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My two articles concerning Dr. Artie Isenberg, an early horse-riding physician in East Tennessee, prompted a letter from Dr. Samuel Taylor Bickley, a former resident of the area. He grew up on a farm not far from the Isenberg home.

Dr. Bickley recalled: “My maternal grandmother, Mrs. Sam Gray, better known as “Mide,” had a large farm on Gray Station Road. Artie would occasionally drop by for dinner if he were in the area. I remember him very well. He was a rather large man and had clacking false teeth that could be quite frightening to small children. His horse had saddlebags full of little containers of pills, instruments and other assorted items necessary to his trade. I remember how his stethoscope had to be assembled by screwing the earpiece to the sounding chamber before it was applied to the chest.”

Bickley recalled when Dr. Isenberg came to their home after he and his sister, Carolyn, had eaten too many mulberries: “He dosed us both with calomel and told our grandmother to make us drink lots of buttermilk. I have not liked buttermilk since.”

Samuel said that the principles of aseptic technique are much different today than they were in those days. He offered an example: “Once my father, Jonathan Bickley, cut his leg with a knife during haying season. He bled a lot and Artie was sent for. Carolyn had just learned to drive and I remember her flying down the driveway and around the corner on two wheels in our 1934 Chevrolet coupe. Artie found my father lying on the granite walk. He just squatted down, pulled a kit from his pocket, took a needle and string from it and sewed up my father’s wound. “Fortunately, John Bickley did not get tetanus or infection. However, he was abed for several days due to blood loss.”

Bickley deemed Dr. Isenberg a versatile physician, saying that he could “prise” a tooth one minute, set a patient’s bone the next and then promptly perform a hernia operation on someone’s pig. Bickley further recalled: “Dr. Isenberg mentioned the difficulties of travel in the early years of the 1900s. Doctors went on horseback, as there were no cars or paved road, often having to ford creeks and rivers on horseback.”

Samuel questioned one statement made in Artie’s diary that Dr. Leab drowned fording a river on horseback: “My grandmother, all her sisters and her cousin Lulu Leab Barnes were all descendants of Dr. Leab and I never heard that story discussed. Dr. Leab may have been the first trained physician in what is now the state of Tennessee, having come from Wurtzburg, Germany and settled in East Tennessee before the Revolutionary War. The doctor lived in a community called Clara, which is near the old Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church burying ground (off Hales Chapel Road). The Leab store at Clara was probably the second post office in Tennessee, the first being at Spurgeon, at the mouth of Cedar Creek on the Holston River. Many of Dr. Leab’s descendents are well-known and useful citizens of the area, including Miss Grace Leab, who taught English at Teacher’s College in Johnson City. She taught me and Carolyn both.”

Samuel commented that Ellen Gresham did a remarkable job of detailing the history of the Leab family in her history of Hale’s Chapel Christian Church. The former resident concluded his letter by saying: “I hope this smattering of local history may be of some interest to your readers.” Let me assure you, Dr. Bickley, that it is. 

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I received a beautifully written and moving narrative of a beloved horse named Kumpthing that etched out its place in the hearts of one area family.

Bill and Ginny Adams, former city residents and graduates of Science Hill High School, own the family farm in Jonesborough where they soon plan to retire. Bill related this touching story that began on April 17, 1965: “The first time we saw the big chestnut colt with the partially white tail, we knew right away that he was going to become ours and something told us that he knew even before we did that we were going to become his.”

While living in Illinois, the family purchased Kumpthing for their young daughters – Dawn, Dian, and Denice. The steed, officially registered as “Something Chief,” was foaled on a farm that gave common names to their horses that began with a “K.”

In the spring of 1974, the family took Kumpthing on a visit to the family’s East Tennessee farm. According to Bill: “It had lush green pastures, groves of trees all around and water flowing from natural springs. The view is southward toward the Smoky Mountains, near the Nolichucky River, and not far from the Appalachian Trail.”

The gentle horse was allowed to run free with numerous other pasturing inhabitants that included a 1200-pound Charlois bull named “Buck.” The new guest immediately began to fit in with the other grazers. Each evening, he would lead the herd to the barn, where he had his own private stall and would be fed grain by Grandpa “Major” Adams, referring to Ward Bond’s portrayal of Major Seth Adams on TV’s “Wagon Train.”

Bill and family soon returned to their Illinois home without their horse. In 1976, they relocated to Chesterfield, MO.To appease his girls, Bill traveled to his farm and brought the horse back to a nice well-equipped stable near their new residence.  The family returned to their East Tennessee residence in early summer of the following year and again brought Kumpthing with them.

“Upon arrival and his release from the trailer,” said Bill, “he took off at full gallop, kicking up his heels, as he raced up the lane and across the meadow toward a grove where the cattle were laying.” When the time came for the family to return to Missouri, the horse balked and resisted efforts to put him in the trailer. They reluctantly decided to let him stay at the farm.

Prior to the death of “Major” Adams in later years, the family leased the farm’s pasture to a good friend and neighbor known as “Preacher,” who allowed Kumpthing to continue his relaxed and carefree lifestyle. While in East Tennessee, the steed developed a lot of “Cow,” meaning a horse with the ability to work calves that are being cut from herds in competition. He eventually became known as the “King of the Cows.”

