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In October 1900, five nationally noted speakers participated in a lecture course at the Academy of Music for the Travelers’ Protective Association in Richmond, Virginia. Among those giving talks were East Tennessee’s homespun heroes, Bob and Alf Taylor.

Tickets were sold for each of five evening sessions. A $3.50 combination pass for all five sessions was the best deal with two admissions being offered to each event. An advertisement stated that although there had been an expected heavy demand for the course, some choice seats were still available.

Money collected went into a fund to compensate entertainers who would appear at the Academy the following year. The organizers took particular pride in the fact that they were offering the public a truly first-rate group of recognized talent who would command instant and hearty recognition from the attendees.

Hon. Alfred Taylor kicked off the series on Thursday, Oct. 11 with his celebrated “Life’s Poetry and Pearls,” a speech he had delivered in nearly a hundred cities around the South. He immediately offered his listeners a serious metaphor of human life: “There are heavens of poetry to which no imagination has ever soared; there are firmaments of beauty whose airs no wing has ever tried. Poets have sung since time began – painters, sculptors, and musicians have transferred their dreams to marble, and canvass, and harp strings, yet they have not so much as dipped an oar beneath the surface of that vast ocean of the beautiful whose silvery surf forever breaks on the shadowy shores of human life.”

Bob Taylor brought with him a brand new lecture that he titled, “Sentiment.” It was highly anticipated because attendees knew of Bob’s reputation for powers of pathos, word painting, anecdotes and mimicry: “(Sentiment) hangs a bow in every cloud and sets a star on every horizon. Its morning is a smile; its noon is a joy, its evening a tear. It sweeps the harp strings of human hearts and they thrill with every human passion.”

Bob further amused the crowd with a lighthearted tale: “An old poet of the flowing bowl (punch bowl) came down the village street one bright afternoon swearing he could climb a thorn tree a hundred feet high with a wildcat under each arm and never get a scratch. But the next morning he appeared with a bandage over one eye and a blue knot on his nose and his right arm in a sling. ‘Hello!’ shouted one of his pals. ‘I thought you could climb a thorn tree a hundred feet high and never get a scratch.’ ‘Yes,’ he said in a subdued tone, ‘but I got this comin’ down.’”

The other three presenters were Hon. George R. Wendling (well known in Richmond, speaking on the subject “Mirabeau and the French Revolution”), Dr. Homer T. Wilson (brilliant Texas natural born orator and humorist presenting a talk titled, “Sparks from the Anvil”) and Hon. Luther Manship (versatile, magnetic and amusing orator lecturing on “Dialects of the Nations”). 

Twenty-one of the speeches that Bob and Alf delivered during their illustrious careers, including the two presented at the Association in 1900, can be read in their entirety in the book, Bob and Alf Taylor – Their Lives and Lectures (Paul Deresco Augsburg, Morristown Book Company, 1925). This is a fascinating work that demonstrates the verbal versatility of the famed brothers.

Two colorful local boys, who always had a warm spot in their hearts for their beloved “Happy Valley,” etched their mark in politics and music and made East Tennesseans especially proud of them. I am categorically one of them. 

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Kathleen Hall, librarian at Science Hill High School, shared with me a copy of the school’s first annual, a May 1905 publication known as The Echo (Vol. 1, No. 1).

The Editor-in-Chief was Fred King. Assistant Editors were Emma Hatcher, Fra Matson, Lucy Sitton, Arthur Weaver and Ralph Preas. The Committee on Advertisements included Swannie Robinson and Roma Eiseman.

The smallish 58-page softbound slick paper publication was quite different from annuals today with more of an academic emphasis on a variety of subjects as opposed to a social focus on student activities, news, clubs and sports.

Several editorial comments were featured. “There is no reason why (the school) should be in the rear,” said one. “Other schools publish a paper of some kind and we are determined not to be outdone, hence this effort.” … “In January, the building was slightly damaged by fire. Since then, a fire escape has been added. This will prove indispensable in case of fire if we may judge by the excitement prevalent at the last alarm.” … “This issue of the Echo has been very much delayed on account of the recent fire destroying all our photographs. Next year we promise to have it out on time if not burnt out again.”

