Lately, I have been upset with all the bellyaching and complaining about
the traffic cameras. The community of Red Bank gets negative press about the cameras from letter who got caught by those cameras.

I was born and raised in the community of Red Bank. My family was
raised not far from each other. My parents grew up on Greenleaf Street. They tell me that they were throwing rocks at each other, then
boom, love from then on. Only thing that kept them apart was school. My
mother attended Hixson for my Grandmother taught at Hixson Junior High School. My father went through and attended the Red Bank schools.

I love learning of the stories of community of Red Bank. Sherman's
Hide out at the Duck Pond. This story is not well know. The area where
the new section of the Chattanooga Memorial "Duck Pond" Park meets the
old, Sherman and his troops hid out. Some say that Civil War artifacts
are still dug up. The area is also known for the ghost stories that
are connected to the graveyard.

My father tells me of how Dayton Boulevard looked when he was a child.
The Daytona Plaza was a farm and a lake. He tells me of the beautiful
house and pond that once sat on that land. It was a sad day when they
filled in the pond and made Dayton Plaza. Later he admitted that what
came was exciting. A grocery store named Piggly Wiggly, paint store
and some other smaller shops.

One of the most busiest areas of the community was the "heart." The
Red Bank Hardware Store, shoe repair, Post Office, Redford's 5 &10,
another pharmacy, Doctor Brogdon's office, Doctor Reynold's office,
Hamilton National Bank (First Tennessee Bank) and Red Bank Baptist
Church.

The Red Bank Elementary School building sat off the side of
Dayton Boulevard. It had the two playgrounds and a ball field. My
uncle and my father tell me of wonderful summer afternoon ball
games played there. My family played a lot of softball in the community of Red Bank. Facing the elementary school was the one and only Gooney Golf Miniature Golf. It was a wonderful place to spend
some time. Like most families, mine spent more time behind the Gooney
Golf. There was a ball field. Red Bank Recreational Softball was
played there.

The "Almost World Famous Dub's" is a ice creamery that was incredible.
The chocolate dipped cones were famous. I remember many trips to Dub's
after church, softball games or just out. It was always packed.

Just up the Boulevard was the well known Red Bank drive in. For many
years, it was the meeting place. They showed a variety of movies. My
family and I have many wonderful memories of going to the drive in. My
mother use to pop a huge bag of pop corn to take with us.

It is now 2009, the community has changed so much. Corridor J was
built. The high school and the junior high were switched. The elementary was built outside the city of Red Bank. Morrison Springs Road and Asheland Terrace have been widened. Roy Cox's Appliance Store is gone while well known Red Bank Athletic Shop moved into a much larger store. An Art Gallery and a few other smaller stores have popped
up. The new Bi-Lo brought in some new business.

Don not let a bunch of crybabies, bellyachers and whiners keep you
from enjoy the community of Red Bank. Come on in. The people are warm
and wonderful. The community is caring and ready to show how special
it is.

Laura Crane
Red Bank

* * *

Mr. Exum,
Let me start by saying I am a proud resident of Red Bank for the last 32 years. I wish before you talk so badly about our city, that you would actually check it out. I say this because if you had been to the commission meetings and/or any Red Bank Neighborhood Pride Association meetings, you would know that there is a lot going on in Red Bank. As you well know, there is a lot of behind the scenes work that must be done before anything is seen.

I’m not saying there isn’t room for improvement, of course there is but I am very offended that you bash our city without knowing what you are talking about.

The Red Bank Neighborhood Pride Association awards a home of the month every month, they also are hosting the new Red Bank Market that has been a huge success. This group is very active in improving the city.

If you would like to be more accurate on what you are talking about, I recommend that you attend their meetings and the Red Bank Commissioners meetings, they are enlightening. The newest addition to the city is the new community center that is hosting all kinds of community events as well as weekly senior events. Just wait sir, once the state actually releases the stimulus money, sit back and watch us flourish. The plans are fantastic, our mayor and city commissioners have done a great job.

