10 minute read
A Lasting Legacy
BY JEFFREY V. BIBB
The Life and Art of Dan Hanley
One of Dan Hanley’s closest friends and business collaborators, Lawson Mabry, is a multi-generational Clarksvillian, real estate developer, civic leader and community bank founder. When asked to comment on Dan’s contributions to others’ well-being, Lawson summed it up like this: “With Dan’s input, you never saw his footprints... only his subtle fingerprints.”
Dan Hanley perceived positivity in most everything he touched, and continually shared his immense talents, intellect, passion and perceptiveness in ways that will influence generations yet to come. His contributions to his home city were many, and emanated from his head, heart and hands.
“Morning Watch” Dan Hanley, 2006
–Dan Hanley (1941-2021), a few weeks before his passing
“Finishing Touches” Dan Hanley, 2003 Flying High Signature Watercolor
BEST KNOWN PUBLICLY FOR his watercolor paintings of local landmarks, Dan’s easy-going nature and inherent curiosity were greatly influenced by his upbringing as a Cumberland River kid. He was enveloped by multiple generations of close-knit family love and influenced by impressionable experiences along Front Street, now Riverside Drive. Dan was constantly attracted by the lure of the nearby Cumberland River.
Family kinship, sense of place and Cumberland River water ran deep within the veins of Dan Hanley. Dan and his younger brother Patrick were among the fourth generation of Hanleys in Clarksville. The family’s roots extend to the ancient Irish O’Hanley clan.
Dan (second from right) with students from Clarksville High School’s Crayola Kids Art Club, 1970
Courtesy of David Redmond
Ireland’s Great Famine in the mid- 19th century killed over 1 million citizens and stirred 1.5 million to immigrate to America for survival and a promising future. John Conroy, a stone crafter, fled Ireland in 1848 and settled in Clarksville. Shortly after the Civil War, Conroy sponsored Daniel Hanley’s immigration from County Cork, Ireland to America.
Daniel and Sara Beth Bridget McCarty settled near the Cumberland River. A stone tradesman as well, Daniel and Conroy were instrumental in constructing a great number of projects – most notably Trinity Episcopal Church (1877) and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (1890), both added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Dan Hanley often pondered: “I can look at Trinity Church – touch those stones – and wonder if my great grandfather put that stone in place or carved that decorative piece of stonework.”
Dan’s grandfather, William Adolphus “Babe” Hanley, died in 1941, the same year Dan was born. Married to Mary Alice Ellarson Hanley, Babe ran the steam engines that operated within the Clarksville Water Company pumping station just across Front Street, now known as the Old Waterworks Building. Dan absorbed stories about the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Babe Hanley from his grandmother and his father, J.D. Hanley.
In August 1941, newborn Johnny Dan Hanley was brought home to a new house at 26 Barker Street constructed by his dad. A comfortable and happy childhood was provided by his father and mother, Russell Aline Mobley Hanley, whom her boys remember as a fine writer, poet and instigator of various artistic endeavors. The Hanley and Mobley families were significant influences – and extra sets of eyes – on Dan and Pat.
“DAN WAS THE BENEFICIARY of most of our dad’s talented traits,” observed Pat. “It was obvious he had rare abilities, even as a young boy. Neighborhood kids played as medieval knights making and painting our own shields. Dan’s was always by far the fanciest!”
During the boys’ youth, the Hanley family was consistently connected to the river, often taking out several boats, enjoying a cookout and playing music until the sun set over the rippling waters. In high school, Dan had his own boat and would occasionally “lock through” dams to Nashville’s Old Hickory Lake for several days of water skiing, fishing and camping out – which Dan said, “drove my parents to distraction.”
Dan graduated from Clarksville High School in 1959. He was focused on accomplishment, attending Tennessee Tech for a year before returning to Clarksville and Austin Peay State College to complete his bachelor’s degree in education. With a growing interest in art and design, professor Dr. Charles Young had a significant influence on Dan’s preferred painting medium of watercolor and his eventual entry into teaching with Montgomery County Public Schools.
Dan Hanley (1941-2021)
“Running the Line” Dan Hanley, 2008
DAN WAS AN ART TEACHER at the “new" Clarksville High School on Richview Road, which opened in fall 1968. Not only was Dan popular with students, he was also deeply involved in numerous student activities, such as designing and constructing props for elaborate theatrical productions and guiding homecoming float construction. His passion for artistic expression inspired countless students, many of whom kept ties with their teacher, and are still pursuing artistic endeavors.
David Redmond explained how, as a CHS sophomore, he was “kicked out of my trigonometry class for misbehaving... and sent to art class.”
David was introduced to watercolor painting by Dan.
“I fell in love with it immediately, and I recall how diligently Dan taught and mentored me in this unforgiving medium,” said David. “I was among many examples of students he took extra time to cultivate if they showed promise.”
Dan Hanley went above and beyond classroom experiences, such as organizing field trips for the CHS Crayola Kids Art Club, venturing to local landmarks for field sketching and painting, arranging for his students’ art to be displayed inside Nashville’s renowned Parthenon and teaming with biology teacher Mike Filson for a trip to Florida to identify various marine flora and fauna species.
Now a retired dentist living near Memphis, David has maintained his passion for watercolor painting, having contributed several outstanding works to the annual Customs House Museum Flying High art auction.
His city needed him – and he could not stand being on the sideline.
“Dan and I maintained a healthy, encouraging competition of sharing each other’s artwork, which brought the best out of us both. We always had great anticipation for the next round of artwork exchanges!”
