Amid some people or groups of people praised in recent days, Chattanooga itself received a less-than-flattering review.
A story in Newsweek magazine online mentioned all the land the immediate Chattanooga area has lost to development in the last couple of decades.
The article, highlighted in a recent Chattanoogan.com story, pointed out the fact that this came even though Chattanooga calls itself the Scenic City. And, of course, Chattanooga recently attained National Park City status, although that was not mentioned in the article.
It also pointed out the loss of tree canopy, even though the city is working to improve that with a new tree ordinance.
What to do with land is an issue found everywhere in America, and the developers are no doubt winning over those who like more pristine surroundings with less traffic. Yes, in most situations, money wins out.
I spend much time thinking about all this and keep meaning to do a series on the issue from different perspectives, even though individual land development cases are being highlighted almost daily somewhere in the Chattanooga media.
One solution many might like is to continue setting aside a few more parks or farm-like greenspaces every couple of miles or so amid the development. Here, proponents might say, people can go for some peace and to regain their sanity after sitting in slowed traffic or trying to make almost impossible left turns on some roads.
Some might suggest building on already developed empty or rundown plots closer to town to cut down on urban sprawl.
Another move tree huggers might like is to maybe require parts of individual land being developed to be set aside for park space. And many might hope this would be for the entire community and not just the residents, although that is sometimes tricky in terms of privacy and security.
While some newer development projects do have small greenspace commons areas, others feature only a retention or runoff pond, even though that is a mini amenity.
I know in the 20-plus years since my late parents, Dr. and Mrs. Wayne Shearer, sold their nearly 100-acre farm in Mountain Creek that became part of the second phase of Horse Creek Farms, I have thought often about that issue. I have particularly wondered what that subdivision might have been like if a couple of places of maybe two or three acres would have been set aside as mini parks.
It could have been areas where a few old trees were, where the spring was, or where one or two high vantage points were. Some might have said that it would have added even more to the attraction of the development and maybe only slightly reduced the number of homesites.
About that time when some others and I were trying to see if there was any way to preserve my parents’ farm into a greenway, developer Buddy Bennett offered to donate some floodplain land along the creek of one of his other developments to our group. We were thinking of bigger goals at that time and never followed up with him, but that is a big regret in my mind. A nice walkway along the creek set aside before the residents moved in would have certainly been greatly embraced today.
Who knows how much farmland or undeveloped land will be left in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, but evidently numerous people are needing or desiring housing that developers want to offer.
Among this constantly changing land-use history of Chattanooga, Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp this week announced in his state of the county address that he has appointed hard-working Hamilton County historian Linda Moss Mines to lead a group looking at a possible regional history museum.
Chattanooga has not had a museum looking at the collective history of the area in a number of years, and I had enjoyed talking with and interviewing Jim Thompson in recent weeks about his efforts to get interest in a museum going as well. So, hopefully that move by the mayor will get the proverbial ball rolling even faster for those who want to see the history of the area better preserved and displayed.
One recent aspect of UTC history was celebrated Thursday night with a parade and rally at Miller Park recognizing the Mocs’ NIT men’s basketball championship. Good for them and the community!
I had already committed to going to a Maundy Thursday service at our church, or I would have otherwise been there.
A couple of other pieces of UTC history are seeing or have seen their final chapters conclude. One is the former president’s/chancellor’s home at UTC, which is to come down to make way for an expansion project of the Rollins College of Business. I am planning to write a more detailed historical story about it, but I know it dates to 1909 and is the oldest remaining building on campus constructed originally for the school. For historic preservationists, it is another big loss.
And former UTC football coach Bill “Brother” Oliver also died on April 14 at the age of 85. He served as the head coach of UTC from 1980-83 and succeeded Joe Morrison after coach Morrison helped the program reach new heights in the modern era.