Sad news arrived at the Adams household in the spring of 2000, about the time of the animal’s 35thbirthday. Bill recalls that awful day: “We received a call from ‘Preacher’ telling us that he had found Kumpthing dead that morning, lying peacefully under one of the white pine trees that he loved, with the cattle standing close around. After regaining our composure and drying our eyes, we asked him to select a spot at the top of the highest point on the hill overlooking the Smoky Mountains to the south and to lay him to rest there.”

The family came back to their farm with a specially prepared marker for their favorite pet’s grave and to say goodbyes to an extraordinary friend that preferred living and dying in the foothills of East Tennessee.  

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Most area folks are probably unaware that a record was made in New York City on Oct. 21, 1926 that told of an alleged fox chase on beautiful Buffalo Mountain. Jointly owned Vocalion and Brunswick record company released the classic song, “Governor Alf Taylor’s Fox Chase,” by the Hill Billies (a.k.a. Al Hopkins and His Buckle Busters).

The humorous tale on a 78-rpm breakable disc begins with these words: “Gov. Alf Taylor of Tennessee and his sons, Alf, Nat, Dave and Blaine, own a kennel of foxhounds, from 50 to 100 famous dogs.”

On the recording, Alf, his boys and their favorite Walker hound dog, Old Limber, join Gray Station resident, Ben Jenkins, and his canine buddy, Old Zeke, for a hunting expedition on Buffalo Mountain.

Alf first turns Old Limber, “the best foxhound that ever went in the woods,” loose to see what he can do. Soon thereafter, Ben releases Old Zeke.

The song flip-flops between Al’s narrative of the hunting event and my great uncle, Charlie Bowman, imitating the dogs on his fiddle cleverly giving each dog a different sounding “bark.” Whenever the animals go out of hearing range, Al asks his fiddler to “play a little tune.”

The record concludes with Old Limber snagging a red fox and Old Zeke grabbing a rabbit. Such comedic routines were very popular in the 1920s.

Mack Houston of Piney Flats recalls when his father, John, took his nine-year-old son on hunting trips to Buffalo Mountain. The year was 1934, just five years after the road from Johnson City to Erwin was paved.

According to Mack, these events usually centered on a nearby popular attraction along the Johnson City side of the mountain, a little over halfway below the top and west of White Rock:  

“There was a tap on the main water supply line from Limestone Cove to Johnson City on property owned by the Gifford family. This arrangement provided them with a free water source. These nice folks allowed people to freely access their waterspout.”

John Houston remembered occasionally talking with Bob and Alf Taylor and members of their family as they embarked on hunting expeditions. Their outings usually transcended two or three nights.

The elder Houston said that the Taylor family employed a man by the name of Andy Trent as caretaker of the dogs. If one got lost during the hunt and couldn’t be located, the family offered a reward for its return.

“The waterspout area became a popular hangout for people of all ages.” said Mack. “They brought guitars, fiddles and mandolins with them to sing and play music.

 “Some folks rode horses there and set up camp, staying for several days. Hunters brought their dogs with them and tied them nearby.

“When the dogs were eventually turned loose (like in the song), they made the awfulest noise you ever heard. Those critters ran wildly all over the mountain, sometimes lasting into the wee hours of the morning. This was music to our ears.”

Mack recalled that people filled glass jugs with water before returning home and used it for washing, bathing, drinking and occasionally pouring into a cistern.

Mack concluded: “Another favorite sport on Buffalo Mountain was hunting chestnuts, usually done on Sunday afternoons. This occurred before the terrible blight destroyed all the chestnut trees.”

If anyone has memories or photographs of the Buffalo Mountain waterspout area, I would love to hear from you. 

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A perennial struggle with parents is getting their young child into a barber chair for a haircut. In the 1940s, one unique barbershop in Johnson City came up with an imaginative way of dealing with this difficulty. 

My parents regularly took me to the OK Barbershop at 117 W. Market Street, located across from Powell’s Department Store. The barber was Burton Stansberry. The hairdresser trimmed my locks while I straddled a carnival horse. The shop was possibly named after the OK Corral. Prior to 1939, it was located at 111 Buffalo.

Oddly enough, the barbershop also contained a jewelry store, C.E. Hale Jewelers, owned and operated by Clarence and Ruth Hale. The barber chairs were on the right as you entered and the elongated jewelry counter was to the left. The hobbyhorse stood motionless next to the window.

I vaguely recollect Mr. Stansberry as being a soft-spoken man with a knack for turning a hair-raising experience into a pleasurable one. I looked forward to my next trip in two weeks. This haircutter offered his young guests the option of sitting in a regular chair with a seat across the arms or climbing onto the horse. I always chose the latter. Before giving me a trim, the gentle barber began by asking me if I would like to feed his hungry horse. He preceded to hand me a tissue with orders to place it in the horse’s mouth. The paper fit snugly between the animal’s lips without falling out. It stayed there until it was time for the next youngster to get a haircut and feed the “hungry” horse.

During the next ten minutes of grooming, this witty barber chatted with me about subjects ranging from his horse to what I did for recreation. I was so mesmerized I hardly realized I was in a barbershop. After I became too old to sit on a carnival horse, I switched to another barbershop. However, on visits downtown, I regularly stopped by the OK Barbershop to gaze through the window at my old buddy. The horse was later retired but remained in the window for an extended period of time.

I started going to Bill’s (Garland) Barber Shop at 268 W. Market, former site of the Red Store. Bill frequently talked about the Little League team at Kiwanis Park that he coached. I enjoyed his lively conversations. Over the years, I frequented several area barbershops, one being (Clinton) Durham’s Barbershop at 700 Lamont Street, opposite the VA Center’s main entrance. He presented me with a moneymaking opportunity by encouraging me to charge a dime for impatient customers to go ahead of me. That helped pay for my 50-cent haircut.

