John Shearer: Random Thoughts About Red Bank’s 70th, Beach Boys, And Jackie Mitchell

The city of Red Bank is celebrating its 70^th anniversary as a town this Saturday, June 21, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Red Bank City Park across Dayton Boulevard from Firehouse Subs sandwich shop.

A fact some people might not realize is that when the town began in 1955, it was originally called Red Bank-White Oak to link its two communities, just as Soddy-Daisy links Soddy and Daisy.

Apparently, town officials realized it was hard to put Red Bank-White Oak on freeway signs such as the one leading then to U.S. 27 north from downtown, so in 1966 the citizens voted to change the name to just Red Bank.

According to some old newspaper clippings, Red Bank way back in 1945 had overwhelmingly voted not to incorporate, with such Red Bank residents as automobile salesman Ben Jumper, former contractor Sam Carter, automobile dealer Ernest Summers and Combustion Engineering employee Ed Schweiger among those against it. Supporting it had been successful hardware store owner B.A. Crisman, who owned a nice home in the community.

However, with the realization that the city of Chattanooga would begin annexing that part of town, which did occur with Mountain Creek in the 1960s, Red Bank in 1955 voted to incorporate by a roughly 2-to-1 margin in what was called light voting.

The first mayor was B.S. Millard, while the first city attorney was Gus Hatfield Jr. Mr. Hatfield had also been named as the acting manager for the city until Cliff Greenwood was hired as the first manager. The latter had an office in the Masonic Building next to the current park where the celebration will take place.

A combination city hall and library were planned for Dayton Boulevard across from the then-high school in 1963 using plans drawn by the architectural firm of Harrison Gill and Associates. But for whatever reason, a city hall was not built until a few years later, and it was constructed a few hundred yards south and across Dayton Boulevard.

At the time of the planned 1963 construction, the Red Bank City Commission consisted of Mayor J.E. Brown, Vice Mayor R. Hayden Landers, and Commissioners Tom Collins, Dallas Rucker and Marion Seagle.

As with the makeup of its commission, Red Bank has changed somewhat in its physical look over the years. Who remembers when Red Bank Elementary was where the Food City shopping center now is, when Red Bank High School and later Red Bank Middle School were also on Dayton Boulevard in the current open space, when a Sir Goony Golf course was where the city park is now, and when a Winn-Dixie and Red Food Store were a short distance from Morrison Springs Road?

My father, Dr. C. Wayne Shearer, also had his optometric office at three different places in Red Bank from 1955 until retiring in 1997 when he was almost 73.

Although maybe this has changed a little, remember when you could also not say you had experienced life in greater Chattanooga fully until you had received a speeding ticket in Red Bank?

Red Bank has also changed some in its collective outlook. Once a solidly conservative area politically with mostly middle-class families simply trying to find a nice and safe place to live in the suburbs, it now has residents with a diversity of viewpoints. That is in part because it has become a hot residential area again for younger families due in part to some older homes that can be updated and the town’s proximity to downtown. And the homes have been less expensive than those in North Chattanooga, although the value is rapidly increasing!

But parts of Red Bank remain constant. I thought it was interesting that I saw Skipper Fairbanks as a young coach photographed in a 1957 newspaper article about all the recreation programs for youngsters there, and nearly 70 years later his daughter, Jamie Fairbanks Harvey, is now a Red Bank city commissioner.

Speaking of politics, what did you think of everything that took place this past weekend? Many questioned various aspects of the Army’s 250^th anniversary parade from the cost to it falling on President Donald Trump’s 79^th birthday.

I would suspect that the vast majority of Americans want to salute the Army and appreciate all who serve in it, but some might want to do it in another way. I personally love how our armed forces are saluted at the Armed Forces parade in Chattanooga, and I even get emotional standing along the street and seeing the veterans and the marching bands and Junior ROTC students. There, the great qualities of America seem to speak for themselves without any extra showmanship, many might say.

Just from a journalist’s point of view, I would love to have said I had covered the “No Kings” rally that took place at Miller Park Saturday and around the nation simply because it will likely be considered one of the happening events in Chattanooga this year. It was one of dozens of similar protests around the country and showed the obvious disagreements Americans collectively have about the direction of our country.

Of course, all those events were unfortunately overshadowed Saturday by the tragic shootings of the Minnesota state legislators and their spouses, and the capture the next day of suspect Vance Boelter hiding in a field.

I am not sure if this country is having a mental health crisis, but hate is unfortunately rampant. And it has been for a few years, as this June 17 was also the 10^th anniversary of the tragic killings of some Bible study attendees at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Young white supremacist Dylann Roof was arrested.

