2p8idaWi_mVvn2s7k328L-VT-CW1pg/s320/Paul%20Rowlette%20of%20Hey%20Paula%20-%20Johnson_City_Press_Chronicle_Sat__Mar_23__1963_.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><br /></span></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As for the
real Paula from the song: Her name was Paula Rowlette and on Thursday March 21,
1963, the <i>Kingsport News’</i> People of the News column reported, “Paula Rowlette,
subject of the hit song ‘Hey Paula,’ will be married Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas
to Russell Berry who urged a friend to write the song after a spat.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Hey,
Paula” worked twice – for Ray Hildebrand and also for his friend Russell Berry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Paula
Rowlette Berry died in 2021. Her obituary didn’t mention that a long time ago
she was the famous inspiration for a song.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She
is survived by Russell Berry. </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-75165303307282170402023-08-07T09:08:00.000-04:002023-08-07T09:08:28.103-04:00Nicknames of the States (in the 1800s)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I42CH5uCBGsCO7ZDF01UP80FZoY2LDCzgpkF5-z_jpjt7PII8zUscltCeIJOzHe4r6z_DUU9DbFNzyD3421JsUlvrvJdW6SvbzJDrR5uygn1ZBaV41BvcXTsi0zVgo50MgZiueVcqh-LqsF-PEOC6jTSIcAnDtDiv4gzJrZIe5F4P9tiUiOvhA/s1102/Nicknames%20of%20the%20States%20-%204.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1102" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I42CH5uCBGsCO7ZDF01UP80FZoY2LDCzgpkF5-z_jpjt7PII8zUscltCeIJOzHe4r6z_DUU9DbFNzyD3421JsUlvrvJdW6SvbzJDrR5uygn1ZBaV41BvcXTsi0zVgo50MgZiueVcqh-LqsF-PEOC6jTSIcAnDtDiv4gzJrZIe5F4P9tiUiOvhA/s320/Nicknames%20of%20the%20States%20-%204.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>1884 Map of Nicknames of the States</i></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">(Click to enlarge)</span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>The Tennessee Whelps?</b></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was fiddling around, trying to find out who Bays of Bays Mountain was – never
found out - and I came across a <i>Milwaukee Sentinel and Herald</i> story from
1843 about state nicknames.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now
realize in 1843 there weren’t 50 states. Florida and Wisconsin were both listed
as “territories.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
the nicknames weren’t always the ones we know today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
story said, “As every State in the Union, except Alabama, has in addition to
its regular name as baptized for history, a more characteristic designation for
every-day use, and as these work-day names very often used, are not in all
cases understood, we copy the following list, for the benefit of such as are
not familiar with them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
followed a list of two dozen nicknames. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Okay,
many are familiar today, 170 years later.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Massachusetts
then and now was the Bay State. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Likewise
for New Hampshire the Granite State, New York the Empire State, Pennsylvania
the Keystone State and Virginia the Old Dominion State.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
Tennessee wasn’t listed as the Volunteer State, even though the article was
published three decades after the War of 1812, when so many Tennessee boys
“volunteered.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1843 Tennessee was the Lion’s Den. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Huh?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
is no explanation. It’s just a list. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
tried finding out. The best I could come up with was on the official Tennessee
website, “J.C. Thomas refers to Tennessee as the Lion’s Den State on page 22 of
Manual of Useful Information published by the Werner Company in 1893. Mr.
Thomas does not give any background. George Earlie Shankle suggests in State
Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols (1934) that
‘Probably its origin and application to this State are in some way connected
with the life and activities of Andrew Jackson.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hey,
it could be a lot worse. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kentucky
was the Corn-cracker State because of its superior production of Indian Corn.
Bluegrass State was in the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">North
Carolina was the Rip Van Winkle State. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Illinois
was the Suckers State. You can fill in your own punch line. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
were a few oddities. Delaware’s nickname was Little Delaware. Huh?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">New
Jersey was known as Jersey Blues. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Most
unfortunate of all were Arkansas and Missouri.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Arkansas
was listed as the Tooth-Pickers State.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
Missouri was the Pukes State. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
should have quit while I was ahead. But in my quest to find out why we were
called the Lion’s Den, I uncovered another list of state nicknames, this one
from 1889.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Can
you imagine 102,000 in Neyland Stadium cheering as the team took the field: “Go
Whelps!” That was Tennessee’s nickname in the 1889 list, the Tennessee Whelps.
A whelp is a puppy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
list comes from the 1889 edition of the book “American Notes and Queries: A
Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, General Readers, Etc.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
favorites:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Florida
Fly-Up-The Creeks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Georgia
Buzzards <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maryland
Craw-Thumpers <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nebraska
Bug Eaters <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Texas
Beet Heads<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And,
hello former University of South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier…the
South Carolina Weasels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
complete list: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Alabama
Lizards; Arkansas Toothpicks; California Gold Hunters; Colorado Rovers;
Connecticut Wooden Nutmegs; Delaware Muskrats ; Florida Fly-Up-The Creeks;
Georgia Buzzards; Illinois Suckers; Indiana Hoosiers; Iowa Hawkeyes; Kansas
Jayhawkers; Kentucky Corn Crackers; Louisiana Creoles; Maine Foxes; Maryland
Craw-Thumpers; Michigan Wolverines; Minnesota Gophers; Mississippi Tadpoles;
Missouri Pukes; Nebraska Bug Eaters; Nevada Sage Hens; New Hampshire Granite
Boys; New Jersey Blues or Clam Catchers; New York Knickerbockers; North
Carolina Tar Heels; Ohio Buckeyes; Oregon Web Feet; Pennsylvania Pennenites or
Leatherheads; Rhode Island Gun Flints; South Carolina Weasels; Tennessee;
Whelps; Texas Beet Heads; Vermont Green Mountain Boys; Virginia Beetles; and
Wisconsin Badgers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If
some of those nicknames had stuck, college football would be very different
today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0oWdFExuUUe_U150yNCgqIRoYORTnGJCqsh4qo6457hQsTBQ3CqcRfCL2_P4nZPyUHch29Qxvhg1O6BgO9wTbnhWqJttCcTi_L_3bBBcdGKBhtWJgmKUPHL4ArsluMugAG1K6U459h-9okY2Wqol099tVVRIGJAuJs62zg60X8LRnCtiLMYezg/s1040/Map%20of%20U.S.%20Farm%20Animals%201878%20a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1040" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0oWdFExuUUe_U150yNCgqIRoYORTnGJCqsh4qo6457hQsTBQ3CqcRfCL2_P4nZPyUHch29Qxvhg1O6BgO9wTbnhWqJttCcTi_L_3bBBcdGKBhtWJgmKUPHL4ArsluMugAG1K6U459h-9okY2Wqol099tVVRIGJAuJs62zg60X8LRnCtiLMYezg/s320/Map%20of%20U.S.%20Farm%20Animals%201878%20a.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Another whimsical map from H.W. Hill & Co., this from 1878 and depicting farm animal populations of states. </span></i></div></i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Since
my wife is from Illinois, I dug around to see if I could find the origin of
that “Illinois Sucker” nickname.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
found it in a letter to the <i>New York Journal of Commerce</i> on Aug. 21,
1844:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">NICKNAMES
IN THE WESTERN STATES. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
is singular what a nack the western people have of giving nicknames. As you are
aware, Indiana people are called "Hoosiers;" those of Kentucky,
"Corn Crackers;" those of Ohio," Buckeyes;" those of
Illinois, "Suckers," of Iowa," Hawkeyes, and of Wisconsin,
"Badgers." The two last are new titles. All these names have
originated from some incident or other. That of "Sucker," I am told,
originated with the miners of Galena. There is a small fish called the
"Sucker," which ascends the small streams in Upper Illinois in
summer, and disappears in the autumn. About the same time, the miners. say, a
lot of "diggers," traders and speculators, appear in their
"diggings, from the southern part of Illinois, and after “sucking" at
them through the summer, go south again in the autumn with their namesakes. The
term was at first applied to the people in the southern part of Illinois, but
finally became applied to the people of the whole state, by those of the
adjoining states. The term "these diggings,” also originated at the lead
mines. When a man finds business unprofitable and clears out, he is said to
"quit these diggings." When a man has just arrived, he is said to be
a new man "in these diggings." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
also found a story from <i>The People’s Press</i> of Kingston, New York on July
9, 1853 that detailed the nicknames of a number of famous people of that era:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“General
Andrew Jackson was called old Hickory, on account of his inflexible character;
his diplomatic successor in the White House, [Martin van Buren] was known as
the Little Magician; and his son John Van Buren remains until now the Prince.
Gen. William Henry Harrison was Old Tip, an abbreviation of Tippecanoe, where
he defeated the Indians under their Prophet, the brother of Tecumseh. General
Zachary Taylor was designated by the name of Zack, Rough and Ready; Henry Clay
as the Mill Boy of the Slashes, in remembrance of his origin. Daniel Webster
was the great Expounder-the Godlike, or simply Black Dan. Ohio Senator Thomas Corwin
is the Wagon Boy. Thomas Benton, the Great Missourian, is known as Old Bullion.
Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Senator from Illinois, the Little Giant.
General Winfield Scott, Chippewa, from his victory over the English in the late
war, and a Hasty Plate of Soup, from an expression which slipped from his pen.
Gen. Sam Houston, San Jacinto, from the battle field on which he defeated
President Santa Anna and all his army, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
Cities have their nicknames; Washington for instance, is the city of
Magnificent Distances; New York, the Empire City; Philadelphia, the Quaker
City; Baltimore, the Monumental City; Boston the City of Notions, or Puritan
City; New Haven, the Elm City; Buffalo, the Queen City of the Lakes; Pittsburg,
the Iron City; Cleveland, the Forest City; Cincinnati, Porkopolis, or the Queen
City of the West; St. Louis, the Mound City; Louisville, the Fall City; New
Orleans, the Crescent City.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“All
those nicknames are familiar to and frequently used by the Americans, and not
only in jest in the same way as they collectively accept the designation of
Yankees if this word is used in contradistinction of English. In the States
themselves, Southerners and Westerners disclaim this appellation; they use it
to designate the New Englander whilst in New England again every State disowns
it except Connecticut, which is proud to be the original Yankee State.”</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-25083859846450632292023-07-26T11:15:00.003-04:002023-07-26T11:16:23.004-04:00Take Me Out to the Friendliest Ballpark<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbzOIz2w4eMLENRJvETIIpQAO8-jCOzKgbLujW_HEwqzyajz1-YCP_kb4IhARQ1PLlvjXFoI5PS79G41Z_VR3LPTnSLkAYb65bVWC6YshWqNQ4Y83ikzX4YKoV2aswO-rCcdePBpVfYH_xnfFdgS7U7ZeKr8YLq8aKoMS5bjeAxyQEv0WjLPOZg/s1795/Smokies%20game.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1795" data-original-width="1735" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbzOIz2w4eMLENRJvETIIpQAO8-jCOzKgbLujW_HEwqzyajz1-YCP_kb4IhARQ1PLlvjXFoI5PS79G41Z_VR3LPTnSLkAYb65bVWC6YshWqNQ4Y83ikzX4YKoV2aswO-rCcdePBpVfYH_xnfFdgS7U7ZeKr8YLq8aKoMS5bjeAxyQEv0WjLPOZg/s320/Smokies%20game.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Day the Microphone Went on the Fritz During the National Anthem</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It calls
itself “America’s Friendliest Ballpark” and you’d be hard pressed to find any
stadium where the staff and concession workers are any friendlier, from the kid
at the entrance holding a sign that says “May I Help You” to the popcorn vendor
who insists on filling your tub with popcorn coming straight out of the popper.
“Doesn’t get any fresher.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I live
half an hour away from Smokies Stadium, the minor league park that is home to
the Chicago Cubs Double-A franchise. It supposedly sits in Kodak, Tennessee but
since I’ve never seen Kodak proper, I just tell people it’s at the Gatlinburg
exit off I-40. (Some folks prefer to call it the Dollywood exit and with the
recent opening of the mega-gas station/convenience store out of Texas, it may
soon be known as the Buc-ee’s exit.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This
past weekend the wife and I headed east to Kodak for an afternoon contest between
the Tennessee Smokies and the blandly-named opponent the Mississippi Braves.
(Other teams in the same league include such crazy-named franchises as the
Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Biloxi Shuckers and the Montgomery Biscuits.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was
a beautiful day, what Dizzy Dean used to call shirt-sleeve weather, 85 degrees
with a comforting breeze. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After
many years as an afterthought, minor league baseball has returned to its roots
as a place to go for fun. Every Smokies game has a theme, from Star Wars Night to
Bigfoot Chase Night to Pete the Cat Night featuring an appearance by a YouTube
cat that I’ve never heard of. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It takes
me back to my childhood when minor league games might feature a milking contest
between opposing players or an appearance by the Clown Prince of Baseball Al
Schachter and maybe, every few seasons, a wedding at home plate! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On August
23, 1947 Kingsport Cherokees second baseman Bill Polston married local girl
Mary Nell Adkins at home plate in J. Fred Johnson Stadium. For the record Polston
went 0 for 3 with an error that afternoon. The marriage produced four sons and
lasted a lifetime.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The off
the field events are now family friendly, games with kids competing between
innings, bowling with pomegranates and cumquats to win jerseys and tickets. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The National
Anthem at America’s Friendliest Ballpark is never a recording but always a
local singer or group. This past Sunday it was a four-woman church choir. As the
staff was setting up the microphone behind home plate, my wife expressed
concern. They really need four mikes not one, she said The melody will be overwhelmed
with just one mike. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
didn’t turn out to be the problem. The problem was the mike went on the fritz. So
when the choir began singing, they were inaudible. Then the microphone would
cut back in and blast “by the dawn’s early light” before cutting out again. The
audio technicians in the booth were frantically turning knobs, trying to
correct the problem but it only made it worse. “At the twilight’s last gleaming”
screeched and then cut out. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And that’s
when it began. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The crowd,
some 4,639 strong, began singing, picking up the choir. No one had stood up to
encourage the group sing; the public address announcer didn’t try to lead the
chorus. It was entirely spontaneous, teenagers with their boyfriends, veterans
in wheel chairs in the handicapped section, moms and dads, kids in Smokies tee
shirts, all united. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">People
were looking around at each other. Is this really happening? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After
“O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!” the crowd erupted. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was
the best National Anthem ever. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Walk
Up Songs<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We didn’t
have “Walk Up Songs” when I was playing baseball but they are ubiquitous now. There
are even lists online for Best Little League Walk Up Songs! What’s a walk-up
song? It’s a tune, usually a snippet of a popular song, that is played over the
public address system as a player approaches the batter’s box. (Or as a relief
pitcher comes on.) Today each player picks his or her own song, a tune that
reflects their personality, or self-perceived personality. But in the beginning
– back in the seventies – it was the organist for the Chicago White Sox, Nancy
Faust, who decided to play a different “walk up song” for each Sox player. She
would play the state song from each player’s home state. Eventually the
practice caught on and by the nineties it was a full-blown tradition. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of
the first players to request a specific song, according to MLB.com, was the
Phillies Lenny Dykstra who requested Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But the
first player completely identified with a specific song was Cubs’ relief pitcher
Mitch Williams who would race in from the bullpen as the organist played “Wild
Thing.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now
every player wants an identifying song. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I would,
too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As we
were sitting in the ball park Sunday, watching batters approach the plate, I began
pondering, What should my walk-up song be? My first thought was, I need to
think about this. But a few seconds later, I an answer popped in my head. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
would walk up to the plate with the PA playing an old Chiffons’ song:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Do
lang, do lang, do lang.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Do
lang, do lang.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">He’s
so fine.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I
wish he were mine.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">That
handsome boy over there.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">The
one with the wavy hair. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That’s
when I decided the PA person should cut the song right before it got to “wavy
hair.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That’s
not me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What should your "walk up song" be?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-87004677856564787652023-07-21T09:53:00.004-04:002023-07-21T09:53:40.130-04:00The One, The Only: Kingsport!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCnbiMYgl95t4YRKDkSy6pZDXY77S4K9-hyNFm9x3lLmxsMgrNhLYpN2rZNgSr1TgwjSNty4SeTAzV7L8CVMxoSke8ZVUprhzFQOS7K18l29SXhaXvKq40OIV56fqdsQ76XK8aK83i-bj2Pkn7uSfVjvsHihDI3pCq4urVYVJFrSQowyFzzJ5cg/s5772/Only%20one%20Kingsport%20postcard%20from%20Detroit%20-%20Kingsport_News_Mon__May_1__1950_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5772" data-original-width="4558" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCnbiMYgl95t4YRKDkSy6pZDXY77S4K9-hyNFm9x3lLmxsMgrNhLYpN2rZNgSr1TgwjSNty4SeTAzV7L8CVMxoSke8ZVUprhzFQOS7K18l29SXhaXvKq40OIV56fqdsQ76XK8aK83i-bj2Pkn7uSfVjvsHihDI3pCq4urVYVJFrSQowyFzzJ5cg/s320/Only%20one%20Kingsport%20postcard%20from%20Detroit%20-%20Kingsport_News_Mon__May_1__1950_.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>There's Only One Kingsport</b></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fun Fest is winding up for this year. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is the time of year when Kingsport puffs out its chest and proclaims:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We're number one!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But you know what? We are number one. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport is unique, singular, one of a kind. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just look us up on the Internet. Or in a gazetteer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The most famous Bristol in America isn’t the one that
straddles the Tennessee-Virginia border. It’s the one in Connecticut, home to
ESPN.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Johnson City shares its renown with the Johnson City
in Texas, immortalized by its native son, President Lyndon Johnson, who located
his Texas White House there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are more famous Morristown’s than the one down
the road - the one in New Jersey to start with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But the most famous Kingsport in America? Take a bow.