Primus Dees, who worked at the Majestic Barbershop at 241 E. Main, cut my hair for a couple of years. Primus sold vacuum cleaners on the side, which he kept in a rear closet at the shop. I occasionally went with my father to the Palace Barbershop at 302 S. Roan (around the corner from Liggett’s Drug Store). Boyd Purdy was Dad’s favorite barber.

Other area tonsorial parlors from the mid 1950s included the Arcade (Arcade Building), Capital (144 W. Main), City (129 W. Main), Congress (119 E. Fountain Square), Empire (1017 E. Fairview), Hill’s (427A W. Walnut), Jack’s (1102 Division), John Sevier (204 S. Roan), J.S. Martin (121 Buffalo), Donald Messimer (923 W. Walnut), People’s (209 E. Maple), Sanitary (111A Spring), Smitty’s (115.5 McClure) and Windsor (104 Windsor Way).

If you recall a favorite clip joint or had your hair cut on the OK Barbershop horse, I would like to hear from you. I hope someone will recall the horse’s name, if he had one. 

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Richard Jackson, a 1958 Science Hill High School graduate, permitted me to examine a 1921 Wataugan that he purchased from an antique store. It was a jewel.

The title page acknowledged this annual’s significance: “The Wataugan – Volume 1 – 1921 – Published by the senior class of Johnson City High School.” The book contained 61 pages including 32 pages of ads. One page showed two remarkable photographs: “Science Hill as it WAS” and “Science Hill as it is NOW.” Judging from the slant of “the hill,” the old school appeared to face south toward E. Market.

The new school faced N. Roan and seems to have been snapped before the students began classes there. Material, dirt piles and light snow appear all over the grounds. The 23 faculty members included Mr. D.R. Haworth, superintendent and Miss Lucy Hatcher, principal. Mrs. Will Lusk served as librarian and Miss Maude Hodge was school nurse.

Perhaps the most significant section of the periodical was the “Alumni Association Roll,” listing the names of school graduates between 1894 and 1921. (See complete list of names below.) Oddly enough, the class of 1910 is not shown. Does anyone know why? The class of 1894 had only seven students; the one for 1920 displayed 48.

Several prominent names appeared in the register, including possibly the most recognized alumni, LeRoy Reeves (1894), designer of the Tennessee State flag in 1905. Student Edwin Crouch masterfully penned an essay titled “Happy Valley – The Watauga,” that commences with these carefully chosen picturesque words: “The valley of the beautiful Watuaga, reposing like a vale of cashmere in the midst of green hills and towering mountains half veiled in the purple haze that is born of ‘magnificent distances,’ is one of those charming spots on earth.”

Three students shown in the photos became prominent doctors in Johnson City: Charles Gresham, William G. Preas and Carroll H. Long. The school’s calendar revealed two significant events for Feb. 9, 1921. The Wataugan became the official name for the annual and maroon and gold were adopted as the school colors.

Male students had a choice of four literary societies: Adelphian, Jacksonian, Jeffersonian and Wilsonian. The ladies boasted of seven: Athenian, Lanier, Pocahontas, Utopian, Victorian, Frances E. Willard and Ossolian. As always, the ads were interesting to read, such as this sampling of the 90 displayed in the back pages of the annual:

“The Hanks-Morris Motor Company – Distributors of Cadillac, Oakland and Overland.”

“Fountain Square Furniture Company – Johnson City’s Cheapest Store, At the Sign of the Rocking Chair.”

“East Tennessee Normal School – A school for the education and training of teachers, Expenses very low – Tuition free; Sidney G. Gilbreath, President.”

“The Liberty Theatre – Quality Plays.”

“Masengills – Have you seen the new models of Betty Wales Dresses, which we are showing? They are irresistible.”

“H.M. Smith Co. – You can get there walking, but you will get there quicker and with more ease if you ride a National Bicycle.”

Blanche Crigger laments her graduation from high school with this brief poem: “Turn backward, turn backward. O, Time, in thy flight. To my dear old school days. Just for one night.”

In upcoming columns I will feature sports and additional material from Richard Jackson’s remarkable find.

 

Science Hill High School Alumni

1894-1920 

Class of 1894

Carrie Ball, W.R. King, Gertrude Mitchell, W.H. Gildersleeve, Sue Wood, (Miss) Willie Reeves, LeRoy Reeves. 

Class of 1895

Laura Faucette, Leucretia Eubanks, Raymond P. Reeves. 

Class of 1896

Mary Faucette, Neva Painter, Elizabeth Carr, Frank Mitchell, Earl Jackson, Will Pouder, Mamie Grant and Charlie Biddle. 

Class of 1897

Haskiel H. Dyer, Fred W. Hoss, Josie Lusk, Luster Painter, Sanna Biddle, Frank Gildersleeve, Walter H. Hunter, Will N. Hoss, Ada Wood. 

Class of 1898

Ailene Galloway, Beatrice Reeves, Mamie King, Stanley Reeves. 

Class of 1899

Mattie Bullock, Alice Campbell, Paul B. Carr, Ada Darden, Arthur Erwin, Leola Martin, Jennie Lusk, Will B. Miller, Eva Lusk, Thomas Kirkpatrick, Walter J. Miller, Mamie Hickey, Lillie Painter, Lucy Pouder, Bessie Weaver. 