One student, Cecil B. Donnelly, offered a brief history of the class of 1905, noting that it was comprised of eight students: Leonidas W. McCown (president), Fred King (vice-president), Maude Beasley (secretary-treasurer), Claire Fulton, Walter Faw Broyles, Ella Russell, Una V. Templin and himself.

Most of the class members were products of Johnson City schools through the tenth grade. The teachers mentioned were Rhoda Campbell, Clara Cloyd, Sue Wood, Laura King, Mattie Bullock, Mary Brown, Ina Yoakley, Willie Reeves and Kate Simpson, W.P. Crouch and John H. Pence.

The school colors were olive and white. The class pin was a wreath surrounding a scroll upon which were carved the letters, “J.C.H.S.” “Non Summas, sed Adscendens” was the motto chosen by those in harmony with the ambition and lofty ideals of the members of the class who were about to embark upon the “storm-tossed sea of life.”

Under a section titled, “Class Prophecy,” Maude Leo Beasley came into possession of a device known as a Mysterioscope that recorded with unerring accuracy the things of the future. Pressing the Telegnostikon key on the instrument revealed what the future held for her classmates. She commented on a few of them.

E.C. Reeves wrote a short essay giving the school’s history, which he stated opened its doors about 45-years ago (1869). The school first organized at Oak Grove as a debating society, located “about two and one-half miles from Johnson City.” Membership included J.M. Carr, H.H. Carr, William Taylor, I.E. Reeves, J.D. Reeves, R.H. Reeves and E.C. Reeves. One year later, the group transferred to Brush Creek Campground, “near where now stands the brick tobacco warehouse west of the city.”

Later, Tipton Jobe donated land for a new school on a downtown hill that was referred to as Science Hill. The new facility was appropriately tagged Science Hill Male and Female Institute. For a time, it served the dual role of school and place of worship for area churches. Eventually, the congregations built their own sanctuaries, leaving the brick structure on the hill solely for education. “The work of the small debating society,” said Reeves, “now almost forgotten, had been as bread cast upon the waters.”

J.E. Brading penned a section that lobbied for a new high school to abate over-crowding and allow a more favorable 30 students per teacher ratio. The Board of Education asked the City Council to erect a new high school.

Next, J.F. Templin provided a short history of two area grammar schools, Columbus Powell and Martha Wilder.

A clever five-verse anonymous poem titled, “His Compensation,” dealt with a student being “kep’ in” after school for detention hall for a variety of school infractions. The last two stanzas humorously read, “I’m kep’ in ef I whisper, An’ I’m kep’ in ef I chaw, The piece of gum I’ve borried, An’ am warmin’ my jaw. The truth is ‘at I’m kep’ in, Most everything I do, But one jolly thing about it, Is the teacher’s kep’ in too.”

Swannie Robinson composed a treatise that dealt with her climbing a hill and noting how the sky dramatically changed as she ascended from “sky blue” to yellow, orange and red as if the very heavens themselves were on fire. Other brief essays were “Mildred’s Heroism, (person not identified)” “How Jim Fooled the Boys” (Arthur Weaver) and “A Mountain Trip” (Oran Ward).

The annual contained a sketch of the Tennessee state flag that on April 17, 1905 was adopted as the official state flag. LeRoy Reeves, an 1894 alumnus of Johnson City High School, who at the time was a lawyer and captain of Johnson City’s National Guard, designed it. The significance of the stars, circle and colors was explained.

Included in The Echo was a list of graduates from 1894 to 1904, including an update of their whereabouts and careers in 1905. One name listed was Regina Eiseman who was educated at Virginia Institute and later became principal of Junior High School.

Another entry was a facsimile program for the “Seventh Anniversary; Science Hill Literary Society; Johnson City, Tennessee; Saturday Night; September 21, 1872; 7 O’clock, P.M.” A printed agenda was distributed to attendees: Prayer, Song by the Choir, Address by the President (H.H. Carr), Oration: Eulogy on Columbus (W.M. Boring), Declamation: The Women of the South (F.H. Berry), Debate: Should Capital Punishment be Abolished? (W.P. Rankin, J.C. King, A.B. Bowman and E.F. Akard), Song, Annual Address (J.M. Johnson) and Benediction.

