September 2006

Area folks were saddened recently to hear about the passing of Knoxville’s blind gospel music icon, J. Bazzel Mull (1914-2006).

About 1957, I routinely tuned my radio to the “Mull Singing convention of the Air” over WLAC in Nashville. The program regularly featured my favorite gospel group, the Chuck Wagon Gang. Preacher Mull, a grandson of circuit-riding preacher, Wallace B. Mull, opened his program with these memorable words, spoken in his distinctively gravely voice: “Howdy neighbor. This is your old friend J. Bazzel Mull,” to which his wife, Elizabeth, would reply “and Mrs. Mull.”

Mull would often say something over the air and solicit confirmation from his wife by asking her, “Ain’t that right, Lady Mull?” Her response was always, “That’s right.” Pastor Mull’s signature signoff to conclude his program was “Thanks for your time, at this time, until next time.” Mull’s blindness resulted from a fall into an open fireplace at age 11. Lady Mull assisted her husband in the studio by announcing song selections and cueing records.

The preacher’s affiliation with Johnson City began in early 1940 when he came here to conduct a revival at a Baptist church in the vicinity of Fall Street. The evangelist and his younger brother, Romulus, a talented singer, guitar player and pianist, soon took up residence in the city, moving from Burke County, NC.

The Elbert and Gladys Bowman family became acquainted with the Mull brothers after inviting them to have supper with them at their E. Unaka home. Mull then extended an invitation to the three oldest Bowman brothers  – Weldon, Jake and Buddy, all accomplished vocalists – to sing at his evangelistic meetings.

Weldon recalled his joyful association with the famed preacher: “I was only about 18 years old when the three of us began singing at his gospel music crusades. I often became his ‘eyes’ by reading the Bible to him. He amazed me with how much scripture he could remember. He later gave me a Bible for assisting him in his ministry. I kept in touch with Pastor Mull over the years, usually calling him on his birthday and during the Christmas holidays. He did so much good for people during his lifetime.”

By about 1941, Mull moved to Knoxville where his ministry was aided by successful grocer and politician, Cas Walker. Romulus joined the Air Force and died in a prisoner of war camp in 1944. During his lifetime, Mull owned four Tennessee radio stations and was heard over numerous radio and TV facilities. During one radio broadcast, some pranksters rigged the studio sound system to trick Mull into believing that a popular song being heard in the booth was accidentally being broadcast over the air.

The Reverend organized several churches in North Carolina and Tennessee, including being pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in the Boones Creek community for a few months in 1947.

Today, the Bowman Family’s four younger brothers – Jim, Ray, Tony and Robert – occasionally dress up and perform a hilarious “musicomedy” imitation of the Mulls, followed by their robust singing of the Chuck Wagon Gang’s “Higher We Climb Every Day.”

On behalf of all East Tennesseans, let me offer heartfelt thanks to our old friends … “J. Bazzel Mull” … “and Mrs. Mull” … for your time, at this time, until next time. And thats right, Lady Mull” 

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Rita Garst wrote me a note commenting on the Hotel Windsor and other former hotels in downtown Johnson City. She shared some humorous stories.

“As a kid, she said, “I thought those buildings were skyscrapers; they looked awfully big back then. The last time I went to Asheville on the old highway, I noticed that the old barn that had Windsor Hotel painted on its roof was still there.”

My column in early May offered an epigrammatic history of this long-standing hotel (1909-1961), known briefly as Hotel Pardue before permanently becoming Hotel Windsor. I mentioned that the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs once held their meetings there. However, I didn’t mention the fact that, according to former club member, Allen Harris, Sr., William Jennings Bryan once dined there with the Rotarians. I also didn’t elaborate on just how rowdy these all-male early meetings could become. Horseplay was often the order of the day. The club dining room was then located on the street floor.

The Rotary Club assigned members a seat and charged a quarter to those who were late to the meeting. Paul Smith, former Johnson City Press-Chronicle writer, in an article written just prior to the razing of the old hostelry, offered some humorous examples of the variety of pranks that occurred back then. At one Rotary meeting, members were aghast when one of the hotel waitresses boldly stepped forward and announced to the club president that one of the club members present was the father of her unborn child.

The club leader, playing along with the impromptu gag, asked for the guilt party to stand up like a man and identify himself. Unknown to the group, one chair had been wired to produce a mild electrical shock. At that precise time, a switch was flipped, sending a shock wave to the man sitting in that particular chair. The “guilty” club member immediately sprang to his feet, bringing a spontaneous roar of laughter from those present.

On another occasion, a fake holdup was staged with masked robbers running in brandishing guns, creating bedlam for the frightened onlookers. Some clubbers dove out windows to escape being pilfered or injured. One poor soul was last seen running well past the Lady of the Fountain statue in Fountain Square Park across the street.

Such rambunctious carryings-on were not confined to Rotarians. Lonnie McCown, a longtime secretary of the Kiwanis Club, recalled an amusing event. Members were seated for what they thought was a normal meeting – discussing the issues of the day and enjoying a deliciously cooked meal. Suddenly, two “clumsy” waiters, carrying full loads of dishes on their trays, collided in the meeting room. The impact produced massive quantities of broken chinaware and initiated harsh words between the two servers.

In the “scuffle” that ensued, the “irate” workers drew pistols and began firing at each other. Those present dived under tables and sought whatever shelter they could find to prevent being hit by the barrage of “gunfire.” To the relief of everyone, it soon became apparent that the whole thing was a carefully orchestrated hoax and that the tricksters were in reality using blank cartridges to carry out their foolery.