In his later years, Dan turned his full attention to painting. His work is represented in many private and corporate collections in Clarksville and beyond. He also contributed numerous works to the Flying High art auction, including four years as the signature artist.
“As fellow watercolorists, Dan and I enjoyed many conversations about painting in what he called the most ‘unforgiving’ medium,” said Customs House Museum Executive Director Frank Lott. “Even after sharing a few do’s and don’ts, the conversations always turned to subject matter and new compositions, primarily because Dan loved talking about possible subjects and ideas for paintings, not just technique. That’s evident, because his paintings always told a story.”
QUANTIFYING DAN HANLEY’S reverence for and influence on the City of Clarksville is like estimating the daily gallons of water flowing down the Cumberland River. It simply can’t be measured.
In January 1999, an F3 tornado cut a swath through town that demolished irreplaceable historic landmarks and uprooted business and families, laying waste from Dan’s old neighborhood to five miles northeast in St. Bethlehem. Over 560 structures were damaged or destroyed.
At the time, Dan was the awardwinning Executive VP of Fox Ridge Homes, designing, building and marketing homes in the Brentwood area. Dan Hanley responded. He asked his company for a leave of absence because his city needed him – and he could not stand being on the sideline.
“Under One Sky” by Dan Hanley, 2007 | Special Commission by F&M Bank
Courtesy of the Clarksville Community Network
At that time, Clarksville’s potential build-back was vulnerable to demolitions and structure designs that could significantly detract from the Downtown District’s historic character. A Downtown Redevelopment Task Force was established by newly installed Mayor Johnny Piper, with over 100 citizen leaders parceled over eight committees.
Dan assumed three key roles: Task Force Oversight Voting Member, Chair of the Planning & Design Committee and Co-Chair (along with banker Carolyn Pierce) of the Planning & Design Review Board.
The work of Dan and his capable committees successfully recommended guidelines and standards for future consideration. Notably, Dan sought out owners of damaged buildings to personally provide guidance, vision, restoration and construction advice – and even provided on-the-spot building concept sketches to help owners take immediate steps forward. All the while, he was thinking about how this tragedy could make his beloved hometown rise to greater heights, economically and aesthetically. Much of the groundwork laid by Dan and others in these dark days have been essential to the recovery and ongoing revitalization of Clarksville’s city core.
“Dan was never concerned with getting credit for what he did. His satisfaction came from making people, projects, institutions and our community better,” said Lawson Mabry.
Among Clarksville’s most active residential developers, Lawson sought Dan’s expertise in creating “a unique sense of place” for individual neighborhoods, while providing good reason for developers to invest in more appealing resident amenities.
“Dan significantly influenced the creation of a local Cluster Ordinance for new neighborhood development to the benefit of residents, developers and local governments,” explained Lawson. “With Dan’s Fox Ridge Homes background – combined with his aesthetic and artistic gifts – our residents can enjoy parks, playgrounds, pavilions, walkways, landscaping, lakes and underground utilities, while reducing maintenance and infrastructure costs.”
Lawson continued, “He was all about fun details, too. For one of our neighborhood pavilions, Dan designed a weathervane with a dog howling at the moon. It’s a whimsical, artsy touch that gave us both great satisfaction.”
DAN AND BILLIE JO “JODIE” COX first noticed each other around 1973 while she was working at a Merle Norman Cosmetics store on Franklin Street. That first encounter soon flourished, and the couple was married on Nov. 15, 1974, at the Baptist Church in Jodie’s hometown of Elkton, Kentucky.
The call of the old Front Street neighborhood lured Dan and Jodie to build two charming boutique stores at the corner of Riverside Drive and Hickory Grove Blvd. in 1978. Hanley House was a gifts and home accents shop, that benefitted greatly from Jodie’s flair for interior design. Next door, The Wicker Place furnishings store nicely complemented Hanley House’s offerings.
Daughter Kerri Dannielle was born in March 1979, and there were still Hanley and Mobley family members in the immediate vicinity to help with child rearing and water-oriented activities.
“The most important times for Dan were always family times,” said Jodie. “We truly cherished our at-home time with Kerri... even if sometimes home was in the shop! Dan and I always worked closely and very well together. We valued each other’s opinions.”
After Kerri married Michael Lusso, the couple eventually moved to Nolensville, Tennessee. Seeking to spend more quality time together led the Hanleys and Lussos to begin an annual family tradition by vacationing at Carillon Beach on Florida’s Panhandle. In 2010, Aubrie Grace Lusso was born, which provided Dan one more girl on which to dote.
“Dan and I kept Aubrie one day each week from birth to her starting school,” recalls Jodie. “From the very beginning, Dan and Aubrie shared a magical connection.”
Aubrie’s name for her grandfather became “DanDaddy,” and the grandfather-granddaughter relationship between them was extraordinary. The two had daily phone conversations, and Dan taught her the finer points of fishing, painting and golf. He conceded Aubrie’s golf ability didn’t really need his help... she is outstanding with all three of these gifts.
Like a summer storm brewing over the Cumberland, Dan’s unexpected passing on May 17, 2021 sent waves of sadness through the minds and hearts of his and Jodie’s legion of friends. But true to Dan’s beaming personality, remembrances of Dan Hanley quickly turned into a celebration of his remarkable life, and the untold number of fingerprints that will forever remind us that Dan Hanley made a difference in our lives.
Remembering Artist Dan Hanley, a documentary about Dan’s upbringing and artistry, is now playing on CDE Lightband’s Clarksville Community Network.
Dan with wife Jodie, daughter Kerri and granddaughter Aubrie in Carillon Beach, Florida
Courtesy of the Hanley Family