The annual concluded with 21 business ads: I.M. Beckner; Kirkpatrick, Williams & Bowman; H.W. Pardue; Johnson City Traction Co.; Watauga Electric Company; J.M. Buck Lumber Co.; Frank Taylor; City Drug Co.; The Bee Hive; G.H. Shoun & Co.; Summers-Parrott Hardware Co.; Johnson City Bottling Works; Dulaney-Bailey Co.; Hart and Houston Store; Gump Brothers; Brading & Marshall; J.W. Cass; Wofford Brothers Insurance; D.A. Vines; Unaka National Bank; and Biddle and Ellsworth. 

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In 1909, the year Henry Ford introduced his Model T Ford to the public, there were understandably no automobile dealers or repair shops in Johnson City. Instead, numerous livery stables existed such as Edward S. McClain (W. Market near Boone), Marion McMackin (Locust near Roan) and City Stable (125 W. Market).

By 1917, the number of car dealerships had grown to three: Burrow Motor Co. (339-41 E. Main), E.D. Hanks Motor Co. (119-21 E. Market) and H.R. Parrott Motor Co. (Ash and Buffalo).

Within eight years, 15 businesses attested to the mounting popularity of the automobile: Auto Renewal Co. (520-22 W. Market), Automobile Electric Co. (138 W. Market), Clark Automobile Co. (808 Buffalo), Glover Motor Co. (235 W. Market), Hensley Repair Shop (102 Montgomery), Herrin-Leach Auto Repairing Co. (244 W. Market), H.L. Hobbs (116-18 Water), Kyle Auto Sales Co. (214-16 W. Market), Muse’s Auto Repair Shop (308 W. Main), Offinger-Sewell Chevrolet Co. (114 Jobe), Range Motor Co. (119-21 E. Market), P.W. Sams (518 W. Market), A.J. Shelton & Co. (339-41 E. Main), Universal Motor Corp. (Boone at King) and Young & Goforth (921 W. Main).

Louis Chevrolet and William Durant founded Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. Six years later, General Motors Company acquired it. According to a 1925 newspaper, Chevrolet engaged in an unrelenting quest to add superior value to its vehicles and compete with Ford’s Model T. To accomplish this, Chevrolet chose a few automobiles for “Speed Loop” tests and selected trucks to “Bump Boulevard” evaluations.

Chevy’s “Speed Loop” was located near Milford, Michigan, where cars were driven around it repetitively. The grueling driving assessment was maintained around the clock throughout the year without regard to weather conditions. In the course of a month, seven Chevrolet cars were subjected to the loop for a combined total of 75,000 miles, providing both routine and abnormal driving conditions that cars would not be subjected to by the typical owner. All models were included in the test group.

Two shifts of drivers maintained a pace of between 35 and 40 miles per hour (a high speed then), stopping only for gas, oil and inspection. The dayshift drove from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with a half-hour off for lunch; the night group worked from 7 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. with a 30-minute midnight snack.

The “Loop,” which had no speed restrictions, included three miles of gravel track banked high at the turns and one mile of level concrete straightaway. The section of road leading from the “Speed Loop” to the inspection shop had a 11.6% grade. When each car traveled 1000 miles, it was taken into the shop where it incurred a thorough washing followed by a meticulous examination. This was the only time the vehicles were under cover. An assessment report was then issued to management. 

After a vehicle reached 40,000 miles on its odometer, it was taken into the shop and torn down for additional precision analysis. Often, the inspectors found opportunities for major and minor refinements. No detail was considered too insignificant for consideration of design changes in future models.

Chevrolet trucks were also under continuous testing along “Bump Boulevard.” This consisted of an old unpaved farm road, much like those in rural areas that crossed the 1,146-acre proving ground. The defects and irregularities of this road were purposely left intact to challenge the trucks.

The two testing programs were not without a price. The company used about 4,500 gallons of gasoline monthly, but considered the effort well worth the price.  

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Fiddlers’ conventions became popular in East Tennessee and surrounding areas around the turn of the century and grew even more prevalent in the 1920s, 30s and beyond.