It’s us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe it’s because of Fun Fest or native son John
Palmer or Pal’s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I think there’s probably an even simpler
explanation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We’re it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is no other Kingsport in the U.S. of A. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nein, nada. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Which strikes me as one of the stranger oddities of
the gazetteer. King is such a common name - the 30th most common name in
America according to the U.S. Census Bureau with slightly more than a half
million people claiming it as their surname. Since numerous towns derive their
name from their shipping port origins, you would think there’d be a bounty of
Kingsport’s across this land. But there’s not. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is a Kingsport in Nova Scotia, Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
there is a fictional Kingsport created by horror novelist H.P. Lovecraft and
called by him the “City in the Mist.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
in the real Great 48 no one else has our name.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How
do I know? I didn’t until John Reed told me. It had never occurred to me that
there wasn’t another Kingsport. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How
did John know? “I was a lad and the Times-News published an article about how
there's only one Kingsport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I recall,
they verified that fact in those pre-Internet days by mailing a postcard from
somewhere up north to Somebody, Street Address, Kingsport - no state, and of
course no zip code in those days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
was back when ‘the mail must go through’ was the Post Office motto, and
somebody looked up ‘Kingsport’ and added Tennessee to the address.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amazing, huh?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You
can confirm our unique status by going on the Internet and typing “Kingsport”
into a search engine. Eventually you will get to Kingsport, Canada and
Kingsport, City in the Mist, and even vintage Kingsport brand shirts. But you
have to go deep into the search pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why
folks named King are so un-nautical and didn’t found more ports is another
question, one that I don’t have the answer to.</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HmZyVbYWOME05fn9mIh1MfRmtOjuJbLGJRb2Ujt7sJ3rENCS7qcW7P6Eu8UTeF9RCPQK0vQYp1i0UTCkBEowZqYQb_ah6746S0MGxHIN9L5zG2__ReBIOzIVyb1Ki2NcEpCUiZOlZigPuhwkkL8Uz5H6iqEh7OOh29PAYoBZKkAtrL7nDMJpAg/s8328/Only%20One%20Kingsport%20-%20Bennett%20&%20Edwards%20ad%20-%201949%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Tue__Nov_29__1949_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8328" data-original-width="5670" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HmZyVbYWOME05fn9mIh1MfRmtOjuJbLGJRb2Ujt7sJ3rENCS7qcW7P6Eu8UTeF9RCPQK0vQYp1i0UTCkBEowZqYQb_ah6746S0MGxHIN9L5zG2__ReBIOzIVyb1Ki2NcEpCUiZOlZigPuhwkkL8Uz5H6iqEh7OOh29PAYoBZKkAtrL7nDMJpAg/s320/Only%20One%20Kingsport%20-%20Bennett%20&%20Edwards%20ad%20-%201949%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Tue__Nov_29__1949_.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i>Bennett & Edwards ad from 1949</i></span></div><p></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-7488607013019517582023-07-14T09:15:00.002-04:002023-07-14T09:15:34.263-04:00The Most Popular Town and City Names<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Bristol, Kentucky Doesn't Exist - Tell That to Al Roker</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was watching the “Today” show the other day when weatherman Al Roker reported a
storm was barreling down the nation’s midsection, all the way from Chicago to –
here he looked at his map and saw a city labeled Bristol – “all the way to
Bristol, Kentucky.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Huh?
I lived in Kentucky for 25 years and I never heard of a Bristol, Kentucky, much
less a Bristol, Kentucky big enough to get mentioned on national TV by none
other than Al Roker. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On
the map it was clear, to me at least, that it was Bristol, Tennessee. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Al
may – or may not – know his weather but he clearly doesn’t know his geography.
Oh well, as he noted on the show, he’s only been doing this job since 1996. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was telling this story to my friend Dick and he said, “Maybe Al’s right. Maybe
it is Bristol, Kentucky. Bristol is supposed to be the most common city name in
the country.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
Dick launched into the story of the song “Bristol Stomp.” Supposedly when the
Dovells recorded the song in 1961 they wanted to make it about a common city, a
city name that was in every state. Sell more records that way. And that’s why
they settled on Bristol.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another
friend who had tagged along said she had always heard that Greeneville was the
most common name, that every state had a Greeneville/Greenville. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For
my two cents I said that I thought Springfield was the most common city name,
that’s why “The Simpsons” used the name. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was off to the internet where I knew my only challenge would be figuring out
the right combination of words to Google. My first try – “most common city name
in u.s.” - turned out to work. It brought up a Wikipedia page titled “List of
the most common U.S. place names.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At
the top of the list with 50 entries was…drum roll…Greenville. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Almost
every state has a Greenville (two don’t because New York has three). Hawaii and
Washington are the only two states without a Greenville. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
thought maybe Bristol would be second. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Franklin
was second. A distant second with 30. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Clinton
was third (29).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
Springfield was fourth (28). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bristol
didn’t make the list. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
there isn’t a Bristol, Kentucky either, Al.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wikipedia
also has a page named “List of places called Bristol.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
are 29 places named Bristol in the U.S. but Bristol didn’t qualify for the
“List of the most common U.S. place names” because five are “unincorporated
communities,” eight are “towns,” three are “townships,” three are “populated
places,” one is a “borough” and one, the Bristol in Nevada, is categorized as a
“ghost town.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bristol,
Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia are listed as separate entities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I wrote
that column ten years ago. In the intervening decade the moles at Wikipedia have
been working to update and improve the list. (Nothing really changed except the
criteria.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So as
of July 14, 2023, here are the most common place names: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Washington
- 91<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Franklin
- 45<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Clinton
- 39<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Arlington
- 38<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Centerville
- 38<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lebanon
- 35<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Georgetown
- 35<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Springfield
- 35<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chester
- 32<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fairview
- 32<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Greenville
- 31<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bristol
- 29<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dayton
- 28<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dover
- 28</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-37590475164157241362023-06-10T09:26:00.002-04:002023-06-10T16:22:27.132-04:00A High School Prank on the Newspaper<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3CDLDFyWdDn9ItjtCtVe9aE-22cVwrRArauvZzNmiA8OUQyTlxT2xDMOxbDQIwXkYeHBpQ7K6oBcTJ8UI38NFeoXfnfXx6k_QfUTl8GsJO7QJYiXRs4ZGHOYPEybbovMADSAhtT7eK5D8imdzM0vmfchR8Aj9Y_7LHcWwWbXADQOqjBn31U/s5227/Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Jun_29__1958_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3631" data-original-width="5227" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3CDLDFyWdDn9ItjtCtVe9aE-22cVwrRArauvZzNmiA8OUQyTlxT2xDMOxbDQIwXkYeHBpQ7K6oBcTJ8UI38NFeoXfnfXx6k_QfUTl8GsJO7QJYiXRs4ZGHOYPEybbovMADSAhtT7eK5D8imdzM0vmfchR8Aj9Y_7LHcWwWbXADQOqjBn31U/s320/Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Jun_29__1958_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Don’t
try this on your hometown newspaper. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
worked once but it won’t work again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Barry
Merrill says it was the summer of 1958, shortly before he headed off to start
college at Notre Dame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I
wrote up a false wedding announcement for my friend Bill Vines - William Dorsey
Vines, now a Knoxville lawyer - to ‘Juanita Marie Peterson.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Juanita”
was actually Barry’s friend John Peterson (name changed by request of
“Juanita”). Barry says he delivered the typed notice to the Wedding desk while
that clerk was at lunch. “Intentionally.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
had the correct address and info for Bill Vines’ parents, but “Juanita’s”
parents were too well known so he substituted another Peterson in Orebank. He
even made Bill Vines a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. “We were all
active in ham radio.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Barry
didn’t have to wait long for his prank to make print. “The announcement was on
the front page of the Sunday paper, as I wrote it, verbatim. Monday morning,
I'm taking typing in summer school, having graduated already, when two of
Kingsport's finest walk into class, ask the teacher something, and she points to
me. They escort me out of school - no Miranda rights back then! - and drive me
downtown, saying absolutely nothing.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Barry
says he wasn’t worried although there were perhaps other escapades that
might have been the cause of his arrest. “I'm assuming I'm going to be taken to
the Police Station in the old library. But when they turned left to take me to
the newspaper, I knew this was not a real bust. They delivered me to the
Editor's office. He thought my purpose was to embarrass the paper and threatened
me with jail time for ‘Impersonating a Military Personnel.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
the end Barry says the Times News editor relented when he realized it was not
directed at the paper but just a prank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
come Tuesday morning, “There was a disclaimer that ‘William Dorsey Vines is
not, and has not been married. And William Dorsey Vines is not, and has not
been in the U.S. Army.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Barry
says, try as he might, “I could never get John Peterson to ask them to state
‘Juanita Marie Peterson is not, and has not been a woman.’” </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;">We Are Not Amused</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></b></div><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5uwmZAzvSTur4x9eossFIKd9JpB19WlXeOvZ0QKl5enAHYOTE4zv6KAu5OHw65jn8q5pf-xPNaptAQRlsdUBj_cy6x5IsafobSPsKGpmkoMZ-NAsciKN0lGxA967sYTr19Kfgeuvh8o0hOBeBSqXXJ7qoBiChX8CS1qoQcomBqvlK5nu3u4/s5887/Kingsport_News_Fri__Jul_4__1958_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5887" data-original-width="3356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5uwmZAzvSTur4x9eossFIKd9JpB19WlXeOvZ0QKl5enAHYOTE4zv6KAu5OHw65jn8q5pf-xPNaptAQRlsdUBj_cy6x5IsafobSPsKGpmkoMZ-NAsciKN0lGxA967sYTr19Kfgeuvh8o0hOBeBSqXXJ7qoBiChX8CS1qoQcomBqvlK5nu3u4/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Jul_4__1958_.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><br /></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">The publisher at the time was C.P. Edwards Jr. The general manager was Ben Haden. W.J. McAuliffe was Editor of the Editorial Page. Ellis Binkley was Head of the News Department. </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">I knew Bink. He had a sense of humor. I don't think Mac would have been involved in a wedding announcement. I guess the editor who was not amused was either Ben Hadon, who later became a TV preacher, or C.P. Edwards. </span></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-19877696601375643722023-05-12T12:57:00.000-04:002023-05-12T12:57:04.637-04:00Hey A I - Write Me A Song<p style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A I Country</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Artificial Intelligence Finishes a Country Song I Wrote As a Goof One Summer in College</span></b></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometime during the summer of ’67 Rod Irvin and I
decided we wanted to write a country song. We wrote one stanza and the chorus
before moving on to other adventures. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’d forgotten all about that long ago composition
until I started reading about artificial intelligence – AI – and how it was
going to affect all forms of human endeavors, most particularly homework and the
creative arts. One story said AI could even write a song.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">AI can write a song? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Google had sent me an invitation to try its new
artificial intelligence program, Bard, and a friend had provided a link to a
different AI platform, Perplexity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I couldn’t think of anything I wanted artificially intellectualized
until I remembered that long ago country murder ballad. Rod and I had never
even bothered to title it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I asked Bard and Perplexity to each finish the song. Two
different AI systems, two different outcomes. Bard seemed to strain with the
assignment and produced a less than satisfactory result. But Perplexity churned
out a more than passable composition. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When I sent the Perplexity song to a friend, he wrote
back, “Country music lyricists should be very nervous ...”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is our song, with a title even:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">“A Tragedy in the Holston”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sung to the tune of “Oh, Susanna”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(Our original stanza and chorus are italicized.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We threw her in the Holston in a Weaver's burlap sack,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We watched her as she floated 'way, she's never coming
back.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through
Tennessee,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me
free.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now I'm standing on the river bank, watching the water
flow,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thinking 'bout the love I lost, and how I let her go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But the Holston took my pain away, and washed away my
tears,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And though I'll never see her again, I'll always hold
her dear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The burlap sack is all that's left, a memory of our
love,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 48px;">And though it's just an empty bag, it fits me like a glove.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through
Tennessee,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me
free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">For in that sack I placed my heart, and let the river
take it all,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And though I'm standing here alone, I feel her spirit
call.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So let the Holston flow on by, and take my love away,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 48px;">For though she's gone, she'll always be with me, every night and day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through
Tennessee,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me
free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And though I'll never hold her close, or feel her
gentle touch,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know that she's still out there, and I love her oh
so much.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through
Tennessee,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me
free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">© 2023 by Vince Staten, Rod Irvin, Art A. Fishel, N.
Tella Gentz.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here’s the Google Bard version:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We threw her in the Holston in a Weaver's burlap sack,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">We watched her as she floated 'way, she's never coming
back.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Oh the Holston is a wide river, she flows through
Tennessee,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I put my love in a burlap sack and the Holston set me
free.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know what I did was wrong,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I couldn't take it anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She was always hurting me,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I just couldn't take it anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So I put her in the burlap sack,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I threw her in the Holston.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I watched her float away,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I knew that I would never see her again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I'm not sorry,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Because I'm finally free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm free from her pain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I'm free from her control.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm free to live my life,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The way I want to live it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm free to be happy,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I'm free to love again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So thank you, Holston,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For setting me free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can go to this website and take Perplexity for a
spin:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">perplexity.ai<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(Copy this address into your browser.)</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Type you request in the </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">box labeled New Thread.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’ve asked it to write stories about friends. The compositions
come back riddled with errors. AI jumps to a lot of conclusions that aren’t
backed by facts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The address for Bard is bard.google.com.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 4.5pt; text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-69453795270759781212023-04-13T10:11:00.000-04:002023-04-13T10:11:14.514-04:00What We Ate (in the school cafeteria)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvahgMIADKO06gSfo8liZvnHKwQ5mjHN_82soe-BihMXmjwHNrbLWYyLIqE8DdWBl5zJru80lUgazwtXWyn4wfnkdO4DITTcTdzCK8vzLafLnCshHsK6Wb3BdmQ97kjBY3uf-bbtFg3MDNM8UAOV_mdqwauTgADduSApGZTbrqqKEDztoPrg0/s972/School%20cafeteria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="972" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvahgMIADKO06gSfo8liZvnHKwQ5mjHN_82soe-BihMXmjwHNrbLWYyLIqE8DdWBl5zJru80lUgazwtXWyn4wfnkdO4DITTcTdzCK8vzLafLnCshHsK6Wb3BdmQ97kjBY3uf-bbtFg3MDNM8UAOV_mdqwauTgADduSApGZTbrqqKEDztoPrg0/s320/School%20cafeteria.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Did
You Walk To School…Or Take Your Lunch?</span></b></span></b></div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
first heard that silly little question in sixth grade from my best friend Rod
Irvin (who also told me, “30 days hath September, April, June and November, all
the rest have 31, except my grandmother and she drives a Buick).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was funny because, well, I was eleven years old; and also because it twists the
natural second half, which should be “or ride the bus.” It also flips the
script on the second half of the sentence, which should follow “Did you buy
your lunch….”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
it came to lunch, I did both. Some years I bought from the cafeteria, other
years I packed. And one year in grade school, I went out for lunch! At Johnson
Elementary, if you had a note from your parents, you could actually leave the
school yard and walk over to the Rainbow Grill, next to Oakwood Market, for
your daily hot dog fix. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even
when I brought a sack lunch from home, I still had to go through the cafeteria
line to get milk: 2 cents for a half pint when I was in grade school in the
fifties. Lunches were 25 cents. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My mother
packed a variety of things for me to eat over the years but there was always a
sandwich – peanut butter and jelly or pimento cheese – a banana or apple, a
nickel bag of chips and some sweet treat she had made. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
high school that sweet treat was frequently my mother’s mystery bar, a blonde
brownie dusted with powdered sugar. And most days I would trade the mystery bar
to Toni McClellan for something her mother had packed, usually a packaged snack
like the Garden Basket sold, maybe even a Twinkie! (For my 65<sup>th</sup>
birthday Toni gave me a framed copy of my mother’s Mystery Bars recipe!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
when I bought lunch, what did I get? I couldn’t remember so I looked up the old
School Lunch Menus that the Kingsport Times-News published every week. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7aZ5AO8fBZhRN6vgwsRFNAZARWEATRc2dTRnKCGzqf0dOWo3RBYqXPHbN5NAFHfyMQwG9GUKJSRNUA771SGPSmMUee9wWuw1-pWg6FvyN0MSH-r6Zkp3CmbiquyFN1ehQaGPnu5R9qJ3Sl3OOQ8iiQN9BkvKzeZhGpZ2Gw1k6W04nn6TO20/s697/Boys%20in%20school%20cafeteria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="697" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7aZ5AO8fBZhRN6vgwsRFNAZARWEATRc2dTRnKCGzqf0dOWo3RBYqXPHbN5NAFHfyMQwG9GUKJSRNUA771SGPSmMUee9wWuw1-pWg6FvyN0MSH-r6Zkp3CmbiquyFN1ehQaGPnu5R9qJ3Sl3OOQ8iiQN9BkvKzeZhGpZ2Gw1k6W04nn6TO20/s320/Boys%20in%20school%20cafeteria.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">What
We Ate<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
earliest School Menu I could find was from April 16, 1950:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“A
county-wide menu for this week in Sullivan County school lunchrooms was
released Saturday by Mrs. Francis Sanders, county lunchroom supervisor.
Day-to-day menus are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Monday<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Black-eyed
peas, steamed potato, butter, tomato cup, corn muffin, peach halves, 1⁄2 pint
milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Tuesday<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Turnip
greens, scrambled egg sandwich with diced pickle, baked sweet potato, bread and
butter sandwich, banana pudding, 1⁄2 pint milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Wednesday<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Beef
stew with vegetables, toasted cheese sandwich, lettuce and sliced egg salad,
peach half in jello, 1⁄2 pint milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Thursday<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pinto
beans, buttered spinach, stewed tomatoes and corn, biscuit, butter, plain cake
with apple sauce, 1⁄2 pint milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Friday<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Meat
loaf with tomato sauce, boiled potato, creamed peas, hot roll, butter, boiled
custard, peanut butter cookie, 1⁄2 pint milk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
strike me today: It looks like it was Wednesday before we got any meat on our
plates. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
don’t remember ever eating a scrambled-egg sandwich and don’t hope to ever eat
one. Nor did I ever have a bread and butter sandwich. That sounds like prison
food.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But we
got plenty of vegetables, especially potatoes, and plenty of fruits but only
beef stew on Wednesday and meat loaf on Friday when it came to meats. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgGqRoOYzy_sPHn8drRcahrQo4gsICpQ5BBS-hJQCmHXelVchknxdIZOzTCiCLqe6sTfwyB51OVn3g8838COZNEIldynr0ZjzhFK1fa1ZlhyJwbM6HvO-6pyOAC9JdTr_6Cs0V25KJo9kzyTmrkgHOOXHpqgfsyaPkGk9xNui7o-aEkvCp1U/s7773/School%20lunch%20art%20-%20%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Aug_21__1938_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7773" data-original-width="5326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgGqRoOYzy_sPHn8drRcahrQo4gsICpQ5BBS-hJQCmHXelVchknxdIZOzTCiCLqe6sTfwyB51OVn3g8838COZNEIldynr0ZjzhFK1fa1ZlhyJwbM6HvO-6pyOAC9JdTr_6Cs0V25KJo9kzyTmrkgHOOXHpqgfsyaPkGk9xNui7o-aEkvCp1U/s320/School%20lunch%20art%20-%20%20Kingsport_Times_Sun__Aug_21__1938_.jpg" width="219" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jumping
ahead to Jan. 18, 1959:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">City
school menus, according to Mrs. Josephine Pratt, city dietician, are as
follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Monday</i>: spaghetti and meat balls, glazed carrots, green
beans. cole slaw, whole wheat muffins, peanut butter cookie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Tuesday</i>: macaroni and cheese, frozen greens, corn pudding,
buttered turnips, corn muffins, pine- apple upside down cake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Wednesday</i>: meat loaf, mashed potatoes, English peas,
combination salad, hot rolls, chocolate pudding.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Thursday</i>: beans, oven-browned potatoes, boiled cabbage, cake
with caramel sauce.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Friday</i>: baked fish with tomato sauce, au gratin potatoes,
lima beans, carrot sticks, cornbread, fruit jello, cookie,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ah,
in 1959 with the addition of spaghetti and meatballs to the menu, we had meat
on three days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These
seem to be more robust meals with three vegetables every day. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also
fish on Fridays makes its debut. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qM3wcIuif-19oVOOXqrhK6y-Rc7Eka5ul_aUGYAukWmqhB9w2_GMEN8usBH13uwMhM2tltgO-yFnRY--0VlPPa6o6PmNKRVyCLmcC1tR4CjHE1fmcf-dBtQiQuHKohjf5D1crEK_2XhguizbI6W_0GhdVgk-tOHO1kzvrcxa8BxBO4jHyQA/s692/School%20lunch%20line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="692" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qM3wcIuif-19oVOOXqrhK6y-Rc7Eka5ul_aUGYAukWmqhB9w2_GMEN8usBH13uwMhM2tltgO-yFnRY--0VlPPa6o6PmNKRVyCLmcC1tR4CjHE1fmcf-dBtQiQuHKohjf5D1crEK_2XhguizbI6W_0GhdVgk-tOHO1kzvrcxa8BxBO4jHyQA/s320/School%20lunch%20line.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jumping
ahead another decade to October 10, 1971:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monday:
Country fried steak, buttered peas, orange juice, fluffy potatoes, biscuit,
jelly, apricot gooey cake, milk and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tuesday:
Hot dog, carrot and cabbage slaw, navy beans, finger roll, chocolate covered
raisins, milk and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wednesday:
Pizza, tossed salad, green beans, applesauce, toasted loaf bread, brownie, milk
and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thursday:
Turkey and dressing with gravy, broccoli spears, potato salad with egg, whole
wheat roll, blueberry teacake, milk and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Friday:
Fish and chips, molded grapefruit salad, French fries, corn muffin, pineapple
layer cookie bars, milk and butter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pizza?