Class of 1900

Almanda Boucher, Bessie Ball, Maxie Cox, Ethel Cloyd, Lillian D’Armond, Winifred Grant, Lula Hunter, Gordon Henderson, J. Foster Hoss, Clarence King, Mable Jackson, Joe T. Matson, Haynes Miller, Helen Mumpower, James A. Pouder, May Reeves, Carrie Snyder. 

Class of 1901

Will E. Hatcher, Bessie Painter, Lowry Cary, Vest Cross, Ethel Smith, Jessie Dulaney, Edward M.S. Crumley, Mabel Davidson, Maude Lust, Lucy Hatcher, Ethel Beals, Eva Lyle, Lizzie Mitchell, Roxie Slaughter, Mack Smith. 

Class of 1902

Charles Bullock, Jennie Austin, Lena Barton, James Beals, Olga Boyd, Walter Brown, Ella Burrow, Kate Carr, Regina Eiseman, Nellie Gammon, Grace Hart, Lora Hickey, Walter Hodges, Pearl Lyle, Maggie Martin, Ira Matson, Harry D. Miller, Nora Miller, Bob Mitchell, Virgil Slaughter, Nellie Wade, Graham Wilbourne, John Wood. 

Class of 1903

Bertha Burgess, Nell Carr, Ollie Crowell, Bessie Chinouth, Marion Friberg, Robert Gammon, Mabel Gildersleeve, Mary Gildersleeve, Jennie Hatcher, Floyd Henderson, Marion Johnson, Sadye Malone, Guy Sabin, Mrs. Horace Burleson (no maiden name shown). 

Class of 1904

Faye Whiteside, Thompsie Baxter, Anna Bell Beasley, Lena Hunt, Mary Willie Broyles, Mary Lyle, Hattie Hunter, Golden Wilbourne, Mary Evans, Nat G. Taylor, Elmer Beals, Ralph Cargille, Loyall Sitton, George Gildersleeve. 

Class of 1905

Ella Russell, Faw Broyles, Claire Fulton, Lonnie W. McCown, Maude Beasley, Cecil Donnelly, Una V. Templin, Fred King. 

Class of 1906

Roscoe A. Long, Leone Wagner, Mary Nell Beasley, Bonita Cloyd, Hazel Goode, Nora Hartsell, Ora Keys, Margaret Kegley, Georgia Seaver, Sarah Cordelia Tomlinson. 

Class of 1907

Edith Barton, Ethel Barton, Mary Agnes Berry, Ruby Baxter, Henry Carriger, Margaret Culler, Lucy Carr, Eva Fulton, Kathleen Gaunt, Mary Hardin, Rhea Hunter, Dimple Mettetal, Walter Martin, Fa N. Matson, Bonnie Murray, Pansy Painter, Glennie Pence, Lucy Sitton, Guy O. Seaver, Bess Slaughter. 

Class of 1908

Nellie Strain, Ralph Preas, Kate Gilmer, Alfred Gaunt, Ruth Lyle, Ward Friberg, Pearly Cloyd, Hubert Templin, Ina Bayless, Cleveland B. Coe, Julia Mettetal, Edith Tally, David T. Miller, Nettie Wallin, Chester Allen, James Buck, Issac Faw. 

Class of 1909

John I. Hale, Will Barton, Emily Miller, Florence Dickey, Worley Harr, Ruby Hodges, Sarah Broyles, Edith Campbell, Loren E. Long, Nell Crouch, Katherine Wilson, Gladys Berry, May Tomlinson, Lucile Martin, Inda Houtz, Herbert Athey. 

Class of 1910

(No names listed.) 

Class of 1911

Mary Alicd Barton, Fannie Rhea Dosser, Margaret Dosser, Ida Deam Campbell, Violet Fontaine, Kate Lundy, Elizabeth Jones, Mary Long, Fred Peoples, Mattie Strain, Lois Peoples, Florence Sitton, Margaret Woodruff . 

Class of 1912

Loftus Murrell, Edna Daniel, Hugh F.M. Hoss, Elizabeth Reeves, James Hardin, Susie Remine, Burr Harrison, Kathryn Peoples, Hallie Wolf. 

Class of 1913

Grace Boring, Eleanor Brading, Earl Cloyd, Mary Nell Dosser, Paul Emmert, Prentice Fulton, Marion Bowman, Mamie Bryant, Elberta Cox, Byron Eiseman, Eleanor Exum, Henley Gilbreath, Marie Hannah, Hattie Hunt, Edgar Lyle, Harry Mitchell, W.A. Richardson, Mabel Sutton, Maude Tomlinson, Isabel Wade, Lee Harr, Hubert King, Sara McCown, Samma Slaughter, Gunnar J. Teilman, Pell Vance, Maurice Wilson. 

Class of 1914

Frank Baxter, Whitney W. Buck, Reba Cannon, James Carter, Carrie Lee Cox, Hilda Evans, Nell Hyder, Charlie Lyle, Martha Mahoney, Margaret Moore, Bruce Preas, Kate Remine, Clyde Smith, Bessie Snyder, Nell Swingle, Melvia Taylor, Ellen Bowman, Ida Campbell, Leland Caldwell, Reba Collette, Andrea Daniels, Rivers Huddle, Edwin Long, Mary Gertrude Lyle, Roy Moore, Mary Dean Preas, Ruth Robbins, Arthur Moss, Miller Smith, Frank L. St. John, Mary Taylor. 

