GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4-5 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10 | BUSINESS A8-9 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B
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VOL. 5, NO. 51
DECEMBER 19, 2011
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Preserving Pond Gap By Wendy Smith The idea began with a 1929 video of an airplane landing at the Sutherland Avenue McGhee Tyson Airport. The runway, according to David Williams of the Pond Gap Neighborhood Association, ran from the present location of West High School to just behind the site of the Bearden Earth Fare. The video is the first of what Williams hopes will be several to be digitized by Bradley Reeves of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound. Reeves has agreed to digitize early fi lms and pictures of the Pond Gap area so they can be used in a history booklet produced by the association. The neighborhood is undergoing a major transition as UT constructs intramural fields in the former location of the Sutherland Avenue and Golf Range Apartments. Williams recently lost in an effort to save Mann Street, which served as an entrance to the apartments and dated back to the 1920s. The area around the street was the site of interracial baseball games in the 1940s and 1950s. But he hasn’t given up on preserving the neighborhood’s rich history. The area is bounded by Forest Park Boulevard to the west, just south of Lonas Drive to the north, Third Creek to the east, and the railroad tracks between Sutherland Avenue and Kingston Pike to the south. Many of its former landmarks exist only in photos – and in the minds of long-time residents. “Fortunately, we’ve got a lot of people who remember history,” he says. They might remember when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus train would pull into town and a procession of animals and circus wagons would
Honoring educators Sculpture by Julie Warren Conn is dedicated. See page A-4
Wendy Smith visits Sequoyah gingerbread party See page A-2
Betty Bean pays tribute to Bill Tallent
Bill and Tommy Bean pose with their model rockets in 1963. Behind them is a laundromat, which is now home to Red Onion Pizza and Subs. A putt-putt golf course is on the far right.
See page A-4
FEATURED COLUMNIST MALCOM SHELL
A Christmas to remember Malcolm recalls a poignant holiday from childhood. See page A-6
David Williams’ mother, Betty White, stands in front of her home, which is now adjacent to Strawberry Fields Market, in 1938. Sutherland Avenue is behind her. Photos submitted
proceed down Sutherland Avenue in the 1940s. For two days, the circus would operate in a tent located where West High School now stands. Williams’ father took his mother to the circus when they were courting, he says. Just across the street was a farm owned by the Underwood family, and during summers in the late 1940s and early 1950s, another tent would spring up to host revival meetings. A few blocks west was the Knoxville Drive-in movie theater, which was open from 1950 to 1982. A driving range operated on Sutherland Avenue from 1952 to 1963 – hence the name of the apartments, which were constructed in the mid-1960s and housed married students until they were closed in 2010. Williams is especially interested in old pictures of the pond, which is now barely visible on the west side of Hollywood Drive. He remembers riding his bike to Pond Gap Elementary School along a sidewalk that was 10 feet above the level of the road. At the time, the pond was home to numerous frogs and lily pads, as well as a small sailboat. For a short time during the 1980s, a landscaping company maintained the pond, but the property is now leased to KUB, he says, and the utility company stores pipes there. Williams is encouraged that the city’s new mayor is an advocate for historic preservation, but he’d like to expand the idea of preservation to include sites and streets as well as structures. He asks that anyone with early movies or photos of the Pond Gap Neighborhood contact him at 5882268, or Bradley Reeves at 2158856.
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By Wendy Smith Members from across the state attended the annual Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs (TFGC) Greens Tea at Racheff House and Gardens on Dec. 9. The historic home was festooned with wreaths, garlands and arrangements crafted by the nonprofit’s board of governors. Proceeds from the sale of the greenery, along with baked goods and items from the gift shop, go toward upkeep of the house, which serves as headquarters for the club. The holiday decorations were created with foliage from Beaver Creek Nursery in Powell and the gardens surrounding the house. Ivan Racheff built the home, located at 1943 Tennessee Ave., beside his factory, Knoxville Iron Works (now Gerdeau Ameristeel) in 1901. He left the house and 5-acre garden to the garden club upon his death in 1982. While the property is one of Knoxville’s hidden jewels, recent flooding in the home’s basement hampered the board of governors as they prepared for the tea. The basement serves as creative head-
Members of the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs enjoy sweets and shopping at the annual Greens Tea at Racheff House and Gardens. Greens Tea chair Ruth Ann Fowler, president-elect Ann McCormick, president Valerie Tipps, and board of governors chair Janet Oakes were in attendance. Photo by Wendy Smith quarters for the organization, says Elaine Clarke, a member of the Dixie Highway Garden Club. She designed a large centerpiece, featuring an underwater floral arrangement, for the event. There are four districts within the state federation, which has 3,500 members. Knoxville is located in District IV, and 22 garden clubs from Knox County are part
of the federation. The organization emphasizes service as well as education, says Carole Whited, former District IV director, and clubs that belong to the federation must be willing to work. Whited and Linda Ford of Farragut are chairing TFGC’s state convention in 2013, which will be held in Knoxville during the Dogwood Arts Festival. The con-
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vention and a two-day conservation camp are the largest events hosted by the federation. The 2011 conservation camp was held in Beersheba Springs Assembly, near Manchester, in October. TFGC president Valerie Tipps came from Chattanooga for the tea. The TFGC is a charter member of the National Garden Clubs, which is the largest volunteer organization in the world, she says. Members of the state federation serve by working on high-profile projects, like assisting Crissy Haslam with outdoor decorations at Tennessee’s governor’s residence, and performing quieter tasks, like working with hospital patients in therapy gardens. Each region of the TFGC also hosts flower shows, educational programs and bulb sales, she says. Whited thinks the primary objectives of the organization are to present the gifts of creation and be active in conservation. Along the way, members enjoy getting to know each other, she says. “We learn how to grow, and we learn how to show.”
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