Most rural and many urban Tennesseans had fiddles resting in their closets begging to be played. Conspicuously absent were violins, suggesting a difference between the two instruments or perhaps the two musicians. One dictionary defines a fiddle as “a stringed instrument, see “violin.” Flipping the pages to the definition of a violin produces a similar result, “a stringed instrument, see “fiddle.” To complicate matters, some old-time fiddlers referred to their instruments as violins.

The unfretted fingerboard 4-string devices were heavily utilized at country get-togethers where “choose your partner” was a familiar utterance interspersed between the screeches and screams of fiddle strings. The fiddle became the brigadier general of the traditional instruments performing old-style music. The resulting sound was exhilarating and fans adored it.

The uniqueness of a fiddler was playing by ear and rarely bowing and fingering a tune the same way twice, preferring instead to improvise on selections. This was not the case with the more rigid violinist who received his or her playing orders from sheet music resting on a stand. Fiddle music often received a bad wrap from people who played music in public but had not yet mastered the instrument. Most seasoned fiddlers readily invited novices to play along with them to help them become skilled at their craft.  

A typical fiddlers’ convention usually began in early afternoon and continued into the night. At 1:00 p.m., there would be an open-air concert kickoff with as many as a dozen fiddlers playing at the same time. Thirty minutes later, with the convention now in full swing, the tempo changed producing two hours of breakdown music that echoed into the surrounding hills. Its manner mirrored the simple yet often capricious life of the mountainous community.

Some musical notes appeared reluctant to emerge while others were as flat as a glass of cola that had been long neglected. None of this mattered because the performers were playing the music they loved best to a highly appreciative audience that showed its approval.

The most atypical song of the evening occurred when each fiddler played a different tune in unison with others. The combination of noise, ranging from E flat to canine howls, often qualified for a disturbing the peace citation. The hound dogs present in the crowd settled themselves on their haunches at a safe distance and howled a mournful accompaniment on the refrain. When the smoke cleared and the last fading echo of melody took refuge in the hills, no one appeared to have been injured and the magistrate, who was likely a fiddler, issued no warrants.

The evening continued with a compilation of tunes from a dozen fiddlers sawing away on “Dixie,” “Arkansas Traveler,” “'Billy in the Low Ground,” “Fox Chase” and “Devil's Dream.” Next came a fiddler, described as having plenty of resin on his bow, fingering and bowing to “Bonaparte’s Retreat.” Seven fiddlers followed by grinding out the ditty, “Goin' Long Down to Town.”

The show concluded with a combination of performers playing: “Fire on the Mountain,” “Leather Breeches,” “Sugar in the Gourd,” “Please Don't Shoot the Fiddle,” “Down in Bolson’s Hollow,” “Peter Went A Fishin’” and “Sally Goodin.”

Old-time fiddlers had no place at Grand Opera concerts, but instead were more suited for the Grand Ole Opry. But that wouldn’t occur until 1925 when WSM’s Judge George Hay sounded his distinctive foghorn and invited fiddlers, the likes of Uncle Jimmy Thompson, to entertain at the Ryman Auditorium and over the radio airways.  

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Throughout the years, most small towns that develop into large cities acquired small nicknamed districts that typically vanish with time as the city grows. Johnson City was no exception.

Today’s column deals with some of these localities, most of which are no longer called by that name. See how many of the dozen appellations below you can identify with or perhaps have heard about.

Potlicker (also spelled potlikker and pot liquor) Flats was the vivid label bestowed on a section on the west end of town that surrounded Fall Street. The name likely was derived from a term meaning the broth left in a pan after cooking vegetable greens (collard, turnip or mustard), beef or pork.

Another section of town, loosely sited around Walnut Street at Roan, was called Dogtown. We can only surmise that the area had an inordinate number of dogs roaming around it. Can anyone provide additional information?

Carter Addition denotes another section that endured for some years. It was a tract of land beginning at Virginia Street and running out to the university, taking in sections of Pine, Maple and Walnut streets. It was named for George L. Carter who also lived there and sold land around it.

Stumptown was located east of Roan near Grover Street. It was dubbed by that name because long ago when there were only three houses built there, the surrounding area was cleared of trees but work was stopped, leaving the stumps still standing. This was a benefit for nearby residents because “stripping” the stumps provided a quick and convenient source of firewood.

Tannery Knob, the hill on the north end of Legion Street, was so-called from the tannery  business located at the foot of it that was once operated by Henry Gildersleeve.

