GREENBACK HERITAGE MUSEUM’S 10th ANNIVERSARY Well it is hard to believe it has been 10 years since the city of Greenback opened its first museum. What was a longtime dream for Mayor Tom Peeler had become a reality. It was an exciting time for our little town, but we were somewhat concerned as well. This was a huge room with not many items on display. We began looking in our attics, storage, talking among friends etc. trying to find collectables suitable for this upcoming event. It did not take long as we began talking about our needs before folks started sharing their heritage with us.

We have been so blessed with many business donors such as John R Best, Jr. Sam King, Greenback Hardware, Greenback Drug Store, Bill Jones estate and many more too numerous to mention. Let’s not forget the Greenback families who have shared with us as well.

We have also been fortunate with dedicated volunteers who take time from their busy schedule to sit in the museum. There are days when you may not have anyone at all but there are more days when folks drop by to visit. Many times someone will come in looking for information about their ancestors. We do our best to help them while looking in the new Greenback Scrapbooks, cemetery books etc.

There are various DVD’s for viewing while visiting here.

In 2013 the museum began hosting a “Quilt Show” once a year. This gives area quilters a chance to show off their prized possessions, whether it be a new quilt or one handed down through the generations. We have one on display belonging to the late Roy M. Brooks. This quilt was carried by his great-grand father during the civil war.

Ten years has been great for our museum….We have filled this big room, which was empty back in 2006, with so many memories, collectables, and artifacts. Now we think, “wouldn’t it be great to have a bigger room?”

Our 10th Anniversary was held on March 5th. Several visitors came by to help celebrate sharing stories and refreshments. One new family in particular that I remember was looking in one of the new scrapbooks and said “Oh look, here is my great-great grandmother”. They were so excited that they want to come back with their scanner and copy these precious photographs. This one

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, April 16, 2:00PM at the

Greenback Community Center

Inside This Issue Page 2 Tanasi-1796, Depression Years

Entertainment Page 3 In Memoriam, Annual Meeting

Summary, Greenback Legends Page 4 Out of the Shadows Page 5 April Meeting Program, Carolyn’s

Corner Page 6 Upcoming Events

Greenback Historical Society, Inc. 6725 Morganton Road

P.O. Box 165 Greenback, Tennessee 37742

CHRONICLER Preserving Our Past

Issue 35, April 1, 2016 www.gbhistorical.webs.com

photo created such excitement for this family. What a great feeling to be able to help someone.

We were fortunate to have visit with us Nancy McEntee, author of Molsey Blount (which we purchased and have at the museum). She has agreed to speak to the Greenback Historical Society soon.

I am so proud to be a part of the Greenback Heritage Museum, along with the other board members, Betty Carroll, Linda Cabe, Barbara Davis and Louise Coada.

Looking forward to another 10 years.

Sandra Kerr Tipton

Museum volunteers greet visitors during the 10th Anniversary Celebration on March 5, 2016. Left to right: Roy Goddard, Teresa Goddard, Colleen Ragain and Sandra Tipton.

TANASI-1796

On February 20, 2016, The Greenback Historical Society was honored to be one of several local historical organizations invited to participate in the pre-performance activities of the ‘Tanasi 1796’ docudrama-live stage presentation and musical performance created by our own member Attorney David Black, descendant of Captain Joseph Black. President Shirley Hall, Vice-President Colleen Regain and Treasurer Brenda Tarwater Blair were available at the Greenback Historical Society display to answer questions and provide information. Several hundred people were in attendance. The event attracted media coverage from the local television station (WBIR) and the Knoxville and Maryville newspapers.

Following the pre-performance activity, we were invited to attend the ‘Tanasi 1796’ production which was quite impressive. The story was of Captain Joseph Black and Attakullakulla from the period of 1756 with the construction of Fort Louduon during the French and Indian War through the adoption of the Constitution for the prospective entry of Tennessee as the 16th State of the United States. The presentation was a masterfully performed mix of dialogue, music and images projected with recorded narrations. Actors portrayed Captain Joseph Black, Cherokee Chief Attakullakulla (Robert Rambo), Rev. Samuel Doak and a militia man of the period told of their journey. Native American flutes and fiddle musical performances accented the production. “Tanasi 1796" covers the span of 40 years from 1756 through 1796. Revolutionary War Captain Joseph Black was among the “Overmountain Men” who fought at the Battle of King’s Mountain, moved to Tennessee from Virginia around 1786 and was a Blount County delegate to Tennessee’s 1796 Constitutional Convention.