Hot dogs? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
cafeteria staff was angling towards diner food. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For
one last menu, let’s take the cafeteria time machine ahead twenty years (or
back thirty years from today) to Dec. 13, 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">DOBYNS-BENNETT
HIGH SCHOOL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monday:
Chicken nuggets or pizza; select two: California vegetables, whipped potatoes,
cole slaw, assorted fruits, rolls, prime time pizza.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tuesday:
Chili beans or hot dog/chili/onions; select two: vegetables/dip, potato rounds,
cole slaw, orange wedges, cornbread, breaded chicken sandwich.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wednesday:
Submarine sandwich/lettuce/pickles or grilled chicken sandwich/lettuce/pickles;
select two: French fries, potato soup, apple sticks, jello/pineapple and pears,
rolls, foot-long hot dog.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thursday:
Turkey/dressing/gravy; select two: green beans, sweet potatoes, cole slaw,
fruit salads, rolls, grilled chicken sandwich.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Friday:
Hamburger/lettuce/ pickles or pizza; select two: French fries, corn niblets,
tossed salad, assorted fruits, rolls, double-decker cheeseburger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
cafeteria is now competing with fast food joints: chicken nuggets, pizza, subs,
double-decker cheeseburger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Did
the food get better or did the cafeteria marketing department just get better
at writing food descriptions?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMN1LA7jI5YLmi9tEXiwRyuZlaue8ziAGipJmVXRLRRbKPee6gXOiZHgbNA8BcWcgG5cnqegTimcgfprhU9lCG9ssdpm6_ye8Gr9oMLjwz6Ut2aveL1AKphqhi1qOMy-PtA2h2tLGGontHhDYK82vhRIlEg6vL-33xAx516EutosXup_SWpw/s1000/Women%20in%20prison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="1000" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMN1LA7jI5YLmi9tEXiwRyuZlaue8ziAGipJmVXRLRRbKPee6gXOiZHgbNA8BcWcgG5cnqegTimcgfprhU9lCG9ssdpm6_ye8Gr9oMLjwz6Ut2aveL1AKphqhi1qOMy-PtA2h2tLGGontHhDYK82vhRIlEg6vL-33xAx516EutosXup_SWpw/s320/Women%20in%20prison.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
would be remiss if I didn’t compare our cafeteria food to what we compared it
to when we were in school: Prison food.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes,
I found a couple of prison menus from then. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Prison
menus were not easy to find.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
earliest I could find was a 1948 menu for the Kingsport City Jail:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
daily menu served to the prisoners included bacon or baloney, bread and water
for breakfast, and bread, beans, potatoes, and water for lunch. No supper is
served unless the prisoners are working.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bread
and water? Definitely prison food.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
believe our school lunches were better. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
next local jail menu I could find came from 1990 after prisoners staged a
hunger strike at the county jail over what they called a “deficient” menu:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“On
most days, breakfast consists of biscuits and gravy, jelly or apple butter and
coffee. Eggs are served two days a week, and Sunday breakfast is listed as
sausage and eggs, pancakes and syrup, orange juice and coffee. In addition to
the standard breakfast fare, oatmeal is offered on request three days a week. The
noon meal lists a sandwich, pork and beans, mixed fruit and coffee or Kool-Aid.
Evening meals consist of a meat, at least two vegetables, biscuits or corn
bread, milk and coffee, with dessert five days each week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“’I'm
sorry they're unhappy with the menu,’ said Sheriff Keith Carr, ‘I'm sorry
they're unhappy with the decor, but one sure way to avoid that unhappiness is
to obey the law.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcb3J_ZORs_fL_kvsuJ-ppj0B75rLjoK7UN9nFUDZz9wusDc5TO56-wCXC8SkKHCQ9l2do5rQYrzv8BKQC4rsWLaSXl2k6xEY_UfOvFYk5dmGym4QyeZj-rZi_jLOuF_g6vgZPkEqdtZdm7Dpgozcznlv5jdAluPFXI0LobFWHDOkulXeXns/s4229/Danny%20Harrison%201992%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Apr_12__1992_-%20serving%2026%20year%20sentence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4229" data-original-width="4038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcb3J_ZORs_fL_kvsuJ-ppj0B75rLjoK7UN9nFUDZz9wusDc5TO56-wCXC8SkKHCQ9l2do5rQYrzv8BKQC4rsWLaSXl2k6xEY_UfOvFYk5dmGym4QyeZj-rZi_jLOuF_g6vgZPkEqdtZdm7Dpgozcznlv5jdAluPFXI0LobFWHDOkulXeXns/s320/Danny%20Harrison%201992%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Apr_12__1992_-%20serving%2026%20year%20sentence.jpg" width="306" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dana Harrison in 1992, 23 years into a 65-year sentence for robbery.</span></i></div></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
finally, for readers who remember the Kingsport jail’s most famous regular
guests, the Harrison twins, Dana and Danny, this story about Dana and prison
food from 1968:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“One
of the prisoners at Kingsport city jail apparently got carried away while he
was eating lunch Monday and swallowed a spoon. Dana Harrison, 20, of Kingsport,
was listed in ‘fairly good’ condition in Holston Valley Community Hospital
Tuesday night, and officials were uncertain whether surgery would be necessary
to remove the spoon. Harrison had been confined in jail since the weekend when
he was arrested for possessing whisky and driving without an operator's
license. Harrison was fined on the whisky charge in city court Monday, and the
other charge was dismissed. Officers arrested Harrison after he struck four
autos on Roller Street and then ran from the scene on foot. What was served for
lunch that enthused Harrison so much? ‘I don't know what it was,’ was one
officer's reply, ‘but it was probably followed by castor oil.’”</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-14688407790223838322023-03-30T14:13:00.000-04:002023-03-30T14:13:05.120-04:00What Was the First Record You Ever Bought?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ1EAFN4lRuj637fv0MuNWxJ87pPnYEq8xGA0LBI_I8KpYJ_28hZ5w2IWyiipG3OInFwVGTA_46FdkETMZHQcoSbwu1b4Y9LE0yJgtEslO4Eb6XMKufeX6KvgT6g2L0MLp-o96qMTNsbJDk67cMyZK9n8DyKL9hTRKnNTVHkKneTzchQSWuSc/s273/paths%20of%20paradise%20label.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="273" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ1EAFN4lRuj637fv0MuNWxJ87pPnYEq8xGA0LBI_I8KpYJ_28hZ5w2IWyiipG3OInFwVGTA_46FdkETMZHQcoSbwu1b4Y9LE0yJgtEslO4Eb6XMKufeX6KvgT6g2L0MLp-o96qMTNsbJDk67cMyZK9n8DyKL9hTRKnNTVHkKneTzchQSWuSc/s1600/paths%20of%20paradise%20label.JPG" width="273" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The
First Record I Ever Bought<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">On August
12, 2005 – 17 years ago - comedian Dan Aykroyd was the guest on NPR’s “Fresh
Air.” One of the questions Terry Gross asked him was “What was the first record
you ever bought?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I made
a note of his answer, thinking at the time that in the next week or two I might
write a column about it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well
here we are 17 years and seven months later and I’m finally getting around to
writing about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I wrote
in my notes: “He ducked the question, mentioning he bought the Beatles and the Stones
but the first seminal album he bought was ‘East West’ by The Paul Butterfield
Blues Band. He wanted us to think he was cool even as a kid.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I looked
up the album: “East West” came out in 1966 when Dan was 14. That was not the
first record Dan Aykroyd ever bought. I’m close in age to Aykroyd and I bought
my first record when I was seven, not 14. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, belatedly,
that is the topic for today: What was the first record you ever bought? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I think
it’s a great question and apparently others have agreed in the years since
2005. I found dozens of articles online about that very topic. In 2018 – 13 years
after my intended column – BuzzFeed turned it into one of their famous
listicles (list/article) titled “22 People Tell Us the Story Behind the Very
First Album They Ever Bought.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk6YYC0PWIT6I9ylFI2g1kJHPlV8On-XM-tap85rwAJafULeKvWPS-huJ8CXV8lig58nC5xOReKKOlAB471K-_1mTuhQlNsaOLkwlzU93qEY7V1EABJFOjJIqEywW9DBqRXt1fnBsT_mI_BrwGTAka6pEWO1QuFXkp4sVHG_j_6ohDjSOHoA/s8018/Top%2010%20Hits%20-%20Walk%20You%20Home%20-%201956%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Sep_6__1959_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8018" data-original-width="3370" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk6YYC0PWIT6I9ylFI2g1kJHPlV8On-XM-tap85rwAJafULeKvWPS-huJ8CXV8lig58nC5xOReKKOlAB471K-_1mTuhQlNsaOLkwlzU93qEY7V1EABJFOjJIqEywW9DBqRXt1fnBsT_mI_BrwGTAka6pEWO1QuFXkp4sVHG_j_6ohDjSOHoA/s320/Top%2010%20Hits%20-%20Walk%20You%20Home%20-%201956%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Sep_6__1959_.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cash Box Top 10 of Sept. 6, 1959</span></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’ll
tell you the first record I ever bought. I don’t need to impress anyone with my
musical precocity, how cool I was. I wasn’t precocious and I wasn’t cool. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The First
Record I Ever Bought was Johnnie Ray’s “Paths of Paradise,” Columbia #40435,
released in February 1955.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I still
have it. It’s chipped on one edge but still playable. If you have a turntable
that will play 78s, which I don’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My recollection
is that I saw Johnnie Ray perform the song on “General Electric Theater” in
early 1955. After the show, I asked my father if he would buy me the record and
he went to McCrory’s downtown during his lunch hour and bought the 78 for 89
cents (that’s what 78s sold for in 1955). He and my mother already had a stack
of 78s, mostly big band and country. “Paths of Paradise” was more a weeper. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks
to the exposure on “G.E. Theatre,” “Paths of Paradise” entered the CASH BOX chart
of Top 50 Best-Selling Singles on February 19, 1955 at number 50.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I
helped make it a best-selling single.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For me
that began a long history of buying records. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For Christmas
that year I got a 45 rpm record player, a device about the size of a lunchbox
with a big fat spindle in the middle that matched that big fat hole in the
center of a 45 record. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And I
began collecting 45s. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SxPZ8rZapznyB-j44rhWYbX5GgbtAYrFnlo8U-e7R4KrQAEfwuYc7mmylCL4bY3xNwBFgcptIbNJCFuohDhJKjKhsV973Bsj1_OcZbRoJPAOF5IHEMl7IHDTpZ5AdYXJVdsEuir3vV9cQYm3DCEBsTSI8y_KuQIYsChdAujwqLma1rfRNEM/s5088/Top%20Hit%20Records%20Nov.%201956%20-%20Daily_Press_Fri__Nov_23__1956_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4613" data-original-width="5088" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6SxPZ8rZapznyB-j44rhWYbX5GgbtAYrFnlo8U-e7R4KrQAEfwuYc7mmylCL4bY3xNwBFgcptIbNJCFuohDhJKjKhsV973Bsj1_OcZbRoJPAOF5IHEMl7IHDTpZ5AdYXJVdsEuir3vV9cQYm3DCEBsTSI8y_KuQIYsChdAujwqLma1rfRNEM/s320/Top%20Hit%20Records%20Nov.%201956%20-%20Daily_Press_Fri__Nov_23__1956_.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Top Hits of Nov. 23, 1956</span></i></i></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I soon
acquired a green metal box with dividers and an index sheet to list 60 records.
I was more organized as a kid than I am today. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
45 record collection might be called - charitably - eclectic. Which is a nice
way of saying there’s some good stuff and there’s some bad stuff and there’s
some stuff no one has heard of since it was released in fifties. In that last
category I’m thinking in particular of a dreadful spoof titled “Cholley-Oop,”
recorded by the Hong Kong White Sox for the Trans-World label, as an answer to
the Hollywood Argyle’s hit “Alley-Oop.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
have no idea why I bought that record.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQZuEHjP3yCNr4bGTMyaqPs13TQRW0ReuarX3XpjPvL3sKY0jasx4KH8QDrBD26d-kqSeKZ-VK9BCwX_fQrShQ6m15LWyqw0tX-jggBHa2m50llh8r-WvLpuLmYhgQHJV7rejy0RNjMfW5rO86Aqd4Xk-qtbdBoK_2WooWsgnT_2upLGx270/s6183/Gilbert%20Youth%20Research%20Company%20-%20The_Columbian_Thu__Jul_3__1958_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6183" data-original-width="6042" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpQZuEHjP3yCNr4bGTMyaqPs13TQRW0ReuarX3XpjPvL3sKY0jasx4KH8QDrBD26d-kqSeKZ-VK9BCwX_fQrShQ6m15LWyqw0tX-jggBHa2m50llh8r-WvLpuLmYhgQHJV7rejy0RNjMfW5rO86Aqd4Xk-qtbdBoK_2WooWsgnT_2upLGx270/s320/Gilbert%20Youth%20Research%20Company%20-%20The_Columbian_Thu__Jul_3__1958_.jpg" width="313" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Gilbert Youth Research Poll of Top Hits for July 3, 1958</i></div></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first
record in my 45 box – number one on the hand-written index sheet - was an
Atlantic label hit: “Jim Dandy” by Lavern Baker, which was released in Feb.
1957. Then there was “Little Darling” by the Diamonds, “Poor Little Fool” by
Ricky Nelson, “Baby Talk” by Jan and Dean. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
we hit the bad stuff. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of
my sixty 45s a good 20 of them are on the Promenade label. There’s a reason
most people have never heard of the Promenade label. They put out crap. They
took the hits of the day - say “Till I Kissed You” by the Everly Brothers - and
covered them by artists you’ve never heard of. They’d pile six hits on a 45,
three on a side, and dumb people like me would buy them, thinking I was getting
a real deal. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Six
hits for a dollar instead of one hit and a B-side for a dollar. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then
I’d get them home, play them, hate them, never play them again, and buy another
Promenade cover 45 the next time I had saved up a dollar. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On
my Promenade 45, “There Goes My Baby” isn’t by the Drifters but by the Glitters.