Although Maupin Row off King Springs Road still denotes a street, the old Maupin Row section extended out Locust Street to Southwest Avenue and on toward the university. It got its name as an honor to a revered Salvation Army preacher, Theodore Arrowood, and his wife, Reecie, known as the “Angel of Maupin Row.”

The well-known Spring Street cut through a section of downtown that began at E. Main and extended south across the railroad tracks. It acquired its name from a spring that was located at the head of it. Further down the street was a croquet ground where Johnson Citians could engage in the then popular outdoor sport using wooden balls, wire hoops and a mallet. Thomas E. Matson, who was a civil engineer with the ET&WNC, put in a line that carried water from the spring to a business on Tipton Street. He also constructed a standpipe on that line which permitted water to flow into a trough near the location of Poplar Street that provided refreshment for cows and horses.

Perhaps the smallest parcel of land to acquire a name was Fonde Circle (mentioned in my recent Stella Lent article). It was a triangle of ground on the Southern Railroad property where the tracks now cross Market Street. For years it was an unsightly trash heap. When Mr. Fonde, a regional superintendent for the railroad, died, the railroad created a job for his widow to beautify locations along the adjacent train tracks. In that parcel of land, she planted shrubbery, grew flowers and even installed a small pool as a living memorial to her late husband.

Four additional sections of town were Jenny’s Hill situated behind Robin’s Roost on South Roan Street where the first reservoir in Johnson City was sited; Squirrel Hill around Piney Grove; Clinch Hollow, an area on Cherokee Street above Southwest Avenue; and Master Knob a quiet secluded hill on the east side of the intersection of Oakland Avenue and Princeton Road (my favorite place to explore).

Over time, many of the nicknamed districts slipped quietly into yesteryear, but a few are still withy us. If you have others to share, please send them to me. 

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From time to time, I incorporate a history quiz in my columns to challenge Press readers’ memories of vintage Johnson City. Listed below are 15 questions. See how many you can answer without looking at the answers at the end of the column. Older residents should know many of them.

Questions

1. The Sevier Theatre was once located at 113 Spring Street. What was located at this site before that?

2. Was the front entrance to the old Arcade Building from W. Main or W. Market Street?

3. The east block of Main and Market streets had a small walkthrough adjacent to McLellans that provided a convenient access from one street to the other. What popular business operated for years at 124 E. Market in that crosswalk? 

4. F.W. Woolworth’s last location was at 315-17 E. Main, the current site of Hands On Museum. Before that, it was a narrow store on the north side of Main Street between Fountain Square and Roan Street. Was it adjacent to Liggett’s (drug store) or Hannah’s (men’s clothing store)?  

5. Was the front entrance to Parks Belk Department Store from E. Main or E. Market Street?

6. Peter’s Gift Shop was located at 325 E. Main. Many residents (including me) bought tropical fish from Peter because he took such good care of them. What was Peter’s last name?

7. What is the name of downtown Johnson City’s longest running business that is still in operation?

8. Nance Lanes, a bowling alley, once conducted business between E. Main and E. Market at Division. What car dealership previously occupied that site?

9. When the Lady of the Fountain was relocated from Fountain Square in 1937, where did the city put her for a few years before selling her?

10. What was the name of the individual who made, delivered and sold delicious hot tamales downtown to local businesses as well as to pedestrians?

11. What was on the property at the southeast corner of E. Main and Roan before King’s Department Store was built there?

12. The John Sevier Hotel’s original building plans called for how many sections? How many were actually completed? 

13. What once attracted townspeople and visitors to the Faw property at N. Roan and W. Market before the John Sevier Hotel was constructed there?

14. What two city-owned buildings were adjacent to the Leon-Ferenbach plant, situated back-to-back along the east end? One faced King Street, the other W. Market Street.

15. What was the name of the Fire Department’s trusty mixed pit bull canine mascot that faithfully served the city from 1928 until 1936? 