Amid all this tragedy, I keep thinking back to the Biblical verse in John 13 where Jesus tells his followers how they are supposed to live. He says, "A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Dislike is certainly not confined to America, as even some locals in popular European tourist cities have taken to squirting water pistols at the overwhelming number of tourists descending on their towns. Is that any way to behave, some might ask.

I know some Lookout Mountain residents might get a little frustrated having to slowly move past the tourist sites or being behind slower-moving tourists in their cars in the summertime. But hopefully Chattanoogans would be able to show a little more Southern hospitality than that and not fire water at others. Thankfully, the only water tourists here have received here on their shirts so far is all the rain.

As they say in California of how we can chill out amid frustrations, “Peace, love, dove, Baby!”

And speaking of California, the recent passing of early Beach Boys member Brian Wilson made me go back and look at where some light-hearted love in a simple way was shown. The Beach Boys in their peak days of the 1960s apparently came to Chattanooga once – on July 16, 1965.

I had referenced it in a story last week but went back later to see how the newspapers covered the event. I found an article in the Chattanooga News-Free Press by Mike Butler that captured the event perfectly. It was a WMOC-sponsored concert that also included performances from the Vondels, Don Argo, Kris Jenson, Ronnie Bird and Billy Osborn and the Traders. I looked some of those other performers up online, and some of them are still living, and one or two had hits.

Brian Wilson was evidently not with the Beach Boys by then, but Mr. Butler wrote that the group was well received at Memorial Auditorium by more than 1,500 mostly teenage fans. “Long-haired drummer Dennis Wilson seemed to draw the most attention, and throughout the concert, the shrill voices of girls surely no older than 13 could be heard shouting, ‘Dennis, oh Dennis,!’ ” he wrote.

However, Mr. Butler added that if Mr. Wilson heard them, he did not show much reaction.

The reporter also penned that band member Mike Love found an item on the stage and asked if anyone wanted it. Plenty did, but he just tossed it backstage.

Mr. Love had also given a pre-show interview and said that the Beach Boys simply planned to keep on recording music and working in motion pictures – and investing their money wisely. When the band had arrived at the Lovell Field airport in Chattanooga about 5 p.m. that Friday of the concert, they were enthusiastically greeted by several hundred teen-age girls.

Today, it almost seems like girls or young women get just as excited about seeing female singers like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Billie Eilish and others, perhaps because those performers more openly share women’s viewpoints.

One young woman who everyone cheered for back in the day was Jackie Mitchell, whose name was back in the Chattanooga news this week. That was because back in April, the Chattanooga Ballet presented a unique world premiere of a rendition of the time in 1931 when she struck out the Yankees’ Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game at Engel Stadium.

And Chattanoogan.com columnist Ferris Robinson recently wrote about her enjoyment of the show, called “Curveball.”

That made me curious to go back and read a little more about Jackie Mitchell at that time. This young woman who attended Central High and whose real first name was Beatrice had been hired by Joe Engel with hopes to pitch in possibly several exhibition games before baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis overruled women in baseball. Her skills had been relayed to Mr. Engel from her father, Joe Mitchell.

But the left-hander did pitch some for an inning when the great Yankees were passing through on their way back north. And, as mentioned, she struck out the two Hall of Famers. She had been brought in by Lookouts manager Bert Niehoff in the first after the Yankees had two men on base. Mr. Ruth struck out looking at all the pitches from Ms. Mitchell, while Mr. Gehrig swung and missed on his three strikes.

She then walked Tony Lazzeri before being pulled by Mr. Niehoff, who later managed in the women’s league that inspired the movie, “A League of Their Own.”

I have never completely understood how hard Mr. Ruth and Mr. Gehrig were trying, but Ms. Mitchell, who later married Eugene Gilbert but had no children, always claimed they were giving a full effort. There might have been fears as well on the part of the stars that she would get hit.

She later went on to pitch for the House of David men’s barnstorming team, once getting future manager Leo Durocher to pop out. She also had played basketball with noted female athlete Babe Zaharias.

She also got to throw out a baseball at Engel Stadium in 1982 and was a special guest at an Atlanta Braves game in 1985. One of the younger Braves coaches who heartily met her along with star Dale Murphy was current Atlanta manager Brian Snitker. She died in 1987 and was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery.

At the time she pitched against the Yankees, she lived with her father, who was in the optical business, and her mother, Verne, at 2508 East Fourth St. in the Glenwood neighborhood near Dodds Avenue.

Like Engel Stadium almost within walking distance, the home is still there.

And so is the city of Red Bank, which will look back at all the good old days this weekend!

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net