Class of 1915

Helen Vance, Frances Byrd, Mattie Bolton, Louise Thomas, Edward Brading, Alfred Carr, Thomas Matson, Louise St. John, Robert Miller, Guy L. Smith, Mary Fulton, Cameleon Allison, Morris Cooper, Edna Vance, Stella Barlow, Earl Fields, Guy Williams, Agnes Dyer, William Thompson, Crumley Ervin, Irene Browning, John Parsons, Draxie Liebe, Nell Brown, Loren Estes, Williams Matthews, Christine Burleson, Orville Martin, Luke Hunt, Margaret Lyle, Martha Good, Robert Dosser, Nellie Hunter, Max Lusk, Arthur Watson, Elizabeth Cass, Howard Clark, David Wilson, Katherine Sells, Sam Smith, Hazel Dinkle, Irma Cooper, Ruth Banner, Earl Hotalen, Bryan Woodruff, Evelyn Armbrust, Harris Wofford. 

Class of 1916

Ethel Riddell, Harry Faw, Edith Bolton, Earl Buchanan, Ernest Hodge, Leone Brown, Fitzhugh Wallace, Ruth McCorkle, Hannah Doak, Edith Clark, Clarence L. Miller, Reeves Hays, William Mitchell, Vance Jones, James Earnest. 

Class of 1917

Ruth Barlow, Melville Smith, Tera Harshbarger, Alta Boring, Floyd Lockett, Yetta Hecht, Margaret McCown, Elizabeth Moore, Oliver Robertson, Pauline Tindell, Ben Conner, Mildred Wade, Maurice Caldwell, Georgia Pierce, Virgie Chitwood, James B. Humphreys, Ivah Baker, Mildred Nicholson, Paul Keys, Margaret White, H.C. Hart, Barbara Haire, Edith Baxter, Theodore Daniels, Ruth Allison, Anne Huddle, Nancy Weaver, Lorna Whiteside, Louise Cox, James Remine, Bess Remine, Blanch Wood, Buford Conner, Georgia Taylor, Carl Young, Helen Swan. 

Class of 1918

Hattie Remine, K. Harshbarger, Hattie Tilson, Mary Shaffer, Dean Tainter, Vivian Nelson, Elsie Artz, Gertrude McCorkle, Margie Hunt, Estelle Snyder, Clyde McCall, Josephine Taylor, Mary Kyle, Bruce Lacy, Charlotte Matthews, Gertrude Hunter, Glen Hunter, Beulah Snyder, Mary Parrott, Spencer Leonard, Emma Louise Painter, Sophia Blair, Thelma Houston, Carmel King, Edith Lyle, Byron Garvin, Hattie Cox, Ada Evans, Paul Preas, Blanch Range, Helen McLeod, Ira Williams, Ernest Kite. 

Class of 1919

Selma Bowman, Martha Carr, Carl Fields, Lucille Hartsook, Francis Miller, Sebra Cooper, Lester Keller, Anna Kate Culton, Cora Mae Crockett, Jaffa Gump, Don Gray, Nell Hanna, Margaret Hutchins, Howard Imboden, Lamonte Laher, Edith Mausbach, Aucil Barron, Evangeline Hartsook, Louise Nelson, Elizabeth Fisher, Ida Adams, Anna Baum, Rosa Baum, Kate Britton, Selma Browning, Paul Cox, Mary Emmert, Mary Ewalt Grace Estes, Edith Gilmer, Elbert Hardin, Leila Hart, Ogarita Keebler, Lorenia Moore, Helen Seaver, Kathryn Sells, Georgia Williams, Mary Lockett, Rosalie Buck, Elizabeth Martin, Ida Cox. 

Class of 1920

Ruby Anderson, Fred Artz, Martha Bowman, Edith Campbell, Lest Leonard, Valerie Shipley, Edith Brown. Roy Lukk, Jessie Daniels, Juliet Hunter, Delno Diddle, Vera Chitwood, Sadie Freeman, William Whistman, Arthur Mae Smalling, Edna Dickey, Walden Shell, Helen Williams, Winnie Woodruff, Harry Fisher, Helen Lusk, Kathleen Martin, William Bailey, Leone Lacey, Rubie Haire, Eugene McSpadden, Claire Anderson, Elizabeth Parsons, William Erwin, Della Spencer, Ellen Moss, Andrew Martin, Zelma Keebler, Margaret Hayes, Theodore McCown, Mabel Dickson, Georgia Matthews, Robert Jobe, Cora Smith, Helen Faulk, William Hart, Ella Ross, Lena Gregory, Bert Wetherby, Mary Louise Miller, Mable Robertson, Arch Spencer, Ina Williams. 

Class of 1921

Edwin Crouch, (Miss) Gordon Grubbs, Walter Smith, Martha Goode, William Roper, Belle Lyle, Albert Tipton, Jesse Masengill, Charlie Crouch, Sara Crigger, Victor Crouch, Ruby Sharp, Eugene Hunter, Ethel Chaffin, Ernest Thomas, Selma Luntsford, William Keen, Florence Stout, William Starritt, Kathryne Rangely, Leslie Hart, Lelia Hughes, Frank Clark, Mary McLeod, Robert London, Robert Brown, Mattie Weems, Charles Gresham, Ina Shafer, Ethel DeArmond, Helen Stapleton, Jack Lust, Loretta Pearce, James Bayless, Mina Medford, Stanley Brading, Bennie Artz, Elsie Hyder, Gladys Cox.  