“Sleepwalk” was by Jackie & Johnny not Santo & Johnny. And “The Twist”
was recorded not by Chubby Checker but by Tubby Chess.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
reality there was no Tubby Chess. It was studio musicians who recorded the
track. The company later released the same record under the name Robbie Robber
and the Hi-Jackers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If I
had bought Danny and the Juniors’ “At the Hop” on the ABC-Paramount label and
it was in pristine shape, I could sell it on eBay today for $1,000 (plus $5
shipping). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
no, I bought the Promenade label version of “At the Hop” by the Wright
Brothers. I found a guy on the Internet who also has a copy of “At the Hop” by
the Wright Brothers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He’s
giving it away.</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJoPCki-6TgPFqFE02ztpTpU-nosTDDBXKhXBTG1kpv4DyECxu0SASWA3p-op2-udSeyO0rS0n0EjhohrT9n3jWDcRLdei7FXtkRJs-4P8bSO0xI6eTErPPIXEQBA-EniUYu4LJDrl_CTCz_YfF7N3p5zXMuZw3XTpQ6EXkZXlhhCt8zbmKc/s7475/Joseph's%20records%20-%20Little%20Darlin'%20-%201957%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Fri__Mar_8__1957_%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7475" data-original-width="2053" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJoPCki-6TgPFqFE02ztpTpU-nosTDDBXKhXBTG1kpv4DyECxu0SASWA3p-op2-udSeyO0rS0n0EjhohrT9n3jWDcRLdei7FXtkRJs-4P8bSO0xI6eTErPPIXEQBA-EniUYu4LJDrl_CTCz_YfF7N3p5zXMuZw3XTpQ6EXkZXlhhCt8zbmKc/s320/Joseph's%20records%20-%20Little%20Darlin'%20-%201957%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Fri__Mar_8__1957_%20(1).jpg" width="88" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Joseph's Music Center Latest Record Hits of March 8, 1957</i></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-26059203328610215912023-03-15T10:01:00.001-04:002023-03-15T14:32:53.863-04:00Kingsport Wins Back to Back State Championships<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNi4LE-wHUGlj_b8Cx30_2eh7s7fmq6jH4-j8pf3pOCSjsjvvwQLGbI87DDxo3iD1OuxAcJQBFeUwvXRNTZQpqRQUcFca4fz-w-0hfGiR8SC5aXGSltLgVzBHR85ftyl2G-a_lanM_oOOMsH-3SxJpDmrNBg6IIbNBTGnRgGPZk54FMbvzlg/s1139/1946%20State%20Champs%20-%20Douglass%20from%20The%20Cherokee%201946.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1139" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNi4LE-wHUGlj_b8Cx30_2eh7s7fmq6jH4-j8pf3pOCSjsjvvwQLGbI87DDxo3iD1OuxAcJQBFeUwvXRNTZQpqRQUcFca4fz-w-0hfGiR8SC5aXGSltLgVzBHR85ftyl2G-a_lanM_oOOMsH-3SxJpDmrNBg6IIbNBTGnRgGPZk54FMbvzlg/s320/1946%20State%20Champs%20-%20Douglass%20from%20The%20Cherokee%201946.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>1946
DOUGLASS HIGH CHAMPIONS </b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The
players are, left to right, front row, Bobbie Joe Johnson, Rush Allen, Weldon
Brown, Johnny Johnson, Thomas Bonds. Back row: Ralph Banner, Vernell Allen,
Grant Banner, Bobby Graves and Coach C. C. Kizer. (From the 1946 Cherokee, local Kingsport sports magazine.)</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
talk in high school basketball circles in Tennessee this week is: Can Kingsport
do something it has never done, win back-to-back state championships?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Which
is based on a false premise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If
you ask - Can Dobyns-Bennett do something it has never done, win back-to-back
state basketball <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>championships – then
the question is correct. Dobyns-Bennett has never won back-to-back state high
school basketball championships. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
Kingsport? Kingsport did it before. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1945 Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett won the state tournament.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
in 1946 Kingsport Douglass, the city’s black high school, won the state
tournament. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
the nineteen forties Kingsport had two high schools and they were only five
blocks apart. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Both
fielded championship-caliber athletic teams. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1945 one won the Tennessee State basketball championship. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1946 the other won the Tennessee State basketball championship. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
they never played each other. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One
was Dobyns-Bennett on Wateree.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
other was Douglass, five blocks away on Walnut (now East Sevier).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
didn’t play each other because it was the era of segregation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
would be a decade before Brown vs. Board of Education and 20 years before the
walls of segregation in Kingsport came completely down. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Douglass,
Kingsport’s black school, closed in 1966.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was reminded of this dichotomy last year when Dobyns-Bennett defeated
Knoxville’s Bearden High for the boys’ state basketball championship. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
TV announcers kept referring to Kingsport’s 77-year drought when it came to
state basketball championships. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
I wanted to yell at the screen – but I learned long ago it doesn’t do any good
to yell at the TV screen – that it was not a 77-year-drought. It was a 76-year
drought. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was the first week in March 1946. Dobyns-Bennett had just been knocked out of
the regional basketball tournament by Friendsville so the eyes of Kingsport
basketball fans turned to the scrappy bunch from Douglass High.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hearing
into March of 1946, the Big Tiger, as the <i>Kingsport Times</i> called the
Douglass team, was on a roll. The team had won the Appalachian tournament in
Bristol and the Regional tournament in Knoxville and was heading to Nashville
to take on Fayette County Training School in the first round of the Tennessee
Negro High School championship.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Tigers were led by Vernell Allen, nephew of Douglass principal Van Dobbins, and
a recent arrival in Kingsport. Vernell’s father had died the previous summer
and Vernell, his mother and his two sisters came to Kingsport to live with the
Dobbins family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
Douglass squad was not a big team. Allen was only 5’7”; his running mate at
guard, Wendell Brown, was also 5’7”. The tallest starter was center Wallace
Blye at an even 6 feet; forward Dearmond Blye, Wallace’s brother, was 5’8” and the
other forward, Andy Watterson, was 5’10”. The team had height on the bench in
6’5” Bobby Graves and 6’3” Grant Banner but only Banner got many minutes.
(Bobby Graves played end and fullback on the football team; at 6-5 and 227 he
had intriguing size but he was only 14 when the 1946 basketball season started.
He would go on to star on Douglass’s football and basketball teams, leading
them back to the state tournament the next three years.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Douglass coach in 1946 was Charles “C.C.” Kinzer, a strict disciplinarian, who
also coached the Douglass football team.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqeGf1n3W6W5EwlLM8ZxIGuys6va_nw5FdpguK-O1DCRacypD_d00deKy8EMEfIh1nlQ83r6QFSYIed731yNs6R_7xMQ8GzxQtrPtVIHswGQEqgxclkRSo7f320IkXfcd_1bskZOFZsgSMjVuzP9bKrhFXs01i8tSQRl_P6uHOiDI8gaShkE/s368/1946%20Douglass%20team%20reunion%20-Kingsport_Times_News_Wed__Mar_17__1982_.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="368" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqeGf1n3W6W5EwlLM8ZxIGuys6va_nw5FdpguK-O1DCRacypD_d00deKy8EMEfIh1nlQ83r6QFSYIed731yNs6R_7xMQ8GzxQtrPtVIHswGQEqgxclkRSo7f320IkXfcd_1bskZOFZsgSMjVuzP9bKrhFXs01i8tSQRl_P6uHOiDI8gaShkE/s320/1946%20Douglass%20team%20reunion%20-Kingsport_Times_News_Wed__Mar_17__1982_.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">1982
photo front Andy Watterson and Grant Banner, back Dearmond Blye and Bobby Joe
Johnson.</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At a
1982 reunion of that championship squad, reserve guard Bobby Joe Johnson
remembered, “Coach Kizer demanded perfection.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thomas
Bond, a freshman reserve on the state championship team, said Coach Kizer
conducted practices and coached games the same way he taught class. “Coach
Kizer carried a paddle with him. He would put the wood to any player during a
game if his performance wasn’t up to par. He didn’t wait to do it in the
dressing room. He used that board on players right there in front of the crowd.
There was no clowning around; our team was serious-minded every time we went
out to play.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Johnson,
who was quarterback on the football team, added, “One night we were leading a
team from Virginia, 50-6, at halftime - he took us to the dressing room and
paddled a bunch of us. He said we should’ve had 70 points on the scoreboard.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1946
was before the jump shot and Douglass scored mostly on layups and set shots.
But the Tigers did fast-break at every opportunity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Tigers’ home gym was compact – they called it a “bandbox” - and an aggressive
full-court press was their favorite weapon. “The gym had a low ceiling,” said
Bobby Joe Johnson, “and was hard for opponents to adjust to. We didn’t lose
many there.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
the 1946 season they didn’t lose any there. They were 21-5 going into the
conference tournament. It was the newly formed Appalachian Regional Athletic
Conference with Slater of Bristol, Tennessee, Douglass of Bristol, Virginia,
Langston of Johnson City, Appalachia of Virginia and Kingsport Douglass with
the regional tournament games played in Slater’s gym. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Vernell
Allen was back in Kingsport in 2010 and he told me how he was immediately
indoctrinated in the Dobbins ethic: “to stay out of trouble, to be a positive
example to the other Douglass students, and to excel at everything thing you
do.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
he did, especially the excel part.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Allen
was named to the All-State team and was also named the tournament’s Most
Valuable Player. He had averaged 12 points a game over the season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
1946 Douglass team didn’t excel at first that season. It had been slow to jell,
probably due to integrating a new player – Allen – into an established squad.
They lost four of their first ten games and certainly didn’t look like a
district champ, much less a contender for a state title.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
team seemed to turn its season around in late January when it got revenge – and
how – for an earlier loss, pounding Bristol (Tennessee) Slater 54-8. That began
a string of 12 wins, including a convincing 45-35 victory over traditional
power Alcoa Hall High. A close loss to Bristol (Virginia) Douglass was followed
by a six-game winning streak.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
the opening round of the state tournament Douglass defeated Fayette County
Training School 37-26. The Big Tiger faced Clarksville Burt in the semifinals,
winning 26-20. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
final was held on March 9, 1946, pairing Kingsport with Woodstock Training
School of Shelby County. Coach Kizer played his starting lineup the entire
game. Douglass led from the opening horn, winning the Tennessee state championship
by a score of 32-26. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wallace
Blye was the leading scorer with 13 points. His brother Dearmond added seven.
Vernell Allen finished with 10 points. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
the Tigers season wasn’t over.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
1946 the athletic director at Tennessee A&I State College – as Tennessee
State was known then - had created the National Negro High School Basketball
Tournament to decide a national champion for all-black schools.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport’s
Douglass was invited to represent the state of Tennessee. The 16-team
tournament included teams from Florida, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky,
Virginia, and the defending champion, Oklahoma City Douglass, which was placed
in the same bracket with the Kingsport squad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport
Douglass Coach Charles “C.C.” Kizer took a ten man squad to Nashville:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Vernell
Allen, Grant Banner, Ralph Banner, DeArmond Blye, Wallace Blye, Wendell Brown,
Bobby Graves, Bobby Joe Johnson, Johnny Johnson and Andy Watterson,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bobby
Joe told me in 2010, “We thought we were good. Till we got to the national
tournament.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
faced St. Louis Vashon High in the first round.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Kingsport Times story told the tale. “The Tigers could not match the
smooth-working St. Louis club, and fell behind early.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
final was 41-17, dropping Douglass into the losers’ bracket, where they faced
the defending national champs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was the same story. Oklahoma City raced out to a big lead and won 34-18.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Two
days later Booker T. Washington of Cushing, Oklahoma defeated Middleton High of
Tampa, Florida 44-40 for the national title.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
the story doesn’t end there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
trip gave Vernell Allen exposure to the Tennessee A&I staff, who offered
him a basketball scholarship. After graduating with a degree in education in
1950, he taught in Shelby County for three years then moved to Michigan to work
on his master’s degree at Wayne State.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
and his sister Augusta were featured in a 1955 Kingsport Times-News story about
distinguished Douglass graduates. “Augusta and Vernell were outstanding
students at Tennessee State. She is now teaching English in Lexington,
Tennessee.” The story noted that while working on his master’s, Vernell had a
“recreational job that pays $3,600 a year.” That was a nice salary in 1955,
especially for a student working on a degree. He received his master’s in
education in 1958 and spent his career as an educator in Detroit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
Kingsport <i>has</i> won back-to-back state championships: one by
Dobyns-Bennett, the other by Douglass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Kingsport
goes for back-to-back titles again on Wednesday March 15 at 12:30 p.m. against
Memphis East. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">UPDATE: There will be no back-to-back this time. Memphis East defeated Dobyns-Bennett 60-51. D-B led 31-28 at the half. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-74681472247639821832023-02-23T16:56:00.002-05:002023-02-23T16:57:59.007-05:00Knee-land or Neigh-land, How Do You Pronounce It?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidCVt-WgFLd2oOsfZFZAzTq3-HAgs8Y6F4xP98Jcw53xatr_ih8GnhOA_AD9vOmMHcbSsU4lbrMuXX51P3hoIddfe7rdK26LRDC6Scrars7zhRI061ruDISSSB1OWieQGVDrVpJsioy_9SV8oaVdK8hpNwGDqUrslgoTo5xmuXMQebCkeK-M/s610/1939%20-%20Ted%20Husing%20interviews%20Neyland%20at%20Orange%20Bowl%20crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidCVt-WgFLd2oOsfZFZAzTq3-HAgs8Y6F4xP98Jcw53xatr_ih8GnhOA_AD9vOmMHcbSsU4lbrMuXX51P3hoIddfe7rdK26LRDC6Scrars7zhRI061ruDISSSB1OWieQGVDrVpJsioy_9SV8oaVdK8hpNwGDqUrslgoTo5xmuXMQebCkeK-M/s320/1939%20-%20Ted%20Husing%20interviews%20Neyland%20at%20Orange%20Bowl%20crop.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Then-Major Robert Neyland interviewed by CBS Radio's Ted "Mile A Minute" Husing at the 1939 Orange Bowl. In 1939 it was pronounced Neigh-land.</span></i><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was
2011, along about the fourth quarter of Tennessee’s game with the University of
Cincinnati, when this text message came in to my phone:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“OK
…is it Nee-land or Nay-land stadium? Just heard two commentators discussing
it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
message was from Jo Zimmerman who was watching the game at home on TV. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
I got home, I checked the game film and sure enough ESPN announcers Mike
Patrick and Craig James were debating the pronunciation of UT’s Stadium and the
nearby Drive. Patrick laughingly suggested that perhaps someone should write a
master’s thesis on the pronunciation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Uh,
no need.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
I told Jo the proper pronunciation and that I had answered the question in a
column several years earlier, she suggested perhaps it was time to update the
column. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
looked it up and I guess it is time to update. It was in 2004 that I addressed
the question of how to pronounce the late football coach’s name, and by
extension, the stadium and the drive named for him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
I was at UT in the early seventies, it was always Nay-land Stadium and Nay-land
Drive and General Nay-land. But when I moved back in Kingsport in 2002, it was
no longer Neigh-land. It was Knee-land.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
happened?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Carol
Francisco once told me she had a relative who played football for the General
and that he was known then as Nay-land. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Where
did the controversy come from? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
it turns out, the coach himself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To
get to the bottom of the controversy back in ‘04, I called the general’s son
Bob in Nashville. (Bob died earlier this week at age 93.) Bob lived and worked in Kingsport for 14 years, from 1975 to
1989, serving as a Clerk and Master in the Kingsport office of Sullivan County
Chancery Court. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
family has always pronounced it Knee-land,” Bob told me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
how where did Nay-land come from? “My dad wasn’t interested, like so many
coaches today, in p.r. It was a different time. He never bothered to correct
people.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So,
according to the coach’s son, when General Neyland began his tenure as UT
football coach in 1926 and people called him Nay-land, he just let it go. And
it stuck. For years and years. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7WMDhQy_7feetPU16vfaWhP2wHEkvu8_pxwI81PuJ15bUlgJSnPW6JWpsGZlh4TU5g5I4xhFuP7jbEy2jSh0sul1YWfMYZTRH90QP5NShALLP3BM1TqxEQv70m6GNuA4i5nAwd4tEG5uY5YJJHwquTl8YfAtRakOcBu8SytAlriNyhve3YM/s1057/1930%20Neyland%20and%20assistants'.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1057" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7WMDhQy_7feetPU16vfaWhP2wHEkvu8_pxwI81PuJ15bUlgJSnPW6JWpsGZlh4TU5g5I4xhFuP7jbEy2jSh0sul1YWfMYZTRH90QP5NShALLP3BM1TqxEQv70m6GNuA4i5nAwd4tEG5uY5YJJHwquTl8YfAtRakOcBu8SytAlriNyhve3YM/s320/1930%20Neyland%20and%20assistants'.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>1930: R.R. Neyland and his (only) two assistant coaches, Col. Paul B. Parker, line coach who was also Director of Athletics, and W.H. Britton, end coach who also coached basket-ball and track. </i></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How
did it get shifted back to the original pronunciation? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob
said that goes back to when long-time Voice of the Vols John Ward was a
fledgling sportscaster. He supposedly asked General Neyland, then the athletic
director, how to pronounce his last name. The General told him that where he
came from, Texas, it was Knee-land. So when Ward landed the coveted UT football
job in 1968, that’s how he said it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
that didn’t sit well with two generations of UT fans who were used to hearing
it pronounced Nay-land. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bob Jr.
said that after protests from countless UT fans, Ward came up with his own
solution to the pronunciation problem. The Vols played in Knee-land Stadium and
to get there, you took Nay-land Drive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPajRZHewgMk6c0vYaQoC36KGQeqES4RYTViDOM4NzY4PoJdo9m6ybA7helVRfhO5qk3nlJFHQLKrlxr9h6fzI8E3Ev7H-CjQdyKygjz9swr-KnZyT3NRilDZlOKvC1BiJ1cYesqd0C5A5GF4PUPn90qmFoL85krdshEsE2KAsJGQp-yhlA4/s935/1938%20-%20Major%20Neyland%20and%20his%20assistants.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="935" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPajRZHewgMk6c0vYaQoC36KGQeqES4RYTViDOM4NzY4PoJdo9m6ybA7helVRfhO5qk3nlJFHQLKrlxr9h6fzI8E3Ev7H-CjQdyKygjz9swr-KnZyT3NRilDZlOKvC1BiJ1cYesqd0C5A5GF4PUPn90qmFoL85krdshEsE2KAsJGQp-yhlA4/s320/1938%20-%20Major%20Neyland%20and%20his%20assistants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><span style="font-family: arial;">1<span style="font-size: x-small;">938 football coach<span>es,</span></span></span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"> Blair B. Gullion, J.H. Barnhill, Major W.H. Britton,
Neyland, Murray Warmuth and Hugh Faust</span></span></i><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
that same 2011 column I also quoted from a <i>Newsweek</i> story about
Apple computer co-founder Steve Jobs and his genius. Among the nuggets in the
article was Jobs’ formula for success, which <i>Newsweek </i>called the Ten
Commandments of Steve. His commandments live up to his sixth mandate: Simplify.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here
are his Ten Commandments:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1.
Go for perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.
Tap the experts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3.
Be ruthless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4.
Shun focus groups.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5.
Never stop studying.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">6. Simplify.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7. Keep
your secrets secret.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">8. Keep
teams small.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">9. Use
more carrot than stick.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">10. Prototype
to the extreme.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was particularly interested in Jobs’ life secrets because I’m a collector of
pearls of wisdom from the mouths of geniuses. Not that they’ve helped me much. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One
of my favorite formulas (Latin teacher/legend Miss Grace Elmore would insist: <i>formulae</i>)
for success comes from oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, who gives this pithy advice in
his autobiography “How to Be Rich:” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Get
up early. Work hard. Find oil.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For
advice on health, I’ve always liked what my Louisville doctor Steve Wheeler
always told me: “The best thing you can do for your health is pick the right
parents.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
for personal associations, I try to follow the advice of that great philosopher
Groucho Marx, who, according to his autobiography, “Groucho and Me,” sent the
following telegram to the Friar's Club of Beverly Hills, where he was a member:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Please
accept my resignation. I don't want to belong to any club that will accept
people like me as a member.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">John
Lennon offered a wry observation about the vagaries of life in his song
“Beautiful Boy:” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Life
is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Apparently
Lennon didn’t come up with that line. He got it from – believe this or not – <i>Readers
Digest</i>. In 1957 the magazine attributed the quote to Allen Saunders, who
wrote the comic strip “Mary Worth.” (<i>New York Post</i> Broadway columnist
Earl Wilson recycled it in a 1963 column.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
when it comes to wry observations Jerry Seinfeld is a master: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“It's
amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just
exactly fits the newspaper.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Whenever
I think someone has misjudged me – or any of my friends – I recall the
assessment of a studio executive, after watching a screen test of Fred Astaire:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Can't
sing. Can't act. Balding. Dances a little.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
when I hear someone praise a person for a performance, job or otherwise, I
think about all the supporting folks who never get the credit they deserve.