I was most influenced by Robert Rambo’s depiction of Cherokee Chief Attakullakulla. He was very powerful in his emotional narration of the transition through that period of time and the Cherokee’s changing roles. The emotion he displayed as if he had been there and experienced the joy and the pain brought by the “White Man.”

I left the Maryville College Clayton Center wanting more information and have a new respect for the path of the Cherokee people as well as Captain Joseph Black and the early settlers of this beautiful area of Tennessee we call “Home”. Thankful for the hours of research and time donated by David Black to present this well done walk though East Tennessee history. We are so proud you did. If you want more information visit tanasi1796.com.

Brenda Tarwater Blair

References include: tanasi1796.com; claytonartscenter.com/event/tanasi-1796; thedailytimes.com/news/tanasi-brings-early-tennessee-history-to-life

CHRONICLER, Issue 35 Page 2

DEPRESSION YEARS ENTERTAINMENT

The current “GREAT RECESSION” has often brought comparisons to the GREAT DEPRESSION of the 1930’S -1950. I am not really sure of the ending date except that I once heard Bob Anderson say, “Nobody had any money until the 1950’s. Others have said that the Depression ended sometime after WWII. At any rate, it was a time when few people had much income. In many ways Greenback was fortunate because many people raised their own food, made their own clothes, and provided their own entertainment.

Most other entertainment was provided by Radio, Movies, and local sports. My father brought home a “beautiful” radio when I was about six. It provided all sorts of wonderful programs to keep us glued to the sound. For me, there was “The Lone Ranger” and “Jack Armstrong the All American Boy” every afternoon. For my Mother, Cecil B. DeMille’s Lux Radio Theater on Sunday Evening and Radio Soaps, such as “General Hospital” and “All the Days of Our Lives” in the daytime, provided ongoing stories that one hated to miss. For my father, comedies such as Fibber McGhee and Mollie, the Jack Benny Show, and sports and music.

WNOX in Knoxville was the eighth largest radio station in the nation, founded in 1922. From there came the broadcast of the Mid-Day Merry Round, often referred to as the cradle of country music. Such old “greats” as Homer and Jethro, Archie Campbell, (Grandpappy), Flatt and Scruggs, Chet Atkins, Don Gibson, the Monroe Brothers, the Carter Family and many others started there in their early careers. After the death of Lowell Blanchard, WNOX country was eclipsed by WSM in Nashville with the Grand Ole Opry.

On Saturday nights in Tellico Plains, where my aunt and uncle had a grocery store that had electricity, couples gathered to listen to the fights,( Joe Louis was a hero). They ate crackers with sardines and cheese and drank “dopes” (Coca Colas and RC’s). The women caught up on the local gossip and the children played on the large wrap around porch outside. For those of us who got to stay up later than usual, these were magical times. We sang Gene Autry songs and pretended to be Roy and Dale on our stick horses. Some of the boys had cap pistols, although too much use of these was frowned upon.

In a time of sometimes quiet desperation, movies with child stars, slapstick comedy with the Four Stooges, and musicals with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby and

Continued on Page 4

IN MEMORIAM

Cecil Alexander Pittman, 68, January, 2, 2016.

Allard, Donnie Maurice, 39, January 17, 2016.

Blankenship, Lori, 44, January 17, 2016.

Stinson, “Becky” Ada McCollum, 91, January 20, 2016

Travis, Johnny, 49, February 8, 2016.

Orr, Tommy, 79, February 9, 2016. Painter, Margaret Grace Ramsey, 81, February 17, 2016.

Crawford, Roy D. Jr., February 20, 2016.