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John Anderson, a former student at Training School (now called University High), mailed me a copy of The Trumpet, a 1959 underground publication that he and other students produced. Although the short-lived 4-page periodical received a strong endorsement from “The Student Union,” the newspaper caused John and two other students to be expelled from school:

John indicated that they graduated in 1960, which was before the student protest era, but we indeed did lead a protest over the name, Training School. As noted by The Trumpet: “Why are all schools in this area mentioned in ‘High School, USA’ and Training School isn’t? Science Hill and Elizabethton are mentioned in the first verse! If they put our name in the song, people would think that they were singing about a reform school. Support the movement to change the name of Training School.”

The reference to “High School, USA” was a popular song in 1959 with separate versions featuring high schools all over the country. It peaked at #28 on the Billboard chart. The periodical’s style of nearly a half-century ago was low tech with the main front-page title stenciled, subtitles hand printed and the text banged out on a manual typewriter.

The newspaper paid homage to Mr. George Finchum, a tall flattop haircut teacher who was described as being an excellent educator and who understood the problems of teenagers. He was always ready to lend a helping hand to school “inmates.”

The publication then became divisive over news that school officials had cancelled the senior class’s trip to Washington: “Was the collecting of dues for the Washington trip and a few smaller projects fair if the Washington trip was to be taken away? We do not believe so!” The newspaper language became even stronger: “Did the “high and mighty” faculty (and I use that term loosely) have the total authority to forbid this trip? We do not believe so!” Students strongly disagreed with the stated reason for the trip’s cancellation being that a week spent in class would have more educational value.

On a more positive note, Training School trounced Washington College 76 to 43 in its first encounter of the season. The “B” Team won 41 to 21. The Trumpet put in a plug for attendance at area basketball games: “Training School has its first home game tonight, Nov. 13 against Sulphur Springs. Nov. 17, 20 and 24 finds the Jr. Bucs going to Erwin, Loudon and Holston, respectively. The defending District II champs return home again on the 27thplaying Hancock. Most all other schools have already started their season with the exception of Science Hill who is still getting over its football loss to Kingsport.”

The Trumpet repeated a “humorous, although not so factual story” from an earlier school newspaper, “Frosted Freshman” written by Mary Crumley. The training facility was allegedly taken over by students following a protest for their being given so many pop quizzes. Student Lee Smith summarily replaced Mr. John Arrants.

“After we were expelled,” said John, “our dads appealed to President Dossett of ETSC to let us back in school. Our punishment was that we had to go before the entire Training School student body and apologize.” The protesters got their wish in 1963 when ETSC acquired university status and changed the name of the high school to University High School. The ill-fated Trumpet had prevailed. 

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My Gump businesses column evoked some pleasurable memories for Lewis Brown, a classmate of mine at Science Hill High School, from which we graduated in 1961.

Lewis wrote: “I never knew until this day that the Gump Addition was actually the Hillrise Subdivision. Growing up a ‘Gump Addition Gangster,’ we just thought the place was the Gump Addition. I was raised in the 400 block of East Chilhowie. The street was once called Seventh Avenue (from the 1890 Carnegie Land Company plat designation). I, along with many kids who grew up in the old neighborhood, played baseball and football on Hillrise Boulevard. We also played in the creek, the Gump’s backyard and the woods. Having been born in 1942, I was fortunate enough to see many of the houses on the boulevard and on Forest and Woodland Avenues being built.”

Lewis said that the area between the Baxter and Holston intersection north to Cox's Lake was an area of fun and adventure to about a hundred youngsters who resided in that part of town. “I have a copy of the surveyor’s plat,” said Brown, “ that shows the street names and lot locations of the old “Hunter-Brown” addition that my great grandfather and Dr. Hunter started. “I cannot remember the names of the Gump family, but I can tell you they were very tolerant of the kids who lived in the area. No one in that family ever fussed at us for playing in their yard or in the creek.”

Lewis said he learned to ride a small bike at the Gump home on Hillrise Boulevard.  The driveway fronted Holston Avenue. He said he routinely rode a bike until he joined the service after graduation. “My aunt, Alma Ruth Brown, lived in the old home place on Chilhowie until she died several years ago. I have a picture of my grandfather, E.W. Brown standing along with some unidentified men and boys in front of his first grocery store at the corner of Roan and (144 E.) Market.”

The “Hillrise Hoodlum” then asked me if I remember George's Men’s Shop: “It was owned by George Eiche,” he said. “The family lived on the corner of Chilhowie and Baxter. One of the radio stations, probably WJHL, did a 60-minute live cut-in, which I am sure was pre-recorded for the store. I believe there was a piano in the store because George would play a tune and talk about his store. He had two sons, George and Jon.”

George’s Men’s Shop was located in the early 1950s at 234 E. Main between Beckner’s Jewelers on the west side and the Keys Building (Tunnell’s Studio) on the east. Jo-Ann’s Shop was adjacent to the Keys Building.

Lewis further asked me if I knew the name of the barbeque restaurant that was situated in a ravine on South Roan next to the old Southern Maid Ice Cream plant. Brown added: “The owner of the restaurant also owned a boat dock on Watauga Lake and kept several “Aluma-Craft” boats displayed for sale at the restaurant.” The restaurant in question was Central Barbeque owned by Albert Bosbury. He also operated Central Drive-In and Albermar Marines Sales at that some location.

