David Patton, Palmer Historian
2009
Due to time constraints, Mr. Patton regrets that he cannot personally respond to every comment and inquiry. Like most small town historians, he is an unpaid community volunteer and makes no claim of “knowing everything” about local history. For a detailed account of Grundy County history, he recommends that you consult your copy of the Grundy County Heritage Book.
However, if you have information you would like to share, you may write him at
50 Dogwood St.; Palmer, TN 37365, and he will attempt to respond through this page as time and circumstances allow. Your courtesy and understanding will be appreciated. Ms. Susan Sissom and other volunteers will be assisting Mr. Patton in transmitting this material, but have no personal knowledge as to the veracity of its contents.
NOVEMBER
Palmer School Turns 82
Palmer School opened for classes on November 14, 1927, and is still going strong today. Let's take a look back at Grundy County's oldest school.
Homecoming '86 Celebration- Back in 1986 Governor Lamar Alexander led a hugely successful project to celebrate Tennessee's heritage. Each community was asked to plan a special celebration and Palmer chose a reunion of all former Palmer Elementary students, faculty, staff and parents.
Floyd Owen (left) and Louie "Chief" Geary got together for the final time before their deaths just a few years later. Both were bosses at the Palmer Big Mine. All of Mr. Owen's children attended the school. Chief represented Palmer on the Grundy County School Board for years and his daughter the later Frances :Tops: Henry graduated and later taught at Palmer Elementary.
The Worley Family-Mrs. Roy Worley, shown with her children, taught at the school in the later 1940's until the death of her husband Mr. Worley was the pharmacist at the Tennessee Consolidated Coal Co., Company Store
Palmer School Hosts Veteran’s Ceremony
When you present an award for almost a quarter-century, the setting each year is different. This year we honored a teacher for the first time, and making the presentation at the school was also a first.
Y.B. Ashby, President of the Grundy County Veterans’ Historical Society, opened the proceedings with prayer followed by a reading of “ The American’s Creed” by Megan Fults from Mrs. Sweeney’s 7th grade class.
Vanessa Stinnett from Mrs. Childers’ 2nd grade class then gave a rousing rendition of “God Bless America”. This classic, by America’s greatest songwriter Irving Berlin, was introduced by Kate Smith as part of her CBS Radio Show on November 10, 1938, inspiring millions during World War II and right up to the present day. Exactly 71 years later, the talented little Vanessa sang it publicly for the first time on Nov. 10, 2009.
Lindsey Gunter, another of Mrs. Sweeney’s students, then stepped forward to read excerpts from the plaque followed by the duo of Mary Stinnett, a 1949 Palmer graduate, and Mr. Lewis in a lively version of “The Caissons Go Rolling Along”.
Finally, as a crowded and hushed classroom of students from grades 6-8 and family looked on, we presented the 24th annual Palmer Veteran’s Appreciation Award to the school’s 8th grade teacher, Seann E. Lewis. Mr. Lewis was humble and grateful in his acceptance speech, and Mr. Ashby concluded the ceremony with a plea for unity with the War on Terror like he saw during World War II among both civilian and military citizens.
To my surprise, as we were about to leave, Lindsey Gunter, Roger Jensen, and Steve Garner presented me with a framed certificate of excellence and an array of gifts in recognition of my work as the Palmer town historian.
Mr. Lewis and I sincerely thank everyone for making this such a special day. A special thanks to Pam Meeks and Mrs. Shalonda Braden for their help with the arrangements.
l-r: Y.B. Ashby, Mary Stinnett, Seann Lewis, Vanessa Stinnett, Lindsey Gunter, David Patton, Megan Fults
Old Sayings and Figures of Speech in Grundy County, TN
1. He took a backset. We heard an old person say this recently, and it means that you had a bad cold or the flu, thought you were over it, and got sick again. We may hear it a lot this winter with the swine flu making headlines.
2. He’s a big strapping big, or He’s a big strapping man. This was a healthy and strong person back in the days when malnutrition was a common thing and pale weak people were the result in many cases.
3. She’s of age. This means that a person has turned 18 and are now is legally an adult. We heard this recently.
4. He needs to be taken down a buttonhole or two. This was a person who was overconfident or cocky and needed for something to happen that would humble them.
5. I’m sore as a risin’. A friend recovering from a serious operation told us this recently. People used to have a lot of painful sores called risings years ago, and I’ve heard in recent years that they were caused by a blood disorder.
6. I just go along to get along. This meant that you didn’t agree with the other person in whatever the matter was, but to avoid hurt feelings, you went along with them.
7. I feel like a million dollars. That was really feeling good – I have not heard that in a long time.
8. He’s just a liable (pronounced ly-bull) to as not. Meant just a likely to do something as not and described an unpredictable person or situation
9. Cross my heart and hope to die. Kids used to say this to someone to show they weren’t lying because that had crossed their heart and hoped to die if they were lying.
10. That’s highway robbery. This was said in anger or astonishment upon learning that someone charged an outrageous price for goods or services.
Palmer News
The year 2009 is quickly running out as we’re coming to you on a windy and partly sunny Veteran’s Day after a rainy Tuesday from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. We went through the rain to Palmer School and presented the Palmer Veteran’s Appreciation Award (see article on this topic) and that lifted our spirits on a gloomy day.
Let’s kick-off with birthday greetings to my brother Joel Patton, Danny Crabtree, and Bobby Owen, who will all celebrate this month. Joel lives in Coalmont and turns 60. Danny’s a son of the late Gordon Crabtree, still lives in Palmer and turns 55. Bobby hits 80 this month and lives in Peachtree City near Atlanta. He’s the only son among a group of sisters and their parents were the late Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Owen.