When my friend Kurt Schmissrauter signed a scholarship with Alabama in December 1979 from Notre Dame High, coach Oliver was the one who inked him as an Alabama assistant. I remember I was home from the University of Georgia for the winter and Christmas break and went to the gathering at Kurt’s home in Riverview.
And I recall getting to talk with coach Oliver for a few moments and enjoyed the conversation. If I remember correctly, the former player and assistant for Bear Bryant enjoyed a drink or two at the reception and might have smoked a cigarette. They were actions common then among coaches but not encouraged today. But he had a personable and open manner.
I don’t think anyone knew at the time he was getting ready to be hired at UTC and that coach Morrison was leaving amid a mixed bag that also included some racial strife on the 1978 team in a crisis that made national news.
I remember Roy Exum of the News-Free Press was also there when Kurt signed. I believe Roy wrote once that coach Oliver was called “Brother” because he grew up among several sisters.
The recent days have also involved milestones of personal accomplishment for golfers. It seemed that many sports fans or simply admirers of human triumph applauded Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland when he finally won the Masters last Sunday in a playoff. He had seemingly won and lost the tournament several times over the last day in one of the more emotional Masters in recent years. And he had been elusively trying to win the tournament as well for several years through other up and down experiences on the course while trying to be only the sixth person to win a career grand slam.
Someone reminded me of a fact this week, but when Rory was in high school in the fall of 2004, he signed a scholarship with none other than East Tennessee State University just up the road. He was to arrive in the fall of 2005, but I understand he decided to focus strictly on amateur golf for a couple more years before turning pro, so he bypassed the opportunity to become a Buccaneer, even though he would become a swashbuckler in conquering golf courses.
But I found the three-paragraph press release about his signing put out in 2004 by ETSU and still available online. It, of course, gives no hint of his future greatness. The coach who signed him was Fred Warren, who coached East Tennessee from 1986-2019 after previously coaching Oklahoma State.
And speaking of golf accomplishments, I enjoyed reading about 90-year-old Chattanooga golf hobbyist Boyd Cobb celebrating his recent birthday by playing in one day 91 holes at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club to raise money for the YoungLife Christian ministry. He did ride a cart, but that was still considered quite an accomplishment.
That is one of those stories that many of us in the media say that we wish we had known about first, or that we had been the journalist to initially highlight him. But Mark Kennedy in the Times Free Press did a good jog documenting his achievement.
I actually go to church with Mr. Cobb and had conversed with him once or twice in recent years. I was also employed at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club back in the 1980s and remember him as one of the seemingly younger-looking middle-aged members.
I recall that when I had just started working around the pro shop and cart shed in 1980, an assistant pro, Johnny Miles, who was probably no older than 30, also did some kind of fund-raising activity while continuously playing golf much of the day. Other assistant pros might have followed him. So, the tradition is not unprecedented at the club, but good for Mr. Cobb and his inspiring accomplishment.
Also while I worked at the club and was in college, I became more interested in writing. And the person who inspired me in large part, as I have mentioned before, was F. Scott Fitzgerald. It came after I reread “The Great Gatsby” and fell in love with his beautiful way of capturing people.
Well, guess what, “The Great Gatsby” was published 100 years ago this month. It came out when Mr. Fitzgerald was only 28, and he had already written two novels.
Although it received favorable reviews, it was not considered critically as good as his first two novels, nor did it sell well. But after the book and its reminders of American opportunities at home became available on a widespread basis to servicemen for free during World War II, its popularity grew and has continued nonstop.
Today it is considered a masterpiece due to its interesting take on social class, the wealthy, and the 1920s era of loosening mores and lavish parties. Mr. Fitzgerald’s way of writing about all that also helped.
Unfortunately for him, he died in 1940 at the age of only 44 before its resurgence and fine wine-like aging had developed it into an American classic.
But he would be familiar with the American dream that was a part of the book’s theme and is demonstrated in Chattanooga today by the desires of many to have a nice residence in a new subdivision on former pastoral land.
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net