| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 11, 34.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 2 Aug 2008.
CCH Class of 1945 catches up
NEWPORT-The Cocke County High School Class of 1945 met at the Holiday Inn July 26, to celebrate its 63rd reunion and reminisce.
Graduates from as far as Texas attended and each individual had the opportunity to speak to the group about his/her experiences, in an impressive nutshell, during the last seven decades. The CCHS graduates seemed to exhibit the selfless qualities hallmarked by what Tom Brokaw considers "The Greatest Generation." Every man present served in the military during WWII and some even in Korea and Vietnam.
Gordon Herndon, who lives in Dallas with his wife of 44-years, Jeanette, who is originally from South Africa, recounted his military service after leaving Newport. Herndon, who retired with the rank of Major from the Army, began his military career in the Navy as a pilot and fought in three wars: WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Interestingly, Herndon, who enlisted in the Navy, joked that he "got a warrant to appear before the local draft board while I was in Japan." Herndon's wife Jeanette said she remembered watching US Navy ships passing by the South African coast when she was younger and never imagined she would marry someone who had been aboard one of the vessels.
Fred Giles, who is celebrating his 50th anniversary with his wife Peggy, said he too was a veteran of three wars. Dr. Nathan Ford shared friendly, yet competitive words with at least one golf rival in the Holiday Inn. Ford, Navy veteran, said, "I've had a good life. The best thing was marrying my wife. It's good to see everybody." Ford told the Plain Talk he was one of five sons his mother had in the military during WWII. Ford also noted that his class was the only class that had four years of war while they were in high school.
Louise Vasquez, said, "I was born in Newport and my husband, mother and father were all involved in WWII. My mother went into WAC (Women's Air Corps) before it went to WAF. Vasquez's husband served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Vasquez has changed addresses a few times also. "We were in Morocco, Germany, Spain, California and retired in Alaska." Vasquez has three children.
Attorney Roy T. Campbell received a letter from Uncle Sam and even went through Army basic training with fellow classmate Don Horton.
Storyteller Roy D. Brown, who originally hailed from Green Corner, took advantage of his chance to speak with fellow classmates. "Viola Ford married me." Brown joked that Viola was Nathan's cousin and "for some reason or another, he's (Nathan) always resented that. Of course, when a farmer wants to improve his herd, he gets a good bull." Brown said he has four daughters, three of whom are triplets. In addition, Brown has eight grandchildren (four boys, four girls) and five great-grandchildren. Brown has authored hundreds of articles in the Newport Plain Talk under the byline "Tis a Fact." A compilation of Brown's stories has been made into book form and is currently on sale at both the Plain Talk and East Tennessee Coffee Company. Brown is working on another book entitled "Snowbird." According to Brown, the story is about the history of two people who settled in Green Corner: a Scotch-Irish man and a Cherokee woman.
Brown, an Army veteran of WWII, recalled how he sent money home while he was in the military. When he returned to Cocke County, he had nearly $1,100 saved, which he spent on a Crosley car. Brown told his fellow classmates, "I've enjoyed our meetings together with you all. I'm awfully glad you let me attend the graduate dinner. I didn't graduate with the class because I was in the military. I went from the Philippines to Japan. If we had had to invade Japan, we wouldn't be here." Brown added, "The Atomic Bomb saved our lives. The only Democrat in the world I would ever kneel down before and praise would be Harry Truman."
Francis "Tootsie" McClanahan-Brockman told the group, "When I graduated from high school, I didn't know I was going to college." "Tootsie, a name given to her by the nurse who delivered her, which obviously stuck, said she met her late husband, Dick, while she was in college. Brockman said Dick, who had just been discharged from the Navy when she met him, had "poor eyes." "Dick had a friend go in front of him to read the eye chart (when enlisting). Dick listened, and remembered the order of the chart. He went through three or four charts before they finally caught on. He was told he could enlist in the Navy but would never go abroad or be on a ship...his first job was on a ship in the North China Sea."
"Tootsie" and Dick met at Tusculum College and were married Monday, June 6, 1949 at 10 a.m. The couple had four children (two boys, two girls). Dick passed away in 1980 and Francis said they "had a wonderful marriage. She added, "I'm glad to be here with you all and hear all these stories."
Barbara Holder-Bailey remembered her father talking to her about going to college. "I was working at Park's Belk at 16 for $1.99 a day. He would match money I saved (to use at UT). Dad never had me use the saved money ($695, which was used to help purchase her first home). Bailey found her first job, in Coos Bay, Oregon, through the UT job placement office. "I liked it (there) so much that I thought if I stay here another year, I'll never come back. I moved back to Kingsport." Bailey eventually moved to New York and lived with her first husband, who passed away in 1964, in a home on the Hudson River.
Bailey moved back to Kingsport that year and became active in the Episcopal Church. She has three daughters and said, "Everything is good. Life is so good people. When I come back here and see you all, it's just wonderful." Bailey said, "We grew up in a very different time. I can remember during the Depression people coming to the door and begging for food."
Carolyn Helms mentioned her five children, Judy, Phil, Melissa, Christopher and David plus her three grandsons Brett, a pharmaceutical rep., who, along with his wife LeAnne, have made her a great-grandmother; Justin, a pharmacist for Food City and Matthew, who, Helms is proud to say, just got accepted into The University of Tennessee's Dental School in Memphis.
W.C. Vinson has three children and has one great-grandchild. Vinson mentioned the late Dr. Fred Valentine, who was also a member of the CCHS graduating class of 1945.
- [S112] Census, 1930.
name: Francis R Mcclanahan
event: Census
event date: 1930
event place: District 06, Cocke, Tennessee
gender: Female
age: 2
marital status: Single
race: White
birthplace: Tennessee
estimated birth year: 1928
immigration year:
relationship to head of household: Daughter
father's birthplace: Tennessee
mother's birthplace: Tennessee
enumeration district number: 0015
family number: 449
sheet number and letter: 22B
line number: 84
nara publication: T626, roll 2238
film number: 2341972
digital folder number: 4548152
image number: 00338
Household Gender Age Birthplace
head George A Mcclanahan M 49 Tennessee
wife Glennie Mcclanahan F 30 Tennessee
daughter Francis R Mcclanahan F 2 Tennessee
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
name: Glennie Allen
also known as:
suffix:
event: Marriage
event date: 24 Dec 1923
event place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
gender: Female
spouse: George Mcclanahan
spouse's also known as:
spouse's prefix:
spouse's suffix:
page: 354
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
name: Richard David Brockman
titles & terms:
event: Marriage
event date: 06 Jun 1949
event place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
age: 22
estimated birth year: 1927
father:
father's titles & terms:
mother:
mother's titles & terms:
spouse: Frances Roena Mcclanahan
spouse's titles & terms:
spouse's age: 21
spouse's estimated birth year: 1928
spouse's father:
spouse's father's titles & terms:
spouse's mother:
spouse's mother's titles & terms:
reference number: 378
film number: 1928652
digital folder number: 004485967
image number: 00235
|
Search | Advanced Search
Abt 1928 - (~ 96 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
= Link to Google Maps