The recent announcement in the media that a BJ’s Wholesale Club might relocate to the former Sears site at Northgate Mall was another chapter in what to do with that site.
I know a few years back talk was made of converting it into the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts. And some action appears to have been taking place around the Sears in recent weeks.
That Sears opened a couple of years after the mall opened in 1972, which was a common move for Sears to do in malls during that era.
It has also been interesting to see how popular some places on the perimeter of Northgate have been, such as T.J. Maxx, but the mall interior still struggles to get the foot traffic of its earlier decades. At least that is my unscientific observation.
But many Northgate fans are thankful places like Belk and Chick-fil-A still proudly operate inside there, as does the local gift store, Colony 13. Maybe they could get an Apple store like West Town Mall in Knoxville has, although it would probably locate at Hamilton Place Mall.
What are some of your favorite stores you remember from the interior of Northgate Mail over the years? For me they date back to the first decade or two of Northgate and included Waldenbooks, Pet-A-Rama, Record Bar, the Burger King that opened down near Sears about 1975, and the Piccadilly Cafeteria in its heyday. I would love a good macaroni and cheese from the latter now.
And I can remember buying some clothes at such places as Anderson-Little and JC Penney, and shoes at such places as Kinney’s and Baker’s and Jarman when I was a teenager attending Baylor School. I am sure I looked funny in that crazy dress style of the 1970s, but maybe it all blended well with shag carpet!
I discovered the Leader in downtown Chattanooga by the late 1970s and started dressing more like a preppy and said goodbye to polyester leisure suits and possibly platform shoes forever!
At least one reminder that we are moving back to the past in a sense was the recent announcement by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee that the state is no longer planning to build a new mental hospital on Moccasin Bend. That came following an archaeological review that showed evidence of Native American remains, which was welcome news for many.
Many would like to see the story of Native Americans and others who settled on Moccasin Bend be more fully told through the continuing developments of the national park there. Others are probably happy as well that even more land at the scenic spot alongside the Tennessee River will be preserved as mostly pristine in the steadily developing and growing city of Chattanooga.
There are numerous people, however, who both love open spaces and good architecture, especially designs from the past. And the possibility that much or all of the current mid-century-modern Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute might be torn down could wipe out the work of Chattanoogan Mario Bianculli’s firm.
Architectural historians probably hope at least some structures remain, if a new hospital is built somewhere else. One of the main buildings also has some interesting tile mosaics designed by Mr. Bianculli and which I have highlighted in a previous story.
Sometimes conflicts in the spirit of preservation do take place. I know that American Battlefield Trust has worked to protect some spaces around Lookout Mountain and elsewhere in part to prevent encroaching development on Civil War-related sites not part of the national park. And I know at least one old roadside motel from the mid-century was torn down by the group.
Many seem to like that part of vanishing mid-20th century Americana and hope to see all old motels from Baby Boomers’ childhoods preserved, no matter how rundown or abandoned they look or no matter how admirable the trust group’s work is!
The news about Moccasin Bend reminds me of two people related to the governor’s office who were active in mental health. Governor Frank Clement was evidently a strong advocate for improving mental health services and that in part helped lead to the construction of Moccasin Bend hospital in the early 1960s, and unsuccessful 1974 Republican gubernatorial candidate Nat Winston was the first superintendent.
And I saw in the news where former Governor Winfield Dunn died on Saturday at the age of 97. He was the first Republican governor since Reconstruction when he was elected in 1970, and during his term in office helped preserve and expand state parks and built up a kindergarten program statewide. He was also known for bipartisanship.
Many Chattanoogans remember his parks efforts in that Fall Creek Falls State Park added some amenities at that time. They included a golf course and inn and restaurant, I believe.
I did not know until I read his obituary that he attended the University of Mississippi, and that his father had been a U.S. Congressman from Mississippi who had also struggled with alcohol issues.
I knew Governor Dunn was a dentist in Memphis and was the second Memphis dentist to become better known for something else, with noted professional golfer Cary Middlecoff the other.
Since my late father, Dr. C. Wayne Shearer, was interested in Republican politics, our family went up to his inauguration in January 1971. I can remember standing over some kind of overlook around the capitol grounds that cold day and then seeing him come out from below and acknowledge the several dozen people cheering as he walked toward the swearing-in ceremonies.