Perhaps because of these pranks, the Kiwanis Club moved its meetings from Hotel Windsor to the Avalon Dining Room at 309 E. Main Street, later becoming the site of Penney’s Department Store. 

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I received a handwritten letter from Geneva Feathers, offering some largely forgotten memories of West Side School in 1930.

In her letter, she mentioned two West Side Schools, one having been located at 812 W. Market Street and the other at 349 W. Main Street, the one she attended. Why would Johnson City have two grammar schools with identical names? Let me present some facts in the form of five exhibits to help clarify this enigma.

Exhibit 1 is a large metal plate mounted on the west side of the front doors to the old Henry Johnson School on W. Market Street school that reads: “West Side School – Erected 1930.”

Exhibit 2 is likewise a plate attached to the east side of the same entrance: “Renamed Henry Johnson 1934 – Erected AD 1930.” The school was indeed known as West Side School for those four years. 

Exhibit 3 is a photograph from The Overmountain Press publication, Johnson City – The Way We Were, a reprint of a 1909 compilation by J.O. Lewis, identifying the Main Street school as West End School. This building was most likely situated near what was the west end of town around the turn of the century.

Exhibit 4 is a quote from Mary Nell Rader, a local resident who once attended the Main Street school: “I remember when both schools were called West Side School until one was renamed Henry Johnson School.”

Finally, Exhibit 5 is the interesting letter I received from Mrs. Feathers:

“Your previous column brought back memories for me. My family moved from Erwin to Johnson City in June 1930 and I started at Old West Side School that fall. The school we later knew as Henry Johnson had just been completed and was being used for the first time – it was known then as New West Side. Mrs. W.B. Ellisor, whose husband was mayor of Johnson City, served as principal of both schools. Miss (Mildred) Taylor was teaching at Old West Side even then, but I did not have her for any classes. Miss Ruth Massengill was my homeroom teacher (fifth grade) and I had Miss Bethea for Music. My homeroom teacher in the sixth grade was Miss Mildred Adams. Miss Cora Mae Crockett taught Geography. I had never heard of Davy Crockett then, but I remember her telling us about her ancestor who had gone to Texas to fight (at the Alamo).

“Mr. Judson Carter taught Arithmetic and, although I never knew why, he always had a wooden yardstick with him, which he used as though it were a cane. Miss Frances Long was the music teacher that year. Most of us who lived close enough – for me four blocks – to walk home for lunch did so and we could easily get back within the allotted hour. The school had no lunch room facilities. Students were permitted to go across the street to a mini-grocery run by a Mrs. Laws. She sliced meat from her refrigerated meat case and made sandwiches for the kids. My favorite was boiled ham on a bun for a a nickel and a penny red licorice stick for 'dessert.'”

I believe we can accurately conclude that there were indeed two grammar schools sharing the same designation between 1930 and 1934.

Why did the second school not receive a different name at the onset, instead of four years later? When did West End School become West Side School? Perhaps other Press readers will respond to those two questions. 

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I received a handwritten letter from Geneva Feathers, offering some largely forgotten memories of West Side School in 1930.

In her letter, she mentioned two West Side Schools, one having been located at 812 W. Market Street and the other at 349 W. Main Street, the one she attended. Why would Johnson City have two grammar schools with identical names? Let me present some facts in the form of five exhibits to help clarify this enigma.

Exhibit 1 is a large metal plate mounted on the west side of the front doors to the old Henry Johnson School on W. Market Street school that reads: “West Side School – Erected 1930.”

Exhibit 2 is likewise a plate attached to the east side of the same entrance: “Renamed Henry Johnson 1934 – Erected AD 1930.” The school was indeed known as West Side School for those four years. 

Exhibit 3 is a photograph from The Overmountain Press publication, Johnson City – The Way We Were, a reprint of a 1909 compilation by J.O. Lewis, identifying the Main Street school as West End School. This building was most likely situated near what was the west end of town around the turn of the century.

Exhibit 4 is a quote from Mary Nell Rader, a local resident who once attended the Main Street school: “I remember when both schools were called West Side School until one was renamed Henry Johnson School.”

Finally, Exhibit 5 is the interesting letter I received from Mrs. Feathers:

“Your previous column brought back memories for me. My family moved from Erwin to Johnson City in June 1930 and I started at Old West Side School that fall. The school we later knew as Henry Johnson had just been completed and was being used for the first time – it was known then as New West Side. Mrs. W.B. Ellisor, whose husband was mayor of Johnson City, served as principal of both schools. Miss (Mildred) Taylor was teaching at Old West Side even then, but I did not have her for any classes. Miss Ruth Massengill was my homeroom teacher (fifth grade) and I had Miss Bethea for Music. My homeroom teacher in the sixth grade was Miss Mildred Adams. Miss Cora Mae Crockett taught Geography. I had never heard of Davy Crockett then, but I remember her telling us about her ancestor who had gone to Texas to fight (at the Alamo).

“Mr. Judson Carter taught Arithmetic and, although I never knew why, he always had a wooden yardstick with him, which he used as though it were a cane. Miss Frances Long was the music teacher that year. Most of us who lived close enough – for me four blocks – to walk home for lunch did so and we could easily get back within the allotted hour. The school had no lunch room facilities. Students were permitted to go across the street to a mini-grocery run by a Mrs. Laws. She sliced meat from her refrigerated meat case and made sandwiches for the kids. My favorite was boiled ham on a bun for a a nickel and a penny red licorice stick for 'dessert.'”

I believe we can accurately conclude that there were indeed two grammar schools sharing the same designation between 1930 and 1934.

Why did the second school not receive a different name at the onset, instead of four years later? When did West End School become West Side School? Perhaps other Press readers will respond to those two questions. 

Read more

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