Tim Brown
Tim Brown, an attendant at Bonny Oaks School from 1975 to 1981, spoke to the Chattanooga Civitan Club on Friday about the positive impact the school had on his life and his childhood memories of Civitan Club charity.
The Bonny Oaks School took in children from 1895 to 1985. The youth were typically determined to be neglected and dependent by the courts. For many years, the Civitan Club worked with the orphanage, bringing gifts at Christmas to the children and holding an annual picnic. One member even paid to have a swimming pool put in on school grounds.
Mr. Brown, now regional marketing director with Lincoln Financial, thanked the Civitan Club for their contributions in the past and shared his memories of the school. His presentation included a slideshow of pictures, showing photos of the buildings and dormitories on campus, as well as the young boys and girls who were raised beneath the property’s oak trees.
Mr. Brown told Civitan members that the most difficult part of his stay was being separated from his twin sister who lived in the young girls’ dormitory where he was not allowed to trespass. Otherwise, he stated that his time at the orphanage was one of the most positive things he had experienced in his life.
“Those institutions back then shaped so many of us growing up, and they’re not here anymore,” he said. “We were just taught so many things about doing for yourself.”
He told Civitan members that the building that distributes vehicle tags today is located in the same place as his boyhood dormitory, Hagan Hall.
Though Bonny Oaks was segregated both by gender and race, Mr. Brown said there was a sense of unity among the children, standing up for each other even when outside of campus.
“We all had one thing in common, we all missed our moms and our dads,” he said.
Mr. Brown admitted that not all the stories of children who passed through Bonny Oaks were ones of success, but he stated that he knew a lot of students who made it out extremely well. He praised the Civitan Club for their continued efforts to help those in need in the community.
“You don’t know the impact that you have on many, many children,” he said.
More information about the history of Bonny Oaks School and its alumni can be found online at www.bonnyoaks.org.