French, Joseph Dillon Bain, 16, February, 20, 2016.

Kerr, William (Bill), 70, February 21, 2016.

Fipps, Farrell, 68, March 3, 2016.

Reagan, First Lady, Nancy Davis, 94 March 6, 2016.

Lambert, James “Jim”, 54, March 14, 2016.

Mainor, Grace, 83, March 15, 2016.

Tuck, Shirley Gayle Gryder, 63, March 19, 2016. Crawford, Roy D. Sr., 94, March 20, 2016.

ANNUAL MEETING SUMMARY

The Annual Meeting of the Greenback Historical Society was held on Saturday, January 16, 2016, in the upstairs of the Greenback Community Center. The meeting began at noon with a potluck lunch with 24 members in attendance. After lunch, the meeting was called to order by President Shirley Hall.

Following the acceptance of the Minutes and the Treasurer’s reports, updates were given by various committees. Teresa Goddard presented a rough draft of the proposed Greenback Historical Walking Tour stating that we need to keep the length of the walk reasonable. A handout with a map and site identifications was distributed to the members. It includes 17 landmarks beginning with the Museum and ending back at the Drug Store/Diner. She then asked for any suggestions from the members and if anyone knew names of any past proprietors. It was pointed out that pictures from the Greenback Heritage Scrapbook collection can be used to depict how the landmarks looked in the past.

Under new business, the Nominating Committee consisting of Teresa Goddard, Colleen Ragain and Linda Cabe presented the proposed slate of Officers and new Directors for the coming year. After an official nomination was conducted, the nominees were approved by acclimation. The full list of Officers and Directors is shown on Page 6.

CHRONICLER, Issue 35 Page 3

Vice President Colleen Ragain then presented the calendar for the upcoming year. Quarterly Meetings are as follows: April 16 - 2:00 - Upstairs Community Center; July 23 - 12 Noon - Downstairs Community Center with the Ice Cream Contest to follow at 2:00; October 22 - 2:00 Upstairs Community Center; January 28, 2017 - 12:00 Noon, Annual Meeting and Potluck.

The speaker for the program segment of the meeting was not available due to illness. As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned and members were encouraged to look over materials provided by Colleen Ragain and Shirley Hall pertaining to the construction of family histories.

From notes provided by Linda Cabe

Three new directors of the Greenback Historical Society are shown with

Vice President Colleen Ragain at the January Annual Meeting. From left

to right are Cindy McCollum Benefield, Lavonne Spires, Brenda Tarwater

Blair and Colleen. Brenda Blair has also taken on the office of Treasurer

from Betty Carroll who asked to step down after serving since the

founding of the organization.

GREENBACK LEGENDS

John R. Best had a store in town where he also sold clothing. In the museum we have a large sign from the store. John Cochran saw it when we had a meeting there this week and recounted the following tale:

Bleve Montgomery liked beautiful, expensive clothes. He came to Best's store one day looking for a suit. After looking all those available over, he said they are just not expensive enough. While he had his back turned, Mr. Best slid another higher price tag on one of the suits in the store. Mr. Best said, "here, look at this one.” Bleve looked it over and said "I'll take it, it is just what I wanted."

Carolyn Melton Peck

CHRONICLER, Issue 35 Page 4

Our current First Lady, Crissy Haslam wrote the Foreword to the book. The full story can be found in the biography, “Molsey Blount: the Colonial First Lady of Tennessee”, published by Tate Publishing and available at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Follow her story on www.facebook.com/molseyblount.

Nancy McEntee, Phd

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: A GLIMPSE OF TENNESSEE’S COLONIAL FIRST LADY

Most of us know about Gov. William Blount. But, how many know the story of his wife, Molsey Blount? Her story has languished in the shadows of history, over powered by the tales of her political, powerful and somewhat dishonest husband. Local history records that Blount County and Blountville were named for William Blount; Maryville was named for Molsey as was Grainger County. And, that’s all we knew about her.