And I can recall, I think, getting to shake his hand in a receiving line just after the swearing-in. I don’t remember having to stand in a long line.
He could only serve one consecutive term due to the law at that time, but the next time I saw him in person was in 1986, when he was running for governor again. He had walked into the Chattanooga News-Free Press offices to meet with editor Lee Anderson and maybe a political writer like Jeff Powell or Mike Finn.
I remember thinking he looked older after not being a whole lot in the public eye in Tennessee since leaving office, even though he was only in about his late 60s by then. Although I understand the race was close, the magic he had enjoyed in 1970 was gone somewhat, as the unique and seemingly jovial Democrat Ned McWherter won the governorship that year.
Like recently deceased U.S. Senator Jim Sasser, he offered a long life of public service to Tennessee.
Speaking of the end of an era coming, the Oakland A’s Major League Baseball team has played its last game at the old Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in California. Opened in 1968, it is the last of the rounded stadiums built for both baseball and football and that was used for years by the A’s and the Raiders when they were in Oakland.
Its heyday was no doubt from 1972 to 1974, when the A’s won consecutive World Series championships there with slugger Reggie Jackson, pitchers Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, and others under colorful owner Charles O. Finley. I am not sure why, but I found myself pulling for the seemingly upstart A’s as a young teenager in all those Series
The 1972 World Series was played against Cincinnati, which featured Pete Rose, whose death Monday at 83 has brought attention in the sports world. Many admired how he hustled on the field and became the all-time hits leader, but not as much how he hustled in terms of his sports betting that eventually banned him from baseball and made him ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Chattanooga would actually have a connection with Oakland, as the Lookouts were an affiliate of the A’s in 1976 and 1977 after minor league baseball returned to Chattanooga following a decade hiatus. Chattanogans got used to seeing the unique green and yellow uniforms in Engel Stadium, and some of those players like Dwayne Murphy and Steve McCatty and others later played for Oakland.
And speaking of sports, many might say that was quite a game between Georgia and Alabama. The Crimson Tide under new coach Kalen DeBoer went out to a surprising 28-0 lead early, only to see Georgia make a rally for the ages and take the lead. And then only seconds later, Alabama under running and throwing quarterback Jalen Milroe and the acrobatic 17-year-old receiver, Ryan Williams, made one last score, and the Tide made one last interception to win, 41-34.
I know as a Georgia fan, I felt like the Dawgs lost twice! The first was when they got way behind and the game seemed over before the half, and then they saw victory snatched away after amazingly coming back late in the game.
But hats off to Alabama. And Tennessee fans, with perhaps their most complete team in two-plus decades, might have seen a crack or two in both programs.
And is it just me, or does Tide coach DeBoer look a little like a younger Brian Snitker, the Braves manager?
And speaking of the Braves, their fans like me had to sweat out another sports drama in the double-header Monday against the Mets, with Atlanta needing to win only one of the two games to qualify for the playoffs.
With so many injuries to key players this year and division rival Philadelphia having a good year, the typical World Series dreams have seemed a far reach. And so did the playoffs, as the Braves struggled somewhat in recent weeks.
But somehow, they fought back and had a chance going into Monday’s double-header to end the regular season. Busy being out and about, I was following the score of the early afternoon first game on my phone and via radio and thought the Braves were going to clinch a playoff spot with good pitching by rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach and a 3-0 lead going into the eighth inning.
Unfortunately, I checked the score a few minutes later, and suddenly they were behind 6-3. I could not believe it. And then after rallying again to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth in what was a wild game, they ended up losing, 8-7.
And not only that, but ace Chris Sale had to sit out the second game with back spasms, and all seemed almost hopeless. But somehow the Braves dug down against the Mets, who had already clinched their playoff spot with the first-game victory and were playing a little looser and with more reserves. With two RBIs late from Marcell Ozuna, and good pitching by surprising star Grant Holmes, they won the second game, 3-0.
It is all welcome and ecstatic news for Braves fans heading into some tough playoff games against the San Diego Padres. Just as it is exciting news for Moccasin Bend for those who appreciate Native American cultures and with the possible wholesale club at Northgate for those who appreciate a little retail therapy.
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net