Answers

1. Elk’s Building – BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks). 2. W. Market Street. 3. Arcade Shoe Shop. 4. Liggett’s. 5. E. Main Street. It also had a side entrance from Fountain Square. 6. Peter Naher. 7. Masengill’s. 8. Dan Plank Oldsmobile. 9. At the entrance to Roosevelt (Memorial) Stadium. 10. Will Cope. 11. The Methodist Episcopal Church, today known as the First Methodist Church, now located at 900 Spring Street. 12. Three were planned but only two were completed. 13. A spring that not only became a watering hole for visitors and their animals to the downtown area but also became an essential water supply for Science Hill High School across the street. 14. Johnson City Police Department (north) and Fire Station #4 (south). 15. Boss, operating out of Fire Station #3.  

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An advertisement from a 1930 Johnson City Chronicle and Staff News stated, “If it takes heat to do it, you can always do it cheaper with gas.”

The business paying for that ad was the Washington County Gas Company, which began operation in 1914 in Johnson City. It ushered in the first gas to the city, which then was manufactured from coal. The firm constructed a coal-gas manufacturing plant along the south end of Tennessee Street near Walnut adjacent to the Southern Railway tracks.

A 1917 Johnson City directory shows the business office located at 240 E. Main (future site of the Nettie Lee Ladies Shop). Initially, service was available only to Johnson City residents, but a growing demand for gas prompted management to enlarge the plant in 1922, doubling capacity and allowing gas lines to be extended to serve nearby Elizabethton. The growth of the company resulted in the company changing its name to Watauga Valley Gas Company.

By 1923, the office was relocated just up the street to 329 E. Main where it shared the location with the National Life and Accident Insurance Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and National Mortgage Co. It was sandwiched between the Wofford Building on the west and the businesses of Security Investment Co. and G.W. Toncray and R.P. Eaton (notary publics) on the east. The location would later become the site of the Home Federal Savings and Loan Association. In 1928, the general manager of the operation was E.J. Wagner.

During 1946, there was a shift in technology. The manufacture of gas from coal was discontinued and replaced with gas made from liquefied petroleum (propane). The company’s new facility had an output of one million cubic feet a day, which more than doubled the capacity of the discontinued coal-gas facility.

One year later, the business was sporting a new name – the Watauga Valley Gas Co. located at 331 E. Main. Three years later, the address was shown to be at 334 E. Main. The officers were H.W. Gee, president; T.F. Dooley, secretary/treasurer; and L.L. “Skinny” Hyder, salesman. The new business logo was “Gas Has Got It.”

Beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the early 1959s, officials of the local gas company and another firm, the East Tennessee Natural Gas Company (ETNGC), worked diligently with the Federal Power Commission to bring natural gas into East Tennessee. After several long frustrating delays, the FPC granted a certificate in November 1952 to ETNGC for construction of a 100-mile pipeline from Knoxville to Bristol.

Work began on the project in August 1953, the same month the board of directors of the gas company adopted a new name, the Volunteer National Gas Company, which was indicative of the expanded territory to which service was to be rendered. The arrival of natural gas into the Tri-Cities area was a welcomed and significant event. A ceremony was held on January 16, 1954 at Tri-Cities Airport with Senator Albert Gore, Sr. lighting the long-awaited flame. In attendance were more than 200 area leaders.

With the availability of natural gas in the surrounding area, the company increased sales by more than 300% and added 500 additional customers during 1954. By 1976, the company had 8,000 customers in Johnson City, Elizabethton, Kingsport and Greeneville.

From its humble beginnings in 1914, gas became a true success story. 

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It was bound to happen – the first automobile wreck in Johnson City. According to Dorothy Hamill, former writer for the Johnson City Press-Chronicle, the incident occurred in 1913 and drew a crowd of curious onlookers much like a collision produces today.

Car accidents were an infrequent happening back then because there weren’t that many automobiles motoring along city streets. Instead the primary means of conveyance were an electrically powered trolley system and horse-drawn carriages and wagons.

Fortunately, a photographer who arrived at the scene of the wreck snapped a picture of the overturned vehicle and had some photograph postcards made from it. Picture postcard service was available to the public allowing residents to send messages on a postcard with a personal photo on the front of it. Hamill interviewed Walter R. Allison who lived at 1105 Grover Street, a brother of the car’s owner. He was certain that this was the first wreck in Johnson City. He originally possessed one of the photographs, but later lost it.