Like Fred Astaire’s longtime dance partner Ginger Rogers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was always Fred and Ginger this and Fred and Ginger that, never Ginger and
Fred. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
I think about a line I saw in the comic strip “Frank and Ernest” many, many
years ago:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Remember,
Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high
heels.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another
favorite pearl of wisdom comes from Will Rogers (the actor/newspaper columnist/humorist
not the Mississippi State quarterback):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time
Congress meets.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And finally
this nugget from my son’s high school basketball coach Jeff Griffin:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
best places to coach are at an orphanage or in prison. At an orphanage there
are no parents. At a prison there are no alums.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLHdF3mcEmEcqUZ2CxGxhl9VRBBZam6EYL6yG1cBVVpe3yHg-cXvqcDZKdRnYn5EJdADdFCmE9flKvyiSGG6v_rzdCCqfWL-KeyuNLedi65hItI-ZNhj7QbDZOWZqKYLquT1dCbtJzY86dVtwqvLAhZmb_usHBg1-ws5uSJBepkkmjK32PM8/s1270/1932-%20Tennessee%206,%20Kentucky%206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="1270" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLHdF3mcEmEcqUZ2CxGxhl9VRBBZam6EYL6yG1cBVVpe3yHg-cXvqcDZKdRnYn5EJdADdFCmE9flKvyiSGG6v_rzdCCqfWL-KeyuNLedi65hItI-ZNhj7QbDZOWZqKYLquT1dCbtJzY86dVtwqvLAhZmb_usHBg1-ws5uSJBepkkmjK32PM8/s320/1932-%20Tennessee%206,%20Kentucky%206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>1932: Tennessee 6, Kentucky 6. (I love old ground level photos of football games.)</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -1.25in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-56603114021924798172023-02-14T06:43:00.000-05:002023-02-14T06:43:25.588-05:00Kids Say the Darndest Things ... About Valentine's Day<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>A Kid's Eye View of Valentine's Day</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCjL-1P14djwg1R8MIdKgBVFGen83G6rnKXw1zj_QlHxdiLiagw70qfQUAw-ycBK3_k6_Rua4rglpTWqGwZkc-O6BF0YbOR4yFOPTFjU5JEzNHLtO4HyYnnUx11U9us5L5otLgzrooFGVmAj8_bz5kL4RJBnbGSmoeGiL3cTodLgS__4qdPE/s2305/1976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20cover%20%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%201%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2305" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCjL-1P14djwg1R8MIdKgBVFGen83G6rnKXw1zj_QlHxdiLiagw70qfQUAw-ycBK3_k6_Rua4rglpTWqGwZkc-O6BF0YbOR4yFOPTFjU5JEzNHLtO4HyYnnUx11U9us5L5otLgzrooFGVmAj8_bz5kL4RJBnbGSmoeGiL3cTodLgS__4qdPE/s320/1976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20cover%20%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%201%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_.png" width="223" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Gene
Leach didn't have to do any acting in this Valentine's Day picture. During the
shooting, he kept asking when he could quit. And when he returned to his
Miller-Perry Kindergarten class and the other kids asked where he'd been, he
said, "Getting kissed." His classmate Leslea Peters did the kissing.
Before the picture-taking session started, she explained that she and Gene were
friends and that they even had the same cold.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">In February 1976 I visited Miller-Perry School to talk to kindergartners about Valentine's Day. </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is my story from that visit:</span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Allen
Funt and Art Linkletter never had it so good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
they were sitting around trying to elicit pearls of wit and wisdom from young
minds, they were only dealing with three kids, four maximum.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
when I went to Miller Perry Kindergarten to talk about Valentine's Day with
Mary Jane Hunt's class, I had to deal with 21 kids. All at one time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
original intent was to talk to one kindergarten couple about what it's like to
be young and in love at Valentine's Day. But there was a problem:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RANDY:
My girlfriend is Leeona.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">LEEONA:
He's not my boyfriend. My boyfriend is Ronnie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
I was in love with Chris Ann, but now I like Vickie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ROBERT:
I like Vickie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CHRIS
COLE: Everybody likes Vickie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
seems kindergarten couples are really threesomes and foursomes and all possible
combinations. Society hasn't quite stamped them with its conventions, so
they're perfectly content to love two, three, or ten girlfriends, boyfriends or
both. Little kids want to marry their mommies, daddys, and, yes, heaven forbid,
the Newspaper Man. (Both Lori Taylor. and Mack Ray. told me they wanted to
marry me.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
we started out our round table discussion with the kids Mary Jane thought would
be good talkers. But you can't get little kids to say funny things on demand.
In fact, after my three hours of cross-examining, I'm beginning to wonder how
many miles of film Allen Funt has to throw away to get those two or three
minutes of cuties he shows on "Candid Camera."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
we started, the kids were primed to talk into a tape recorder. But my tape
recorder picked this day to exhaust its batteries: Sure, they could still talk
into a tape recorder. But nothing came back out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With
no tape recorder for a novelty and no puppy love couple like I'd planned on, I
had to fall back on my reporting background. But I'd never interviewed a
five-year-old kid before.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAxg7q4GjGtcs9Ly7GHvp0QLIczmwqhnr5W1aH-7nq05Wyxj1_ahr75Irhyugo_YOXlCcvvYFHZY-MYsDXJid2ZLoZbVdI-Ip2vsnxX2HvEQrNksAJmH7vFaZGAuL8FrYAeqMRQiES3RhQtef0qKa7SAlm3lYtxdATA89H6l7_e-wZeXK-ts/s1226/Leeona%20Long%20-%201976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%202%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="771" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAxg7q4GjGtcs9Ly7GHvp0QLIczmwqhnr5W1aH-7nq05Wyxj1_ahr75Irhyugo_YOXlCcvvYFHZY-MYsDXJid2ZLoZbVdI-Ip2vsnxX2HvEQrNksAJmH7vFaZGAuL8FrYAeqMRQiES3RhQtef0qKa7SAlm3lYtxdATA89H6l7_e-wZeXK-ts/s320/Leeona%20Long%20-%201976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%202%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(1).png" width="201" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How
do you interview a little kid?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
answer is: you don't. They interview you. Ask a question, you get it right
back. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Who's your girlfriend:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A:
Vickie. Who's yours?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Do you think you'll get married? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A; I
don't know. Are you married?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's
a hey-who's-this-story-about-anyway? When the tape recorder expired, I had to take
notes. And little kids, who, according to their teacher, don't like to write as
part of their school work, suddenly wanted to sign their names in my pad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
my notes from the morning with the kids are half my notes and half theirs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Even
when I got my pad back to take notes, I was intimidated. They wanted to know
what I was writing. I could sympathize with them. I remember what it was like
to see writing and not know what it meant. The whole world is an "us"
and you're a "them." Our round table discussion rapidly turned into a
revolving door round table. Some kids would tire of talking about "that
old love stuff" and would head off to the block room, and Mary Jane would
trot some new ones in. It seemed no one wanted to answer some of my questions
and then, when we finally hit upon a question someone wanted to answer,
everyone wanted to answer it. And all at the same time,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
found myself nodding at Randy, looking at Angie, and listening to Ronnie.
Meanwhile Mack was giving my hand a karate chop and Leeona was pulling my pad
away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was Gulliver and the Lilliputians were winning again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(My
day at the kindergarten was proof positive that in the land of the little
people, the giant would not be king.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By
lunch I had four pages of notes, four pages of scrawl, and the hope that my
memory would retain what I didn't get to write during those long periods when
Mack was working on his story in my pad.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For
lunch I was assigned to the “Snoopy” group, which meant I sat on a chair the
size of a stool and opened catsup, and mustard packages for Angie who didn't
use them anyway. Angle told me she wanted to kiss me (and did), Chris told me
that if I ate everything on my plate I would get a surprise. Alan told me that
when they called "Snoopys" we were supposed to get in a straight line
and put our trash in the can, and Lari told me she loved me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Photographer
Earl Carter came after lunch and we had another round table discussion while he
took pictures. Ronnie Culhane again told us about Don Cupid. Chris Cole
reiterated his belief that Superman started Valentine's Day, and Angie Smith
begged for relief from talking about "this love stuff."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before
I left, they gave me a Valentine they'd all signed. And Angie whispered to me
that I had to promise to send her a Valentine and that she would send me one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As I
drove away, I was envious of Mary Jane because she gets paid to spend all day
with those interesting little kids. But then I realized she's probably envious
of me. Because I get to drive away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
children in Mary Jane Hunt's kindergarten class at Miller-Perry School talked about
Valentine's Day, love and marriage one day this past week. Joining in the
discussion were Leeona Long, Alan Ward. DeAnne Riley, Monte Powers, Wesley
Marshall, Mack Ray, Randy Weiberg, Angie Smith, Ronnie Culhane, Chris Cole,
Michael McNew, Gene Leach, and Leslea Peters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrC2d14PVmbgqRqsB_3mXEXnG6rjzAnGv-h1a3Jeay6-vr29FAUvdI8MCottGKxKBDn-peRIAWN201gUBMLKOnW1brDIz_pdtzq-gwnFOvDVOQ05SMfWUoFBe1f8X11VsPb_ape3J2iMHn0vMfTvcSrG6WX4RXtRmMteLz5Izxy3Ygd93BTA/s704/Mack%20Ray%20-1976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%202%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="704" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrC2d14PVmbgqRqsB_3mXEXnG6rjzAnGv-h1a3Jeay6-vr29FAUvdI8MCottGKxKBDn-peRIAWN201gUBMLKOnW1brDIz_pdtzq-gwnFOvDVOQ05SMfWUoFBe1f8X11VsPb_ape3J2iMHn0vMfTvcSrG6WX4RXtRmMteLz5Izxy3Ygd93BTA/s320/Mack%20Ray%20-1976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%202%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(1).png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">On
dating<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CHRIS:
I don't ever go on dates. It's too much trouble. And besides I don't know where
she lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
How do you get a date?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RANDY:
You just kiss her and keep on kissing her until you get a date.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">LEEONA:
If I get married, I'll give someone my cold<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What is love?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
Love means to put your arm around someone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ANGIE:
I gotta get out of this love stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
It's when you have a baby. Then you name it Scratch, because it itches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">DEANNE:
When you marry somebody, that's love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RANDY:
When you get in love, you feel like hearts are all around your head.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
I like Vickie because she wears pretty dresses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfj1ZB9GXydypybj6D0rypwZFjA27jN32cCC9yXZg-NY6KQSP7e3jYqQAkkLgPvX5Kzg0WwtiBzti_cppQ6q3R2MxBKmKj2xubzDgTqHoF8tQ1Fd-ZtgXHLZv8WrILKI0XP-jGgV8GEkjAkyaWCe5W9PK5PibtmIewdNJrjBlNxvW0nDuB20k/s1001/Wesley%20Marchall%20-%201976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%202%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="809" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfj1ZB9GXydypybj6D0rypwZFjA27jN32cCC9yXZg-NY6KQSP7e3jYqQAkkLgPvX5Kzg0WwtiBzti_cppQ6q3R2MxBKmKj2xubzDgTqHoF8tQ1Fd-ZtgXHLZv8WrILKI0XP-jGgV8GEkjAkyaWCe5W9PK5PibtmIewdNJrjBlNxvW0nDuB20k/s320/Wesley%20Marchall%20-%201976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%202%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(1).png" width="259" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What do you look for in a girlfriend? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CHRIS:
I look for good hair.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
How do you get a girlfriend?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
You dress up good and clean. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ANGIE:
You just pick out a girl you like and go grab her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q: I
don't have a girlfriend: What should I do to get one?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">GENE:
You don't have a girlfriend? I've got ten. I'll give you one of mine. I'll give
you Allison. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Where is she?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">GENE:
Oh, she's sick today,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
How could I get a girl friend?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">LORI:
1 could loan you my Donnie Osmond record. Then you could get her some candy and
take her to the movie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Which movie?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MONTE:
Take her to see Snow White.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
That's for kids!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
Take her to see JAWS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MACK:
Take her to see a scary movie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
Then she'd snuggle up to you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What makes a good girlfriend?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">GENE:
It should be someone who lives down the street.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Who is your girlfriend?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
Vickie. I don't know quite why. It's a long story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCj5Ll7LiLF8Oa9ZwDwVKJ9Jkwk4c1j5R5IgiivY-g3cZAuc8_NCSg2eH2fxrieCFgP7wygGAiyCIVEe36m6m5Gvwt9lHy1KXZcoPScxAwMrI7qPpEny2axz4SJtCt10RI7oQLqObImDH3RF5GnXPW9NYtElPbA3-Oh-h4bsMT3wyTCgQ4UEU/s1149/Ronnie%20Culhane%20-1976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%203%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="804" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCj5Ll7LiLF8Oa9ZwDwVKJ9Jkwk4c1j5R5IgiivY-g3cZAuc8_NCSg2eH2fxrieCFgP7wygGAiyCIVEe36m6m5Gvwt9lHy1KXZcoPScxAwMrI7qPpEny2axz4SJtCt10RI7oQLqObImDH3RF5GnXPW9NYtElPbA3-Oh-h4bsMT3wyTCgQ4UEU/s320/Ronnie%20Culhane%20-1976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%203%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(2).png" width="224" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">On
marriage<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Are you going to get married?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">LEEONA:
No, I better not. 'Cause then someone would get my cold.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
How do you get a wife?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MACK:
You gotta say I love you, then you write their name down and you've got a wife.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">On
kissing<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
How do you know when you want to kiss someone?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">GENE:
My mind just makes me kiss her. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What does it feel like to kiss?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
It feels like you've got paint in your eye.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What should I get her for Valentine's? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
Get her a heart, like the one here on the left side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What would she do with it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">WESLEY:
I don't know. I'd eat it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q.
Why do we have Valentine's Day? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">GENE:
Because of Easter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MACK:
So we can have something to eat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
Because of Don Cupid. I heard him at our door. He takes all the hearts and then
he brings them back. He's about our size only a little smaller.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
(A cupid silhouette is pointed out on the wall) Is that him up there?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">RONNIE:
No, that's a fairy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What do you plan to do on Valentine's Day? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CHRIS:
Watch cartoons<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
Who started Valentine's Day?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ALAN:
God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">LESLEA:
Jesus<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CHRIS:
Superman<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Q:
What did they do on the first Valentine's day?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">CHRIS:
Superman made Valentines.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MONTE:
They ate turkey. </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5okTToLVVmHmbI7EqA19c_Ezx8LR4367sj59-FGLp9_dgxykvjQsU4Pf635fCUZY1DKuxIU9B1VmDQFyw1q8kEFBN3RFQI82g810xyT4rGDwoJymGAZYnGQ7ZrTWkYIUqBs06Utgxd10PaLmOKPEFBLDR7iOJe-UGblXZ9FAyf25o5Uxzw4/s1323/Kids%20Valentine%20for%20Vince%20%201%20-%201976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%203%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1323" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5okTToLVVmHmbI7EqA19c_Ezx8LR4367sj59-FGLp9_dgxykvjQsU4Pf635fCUZY1DKuxIU9B1VmDQFyw1q8kEFBN3RFQI82g810xyT4rGDwoJymGAZYnGQ7ZrTWkYIUqBs06Utgxd10PaLmOKPEFBLDR7iOJe-UGblXZ9FAyf25o5Uxzw4/s320/Kids%20Valentine%20for%20Vince%20%201%20-%201976%20-%20Weekender%20-%20kids%20talk%20Valentines%20-%203%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sat__Feb_14__1976_%20(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-69794773881580350992023-02-08T10:58:00.000-05:002023-02-08T10:58:36.409-05:00The Tangled History of The Drifters<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXrbCzeOw9tOaMl5RcOu-2u_tLLVE90TLU3DX45PJxTVawQCyQeYZ_XhbV2ntzlCQ4HNyH3kGm89MH6SRpfndCP1jH10dSPwFv1hURdO4gFo9OkQwVVGIyTpexgeFeGdROZcPpP-NCxkbWevEUHF8pEpcwt-OjmMrFKdvGYJm279mPMESn0s/s6930/The_New_York_Age_Sat__Mar_27__1954_%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6930" data-original-width="4871" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXrbCzeOw9tOaMl5RcOu-2u_tLLVE90TLU3DX45PJxTVawQCyQeYZ_XhbV2ntzlCQ4HNyH3kGm89MH6SRpfndCP1jH10dSPwFv1hURdO4gFo9OkQwVVGIyTpexgeFeGdROZcPpP-NCxkbWevEUHF8pEpcwt-OjmMrFKdvGYJm279mPMESn0s/s320/The_New_York_Age_Sat__Mar_27__1954_%20(1).jpg" width="225" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>1954 ad for The Drifters at Harlem's Apollo. </i></div></span><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
Charlie Thomas died earlier this week, the <i>New York Times</i> tried to report on his
place in musical history, in particular the history of the Drifters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
had a hard time parsing it all out. With good reason: the history of the
Drifters is very confusing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
the Times did settle on was this: Thomas sang lead on the Drifters’ hits “Sweets
for My Sweet” (which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961),
“When My Little Girl Is Smiling” (which topped out at No. 28 in 1961), and on “I
Don’t Want to Go On Without You” (the flip side of “Under the Boardwalk” in 1964).
