‘WALKING TALL’
THE WAY WE WERE
JAKE MABE, A-2
GOVERNMENT, A-4
Daughter remembers Pusser in new book
Larry Van Guilder remembers MLK
POWELL
Vol. 50, No. 3 • January 17, 2011 • www.ShopperNewsNow.com • 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville 37918 • 922-4136
‘Ms. Amy’ turns 98
Longtime Powell High teacher recalls her career By Greg Householder
During her tenure she did a lot of traveling with her students. As she says: “I’ve been east and west and north and south on trips with the kids.” Ms. Amy is still an accomplished musician, belting out a spirited number while her friends at Atria Weston Place cheered during their bingo game. Her musical skills are self-taught, though she did take violin lessons for five years. But she can play just about any instrument she picks up – banjo, guitar, saxophone and, of course, the piano. She plays everything by ear. Ms. Amy doesn’t have much family left. A relative takes her once a week to the beauty parlor. She was the baby of her family and her nearest sibling was 10 years older than her. But several of her former students visit frequently as they did to help celebrate her birthday. Her teaching career spanned a lot of history – the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War and the 1950s, the turbulent 1960s and the Vietnam years before ending at the time of Watergate.
Amy Armstrong Moyers celebrates her 98th birthday with a few friends and former students. Photos by Greg Householder
In the early days of her career she took the train to work. So what, you ask? Many folks take a train to work. Back when Amy Armstrong Moyers was riding the rails it was a time when the world was a whole lot bigger. And Powell Station was not a water park – it was a real train station. Moyers, known as “Ms. Amy” to her former students, celebrated her 98th birthday with some of her former students Jan. 8 at Atria Weston Place where she now lives. Ms. Amy taught at Powell High School for four decades, from her graduation from UT in 1934 through her retirement after the 1974 school year. In the early years she would go to the Southern Railway terminal downtown where she would catch the train out to Powell. And then did it in reverse at the end of the school day. For several years, Ms. Amy lived off Fairmont Boulevard near Broadway. She recalls how she drove through a lot of water in Powell, attesting to the frequent flooding the area still endures. Ms. Amy taught Spanish, civics and English, and she participated in a new-fangled concept called “team teaching.” She was an avid equestrian in her day. She speaks fondly of the two saddle horses she used to ride. While not going so far as admitting to being somewhat of a “trick rider,” she did recall doing some stunts such as standing on the back of one of her horses.
At the age of 98, Amy Armstrong Moyers – “Ms. Amy” – plays a jazzy tune during her birthday celebration on Jan. 8.
Mayor Brown takes charge By Betty Bean Becoming mayor overnight is a big adjustment – just ask Daniel Brown, whose new office affords him a panoramic view of the Tennessee River between the now-closed Henley and Gay Street bridges. “Looking over there, the Gay Street Bridge is jammed,” Brown said. “A lot of times over the past few days, I’ll think ‘They should do something about this and they should do that.’ Then I realize ‘they’ is me.” The 6th District City Council member was named interim mayor by his City Council colleagues last Monday in the 11th round of voting. He succeeds Gov. Bill Haslam, who resigned shortly before Brown was selected. He will serve until a new mayor is elected and sworn into office in December. Meantime, there’s a city to run.
He says he plans to lean heavily on the services of Haslam mainstays Larry Martin and Bill Lyons. “I’m very glad they’re here,” he said. “If they had resigned or if the governor-elect had taken them with him, that would have been a major upheaval. This means stability. Those two gentlemen remaining in place will allow us to move smoothly during this transitional period. They really are the movers and shakers. And City Recorder Cindy Mitchell, she is of great help as well.” Brown, 64, is a retired employee of the U.S. Postal Service, a longtime community volunteer and election worker, and a graduate of Tennessee State University. He has been a council member for a year and was considered something of a sleeper for the job of interim mayor because he
played his cards so close to the vest. “When people first started asking me if I was interested, I just answered, ‘We’ll see.’ Then when the mayor gave his press conference announcing when he’d resign, I saw where five of my colleagues said they were interested. I thought I better start letting people know that I was interested, too. “The morning we voted, because of the Sunshine Law, I had no idea how things were going to turn out. I knew I would get one vote – my own. Then, when we started voting and things were at a standstill, I thought ‘This may not work.’ But it did. “I believe that everyone on that council has integrity. I’ve said it before and will say it again – any one of us could have done this job and I respect and admire each and every one on that council. I
think we’re going to be just fine during this transition.” Brown is divorced and has a daughter, Stephanie Burgess, who teaches school in Shelby County. He has two grandchildren: Miles, 6, and Maya, 2. His brother, Warren, is a bishop with the AME Zion Church and is off on a business trip to England where he oversees the AME churches. When he returns, he plans to organize a celebration for the new mayor, who has become the first African-American to hold that position. And that thought brings up something that has been on the minds of many over the past week: “I hope we can get past the question of race,” Brown said. “But since this is happening the week that we are remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and February is Black History Month, that fact
Last Chance to Register
Pat Summitt and Knoxville Mayor Daniel Brown at the Riverwalk. Photo by Betty Bean
is not lost on me. I know that many in the African-American community are happy – well, maybe some are not – but it might be a good thing for the young people of this
city to see that whoever they are, wherever they might be, if they work hard and prepare themselves, they can be whatever they want to be – if they prepare themselves.” 2707 Mineral Springs Ave. Knoxville, TN 37917 Ph. (865) 687-4537 280 N. Fairmont Ave.
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