Walter, who retired in 1954 after 50 years with the ET&WNC railroad, related the particulars that led up to the mishap. He was one of four brothers who were railroaders and the only one surviving at the time of Hamill’s interview. Francis was a master mechanic and superintendent of ET&WNC; Arthur was an engineer who ran the first passenger train through this area; and Ernest Jr., the youngest of the siblings, was a fireman.

Ernest acquired one of the first automobiles in Johnson City. He was working out west on the Texas and Pacific Railroad when the engine he was firing hit a damaged section on the tracks and flipped on its side, leaving him with several broken ribs. Walter said his brother was young and wanted to get rich quick so he sued the railroad to compensate him for his injuries.

      After the court awarded him $4,500, he returned to Johnson City and purchased a Marathon automobile for about $1500. Marathon Motor Works of Nashville, Tennessee, known for its quality and durability from 1907 to 1914, manufactured the vehicle.  

The impressive looking black automobile was open on the sides, had 36-inch wooden spoke wheels; a battery located on the running board; and a fabric top, which folded back like the covering of a buggy. Side curtains were held in large pockets beside the door. Whenever it rained, the driver had to fasten the curtains to keep his passengers dry. The auto held up to seven passengers because of two side seats in the rear that could be pulled out for extra riders.

The impressive looking Marathon afforded Ernest a moneymaking opportunity – a taxi service that operated from Johnson City to and fromElizabethton and Jonesboro (Jonesborough). At that time, these were about the only fully passable roads in the area. Ernest ran a good business since he had the only taxi service in town. He charged $3 for a trip to or from either neighboring town.

On one eventful December day, Ernest was driving several passengers to Elizabethton. The road then went through Milligan College back of the present highway. Allison was rolling along at 25-mph, which was as fast as his vehicle would travel. Suddenly, he skidded in some loose gravel close to an embankment, lost control and overturned. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.

After the mishap, Ernest decided to abandon his business venture and return to the western portion of the country where he had previously resided. He remained there until his death. 

If anyone has a photograph of the overturned car, please send a copy of it to Brad Jolly at the Johnson City Press for inclusion on the History/Heritage page. Hopefully, one still exists. 

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Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, once practiced law in Jonesborough and Greeneville, residing there for several months in the Christopher Taylor log cabin. He became a polarizing and dominating political figure in the 1820s and 30s who ultimately helped shape the modern Democratic Party.

In January 1915, Andrew Jackson Day was celebrated in Nashville, Tennessee. The Andrew Jackson Memorial Association and the Ladies' Hermitage Association (LHA) were the primary movers in organizing a massive downtown celebration.

One significant portion of the event was to unveil a newly constructed statue as a memorial to “Old Hickory,” paid for from a vast network of local agencies and public contributions. The LHA was praised for their efforts in saving and preserving Jackson’s home place, thereby establishing a model for how preservation of antiquities should be handled.

The day began with a festive parade that organized at Broadway and Eighth Avenue at 10 a.m., moved through the principal streets of the downtown business district to Capitol Boulevard and on to the State Capitol. In the procession were representatives of military, municipal, and patriotic organizations. Along the west side of the Capitol Boulevard behind many bales of cotton, two companies of Confederate soldiers engaged in a mock battle using personnel from two companies of the Tennessee National Guard.

At the conclusion of the reminiscence of the Battle of New Orleans, several young ladies, acting on behalf of the LHA, released several white doves as a token of peace. Upon the Capitol Boulevard, a great throng of spectators heard public addresses from Governor Ben W. Hooper, Major E. B. Stehlman, and Judge S. F. Wilson.

The most impressive ceremonies of the morning were held on the east side of the Capitol under the auspices of the LHA. Here the equestrian statue of General Jackson was decked with wreaths of flowers that had been placed upon it with appropriate remarks by ladies representing the various patriotic organizations. Judge Wilson, Regent of the LHA, delivered the principal address. On the same afternoon, a hickory tree was planted at Centennial Park in Jackson’s honor.

That evening, about 200 citizens attended a banquet at the historic Maxwell House. The toastmaster, Mr. Robert L. Burch, introduced seven prominent speakers. Later, a dazzling ball was held at the Hermitage Hotel.