He sang on – but did not sing lead on many of their best-known hits from the
early sixties, including “There Goes My Baby,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Save the
Last Dance for Me,” the group’s only number one hit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUTc9EAUGuSDoD1QS9IxT92l_Mxg8vv0g6Ia0LO1KqvP83sp0WMd44bFJewd4pW-iPsi4SYtV3FymXoQozW7Nb6wCGarEiGeB6P5IcqUgE-LgzPZ_ROs9u1l0j4GmLEY-0hYuq9TVhaYDOhu95qt3StX987iemMa3WiR8vlYG4_thXCZRILc/s7876/The_New_York_Age_Sat__Jan_9__1960_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7876" data-original-width="5141" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUTc9EAUGuSDoD1QS9IxT92l_Mxg8vv0g6Ia0LO1KqvP83sp0WMd44bFJewd4pW-iPsi4SYtV3FymXoQozW7Nb6wCGarEiGeB6P5IcqUgE-LgzPZ_ROs9u1l0j4GmLEY-0hYuq9TVhaYDOhu95qt3StX987iemMa3WiR8vlYG4_thXCZRILc/s320/The_New_York_Age_Sat__Jan_9__1960_.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1960 photo from New York Age newspaper. </span></i></div></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I tried
to unravel the story of the Drifters in 2007, after the death of another lead
singer, Bill Pinckney, who was touted at the time as an original Drifter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here’s
what I wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Drifters are well known for such beach music hits as “Under the Boardwalk,”
“Save the Last Dance for Me” and “More Than a Number in my Little Red Book.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
it turns out Bill Pinkney didn’t sing on any of those songs. And here’s the
rub: original isn’t always original and sometimes that doesn’t even matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pinkney
was a member of the original Drifters, but that’s Original Drifters with a
capital “O.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
was not an original original Drifter. He was part of the second organization of
the group, one sometimes called the classic Drifters. But by the time the group
had any of those beach music hits, he had already left the group in a dispute
over money. Still his rich bass voice is well-known with the Drifters because
he sang lead on the group’s 1954 do-wop take on “White Christmas,” a record
made famous in the 1990 movie “Home Alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKO5elgExaP7NUwebHp1ZmVFY2jTuI04LWu35GIf97vWB74UYH597TFjtRUjiUICLjEgqTL1OzEQutnNM8k4y3UDBsID34lZTjRfDMUevAj9j4dC0Yhz_Q7mgDfc9e0JLGpwjVA1TAxvYYL51pD5ZuLrpaFmRfV4CCKIs2BT3RH9JF6AN3Ik/s6456/The_New_York_Age_Sat__Mar_27__1954_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6456" data-original-width="4871" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKO5elgExaP7NUwebHp1ZmVFY2jTuI04LWu35GIf97vWB74UYH597TFjtRUjiUICLjEgqTL1OzEQutnNM8k4y3UDBsID34lZTjRfDMUevAj9j4dC0Yhz_Q7mgDfc9e0JLGpwjVA1TAxvYYL51pD5ZuLrpaFmRfV4CCKIs2BT3RH9JF6AN3Ik/s320/The_New_York_Age_Sat__Mar_27__1954_.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-indent: 0.5in;">1954 story about Drifters appearance at the Apollo. </i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Drifters are just one of a number of early rock groups that are still playing
dates around the country despite the fact that most if not all their “original”
members are dead or no longer with the group.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
fact a friend of mine at the <i>Kansas City Star</i> newspaper was all set to
cover a concert by the Coasters when he discovered the group that would be
performing in K.C. had exactly zero members of the original group. When my
reporter-friend confronted the group’s manager, the guy explained that he had
purchased the group name years earlier and was perfectly within his rights to
promote a show by “The Coasters.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That’s
pretty much the story of The Drifters, too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
if you get technical about it you probably wouldn’t want to see the real
original Drifters since they never had a hit. The beach music Drifters were the
fourth major iteration of the group.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
original Drifters were formed in 1953 by Clyde McPhatter after he left the
Dominoes and had only one recording session. That group was made up of
McPhatter, William “Chick” Anderson, David Baldwin (brother of author James
Baldwin), James “Wrinkle” Johnson and “Little Dave” Baughan and had one
release, “Lucille,” which was not a hit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dhU3iC7juYxSVD44fDl_YusLX07kBp9H5xnu67mlQKP9KNfATpyBq6PTeMIHx3l06rILl-ShKUWYGSPIBC86wPzBsoHu1tEWrg1Wwbb4a9APCDi1XQbbYcjLy43iM_ZAMPImsjTr20qSKNEeDoYdtNLaDyTEr_7mY94otvP4YTGf4XPB1QY/s5809/The_Charlotte_News_Sat__Aug_16__1958_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5809" data-original-width="5096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dhU3iC7juYxSVD44fDl_YusLX07kBp9H5xnu67mlQKP9KNfATpyBq6PTeMIHx3l06rILl-ShKUWYGSPIBC86wPzBsoHu1tEWrg1Wwbb4a9APCDi1XQbbYcjLy43iM_ZAMPImsjTr20qSKNEeDoYdtNLaDyTEr_7mY94otvP4YTGf4XPB1QY/s320/The_Charlotte_News_Sat__Aug_16__1958_.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0.5in;">1958 story in the Charlotte News. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">McPhatter
disbanded that group and recruited Gerhart Thrasher, Andrew Thrasher, Willie
Ferbee, Walter Adams and Bill Pinkney. This is the group that released the 1953
hit “Money Honey.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">McPhatter
was drafted in 1954 and sold out to manager George Treadwell. From then on it
was constant turnover. McPhatter was replaced by original original Dave
Baughan, who was soon replaced by Johnny Moore of the Hornets, who was drafted
and replaced by Bobby Hendricks of the Swallows.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bill
Pinkney was fired in 1958 after asking for a raise. Later that same year after
a group member got in a fight with the manager of the Apollo Theater, manager
Treadwell fired everyone and replaced them with members of the Five Crowns,
whose lead vocalist was Ben Nelson, who would later be known as Ben E. King.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Whew!
And we are only up to 1958.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pinkney
then put together a group he called the Original Drifters. That group toured
for the next ten years as a trio, quartet and quintet that rotated personnel.
Pinkney managed to keep a Drifters group touring for the next 40 years, until
his death July 4, 2007. Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters last appeared in the
Kingsport area in Coeburn in August 2006 at Wise County’s 150th birthday
celebration. They were scheduled to appear on the Fourth of July at Daytona
Beach’s Red, White and Boom celebration in 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ8WyFJJuFvqm_oeTJdNA-ji3Q29K81eLFJ7A6P4auCobFuMIUy_xvRw6LGKfipk3YvlJLPIWtOfFiv5El0abQzn_PWyN1WPHFs9opLJsPuV5xPiIvqQ333sZ5tMLvZQ-CHSLmFpVkn_oth_ml3qjDeIUI8toDhxIQ6ajdL5YncqujcFR7QQ/s5313/Messenger_Inquirer_Sun__May_8__1960_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4944" data-original-width="5313" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZ8WyFJJuFvqm_oeTJdNA-ji3Q29K81eLFJ7A6P4auCobFuMIUy_xvRw6LGKfipk3YvlJLPIWtOfFiv5El0abQzn_PWyN1WPHFs9opLJsPuV5xPiIvqQ333sZ5tMLvZQ-CHSLmFpVkn_oth_ml3qjDeIUI8toDhxIQ6ajdL5YncqujcFR7QQ/s320/Messenger_Inquirer_Sun__May_8__1960_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small; text-indent: 0.5in;">"Original Drifters" show in Owensboro, Ky. in 1960.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If
you think this is complicated, realize this doesn’t include the subsequent
iterations of the Drifters under Ben E. King and his successors as lead singer,
Johnny Lee Williams and Rudy Lewis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By
my rough count at least sixty people sang with the “Drifters” over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisz8EI95eJb7MA9WMiEo-mXt6LsGvyA2K1IG4HgJEMuYy4q31MAr24pb3kr0JgIKzf8sWm5Lgqbd69nComgGVUiADq6tEP3coEKgiimg0PGDobiDzypr2RggFwnFqttwdEvxoG7YGGLW2bVw1eZUJibvlkur3GAooIPWR7WWtkxdUS6tHiMuE/s4597/Tampa_Bay_Times_Sun__Feb_27__2022_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4597" data-original-width="3038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisz8EI95eJb7MA9WMiEo-mXt6LsGvyA2K1IG4HgJEMuYy4q31MAr24pb3kr0JgIKzf8sWm5Lgqbd69nComgGVUiADq6tEP3coEKgiimg0PGDobiDzypr2RggFwnFqttwdEvxoG7YGGLW2bVw1eZUJibvlkur3GAooIPWR7WWtkxdUS6tHiMuE/s320/Tampa_Bay_Times_Sun__Feb_27__2022_.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The Original Drifters were still performing in 2022 - this show was in Clearwater, Fla. </i></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At
one time there were four groups touring under the name “Drifters,” all with
legitimate ties to the group.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
are even two different Tams groups currently touring [in 2007], each featuring
one original Tam. The Rhythm in Riverview show [that summer] features Robert
Lee Smith and the Tams. Smith was part of the group that was founded in Atlanta
in 1952 as the Four Dots. The other touring Tams is the Joe Pope Tams,
featuring original Tam Charles Pope. (Joe Pope, Charles’ brother and a group
original, died in 1996.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If
you want to know the history of the Coasters, another group of many iterations,
you’ll have to do that research yourself. </span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-60096763626347946132023-01-26T11:35:00.001-05:002023-01-26T11:35:39.532-05:00<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> Men in Black (And White) - Referees</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_fMC7v1op9Tu-38Q8_TU_jdGwY1ZS_y8krkY9yA-R4cN-ElATY9yA7KfcWWsWtgwgOXBUh49yyd5eR8bfaaWwi8aQ7X_vp39XOOoXxtldiEG0Kwd8E3bOWsMvZ4_NnU7AMs24sXzs_jG6rtJgfHKFgT6y_VUZPtXgfptPquHSM1jNQSH5Zo/s3291/Jock%20Sutherland%20referee%20story%20Ben%20Ramsey%20drawing%20-%20The_Courier_Journal_Sun__Jan_12__1958_.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3291" data-original-width="2744" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_fMC7v1op9Tu-38Q8_TU_jdGwY1ZS_y8krkY9yA-R4cN-ElATY9yA7KfcWWsWtgwgOXBUh49yyd5eR8bfaaWwi8aQ7X_vp39XOOoXxtldiEG0Kwd8E3bOWsMvZ4_NnU7AMs24sXzs_jG6rtJgfHKFgT6y_VUZPtXgfptPquHSM1jNQSH5Zo/s320/Jock%20Sutherland%20referee%20story%20Ben%20Ramsey%20drawing%20-%20The_Courier_Journal_Sun__Jan_12__1958_.png" width="267" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphLtAm32xFBr-ZawYI6ddbLZJocbQ6JnvTdE9LNjBZ_1knIXOZVp7eD5TFreUpcCbpRivJ9kO3bBElBw2YUyiG1p1Gdut2FG0NSkjmmlcIxYSZDSKW5yP5ZFmdcYPHisESaAJ1WZLMlN4edvONcp6XR6ta-x0DeD8DI4ai27ZIpOu_CC9Rrs/s4601/Jock%20Sutherland%20story%20headline%20-%20The_Courier_Journal_Sun__Jan_12__1958_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="4601" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphLtAm32xFBr-ZawYI6ddbLZJocbQ6JnvTdE9LNjBZ_1knIXOZVp7eD5TFreUpcCbpRivJ9kO3bBElBw2YUyiG1p1Gdut2FG0NSkjmmlcIxYSZDSKW5yP5ZFmdcYPHisESaAJ1WZLMlN4edvONcp6XR6ta-x0DeD8DI4ai27ZIpOu_CC9Rrs/s320/Jock%20Sutherland%20story%20headline%20-%20The_Courier_Journal_Sun__Jan_12__1958_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Twenty
five years ago I wrote a magazine story about the life of a high school
basketball referee – the abuse they faced, verbal and occasionally physical,
all for very low pay, and the reason they all said they did it: for the love of
the game. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
two favorite stories from that article came from an old coach turned radio
analyst, the legendary Jock Sutherland: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Jock told me the first story happened in 1959 when he was at the old Henry
Central High. “We were down by about thirty but I was still arguing. I took
three or four steps toward the referee but he kept backing up. He bumped into
me and said, ‘What are you doing out here? That’ll be a technical for every
step back.’ I just held my hands up – what am I going to do. My players took it
to mean I needed help and they came out and carried me off. Then they carried
me around the gym on their shoulders while the band played. The next day Earl
Cox had it in the newspaper under the headline ‘Smartest Coach in the County.’
That story went out over the wire and ended up in <i>Reader’s Digest</i>.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">When
Jock told me that story it had been 40 years since it happened and he got it a
tad wrong. I looked it up and the headline really read “Quickest Thinking State
Coach? He’s Gallatin County’s Sutherland.” (So he was coaching at Gallatin
County not Henry County. And it was actually 1958 not 1959.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here’s
how Earl Cox, longtime sports editor of the Louisville <i>Courier-Journal</i>
wrote it originally in 1958 complete with the original illustration by <i>Courier-Journal</i>
artist Ben Ramsay:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By
EARL COX<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Basketball,
the game that lures a sizable portion of Kentucky's population into gyms from
November through March, has its extremely serious moments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
the hardwood sport has its lighter moments, too. For instance:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Charley
'Jock" Sutherland, one of the finest shooters Ralph Carlisle ever turned
out at Lexington Lafayette, is now coach at Gallatin County High at Warsaw. A
couple of seasons ago, Sutherland earned for all time the title of
quickest-thinking coach in Kentucky.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">During
a tight game, Sutherland dashed onto the floor to dispute a referee's decision.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
official indignantly informed Sutherland that for each step he took returning
to the bench, a technical foul would be assessed on Gallatin County. Know what
Sutherland did?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
yelled for his players to come out on the floor. They carried him back to the
bench and he got off with only one technical foul!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhy32472MBu98m-DjOv-vrZOq2TARey6qsvkO2ZKVKOoMP1gK22JNjfuGNJmmtc7Jdu-rM0wGGF-MKGJaS82_EzFENOIbRBRfXde2s3wtxLvvqKNCl7w4dKr54-fk8fLNlTVyWr7KPY_BXl4mYXzpymxCSDmr6uALj0HjP4QiA-AeSFfr8cno/s327/Jock%20Sutherland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="249" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhy32472MBu98m-DjOv-vrZOq2TARey6qsvkO2ZKVKOoMP1gK22JNjfuGNJmmtc7Jdu-rM0wGGF-MKGJaS82_EzFENOIbRBRfXde2s3wtxLvvqKNCl7w4dKr54-fk8fLNlTVyWr7KPY_BXl4mYXzpymxCSDmr6uALj0HjP4QiA-AeSFfr8cno/s320/Jock%20Sutherland.jpg" width="244" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jock Sutherland when he coached Lexington Lafayette</span></i></div></i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">For my
magazine story, Jock told me a second great referee story, again involving him:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Once we were playing down at Hazard and the
referee kept drinking out of our Gatorade. Our bus-driver had some vodka and he
poured it in our Gatorade. The referee just kept coming over to our Gatorade.
His partner asked him if something was the matter. He said it was the best
Gatorade he’d ever had. By the end of the game, he didn’t know where he was.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Coach LeRoy Sprankle’s
Rules for Athletes</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
promised, from the May 16, 1924 issue of the <i>Kingsport Times</i> are
Kingsport Central High coach and athletic director LeRoy Sprankle’s rules for
his athletes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">No
man will be reserved a plate for the football menu unless he abides, strictly,
absolutely and unerringly by the gilt-edge and iron-bound rules formulated by
the K. H. S. club, an organization of the Student athletes, for the upbuilding
of athletics. The chief clauses are:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1.
No smoking under any circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.
No drinking under any circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3.
No association with questionable company of either sex.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4.
No keeping of late hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Coach
Sprankle has ruled that all candidates who do not sign the pledge to keep the
above rules inviolate shall not be allowed to participate in any athletic
event. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If a
candidate would be a member of Kingsport Central’s varsity team: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1.
Be a man, physically, mentally and morally.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.
Be determined. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3.
Be aggressive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4.
Improvement. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5.
Have the ability. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">6.
Be eligible at all times. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7.
Attend every practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To
attain these requirements, he advances the following suggestions as aids along
the way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1.
Eat plain and nourishing food.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2.
Do not eat between meals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3.
Do not overeat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4.
Do not eat much candy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5.
Establish regular habits. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">6.
Drink a glass of cold water upon retiring and arising.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7.
Get plenty of exercise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">8.
Toughen yourself - box, wrestle and hike.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">9.
Study yourself, find your weakness, improve it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">10.
Don’t give up. Fight and make your opponent put out his best to beat you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">11.
It takes a man to live up to this, are you a man?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those
were Sprankle’s guidelines 99 years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8scoG_y0wTMRvPB5xQzRQ_OIo4IM578xtkvX-rNF9vK82cmImQ_xs1zUF9-bLXOWTyAbfr1mTi8APkZQf7HGsmZqT1OWhGcxB7El4TYMyoq1djlbhymt9UNXU31SMIwQU1ICUCS4Se8luQPyIjryKPE6VPV4kPKl19j9HyrCi9Zog23KtTM/s1685/Jerry%20Lee%20Lewis%20-%20Conway%20Twitty%20at%20Civic%20Auditorium%20July%2024,%201968%20-%20ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1685" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8scoG_y0wTMRvPB5xQzRQ_OIo4IM578xtkvX-rNF9vK82cmImQ_xs1zUF9-bLXOWTyAbfr1mTi8APkZQf7HGsmZqT1OWhGcxB7El4TYMyoq1djlbhymt9UNXU31SMIwQU1ICUCS4Se8luQPyIjryKPE6VPV4kPKl19j9HyrCi9Zog23KtTM/s320/Jerry%20Lee%20Lewis%20-%20Conway%20Twitty%20at%20Civic%20Auditorium%20July%2024,%201968%20-%20ad.jpg" width="107" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>The Night Jerry Lee Came to Kingsport</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
Lee Lewis, the Louisiana Wild Man, died back in the fall. My favorite Jerry Lee
Lewis story, one of them anyway:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Jerry
Lee Lewis was booked to play Kingsport’s Civic Auditorium on July 24, 1968 on a
double bill with Conway Twitty. There were two shows scheduled for that night,
one at 8 p.m. and a second at 10.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
Lee was the headliner. Conway was the opening act even though both were equally
big stars at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jim
Sauceman told me about the show; his brother-in-law, the late Tiny Day, was the
promoter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Conway
was always late. Jerry Lee’s bus came in the parking lot about 2 p.m. Conway
called about 6 p.m. and said he wasn’t going to make it on time. Tiny took the
message to Jerry Lee, who said, ‘Killer don’t open for anybody.’“<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Killer
is Jerry Lee’s nickname. He pretty much gave it to himself. When he was a kid,
he called all his buddies “Killer” so they started calling him “Killer.” It
stuck and years later it would become even more appropriate but that’s a story
for another day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
Jerry Lee told Tiny that he would not open the show, Tiny replied, “To get your
money, you’ll open.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
Lee hit the stage at 8 p.m. sharp.</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-89025016002158446662023-01-05T09:43:00.000-05:002023-01-05T09:43:54.943-05:001953: Big Stone Gap Soldier Defects<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVTPq8LQXCu8dAEceabw9QahNwfkSdDdeGF2rdG_Lv306yf1NGbxilkMzL2ldwJx82WNuG1mQsWV70bLxeroY_yxOBQoOhLspW1Oj04vgcblD1CHMfj7ma3gNEIqG3saZqvNUkJFDsTjOwiAEAGcNzFZIATIxJBEmmyBn8Rd6CkLxvbbgL90/s1399/1953%20Cpl.%20Edward%20Dickenson%20in%20Pathe%20Newsreel%20-%20a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1399" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVTPq8LQXCu8dAEceabw9QahNwfkSdDdeGF2rdG_Lv306yf1NGbxilkMzL2ldwJx82WNuG1mQsWV70bLxeroY_yxOBQoOhLspW1Oj04vgcblD1CHMfj7ma3gNEIqG3saZqvNUkJFDsTjOwiAEAGcNzFZIATIxJBEmmyBn8Rd6CkLxvbbgL90/s320/1953%20Cpl.%20Edward%20Dickenson%20in%20Pathe%20Newsreel%20-%20a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">Corporal Edward Dickenson of Big Stone Gap returns home in 1953.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">(From Pathe newsreel that was shown at Strand Theatre.)</i></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">It was
a small story below the fold on the front page of the Christmas Eve 1953
edition of the </span><i style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kingsport Times</i><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Friends,
Kinfolk Are Bewildered By Decision Of American Captives.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Twenty-two
American prisoners-of-war who were being held in North Korea had chosen to remain
in a Communist POW camp, in effect defecting to China. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They
had “turned down their last ‘safe’ chance to return to freedom,” as the
Associated Press story put it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I posted
that front page on my blog Christmas week and a reader wondered what had become
of the almost two-dozen deserters. Had they remained in a Chinese prison? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I told
him I didn’t think they remained prisoners but stayed on a “guests.” But I didn’t
know what happened to them, I’d have to look it up. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
kicked up a memory in my head: I recalled that one of the defectors was from
Southwest Virginia. I couldn’t remember the details except that he had died
after I moved back to Kingsport in 2002. But he wasn’t listed in that Christmas
Eve story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There
was a prisoner from Memphis, another from northern Kentucky. But no one from
Southwest Virginia. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At first
I just dismissed it as one of my “misremberances.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But I
made one more search, this time turning up a ten-years-later story about the POWs
from 1963.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And there
he was: Corporal Edward S. Dickenson from Big Stone Gap. Eddie, as his father
called him in a <i>Kingsport Times</i> story, had been a member of the original
group of defectors but by the time of the Christmas Eve story he had
reconsidered and decided to return home. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHjFiLbU4aA13SeE2GZKmVY8fDPqy08AbuxSdDvQ3pVWEaB9VHFfNLbZv4dYT7XyMLedHyNWvmo58lyGaRdkkqLpsCZxbGjpgxzpDnyWRWpRsFDXs3718YYdx7salGfCZFjB1Grp33NkLNKzunhlvBjtupno25CUVqs9V4hAeBpwXZHIMwfk/s1412/1953%20Cpl.%20Edward%20Dickenson%20in%20Pathe%20Newsreel%20-%20b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1412" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHjFiLbU4aA13SeE2GZKmVY8fDPqy08AbuxSdDvQ3pVWEaB9VHFfNLbZv4dYT7XyMLedHyNWvmo58lyGaRdkkqLpsCZxbGjpgxzpDnyWRWpRsFDXs3718YYdx7salGfCZFjB1Grp33NkLNKzunhlvBjtupno25CUVqs9V4hAeBpwXZHIMwfk/s320/1953%20Cpl.%20Edward%20Dickenson%20in%20Pathe%20Newsreel%20-%20b.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The original
story about “the captives who wouldn’t come home” made headlines all over the
world when it broke in Sept. 1953. The <i>Kingsport Times</i> even sent
reporter Virginia Davis up to Cracker’s Neck, a community outside Big Stone
Gap, to see what Eddie’s family thought: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I
cannot believe my son has been converted to communism," Eddie’s mother,
Mrs. Bessie C. Dickenson told the newspaper reporter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bessie
told the <i>Times-News</i> she had learned from Elmer Powers of Clintwood, a returned
prisoner of war in the same camp with her son, that her son was alive and in
good health on Aug. 5. Powers had said that her son was loaded on a truck that
day and taken from the camp by the Communists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
Dickenson said she had received 30 letters from him since he was captured Nov.