Currently, a new biography captures the missing details of a tragic life, full of loneliness, losses, deaths, accidents and abandonment. She was born in Wilmington, NC to Jacob and Mary Grainger. She dies 41 years later, a widow, lonely, and almost forgotten. The journey from her childhood to First Lady suggests a tale of silence and shadows. She did not leave behind a word, a journal, a diary, a letter or a portrait, painting or image. Yet, the biography has uncovered the early death of her father, the death of two of her children, her inability to raise two more of her children, a tragic carriage accident and the events in the month of March 1800.

Molsey was born Mary Moseley Grainger but was never called Mary. Molsey (pronounced Mall-see) marries William Blount, 12 years her senior, during the Revolutionary War. They settle in the Lower Cape Fear and Greenville area for years, as William pursues his political career. After he becomes a signer of our Constitution, George Washington appoints him as the Governor of the Territory South of the River Ohio in 1790. Now begins the long and lonely years of Molsey’s life. William would continue to ‘leave’ her behind for the next 10 years.

William comes to the western side of North Carolina (now Tennessee) to establish control of the lands and the Indians in 1790. Molsey must leave all she knows behind and follow him to the frontier. With children and babies to care for, she arrives in the new town of Knoxville escorted by William’s brother, Willie (pronounced Why lee), his personal secretary and slaves. Initially, the threat of Indian attacks and the lack of comfort was her first concern. By the fall of 1792, she focused on the birth of another child as the Blounts built their Mansion.

March 1800 proved a deadly month to family members. Malaria or the flu is stalking the residents in the Blount Mansion. Her son Billy almost dies. Her mother dies and 11 days later William dies. He died intestate, leaving Molsey the owner of nothing. The next two agonizing years are lost in history. By October 1802, she dies…her children under the guardianship of Willie and Hugh Lawson White; the Mansion owned by Willie Blount.

Author Nancy McEntee with Vice President Colleen Ragain holding her new book at the Greenback Heritage Museum on March 5, 2016.

DEPRESSION YEARS ENTERTAINMENT (Cont.)

beautiful women such as Dorothy Lamour lightened somewhat dreary days. If a family was fortunate on the weekend, they could go to the S&W Cafeteria, eat and hear the piano playing and maybe even follow up with a movie at the glorious Tennessee Theatre.

In 2014, both Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney died, two of the tots who brought a lot of joy to the people of the area. Many little girls wore their hair in Shirley Temple ringlets and tapped their toes in patent leather shoes. Greenback, more strict than many towns, frowned on tap dancing and one of my teachers told my mother that I was going “straight to _____” because I was trying to teach tap to some of the other girls. I had had tap dancing lessons at four when we lived in Detroit and thought it great fun.

Continued on Page 5

DEPRESSION YEARS ENTERTAINMENT (Cont.)

Mischievous Andy Rooney, starring in the Hardy Boys Movies, stayed in trouble most of the time. He learned many lessons from the kindly old Judge and though he often got into trouble, it was mostly in fun and the movies always had a moral. I suspect that parents were glad to have another way of teaching right and wrong. Jane Withers starred in another movie which graphically taught the dangers of bad behavior.

Music of all kinds played a large part in our lives. Most homes had pianos and at least one child played hymns, old gospel music, and pop tunes as well as the country music featured on WNOX and in concerts sometimes held in the schools. Piano recitals featured classical music and for those who loved it, one could hear symphonies on the radios, once we got electricity in the country and small towns.

Cowboy movies occupied many Saturday afternoons, love stories with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and musicals filled many of our evenings. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Myrna Loy and Cary Grant and others kept us laughing and helped us forget that we had to pump water from the wells or carry it from the spring, hoe and weed, pick vegetables and can for the winter to come.

Tech has replaced much of the entertainment of the depression years and our grandparents would have wondered at all the “gizmos” our young people carry around. In spite of the hardships of that era, many of us look at the time with nostalgia, while we want to remind new generations how it was in the past. Some of us will recount stories when “Happy Survivors” meet in April, and laugh over the pranks and jokes we played on one another.