I also would like to let you know that the Red Bank High School Girls Volleyball team are the state champions. Have you been hiding somewhere? The football team has done an outstanding job this year, second in the state. We can all agree that our schools, all of them, could use some improvements but baby steps sir, baby steps. You can’t accomplish everything overnight and without the proper funding. Feel free to donate to our local schools, they could use your help.

I highly recommend that you visit our city and spend some time there, we have a lot to offer. If you look around, businesses all over the country are closing down.

Red Bank has one of the best police departments in the state and our fire department is also recognized as one of the best. The Red Bank Chamber of Commerce is working on attracting new businesses to our city, it just takes time.

I can’t forget the cameras you so deplore. I drive through the intersection of Dayton Boulevard and Signal Mountain Boulevard multiple times a day and I can promise you that it is much easier to get through the main intersections now with the camera. It has improved the safety of our streets and you are sadly mistaken if you think that they are a “cash cow.” Please contact city hall, they will confirm what little money the city actually makes on the camera tickets. Red Bank saves more on not having to have the police and fire departments respond to all of the
wrecks.

If you feel you can do a better job than our elected officials, then run for an office, elections will be coming up next year. We do not elect based on the “good ol’ boys” philosophy. I truly believe that all of our commissioners have Red Bank’s best interest at heart. They just have different ideas about how to do things. I personally feel that the mayor and most of the commissioners are doing a great job.

If you were at the Red Bank Christmas parade last night then you saw that Red Bank is alive and thriving. We are proud of our city.

Marian Ingram

* * *

I grew up in Red Bank and treasure the memories I have of living
there. I remember the two hardwares, the two drug stores, the 5 and 10 cent store, the shoe repair shop, the two food stores, and even the
"walk-in" theatre. The real heart of the town centered around the
elementary school property. Families would take their children there
to play on the playground each weekend. The shouting of the children
playing on the playground and the cheering at the adjacent ball field
still resonates within my ears.

I grew up near the drive-in and used to sit in my back yard and watch
the movies playing on the screen. I added my own dialogue to those
movies as my parents would sit and laugh at me. I remember my dad
buying what must have been one of the first televisions in Red Bank. Folks would come over to watch the Milton Berle show on Tuesday evenings. Later, my Dad helped neighbors erect their television antennas when they bought their own sets. We only had one channel to watch then, and it originated in Atlanta.

I remember the "Rexall" Pharmacist opening on a Sunday afternoon to
fill a prescription for my sick brother. Nothing was open on Sunday
back then, but the pharmacist's posted their phone numbers on the
pharmacy door in case of an emergency. Doctors Miller and Green had their offices on Dayton Boulevard at that time and even made house-calls. Their Ashland Terrace office came later. Doctor McDowell lived in the house that sat where the "strip-center" went in next to the then high school.

My parents shopped for groceries at the "Red Food" where the Baptist
Church now has an activity center. The "White Store" sat on the north
east corner of Dayton Boulevard and Ashland Terrace. They had the
cheapest price on milk as I recall. Gordon's quick stop was on up the
Boulevard, and we stopped there from time to time.

Yes, I ate at the Red Bank Restaurant next to the High School, and later I enjoyed "Dub's." "Dub's" had the best ice cream sandwiches I ever ate, and they made them themselves. They stopped doing that years ago, unfortunately.

I wish my granddaughter could enjoy the simple things I enjoyed when
growing up. Time seems to change things, and not always for the
better. Most of the little "Mom-and-Pop" stores that operated
throughout my childhood have since closed. "Lowe's" and "Home-Depot"
put an end to small family owned hardwares. "Big-box" retailers shut
down the competition from most small businesses. Even the small
barber shops found it difficult to compete against the larger ones.

The saddest change is the loss of the "heart-of-the city" elementary
school. That took the soul out of the city of Red Bank, and it will
never be the same again. Time marches on, and I'm sure Red Bank will
find itself again.

The biggest thing Red Bank can do without though, is the individuals
that think they are above the law and can speed with impunity wherever they want. Traveling Dayton Boulevard is so much safer and easier since the cameras were installed. There is seldom a wreck to contend with blocking traffic.

I love Red Bank and will always enjoy any trip to that small city that
I may make.

Rod Dagnan
roddagnan@comcast.net