Lewis ended his note with some reflective words about his growing-up years: “Some of the boys in the old neighborhood that I remember were Rick Jackson, Tommy Hord, Mike Kitts, Mark McCowen, Harmon Duncan, Charles Ellis, Ronny and Freddy Moore and Joe, Tim and Jerry Persinger. What a wonderful time to grow up in a little place like Johnson City!”  

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Each April between about 1928 and 1949, an eagerly awaited event transpired in Johnson City; the J.J. Page Carnival had come to town. This popular mobile enterprise of exciting rides, exotic sideshows, tasty food and enticing games generated masses of people, as the show migrated to towns and communities throughout nine southern states.

In 1923, John Page married Minnie Miller, daughter of Johnson City alderman and building contractor, Albert S. Miller. Thus began this family’s affiliation with our city. When the future entrepreneur’s sideshow later became a reality, Mrs. Page convinced her husband to choose Johnson City as its five-month winter headquarters. The first quarters were located in warehouses on West Main Street until land and buildings were purchased at the corner of Watauga and Love Street adjacent to the railroad tracks. It remained here for its approximately 21-year run.

The carnival operated at two separate locations over the years. The first one was the entire block opposite Memorial Stadium where the Municipal Building is now located. The other site was a large field farther east on E. Main and southeast of the intersection with Broadway. Page owned all rides and shows but leased space to food venders to peddle their gastronomic delights at the heavily attended event. The carnival’s presence contributed significantly to the local economy with purchases of food, clothing, lumber, paint, hardware and sundry other supplies. Since there were essentially no amusement parks in those pre-1950 years, the carnival’s sojourn at “Johnson’s Depot” was a divertive occasion for one and all. 

I attended the Page Circus with my parents several times in its waning years of the late 1940s. I recall the powerful spotlight that circled the skies at night over the city, announcing the carnival’s presence in town. The powerful beam came from one of two large luminary devices located along the east end of the grounds.

As a youngster, I found the musical merry-go-round, or hobbyhorses as we called them, to be my ride of choice. At each stop, youngsters scurried on board for a chance to occupy an outside horse. Once the ride was in motion, the outside riders leaned out and attempted to snatch a ring that had been suspended there by the attendant. The winner was later awarded a prize. Only those riding outside steeds had the opportunity to win.

The carnival had a drab almost primitive look compared to today’s colorful fairs and theme parks. The dozen or so rides they operated were plain and simple. Everyone’s favorite was the Ferris wheel. Over time, sideshows became the main focal emphases for management because they attracted more patrons.

Former Press correspondent John Moss once recalled the Page Carnival in an article titled “Traveling Fantasyland.” He wrote: “No fewer than nine shows rounded out the midway. These included a large sideshow featuring about 10 acts, a minstrel show, a burlesque revue and an illusion show. A motor dome thrilled crowds as they watched daredevils ride motorcycles around a vertical wall. The athletic show, usually referred to simply as the ‘at show,’ featured wrestlers who challenged local men to stay in the ring with them for a specified length of time. The few who succeeded were awarded cash prizes. Another attraction titled “Congo” featured a wild man who frightened spectators as he presided over a pit of snakes and chickens.”

I recall attending one “freak show,” billed as a horrendous looking “bearded lady.” This “physical oddity” turned out to be a rather normal looking woman with slightly more than a hint of facial hair. For this, I wasted my entire weekly allowance of a dime. A 1948 photo from our family album shows three Page Carnival attractions: “Circus Sideshow,” “Electra” and “Punch and Judy Family.” The latter was a puppet program. The Page traveling show eventually grew in size to employ over 200 people, with about 40 of them returning in late fall to refurbish ride equipment during the winter break. During 1947, a tornado ripped through the city, damaging rides and slashing tent canvas. Since this malady occurred before the gates opened, there were no reported injuries.

The J.J. Page chronicle began in 1889 in rural southeast Virginia. After running away from home at age 12 and joining a traveling circus, John later switched to a carnival, which he believed offered a more diverse offering of attractions. The carnival came into existence around the turn of the century when performers became convinced that an agglomerate of simultaneous sideshow acts would be more profitable than one continuous show with entertainers waiting their turn. Page worked his way up through the ranks until 1925 when he and a partner formed the Page and Wilson Shows, traveling by rail across the Southeast.

After serving an apprenticeship for two years, the businessman formed his own show that he appropriately named the J.J. Page Shows and Exposition. The new aggregation traveled by truck and initially wintered in Augusta and Rome, Georgia. After J.J. Page died in 1945, his widow ran the carnival four more years, until she leased and eventually sold most of the rides to other carnivals and amusement parks. The carnival’s “first lady” died in 1975. The Pages fondness for Johnson City and its people is borne out in the fact that they chose Monte Vista Cemetery as their final resting place.

The giant barn and smaller buildings that once housed the carnival equipment during its winter retreat stood for several years as an aide-memoire of that cherished annual event of yesteryear.  

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Chester “Chet” Willis is a man with his heart wrapped up in his work. In 2003, he retired from his job as construction foreman with the City of Johnson City Water and Sewer Services Department and eagerly became involved with preserving Oak Hill Cemetery.

Oak Hill is the oldest cemetery within the city limits and contains the remains of just over 2700 inhabitants. As a member of the Cemetery Survey Team of Northeast Tennessee, this assiduous 80-year old individual assumed numerous laborious tasks that included restoring grave markers, producing and maintaining a massive directory of graves, installing 177 small red brick row markers, opening and closing the two main gates each day (at 6 a.m. and sundown) and helping keep the grounds well-groomed. 

