POWELL/NORWOOD VOL. 53 NO. 49
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IN THIS ISSUE
Roll on
Holiday Featuring articles on gift giving, holiday décor and more! ➤
December 10, 2014
Powell Parade
See inside for heartwarming features, seasonal favorites and specials from local businesses!
‘I am not a ...’ Last week, the school board had important business that stretched Monday’s workshop into a three-hour ordeal. At Wednesday’s voting meeting, board members burned through the long agenda ... The meeting was punctuated by two unusual events: a heartfelt opening prayer by Buzz Thomas and a near meltdown at the end by former chair Lynne Fugate.
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By Sandra Clark
Read Betty Bean on page A-5
Nativity Pageant The Knoxville Nativity Pageant will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, and 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15, at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Admission is free. Info: www.knoxvillenativity. com or 258-9985.
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Read Carol Shane on page A-11
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
No date for new road opening The contract-based opening date of Saturday, Dec. 13, for the new Powell Drive from Gill Road to Clinton Highway is unlikely to be met, although Mark Nagi of the Tennessee Department of Transportation says TDOT and the contractor are continuing conversations regarding the time and schedule for opening. Here’s Nagi’s update of Dec. 8: “The contractor is currently working on completion of curb and gutter placement between Brickyard Road and Clinton Highway (behind DeRoyal and The Crown College). Upon completion, base pavement layers will be placed. The entire project will require final surface paving, striping, guardrail installation, signal completion at Brickyard and the connector road and permanent sign placement. “Once paving is completed, the contractor is also required to grind and groove the bridge over the railroad. Several of these items are temperature dependent. “There is no resolution regarding an opening date.”
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Retired Knoxville firefighter John Simmons rides in a vintage 1924 pumper truck. Photos by S. Clark
Perfect weather and a fast pace marked the 2014 version of the Powell Lions Club Christmas Parade. Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones had a huge crew of officers to assist the festivities. A highlight came from a new Powell area business, Morning Pointe Assisted Living. The staff brought a 1924 pumper truck up
from Chattanooga. Sitting proudly in the front seat was John Simmons, a Morning Pointe resident who retired from the Knoxville Fire Department. “I drove a 1934 and (19)39 truck,” he said. “The 39 was a lot like this one.” Behind the fire truck was a van filled with Santa-hat-wearing seniors, waving to the crowd. More photos on page 3
James G. Sterchi (1867-1932) Dr. Jim Tumblin Francois Sterchi had been a commissioner and archivist in Switzerland, but he fled to the United States to escape political turmoil in his native country. Like many Swiss immigrants to the area, he first settled atop the Cumberland Plateau in Wartburg. Finding the soil too poor for successful farming, he moved to north Knox County along Beaver Creek. One of Francois Sterchi’s sons, Jean L.A. Sterchi, married Parthena Tunnell, and the union produced 10 children. Their eighth child, James Gilbert Sterchi, was born on June 23, 1867. He attended local schools until he was 17 and then took a sales job with Cullen and Newman, a glassware wholesaler. Those years made him an excellent judge of character and enhanced his “people skills.” William H. Sterchi and Charles K. Durkee established a furniture store on Vine Avenue in 1888. In 1891, Will and two of his brothers, J. Calvin and James G. Sterchi, bought out Durkee and founded the Sterchi Furniture Co. with initial capital of $800. Knoxville’s growing middle class and working class had begun to expand as East Tennessee recovered from the Civil War, and the company thrived. Their warehouse on the 30 block of Gay Street was among the businesses devastated by the April 7, 1897 “Million Dollar Fire,” but they soon rebuilt an impressive warehouse they called “The Emporium” on the 100 block. By 1921 they had built a 10-story headquarters at 114 Gay St., which was recently converted to the apartment building known as the Ster-
chi Lofts. In 1902, James acquired his brothers’ shares, including the right to use the Sterchi Brothers name. He markedly expanded the company and owned 18 stores by the early 1920s. By 1929, Sterchi Brothers was the largest furniture company in the world with 48 stores, five manufacturing plants and considerable forest land in Kentucky to supply its timber. In addition to its large domestic business, Sterchi also exported internationally to countries including Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. James Sterchi became one of the first eight millionaires in Tennessee. The Sterchi Brothers eventually owned a chain of 73 stores in seven Southeastern states with annual net sales of $48,239,017 by 1985. Local historian Jack Neely has responded to those who charge that Knoxville defaulted to Nashville in allowing country music to succeed there when it could have succeeded locally. He observed, “Sterchi’s role in the development of country music is pretty fascinating. … He sold furniture, therefore he sold phonographs, therefore he was interested in expanding the market for phonographs, which had previously been marketed mainly to the affluent, who preferred classical and religious music. “And he was an active participant even before Roy Acuff knew how to fiddle.” Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry was founded by George D. Hay on Nov. 28, 1925. Earlier in the
Built in 1910, Stratford, the elegant Sterchi Mansion on Dry Gap Pike, overlooked Sterchi’s 1,400-acre farm and historic Beaver Creek. R.F. Graf was the architect. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee Special Collections
James G. Sterchi (1867-1932). His native talent and impressive business ability eventually made his chain of furniture stores the largest in the world. Photo courtesy of C.M. McClung Historical Collection.
1920s, Sterchi had become an agent for Vocation Records and paid to send Uncle Dave Macon, Sid Harkreader and Sam McGee to New York to make their first recordings and to meet the local demand for records. To boost phonograph sales, Sterchi continued to play a role in the early development of country music by sponsoring regional musicians and local radio programs. Bellefontaine, his grandfather’s farm, had originally contained 371 acres, but James Sterchi expanded it to more than 1,400 acres on which he ran a full-scale dairy farm. His 100 employees managed
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the farm, including a herd of 150 Jersey and 36 Holstein cows. The farm supplied fresh vegetables, fruit, butter, milk and eggs for his Stratford Hotel on Wall Street in downtown Knoxville. In 1910, he retained local architect R.F. Graf to design and build Stratford, his neo-classical mansion on Dry Gap Pike. The current owners spent 11 years of nearly constant work to restore the house to its original elegance. A masterpiece of design and construction, the house contains material that cannot be duplicated today. The main floor has cherry wood trim and two sets of cherry pocket doors that work perfectly. The library has a beautiful mahogany mantel surrounding its large tile fireplace. The spacious kitchen was enlarged from the original small kitchen, hallway and butTo page A-3
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