The next morning, the Daughters and many invited guests made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Andrew Jackson at the Hermitage. The burial place had previously been appropriately decorated. Several speakers were introduced. One lady gave an interesting personal reminiscence of General Jackson and read an affectionate and treasured letter written by the general to her mother. Another person told some incidents of the attack on Baltimore by the British and the defense of Fort McHenry. The originator of the pilgrimage spoke to a group of school children from Old Hickory School, reminding them of Jackson's work in the Indian warfare of the southern country.

Finally, two wreaths of evergreen gathered from the old church that had been built in 1823 by Jackson for his wife, were placed upon the graves of General and Mrs. Jackson. After these exercises and a luncheon, the final speaker presented a paper dealing with Jackson’s storied career.

This brought to a close a day enjoyed to the fullest by a deeply interested and appreciative audience. It was a fitting tribute to a fitting man – Andrew Jackson. 

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I acquired a May 24, 1940 edition of “Junior High News – Graduation Edition,” a 12-page student publication chocked full of names and facts. The item is in the Pat Watson (once owned Pat’s Trading Post) collection of the Archives of Appalachia. 

The newspaper staff consisted of Anna Marie Irish, Editor-in-Chief; Mary Ellen Gregg, News Editor; Dorothy Lynn Brown, Club Editor; Herschal Ottinger, Art Editor; Hoyle Chancellor, Boys Sports Editor; Marjorie Brumit, Girls Sports Editor; and Frank Martin, Business Manager.

The headline announced that 225 students were graduating from Junior High School, as being the largest class in the history of the school since its beginning in 1922. The periodical further stated that the second largest class had graduated the previous year when 200 students received diplomas. The commencement theme was titled, “And They Shall Read,” depicting 500 years of printing and its effect on history.

The annual Honor Banquet was scheduled for the following Friday evening at 6 o’clock in the school cafeteria for 250 specially invited guests. The invitees were students earning letters from the school, members of the Junior High P.T.A and faculty.

A popular feature of the paper was the joke page depicting funny stories that fictitiously occurred between students and teachers. For instance: A teacher by the name of Helen Jones, after being annoyed by a student’s constant interruptions during class said, “Frank Martin, are you teaching this class?” His response was “No madam.” The teacher followed with “Then don’t talk like an idiot.”

The graduating class presented a lively comedy, “Apple Blossom Time,” on Friday evening, May 3 at 7:45 with a capacity crowd filling the massive 1000-seat auditorium. A calendar showed the final events for May: “9A Play, May 3; Letter Awards in Assembly, May 23; Honor Banquet, May 24, 6 p.m.; Class Work Closes, May 27, 11:30 a.m.; Reorganization for Fall Term and Receive Report Cards, May 28, 8:30 a.m.; and Promotion Exercises with Exhibits from Various Departments, May 28, 2:30 p.m. The calendar indicated that school would begin again on Sept. 3, 1940.

One section in the paper was similar to superlatives found in high school annuals, each one containing a different letter of the alphabet: Athletic, Baritone, Cute, Dumb, Earnest, Flirt, Gardner, Hopeful, Inquisitive, Jealous, Kissable, Little, Meddler, Nimble, Odd, Pest, Quiet, Restless, Saucy, Tumbler, Useless, Vacant, Whimsical, X (indicating unknown quantity), Yawners and Zestful. One or two students were listed under each category.

Miss Mary Nelle Givens, 9A student, won the title of Milk Queen in a contest sponsored by the Johnson City Milk Producers Association by defeating a representative from Science Hill. The margin was 3000 votes. The school was awarded $50 as first prize, the money being used to purchase new library books. Mary Nelle won $10 and a free pass to the Majestic Theatre for a month. She was also chosen as the school’s most popular girl in a run-off contest with three other contestants – Betty Asquith, Anna Marie Irish and Rosemary Murray.

The publication concluded with several students commenting on the teachers they would soon be leaving behind at Junior High and beginning their daily trek up 88 steps to Science Hill High School. The list included Mr. McCorkle, Miss Bradshaw, Miss Candler, Miss Archer, Miss Hart, Miss Taylor, Miss Whitehead, Mr. Oakes, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Hall, Mr. Dyer, Miss Jeffries, Miss Mathes, Miss Barnes, Miss Van Gorder and Mr. Sherrod.   

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