5, 1950, and that in each he had stated his desire to come home. She said he was
optimistic during the truce negotiation because he thought he would soon be
released.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She said
her son's letters had said he was being treated well and was getting plenty of
food and clothing and not to worry about him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I
will not believe this is true about my son [defecting] until it is proven."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7PnNpiYczRdIY6Fmq9vWZYC-UEdjG9VGXO4x6QSIlWSX6y4JjHAuzM_ImUcunqrevSMR0GYC6aY1AGlm9la--WWprVo_9hrunINVk4B12oSOnPmXLcusO2IruW0cGz4esaQ4YMAzxR9Oui-WQkPw8U_BqhPAQcq9N6oavNbzG2ehhexHTbI/s6184/Kingsport_Times_Thu__Oct_22__1953_%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4680" data-original-width="6184" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7PnNpiYczRdIY6Fmq9vWZYC-UEdjG9VGXO4x6QSIlWSX6y4JjHAuzM_ImUcunqrevSMR0GYC6aY1AGlm9la--WWprVo_9hrunINVk4B12oSOnPmXLcusO2IruW0cGz4esaQ4YMAzxR9Oui-WQkPw8U_BqhPAQcq9N6oavNbzG2ehhexHTbI/s320/Kingsport_Times_Thu__Oct_22__1953_%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The Dickenson family awaiting Eddie's return. </i></div></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She had
a long month of worrying about Eddie. But then on October 21, 1953 a clutch of
reporters, including the Times’ Virginia Davis, made the trek up to Cracker’s
Neck again. Eddie had changed his mind and wanted to come home. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Well,
thank God . I knowed he was coming home if they'd let him."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">She added,
“Now I don't think I have a burden to place on the Lord. I just felt like Ed
was coming home, and it's been a shame the way I worried.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The newspaper
reported that Dickenson had enlisted in March, 1950, and was a member of the
First Cavalry Division. He had attended school at East Stone Gap School,
dropping out in fifth grade. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mrs.
Dickenson said she felt Eddie was "doped or something," as she tried
to explain why she thought her son went over to the Communists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ralph
Flanary, who went to school with Dickenson, was outside the home. He told
reporters that, "People all around are proud to see Ed come back. Nobody
believed he could be a Commie, and I never did think Ed was that kind of
boy."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGIJzZFsgcJbI_p-_HnQcP6oduKDMUZkUxTElICMqJhMQ58hLn3ozz4nFn-GJJn5enwkk0Z0thtX6ylO7y1U3h8sA-1-lb1MD5HnNdU56B5fI3a4cmJ37B0B5oPCQY0Cnnzsa7zSHCCIrEaE4uGGMvGiVgHtcEVAJ0k4ru_yOjQVDjR3AMig/s6139/Kingsport_Times_Thu__Oct_22__1953_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5665" data-original-width="6139" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzGIJzZFsgcJbI_p-_HnQcP6oduKDMUZkUxTElICMqJhMQ58hLn3ozz4nFn-GJJn5enwkk0Z0thtX6ylO7y1U3h8sA-1-lb1MD5HnNdU56B5fI3a4cmJ37B0B5oPCQY0Cnnzsa7zSHCCIrEaE4uGGMvGiVgHtcEVAJ0k4ru_yOjQVDjR3AMig/s320/Kingsport_Times_Thu__Oct_22__1953_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Dickenson home on Powell Mountain. </span></i></div></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The story
of Corporal Dickenson’s homecoming was in newspapers all over the country and
featured on a Pathe newsreel shown at the Strand Theatre. Many of the papers carried
the Associated Press report by “famous correspondent” Don Whitehead, who had
won two Pulitzer Prizes as a war correspondent. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was a good story but Whitehead had another reason to cover it. The <i>Kingsport
Times News</i> explained he was already in the area, visiting his father in
Inman, Virginia, five miles away. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Whitehead’s
story, datelined “Cracker’s Neck, Va.,” began, “Cpl. Ed Dickenson came back to
an almost hysterical welcome in the home of his childhood Sunday night and
hinted that he may never again leave these hills.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
young soldier who turned his back on communism after first refusing
repatriation as a prisoner of war was almost mobbed by relatives and friends at
the end of his 10,000-mile journey from Korea.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“A
driving rain splashed on the hills and formed pools of water in the muddy lane
leading from the road to the house. But the rain didn't dampen the celebration.
Dickenson's brothers, sisters and friends poured out of the house into the rain
to smother him with hugs and kisses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Dickenson
could only grin happily when asked how he felt. Earlier he had said that he was
undecided whether he will re-enlist in the Army as he had once said he would
do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“’I
said I was going to re-enlist,’ he said. ‘But I've got a lot of thinking to do
about it. It's too early to say what I'll do.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Dickenson's
73-year-old father, Van Buren Dickenson, said: ‘Ed's just got to stay at home.
I'm going to knock him out of that idea of going back into the Army. We need
him too bad at home.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why had
Eddie initially decided to stay behind?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another
wire story explained;<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“To
persuade American POWS to choose communism, the Reds have promised free women,
free schooling, free homes and a chance to rule the United States when it is
conquered. This is the testimony of Cpl. Edward S. Dickenson, the Cracker's
Neck, Va., youth who chose freedom after first refusing repatriation along with
22 other U. S. war prisoners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
for Van Buren Dickenson’s intention to keep his Eddie at home, that didn’t work
out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4haDty01r9zw8nVFA8KltSFtMztIGXjfTogxLV2dKusfJO6CyIWfFK6sC_F7eDQFLL9wfIA-ND8dTLDrDel1idugd_GL41-GrVrVlRf_NCI9Rp73pONzvLQdnfmNvix4OXulM1LjfhKeotiWQdUP2C9v02y_wCN8HiHCofFyxf7HO4nGXigU/s1241/1954%20Cpl.%20Edward%20Dickenson%20on%20trial%20%20in%20Pathe%20Newsreel%20-%20c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="1241" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4haDty01r9zw8nVFA8KltSFtMztIGXjfTogxLV2dKusfJO6CyIWfFK6sC_F7eDQFLL9wfIA-ND8dTLDrDel1idugd_GL41-GrVrVlRf_NCI9Rp73pONzvLQdnfmNvix4OXulM1LjfhKeotiWQdUP2C9v02y_wCN8HiHCofFyxf7HO4nGXigU/s320/1954%20Cpl.%20Edward%20Dickenson%20on%20trial%20%20in%20Pathe%20Newsreel%20-%20c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Army decided to court-martial Corporal Dickenson, accusing him of informing on
fellow prisoners to gain favors for himself while a prisoner.) During the trial
in March 1954, Ed was convicted and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. He
served three and a half years before being paroled and returning to Cracker’s
Neck. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii6YBXOBhk_cNpVHdMLq6xqsrLAPuPG2Jk7zxrSNDBcrYWfXSJ_gSeKc9jPc4LoPbstgjtHYSz09xbj_9TOechrapPk2ogeOh_LPpiv6632i9rwfHTVdUHQjwZlEC__IYN936fBxuuo4q5txr0A0eOSF65-fUGg8LyxRJGg_FzEm3dBfK_mo/s479/May%2017,%201954%20Life%20magazine%20-%20Edward%20Dickenson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii6YBXOBhk_cNpVHdMLq6xqsrLAPuPG2Jk7zxrSNDBcrYWfXSJ_gSeKc9jPc4LoPbstgjtHYSz09xbj_9TOechrapPk2ogeOh_LPpiv6632i9rwfHTVdUHQjwZlEC__IYN936fBxuuo4q5txr0A0eOSF65-fUGg8LyxRJGg_FzEm3dBfK_mo/s320/May%2017,%201954%20Life%20magazine%20-%20Edward%20Dickenson.png" width="201" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">From May 17, 1954 Life Magazine</i></div></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
led an uneventful life there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When
the Associated Press caught up with him in 1963, it reported, “Dickenson married
a local girl and has four children. He is presently out of work. Until a month
ago he had been a laborer for a construction firm in Cracker's Neck, in the
economically depressed, hilly section of southwest Virginia.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of the
21 POWs, the AP wrote, “Seven stayed. One is dead. Thirteen came back.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
Associated Press returned to the story in 2002, trying to located all the
soldiers who had originally planned to defect rather than return home. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Through
his wife, Ed Dickenson declined to be interviewed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDAHK_THakG19tpm8QLMu3RnM8dbDVSxKfsVSAvhORuPzzogNRom5Cb0gUqhKEiCcHmXI6qXRaVIxAn4dTi8iqBn8xtac8vS-8jL9N9qybGVsFV-VC_LFoDwGBIuQy7bGolKaWs03DfWeoNH7zobB6KHHdSf48Atj1VL60m2eB2Xnwo20q00/s4466/The_State_Sun__Mar_31__2002_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4466" data-original-width="3708" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDAHK_THakG19tpm8QLMu3RnM8dbDVSxKfsVSAvhORuPzzogNRom5Cb0gUqhKEiCcHmXI6qXRaVIxAn4dTi8iqBn8xtac8vS-8jL9N9qybGVsFV-VC_LFoDwGBIuQy7bGolKaWs03DfWeoNH7zobB6KHHdSf48Atj1VL60m2eB2Xnwo20q00/s320/The_State_Sun__Mar_31__2002_.jpg" width="266" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Edward
Swanson Dickenson died on March 7, 2002 at age 71. He is buried in Barker
Cemetery in Cracker’s Neck.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are links to the Pathe newsreel stories about Ed's homecoming and later his trial:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/ex-gi-communist-pow/query/edward%2Bdickenson&source=gmail&ust=1673010226980000&usg=AOvVaw1qfl-jSCSRh2Cfv3_rgAMc" href="https://www.britishpathe.com/video/ex-gi-communist-pow/query/edward+dickenson" mcafee_aps="true" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.britishpathe.com/<wbr></wbr>video/ex-gi-communist-pow/<wbr></wbr>query/edward+dickenson</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/cpl-dickenson-on-trial/query/edward%2Bdickenson&source=gmail&ust=1673010226980000&usg=AOvVaw2_oP8GSAQ10Irb-J3oz1SV" href="https://www.britishpathe.com/video/cpl-dickenson-on-trial/query/edward+dickenson" mcafee_aps="true" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.britishpathe.com/<wbr></wbr>video/cpl-dickenson-on-trial/<wbr></wbr>query/edward+dickenson</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-67918915767003856862022-12-24T14:14:00.001-05:002022-12-24T14:52:04.352-05:00Merry Christmas from 1953<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Christmas in Kingsport 1953:</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5 degrees outside!</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5Us3O7YqFTCHaDwMh3wmCnAFAEHxu6juTpK_3RiIFBEDqMND7yfCMgHEMrJCXD4wx6rYDxHmvmQrADRmDqCnAKpkIE9id6l0IIjJ7Nysw_vvJHBaVKm8gWABb6BvEb1JTYmeeefnnHGoMmMb_V2T3QljM8XyqCvKbHCt_M4-uXuiEdVNo7g/s8168/Christmas%20front%20page%20%20-%201953%20-Kingsport_Times_Thu__Dec_24__1953_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8168" data-original-width="5939" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5Us3O7YqFTCHaDwMh3wmCnAFAEHxu6juTpK_3RiIFBEDqMND7yfCMgHEMrJCXD4wx6rYDxHmvmQrADRmDqCnAKpkIE9id6l0IIjJ7Nysw_vvJHBaVKm8gWABb6BvEb1JTYmeeefnnHGoMmMb_V2T3QljM8XyqCvKbHCt_M4-uXuiEdVNo7g/s320/Christmas%20front%20page%20%20-%201953%20-Kingsport_Times_Thu__Dec_24__1953_.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The Day's Headlines:</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Deathless Days</b>: There had been no traffic deaths inside the city limits in more than two years. But the county had had a traffic death the day before. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Weather</b>: Clear skies. No snow. But cold. Much like the weather today in 2022. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"<b>Nixon Backs Dean</b>" - But not John Dean. That would be another 20 years. This was Special Ambassador Arthur Dean who was negotiating with the North Koreans.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Arrests for Selling Fireworks</b>: You could legally buy a license to sell fireworks but you couldn't legally sell fireworks. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>U.S. Prisoners in Korea</b>: 22 decided to stay behind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Advertisers Wish Kingsport a Merry Christmas!</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><i>(Click on image to enlarge.)</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqdyZhf1h9BdtKfA0gPS70tjoYVoi4Nc2ZUO537q5bp7aUX2DZBFgZOe1bW-sMPRcx-I0MqSGPRuIEqsUFJgk0vqVMBrFDzUdJJSIe5qNeIMxAc48EdPE05Xb0uhYvzmNLdjQvOo-ev3JrnE2q0NjIP2XhsldZ8r3-MnN4TFLUnDEl93jOsE/s6254/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(7).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6254" data-original-width="4775" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqdyZhf1h9BdtKfA0gPS70tjoYVoi4Nc2ZUO537q5bp7aUX2DZBFgZOe1bW-sMPRcx-I0MqSGPRuIEqsUFJgk0vqVMBrFDzUdJJSIe5qNeIMxAc48EdPE05Xb0uhYvzmNLdjQvOo-ev3JrnE2q0NjIP2XhsldZ8r3-MnN4TFLUnDEl93jOsE/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(7).jpg" width="244" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SkGpH34TXRMlDoYvtBbRJLIBOIBF-t1jYW89232IMXrifQdLyPsVUuWO-HUcOycaaqSCrzNJwGAhIXjOVnfslzChut1xhCNLS1JRQTs85J58Bvdc8aiChqkwbGsgM1pthM25H_d9V5I9-mXhZfZG5K6aHMC2Z9A-z-WNU6K7i0EiG0DUOgc/s6254/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(4).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6254" data-original-width="4550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SkGpH34TXRMlDoYvtBbRJLIBOIBF-t1jYW89232IMXrifQdLyPsVUuWO-HUcOycaaqSCrzNJwGAhIXjOVnfslzChut1xhCNLS1JRQTs85J58Bvdc8aiChqkwbGsgM1pthM25H_d9V5I9-mXhZfZG5K6aHMC2Z9A-z-WNU6K7i0EiG0DUOgc/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(4).jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6254" data-original-width="2480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguR58v-IIoZ-1AvZHMRcm1wke1vvKEpCFhCX9NN6mTWIr0mTr71HLmL7cRts67DYbU7f1gHCIwTBwtJiUhH7c3Ey5FaXw7w6mAH7F8s9qz8VAm1eUZaOogq8iPc_WcztqFKMgzSUXxJ_PSHE0BQRohefyr6xtpXv-2koATEaIoHGHprWezF5E/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_.jpg" width="127" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The newspaper saluted its carriers. Check out the names. You may know a few. </span></i></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;">Even the Editorial Page got the Christmas Spirit.</div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdKIt5WReI5Bmv7ObU-R1fE6fMxYXkkYXz2D1IgR76zRyUY3q6O0tXNzpm8hx3-hip3lAZf7OKnmbgtKGcWBsrZXwrvlnqW6w8RMj_uWvAKYTxP_c2a1Jfnn0l4IWFh5ZSqDdhWCh4GiaMOtBt1MRg8MbgBWmhM9oJ4UpHYieSLl-eyE07OU/s5736/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(14).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5736" data-original-width="4775" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhdKIt5WReI5Bmv7ObU-R1fE6fMxYXkkYXz2D1IgR76zRyUY3q6O0tXNzpm8hx3-hip3lAZf7OKnmbgtKGcWBsrZXwrvlnqW6w8RMj_uWvAKYTxP_c2a1Jfnn0l4IWFh5ZSqDdhWCh4GiaMOtBt1MRg8MbgBWmhM9oJ4UpHYieSLl-eyE07OU/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(14).jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Lm9i4PaGBlKjkjDNsv786qZkN1tCuFc94BMXVBWTGvxB302Md5QVjqwp12BtRlaQIk33Ds2ktxBywWm5PX03H-ZV1xzgmgewnVeo8QqkA_m2PKq9iv44fAAmro7Z97KX5adEwE77Amh07iq61ionYkmQzu_QLJZCB5-qQoz0-zukjMQKI68/s4775/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(15).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3784" data-original-width="4775" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Lm9i4PaGBlKjkjDNsv786qZkN1tCuFc94BMXVBWTGvxB302Md5QVjqwp12BtRlaQIk33Ds2ktxBywWm5PX03H-ZV1xzgmgewnVeo8QqkA_m2PKq9iv44fAAmro7Z97KX5adEwE77Amh07iq61ionYkmQzu_QLJZCB5-qQoz0-zukjMQKI68/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(15).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>A Christmas sonnet from the man best known for beginning his nightly radio gossip show with, "Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. America and All the Ships at Sea."</i></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFziOLWxs9DWIMMpIU1OtAQPVYcGHhoKiLD1f53fcG7wvme_C1yUQEFHsgjfG1MG5AmEiq00StCJYDKcU6hae3jXRrNH9CweC8F_6veqeIH8EdLRkTK1FMG3Dk_-ElWDquccBT3yLxqw-HFcgXG61v_G_eWmkS0FksWLcKQVDoP-aEVKZ-gU/s6254/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6254" data-original-width="4775" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLFziOLWxs9DWIMMpIU1OtAQPVYcGHhoKiLD1f53fcG7wvme_C1yUQEFHsgjfG1MG5AmEiq00StCJYDKcU6hae3jXRrNH9CweC8F_6veqeIH8EdLRkTK1FMG3Dk_-ElWDquccBT3yLxqw-HFcgXG61v_G_eWmkS0FksWLcKQVDoP-aEVKZ-gU/s320/Kingsport_News_Fri__Dec_25__1953_%20(2).jpg" width="244" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Many Christmas Eve comics had Christmas themes. Even Dick Tracy!</i></span></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19161165.post-27176672794676471342022-12-13T08:45:00.002-05:002022-12-14T08:38:24.456-05:00Milton DeVault and Nicknames<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ry3udP0uDxcVHcDCRMTd3M1jbBe_vIw30Be4k6e5KqqDh-9nZ3mX2XVbBo1KMewy4B9cs49rAgJAS_2GCXF4dIP4mmC3oLp688YjIEGHK_ifMlNOVgDMdInwvPbiVexao8-yP34ROnLHnvZmF_0M_M5hl3XqLXZYVl7m9lhAh2zGugoiKM0/s774/Mayor%20Milton%20Devault%201957%20American%20Legion%20Poppy%20Day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="774" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ry3udP0uDxcVHcDCRMTd3M1jbBe_vIw30Be4k6e5KqqDh-9nZ3mX2XVbBo1KMewy4B9cs49rAgJAS_2GCXF4dIP4mmC3oLp688YjIEGHK_ifMlNOVgDMdInwvPbiVexao8-yP34ROnLHnvZmF_0M_M5hl3XqLXZYVl7m9lhAh2zGugoiKM0/s320/Mayor%20Milton%20Devault%201957%20American%20Legion%20Poppy%20Day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Mayor Milton DeVault in 1957</span></i></div></i><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To me