The old “Company house: of the late Lawrence and Beet James Nunley burned the morning after Halloween. It was rental property in recent years and a landmark in the “other end” of Palmer.
We spent another enjoyable Halloween as the night watchman at Palmer School. This was our 15th consecutive year and we received a much appreciated “thank you” letter from Grundy County School Superintendent Joel “Jody” Hargis. Mr. Hargis and his father Raymond both served as Palmer Principal and School Superintendent over the years and Mr. Raymond recalls that Ronnie Cox was the Halloween watchman when he was principal 1955-58.
Mrs. Robin Hammers McNeece, Grundy County Deputy Sheriff and Resource Officer at Grundy County High School, came by several times that night to check on the school.
“I went here for K-2 grade,” Robin recalled. “One day Mama drove me to school, let me out of the car and went on. I was a little thing and couldn’t get the big door open and was scared. W.R. “Trey” Anderson, now Grundy County Sessions Court Judge, was also a student and saw me and opened the door.”
Robin lives in Gruetli-Laager and is a daughter of Robert “Perk” Hammers and the wife of Monteagle Police Chief Virgil McNeece. She’s a very nice young lady, and we enjoyed meeting her very much.
We had a little group of “spooks” come by the school “trick-or-treating” and got a good photo of them. Charles Britton and Wendy had 40 spooks at their house in Ducktown, Joy Shrum, 95, on Daus Mountain Road where she fixed popcorn balls, Kat McHone, 15, on Palmer Mountain, Jerry Cannon, 11, Ricky Layne, 5, Mary Stinnett, 1, and Wanda Meeks “quite a few” on Tatesville Road. In Gruetli-Laager Mrs. Bruce (Gail) Coffelt had 25 and Rooster Guffey an amazing 205.
Rabbit Morrison and Ricky Layne’s Halloween adventure became a “cold” experience. They took off through Dock White Hollow and up the rugged mountain toward the old Leck Tate place. The fan belt broke, and they finally got back to Palmer half frozen at 2 AM on Sunday morning.
Rev. Greg Jones, former pastor of Palmer Church of God, was here to preach the funeral of Treva Worley Land Morrison. He founded Community Harvest Church of God in Coalmont before returning to his native Alabama.
Our October rainfall in Palmer was just a hair over 7”. In 1999 we had 4.6”
The Swine Flu closed Grundy County Schools Nov. 4-6 before classes resumed on Monday the 9th.
Ricky Meeks, son of Willie Dee Meeks, is coaching the Boys’ basketball team at Swiss Memorial Elementary. He coached at Palmer Elementary for years and our gym is named for him.
Palmer United Methodist honored John Kennedy with “Pastor Appreciation Day: on November 8. Mr. Kennedy and his wife Tressie Jo (Gallagher) Kennedy received gifts and everyone enjoyed a morning of refreshments and fellowship.
Mrs. Gussie Flynn taught Sunday school for years at Palmer Nazarene and said that eight of the nine became preachers including Danny Coffelt and Brett Meeks.
Mary Stinnett placed flowers on the grave of her father Scott Cannon on Veteran’s Day. He was a U.S. Army soldier in Europe during World War I.
Johnnie Jane Heard Brown came by to see us November 6. We were gone, but found her note. She was raised where I live today, but has lived in McMinnville, TN, for many years.
Alex Gulas of Chattanooga was here visiting relatives recently. He lost his mother, Janice Layne Gulas, earlier this year.
We saw this interesting article recently in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Grundy County has 34 churches per 10,000 population. That’s more per capita than any other county in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia and North Alabama. We don’t doubt it.
The daughters of the late Clyde Sissom visited recently and had lunch at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant. They live in the Chattanooga area and one lives on Sand Mountain, Alabama.
Bobby Lloyd and Perkie Greene along with their children Beth and Bobby were here last month visiting relatives. Bobby Lloyd said a lot of property where they live in North Florida is “for sale” like it is in Grundy County.
It was good to see Shirley Cunningham recently. He’s practically deaf, but still gets around good for a World War II veteran.
The Gruetli-Laager Senior Citizens’ Center served area veterans a spaghetti dinner and among those attending were Billy Caldwell, Taylor Creighton, Claude Parson, and James Brown. James, son of the late Cecil brown, wore his military hat and jacket.
The Center also went on their annual Tennessee River cruise recently and Kat King and her son Frankie, along with her sister Clara and husband Stanley Partin, went this year. “Frankie enjoyed it so much”, the widow of Franklin King said. “Tell Bobby Lloyd and Perkie Greene, “Hello, for us when you write the Palmer news. We love them and appreciate everything they have done for us.”
On sick call: Richard Rollins of Chiggertown is recovering from hip-replacement surgery while Harold James is recovering from bypass surgery.
Former Palmer resident Myrtle Dishroon Davis has had a recurrence of cancer according to her grandson. She lives in Jasper and some of you will remember her daughters Barbara and Betty and son Grady “Lurch” Davis.
Our friend Mrs. Donna Gifford Basham is recovering from a painful condition caused by bumping a cyst on a filing cabinet setting up a serious infection. Freaky things can become life threatening sometimes.
We ran into Betty Coffelt at the post office and she’s had colon surgery and double knee replacement surgery this summer. Betty’s 82 this month and walking like a young person. She says her husband Leck has killed a few squirrels this fall, and they’ve enjoyed them. Squirrels used to be eaten a lot years ago in Grundy County and were hunted as seriously as deer are today.
When I graduated from Palmer School in 1991 we got two days off for Thanksgiving, and now they get a whole week, so it’s true, “time changes everything.”
We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas as well. We’ll be taking a break for the holidays, but will return in January with our Palmer News of all the happenings here “where the good people live.”
So until then, enjoy this wonderful tine of the year with family and friends and we’ll be back refreshed and raring to go in 2010.