Carolyn Melton Peck

CHRONICLER, Issue 35 Page 5

CAROLYN’S CORNER

How fortunate we are! We now have a full complement of nine Board Members: From Group 1: Teresa Goddard, Penny McLoughlin, and Brenda Blair; 2015- 2018; Group 2, Laura Del Rio, Roy Goddard and Larry Skidmore; 2014-2017; Group 3, Kitty Ragain, Lavonne Spires and Cindy Benefield; 2016-2019.

March 19, Maryville dedicated Sam Houston’s Statute. He is shown as a young frontiersman as he was when in Blount County, rather than the adopted son of a Cherokee Chief or the statesman protégé of Andrew Jackson and the Governor of two states that he later became. I had hoped to offer an award to a Greenback student for an essay about him, but so far I got little response. (See Issue 33, October, 2015) Perhaps now that the statute is an actuality, there will be more interest. Houston, known as “The Raven” by the Cherokees was a remarkable if somewhat unusual man.

Continued on Page 6

APRIL MEETING PROGRAM

The next Quarterly Meeting of the Greenback Historical Society will take place Saturday, April 16, at 2:00PM at the Greenback Community Center. The program will be a slide show depiction of a “Walk Through Old Greenback.” At our last meeting, Teresa Goddard presented an outline of a “Walking Tour” that visitors could take to acquaint themselves with the history of our town. She identified 17 landmarks within easy walking distance that represent our past.

The slides are taken from our collection of images that make up a large part of the Greenback Heritage Scrapbook. Many of the pictures come from the personal collection of the late Edwin Best Sr., Greenback’s primary historian. They have been made available to us by his son Edwin Best Jr. and focus on the downtown area in the early 1900s. Pictures donated by others show the changes to these sites over the years up until the 1980s. The goal of the presentation is to make members aware of the resources we have as a basis for the Walking Tour and to solicit ideas about using them to produce materials that visitors can utilize.

Paul Bailey

A film poster for the 1935 movie starring Shirley Temple.

CAROLYNS CORNER (Cont.)

Last week I was in Englewood at the Englewood Museum. Penny McLaughlin noticed me parking my car and came out. She was at a rug-pulling session at the Museum. It seems that they have rug-pulling classes every other Wednesday. I thought some of our crafters might be interested. Next session is Wednesday, April 7. They take lunch.

We are fortunate to have the interest in our historical past that we now have. We now have none of the original Board Members on the GHS Board. It is good to see the younger generation taking part. Now, if we could get some of the “Millennial Generation” interested, our dreams may continue. When the museum opens on Saturdays in April, perhaps some of our Greenback Students might be willing to volunteer. If so, contact Betty Carroll, President 865 856 3467.

Carolyn

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 13, Noon. Free. Brown Bag Lunch. Bradley Reeves, Archivist, Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound will show “WNOX, Cradle of Country Music”, East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay St.

April 16, 2:00PM, Greenback Historical Society Quarterly Meeting, Greenback Community Center. Free and Open to the Public.

April 23, 11:30AM, Happy Survivors; Classes 1929-

1964; $15 per person. For reservations,

contact Jimmie Delozier by April 8; 865 982

2089 or mail to 107 Mesa Rd., Maryville, TN

37804.

May 5, ETHS, 601 S. Gay St., Opening of “Smokies

Splendor”, Jim Gray’s Permanent Collection

of Paintings and Sculptures.

July 23, Noon. Greenback Historical Society

Quarterly Meeting. Community Center

Lower Level. Ice Cream Contest at 2:00PM.

CHRONICLER, Issue 35 Page 6

Stamp Greenback Historical Society, Inc. P.O. Box 165 Greenback, Tennessee 37742

Officers and Directors Shirley Ridings Hall, President 865-856-3419 Colleen Ragain, Vice President 865-740-5429 Linda Cabe, Secretary 865-856-6412 Brenda Tarwater Blair, Treasurer Cindy McCollum Benefield Brenda Tarwater Blair Laura Del Rio Roy Goddard Teresa Goddard Penny McLoughlin Kitty Ragain Larry Skidmore Lavonne Spires

Supporters City of Greenback Kizer-Black Attys. T.C. Dixon, Printers