he was just the mayor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Milton
DeVault is the first Kingsport mayor that I can remember. I was seven when he
took office in 1955, succeeding John Wimberly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUG9I9xYkrojvJI8d3ZXmqwznCL9Gfm6uWihjyyYMV0vxhkwXh6IUSSkbp8YmRc2E_f0Mzy2AL5_r-g5ICcIjMqVEeJRfK3UTIP83j3Ue43Cj7CSlLfuZ7ucjNfe4fk6LS05Hx8F2aYE21hSHjLsgF1LUOp8ZJ0Yy4IQwHwvkxArumJjFR_M/s3883/DeVault%20elected%20mayor%20-%20Kingsport_News_Wed__Jul_6__1955_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2822" data-original-width="3883" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUG9I9xYkrojvJI8d3ZXmqwznCL9Gfm6uWihjyyYMV0vxhkwXh6IUSSkbp8YmRc2E_f0Mzy2AL5_r-g5ICcIjMqVEeJRfK3UTIP83j3Ue43Cj7CSlLfuZ7ucjNfe4fk6LS05Hx8F2aYE21hSHjLsgF1LUOp8ZJ0Yy4IQwHwvkxArumJjFR_M/s320/DeVault%20elected%20mayor%20-%20Kingsport_News_Wed__Jul_6__1955_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
my memory he resembled the mayor of Mayberry, short, round, a perpetual grin on
his face. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He did
not look like a legendary athlete. He looked like a mayor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So I
was shocked a few years ago when I began reading about him in newspapers of the
twenties. He was on the earliest Kingsport High football teams and in later
years he was often called the best player ever to suit up for K.H.S. football. And
he played on the same teams with Bobby Dodd! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He
didn’t play one of the glamour positions: quarterback or running back or
receiver. He was a center – “pivot” they called it in the twenties. I never
heard about his athletic prowess growing up. That’s probably because he never
played college football. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha_AdjodJQFh2d3TST4NJJWagFuLRta8jPeOV6tLANRRYgY9MQ4BbDGPvtp-qdMSNT9B2rugSz8DCvRJzAWsAsHbskskwby3HubUgq9LIGks2RDGzruOIcJVey4jnp7ASvXooxDkhAzyTodaatgb0-slFMOmEijgwFqBxcfCdMzPhYGhQ0pM/s542/Milton%20DeVault%20ini%201926%20KHS%20yearbook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="253" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhha_AdjodJQFh2d3TST4NJJWagFuLRta8jPeOV6tLANRRYgY9MQ4BbDGPvtp-qdMSNT9B2rugSz8DCvRJzAWsAsHbskskwby3HubUgq9LIGks2RDGzruOIcJVey4jnp7ASvXooxDkhAzyTodaatgb0-slFMOmEijgwFqBxcfCdMzPhYGhQ0pM/s320/Milton%20DeVault%20ini%201926%20KHS%20yearbook.jpg" width="149" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; text-indent: 0.5in;">Kingsport Central High center Milton "Jargo" DeVault in 1926 yearbook</i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The reason
that he didn’t play college football was that he was often injured. From his
senior yearbook, the 1926 Kingsport Central High School annual: “Because of
injuries Milt did not play in many games this year. In the Knoxville game and
again against Bristol, Va., he limped on the field and so inspired his team
that its line held like a stone wall.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was
only this week, while reading through some more old newspaper clippings, that I
discovered the injury. According to the stories, he had fallen arches that kept him
out much of his senior year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The other
remarkable thing about Milton DeVault that I learned recently was his nickname:
Jargo. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have
no idea what it meant. I haven’t been able to find any reference to what a
Jargo was. But there were other “Jargo’s” in the area over the years: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">J.R.
“Jargo” Evans, a Kingsport auto painter, who appeared occasionally in the crime
reports for possession of alcohol.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Eugene
“Jargo” McConnell, a Nickelsville carpenter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Joris
“Jargo” Catron, a Pennington Gap insurance salesman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Garland
“Jargo” Sluss, a Dungannon coal miner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was
while digging around trying to find out why Milton DeVault was nicknamed Jargo
that I came across this 1942 column by <i>Kingsport Times</i> sports editor
Irwin Cole. He had found in the <i>Times</i> files a 1926 Kingsport High
football program. Cole reported that every one of the 36 players had a
nickname. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Everybody
on the team had a nickname!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cole
added, “I imagine some of the nicknames would bring a chuckle to their families
today [1942] and strange as it may seem some of the nicknames have stuck these
many years.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
gave him an excuse to write about a number of those nicknames:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“They
tell me that Frank Meredith is still ‘Gabby’ and Fred Clyce of bowling fame is
still ‘Speedy’ to his pals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The
team had three brothers, Richard, nicknamed ‘June,’, Guy and Crile Bevington,
and the average age of the squad was 17 years, the average weight 144 pounds.
...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Tennessee
University's Bobby Dodd, now backfield coach at Georgia Tech, was nicknamed
‘Rabbit.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Jimmy
‘Little Jimmy’ Hamlett, the undertaker, certainly showed the bigger boys that
you didn't need heft to play football and it was lots playing tougher playing
the game 16 years ago. ... Jimmy weighed 86 pounds, according to the program,
and stood only five feet tall....<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Malcolm
Coates, brother of Guy Coates of the current team, was quite a player in his
day, and his nickname was ‘Cherry Hill.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Robert
Poston down at Eastman was listed as ‘Frog’ on the 1926 program and he's known
as that to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Forrest
Dorsey, the captain of the team, was known as ‘Humpy.’ ... He is now a school
principal in Michigan.... <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Stanley
Angle, now believed in the armed forces as an officer, was known as ‘Ostrich.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Paul
Hug, now at Memphis State, was known as ‘Cotton Top’ to his cronies..... <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Winton
Compton was ‘Lefty.’... <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Ed
Robinson, brother of the superintendent of schools [Ross N. Robinson] was
‘Crusie’.... <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Nat
Reasor was nicknamed ‘Soup Bone.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
means they had a team made up of Gabby, Speedy, June, Rabbit, Cherry Hill,
Frog, Humpy, Ostrich, Cotton Top, Lefty, Crusie and Soup Bone!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5x3-39CmxRKtLlUQw-td2BcmOZWuEIKCJ3jGg-h22tE4a6o6-Srb8crlZe0zfUzNTf8ayz_mDSVm8KVn6Vt2TCb-wY7-rDQX3csgHYjv5_LBygH-6NwelJbKzpi5hIFMQtFu2gv53UzDBB-FI_2Wr22n3e5jPwp2HUQmc0XHiBoJGwMhMqqs/s7838/Milton%20DeVault%201943%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Thu__Apr_22__1943_.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7838" data-original-width="4620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5x3-39CmxRKtLlUQw-td2BcmOZWuEIKCJ3jGg-h22tE4a6o6-Srb8crlZe0zfUzNTf8ayz_mDSVm8KVn6Vt2TCb-wY7-rDQX3csgHYjv5_LBygH-6NwelJbKzpi5hIFMQtFu2gv53UzDBB-FI_2Wr22n3e5jPwp2HUQmc0XHiBoJGwMhMqqs/s320/Milton%20DeVault%201943%20-%20Kingsport_Times_Thu__Apr_22__1943_.png" width="189" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Milton DeVault in 1943</i></div></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If Jimmy
Hamlett was a lightweight, Milton DeVault was the exact opposite. He was
overweight. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 1925
all 138 boys in the high school were weighed by the Physical Culture department,
according to a story in the <i>Kingsport Times</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At the
first weigh-in, Milton was listed as 16 pounds overweight. (We know from a 1924
newspaper story that he weighed 151 ¾ pounds.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One
boy, Bill Gibson, was listed as 73 pounds overweight! (He weighed 225 pounds according
to the 1927 D-B yearbook). Another, Dan Coates, was 32 pounds over. Milton was
third on the overweight list at 16 pounds over. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I dug
around and found a few nicknames for other players from those early teams: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Gentleman
Bill” Pendleton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Matt
“Shiek” Lunn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tommy
“Stankley” Stevenson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Emary
“Jitney” Blankenbecler<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lee
“St. Vitus” Meredith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Harry
“Zip” Cox<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nicknames
used to be a big part of growing up. Kids were proud of their nicknames. Enos
Lord stood up in my seventh-grade art class and corrected Mr. Buchanan when he
read the roll: “Enos Lord.” “Call me ‘Junebug,’” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A few
years back Lynn Johnson (D-B ’58) told me a few of the nicknames from his
youth. “Bob Strickler was a year behind me in school and from the earliest days
we called him ‘Pot.’ A lovely girl in my class, Mary Belle Cox, was known as
‘Mert.’ Dr. Bill Locke, later President of Northeast State, was known as
‘Cooter.’ Charles Sproles, an excellent football player at D-B in the early
60's, was known as ‘Poochie.’ Kenneth Cross, a dentist from my class, was known
as ‘Bump.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Name
calling was an honor not a disgrace. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
played high school basketball with a Snake, a Scrounge, a Bullet and a Zora Molla. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Snake
wasn’t sneaky, he was six-six and lanky; Scrounge was always diving on the
floor; Bullet supposedly had a bullet shaped head, and Zora Molla took his name from his favorite fighter, Zora Folley. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We
cherished our nicknames. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes
kids wanted a nickname so badly that they would create one. Lynn Johnson told
me Melvin Joseph nicknamed himself “Jose” by writing the name on his football
helmet. “Melvin was a freshman Spanish student at the time. Jose was Spanish
for Joseph.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But
usually the nicknames came from someone else. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
my day one kid was responsible for most of the name-calling, Tony Drakos. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
asked Tony how he came to be the Arbiter of the Epithet. (Actually I asked him
why he gave so many people their nicknames.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“It
may have been partly a reaction to my own nickname. Everybody called me
‘Greek.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first
nickname he bestowed on anyone was Carson Oats for Allan Rice. Tony doesn’t
remember where it came from but you can see a logic: Rice, Oats. “But once I
figured out I could get away with it, I just kept doing it.” He nicknamed Eddie
Grills “Ratt” and Joe King “Winger.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
when Eddie balked at being called “Ratt” Tony assured him it was okay. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Eddie
says, “Tony told me it was spelled with two t’s and that if you pronounced it
backwards it was Ta-Tar!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
who wouldn’t want to be nicknamed Ta-Tar!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYDbKuf77sTNmbXP3P8e5mLapVK_MULbf2BTHf0_UiDXN0a5MAOLeo51C2dorOtPW_kgwhOje2zbSQWLas_OxSFdzj5DfKVw8ByZjf-MVrANNO8tT142fMgfybGwwmQN4RcJYOPCG6AcQJhQuoizeM_gvlj-YOfg2jfdzsBnwkQcicHX6G8o/s2925/1962-63%20D-B%20JV.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="2925" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYDbKuf77sTNmbXP3P8e5mLapVK_MULbf2BTHf0_UiDXN0a5MAOLeo51C2dorOtPW_kgwhOje2zbSQWLas_OxSFdzj5DfKVw8ByZjf-MVrANNO8tT142fMgfybGwwmQN4RcJYOPCG6AcQJhQuoizeM_gvlj-YOfg2jfdzsBnwkQcicHX6G8o/s320/1962-63%20D-B%20JV.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1962-63 D-B B-Team - 'Machine' aka 'Shed' is on back row, third from left</span></i></div></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’ve
had three nicknames over the years – two at the same time - but none of them
ever really stuck. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On
the basketball team Ron Litton nicknamed me “Machine.” It was, of course,
because I was a scoring machine. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pause
for rimshot and laughter. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
was, of course, NOT because I was a scoring machine. I was not a scoring
machine. Just check the score book. It was because I had a herky-jerky style.
At least that’s what Ron said, and still maintains. I have no way of knowing.
There was no videotape in the early sixties. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
was also “Shed” - Dommie Jackson called me that because his dad and my dad grew
up together in the Green Shed section of Fall Branch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Later
when I worked at Channel 10 News in Knoxville during my grad school years, there
were four of us on the night shift and we adopted what we thought were “good
old boy” nicknames for each other. We called our anchor Carl Williams “Junior”
(he actually was a junior). Reporter-photographer Rusty Brashear was “Jerry”
because at the time it seemed every good old boy we interviewed was named
Jerry. Another reporter, Will Fitzgerald, was, naturally, Willard. And I became
Bubba, for no particular reason except that every clot of good old boys seemed
to have a Bubba. Those nicknames lasted about a year before Will took another
job and I quit to get serious about school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jerry
still calls me Bubba – and I still call him Jerry – but it’s more like an old,
old joke than a real nickname.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So what
was your nickname?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And do
you think J. Fred Johnson had a nickname? I can’t imagine what it would have
been. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaDG5GvUMjlLiDQ6DcVoD0BdQKDggT8NNnhXQpo3CaJO1816WVJeDxU-GQnpXcsbgoA88c7eqD2dDRYE-gTky9UHdLf71drazUPYkNIlGnwXOn-tQmx7DOB1_bUUqPcua6Y0cZlp7S04-K1LMOo7VIyGRXay_dWbpb7pmyrd5oMqt9ivntx4/s7553/Milton%20DeVault%201955%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Jun_5__1955_.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-indent: 0.5in;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7553" data-original-width="3852" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaDG5GvUMjlLiDQ6DcVoD0BdQKDggT8NNnhXQpo3CaJO1816WVJeDxU-GQnpXcsbgoA88c7eqD2dDRYE-gTky9UHdLf71drazUPYkNIlGnwXOn-tQmx7DOB1_bUUqPcua6Y0cZlp7S04-K1LMOo7VIyGRXay_dWbpb7pmyrd5oMqt9ivntx4/s320/Milton%20DeVault%201955%20-%20Kingsport_Times_News_Sun__Jun_5__1955_.png" width="163" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mayor Milton DeVault of Kingsport in 1955</span></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcpPsj6V7Co5Mb10MGLtquoUb3OtVryZwXkrRMgwwmHUQT1BtGhFgN7B8nItpSPxtQYtbJzer-HW-XlRDFjM1v8zRZY_g0jdzJ6D4zKK0Acoj8wu3rgnugdaDqvtR1V6H0NCL6tbGdBDYIpEpAF8AE1g_lwKxYJBqA_YH_fiuABAen9G_8Bk/s834/Mayberry%20Mayor%20Floyd%20Pike%20-%201960%20-%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="834" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcpPsj6V7Co5Mb10MGLtquoUb3OtVryZwXkrRMgwwmHUQT1BtGhFgN7B8nItpSPxtQYtbJzer-HW-XlRDFjM1v8zRZY_g0jdzJ6D4zKK0Acoj8wu3rgnugdaDqvtR1V6H0NCL6tbGdBDYIpEpAF8AE1g_lwKxYJBqA_YH_fiuABAen9G_8Bk/s320/Mayberry%20Mayor%20Floyd%20Pike%20-%201960%20-%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mayor Floyd Pike of Mayberry - 1960</span></i></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A
little more about Jargo DeVault:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">David
Milton DeVault was born in 1906 in Fordtown, graduated from Kingsport Central
High School in 1926 and died in Kingsport in 1978 at age 72. He was the Mayor
of Kingsport from 1955 till 1959. He and his wife Florence Baum had two kids,
David who was born in 1938, and Elizabeth “Betty,” who was born in 1941. In the
fifties, when he was mayor, the family lived at 1365 Watauga Street.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">His
“baby brother,” as the <i>Kingsport Times</i> called him, was Charlton
“Chauncey” DeVault who ran a sporting goods store in Bristol. He was also president
of the Appalachian Baseball League for 32 years.</span><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Vince Statenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06178277272078596274noreply@blogger.com0