This seven-gated chain length fence necropolis is one block off W. Main Street and surrounded by four streets – Wilson (north), Boone (east), Lamont (south) and Whitney (west).

Well-known Oak Hill residents include Henry Johnson (city founder), Tipton Jobe (landowner), Col. LeRoy Reeves (Tennessee state flag designer), Sam R. Sells (U.S. Congressman), Major Cy Lyle (publisher of the Comet newspaper), George Hardin (supt. of ET&WNC Railroad), Captain William Dickinson (Confederate pioneer and owner of Piedmont Hotel), Rev. John Wright (soldier in War of 1812 and officer for the Confederacy) and others.

Some 141 veterans are buried at Oak Hill  from the Civil War (55 Confederate, 29 Union), Spanish American War (16), Philippine Insurrection (1), Mexican War (1), World War I (30), World War II (5), and regular Army (4).

Mr. Willis produced a notebook full of annual reports from the Oak Hill Cemetery Association. The Jan. 24, 1946 one is particularly significant because it represents the golden anniversary of the society. The report began with a brief history of the cemetery: “Dear Member: On March 2, 1870, a bond was made by Robert Love and Samuel H. Miller to seven trustees – T.A. Faw, James M. Gentry, Wm. H. Taylor, Jm. Johnson, J.W. Seehorn, L.H.P. Lusk and P.P.C. Nelson – giving title to a part of their farms to be used for a cemetery for the growing village of Johnson City.”

Love donated about a half-acre and Miller roughly a quarter-acre. Each man reserved a 25’ x 35’ plot for his family members. Love’s was located in the northeast corner and Miller’s in the southwest sector. The oldest grave is that of Love’s daughter who died as a youngster in 1867. The contract specified that a “good plank fence” be built around the perimeter of the property and that the facility bear the name “Oak Hill Cemetery.” Over the years, additional adjoining land was added expanding the grounds to 6.5 acres. 

By 1888, the downtown cemetery was described as being a wilderness of weeds and briers and nothing less than a pasture for the town cow. When a new fence was needed in 1896, a committee of women from each of the area churches was formed to raise money. Mrs. C.K. Lide served as its first president. The group held oyster and strawberry suppers, sponsored lectures by such notables as Bob and Alf Taylor and hosted numerous musical productions to maintain the venerated downtown property.

A big “thank you” is in order to Chet Willis from the people of Johnson City for his unfaltering efforts toward preserving the final resting place of some of Johnson City’s most prominent citizens. 

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Hacker Martin (1895-1970) was a legendary former resident of the Gray community with some pretty impressive credentials – old-time fiddler, gristmill owner/operator and expert gunsmith.

Hacker and Maude Martin raised a daughter, Betty, and two sons, Raphael and Donis, the latter being longtime owner of Martin’s Jewelers in downtown Johnson City. Betty Thompson recalled that her father learned to play the fiddle from a mail-order correspondence course. His musical prowess inspired her to use music as a hobby and sing in church choirs over the years.

Mrs. Thompson remembered some of the tunes Hacker and friends played: “Turkey in the Straw,” “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “Billy Boy,” “Goodbye Liza Jane,” “Red River Valley,” “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane,” “Little Brown Jug,” “Oh Dem Golden Slippers,” “Old Gray Mare,” “Coming ‘Round the Mountain” and “Wait for the Wagon.”

Betty discussed Hacker’s gristmill business: “Dad had such a love for cheap power and waterpower was the least expensive form of energy available. Dad’s first investment was the Cedar Creek Mill that he purchased from Grover and Dolly Campbell in 1940. We were living seven miles west in Pleasant Valley at the time. The old mill was in need of repair so Dad and some of his friends put it in operation again. My brothers and I helped build the dam that supplied water to the big wheel. My dad used the mill for corn and wheat. It had two sets of French burr (or buhr) grinding stones. One set was used for animal feed and the other for human needs. Mom used to say: ‘now Dad, when someone comes in with that good hickory cane corn, save me the toll (small amount of product charged as a fee) out of it.’ It made awfully good cornbread.

“When gas rationing went into effect during World War II, traveling back and forth from the mill each day became a problem. Mom made Dad a bed upstairs in the mill where he stayed 5½ days a week. He bicycled home on Saturday afternoons to help with farm chores and then returned Monday mornings. In 1947, my father built a large cinderblock building beside the mill. It has eyebrow windows with arches above each one. He knew that arches were very strong. In 1951, Mom and Dad moved to Appomattox, VA, where Dad purchased the Stonewall Milling Company, a large mill. He and Raphael later bought the Flourville Mill.”

Mrs. Thompson’s conversation then turned to Hacker’s gunsmith trade: “Dad stored large slabs of curly maple tree stock in the top of the mill. “He first sawed it in the general shape of a rifle using a band saw and then rasped it down. It took several months to make each of his beautifully crafted guns. “The mill’s waterpower allowed him to grind the flats on the barrels. The cinderblock building became used as a shop for his gunsmith work and our family’s apartment.”

Hacker was the embodiment of old-time gunsmiths; his stunning looking muzzle loading rifles and pistols appeared to be 200 years old. Today, they are collectors’ items. “Dad loved to sit around with his friends and tell one tall tale after another,” said Betty. “I loved to listen to them and wish I could remember some of their yarns.”

The Smithsonian Institute recognized Hacker for continuing to make rifles for muzzle loading hobbyists during the depression. Daniel Boone High School further honored him by including him on a mural located in the commons area at the school.   

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