John Shearer: Random Thoughts About Old CSLA Razing, Braves, Deaths And Candidates

I was out of town last week when I noticed the photo layout in the Times Free Press of the old Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts off East Brainerd Road near Lee Highway being torn down.

For historic preservationists or even those who greatly appreciate tangible reminders of old school days, that is likely a bitter pill to swallow. Most understand that maybe some school buildings serve their lives as schools after a certain length of time, even if the buildings can remain for many decades in other uses if the air systems, plumbing, wiring, and walls are given proper attention.

Of course, that is all expensive for a school system on a budget befitting a fixed-income senior citizen, and students, teachers and parents also want the latest offerings and technology and comfort.

I emailed Hamilton County Schools director of communications Adison Lambert asking why the building was being torn down, and she replied, “The old CSLA has been torn down to ensure the safety and security of the property. HCS will hold on to the land for potential future use.”

The school building, even if it had apparent functioning problems in its last few years for a CSLA school community expecting only the best, could possibly have been converted into a nice residential or business facility or even community center. The latter happened to the old Harrison Elementary off Highway 58 after its future was initially uncertain.

Many might say CSLA in its day was an eye-pleasing structure from the road with a classic but slightly unique look on the gently elevated lot. It also featured emblematic designs of an American eagle and a map of the Americas on the front facings. And its front lawn had an aesthetically pleasing look for a public-school campus in Chattanooga, some might also say.

It also has a giant collection of sports fields in the rear, and I played flag football there for a couple of seasons around 1970 when I was in elementary school at Bright School.

Of course, many Chattanoogans remember it as the old Elbert Long School, and graduates of the school during that era might be most saddened to hear of the razing. The school had opened in 1949 and was uniquely named for Elbert Long, a local automobile salesman who was also on the Hamilton County School Board.

The structure was designed by the respected Sears and Shepherd firm of Chattanooga and constructed by Verhey Construction Co.

It was originally an elementary school, with grades 7 and 8 added over the next two years. It later became part of the city school system and for a period was a combined elementary and junior high school. It also for several years required students living nearby in the county to pay a fee, but that was eliminated.

Although talk surfaced of closing it due to declining enrollment in later years, the building became CSLA in 1991.

CSLA moved to the former Lakeside Elementary near Jersey Pike and Highway 58 in January 2023 following updates to that formerly closed facility, and the Elbert Long site was left vacant.

The old CSLA/Elbert Long served the city well educationally, particularly in its early decades, and some might say the building deserved a better fate historically due to its architecture. But others are ready to move on and say good riddance to it, and I know the CSLA community is enjoying its current facility.

Plenty in Chattanooga are also probably saying the Atlanta Braves have deserved a better fate this year after being among the top teams in baseball the last several years. But a high number of injuries, and poor batting and pitching by those able to compete have left them as one of the worst teams in the Major Leagues this year.

They have found countless ways to lose and come up short, often by one run, and Braves fans have felt humbled and frustrated. And for longtime fans, it brings back memories of the 1970s and 1980s, or even about 10 years ago during a brief rebuilding era, when they struggled much more than they won.

And to add insult to injury, I happened to be watching the postgame interviews on TV Wednesday night, and the Braves’ losing pitcher, Spencer Strider, a graduate of Christian Academy of Knoxville, seemed kind of frustrated.

He just did not seem to be quite as diplomatic or outwardly friendly in answering seemingly fair and polite questions as most Braves’ fans likely hope of their players. Of course, my wife, Laura, tells me I get grumpy and frustrated on occasion, too, so who am I to judge.

I was inspired, however, by the sign being waved by a young boy fan in the stands during the same game that said he was a “Braves fan today, tomorrow and forever.” Most might say that is the admirable attitude to have toward sports, even if we are often disappointed by our teams’ outcomes.

While many locals hope this is a small blip on the Braves’ long era of mostly success since the early 1990s and not the death of the franchise as we have recently known it, I have taken note of some recent deaths.

In late June, noted singer Bobby Sherman died. He had broken into stardom in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a singer with such hits as “Julie, Do Ya Love Me,” and his performance as an actor in the TV show, “Here Comes the Brides.”

Although he was already in his late 20s then, for some reason he had a strong appeal among girls who were then young teenagers or even older elementary school students. I know my older sister, Cathy Morris, was an admiring fan, and I noticed a female friend my age posted on Facebook after his death that Bobby Sherman was her first crush.

According to David Carroll’s book, “Hello, Chattanooga!,” he performed in Chattanooga once – on Friday, Nov. 28, 1969, for a WFLI Jet Spectacular at Memorial Auditoriaum. He appeared the day after Thanksgiving with such now-iconic acts as the Grass Roots, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Melanie, Ray Stevens, the Buckinghams and Canned Heat for apparently two shows.

I checked in both the Times and the News-Free Press around those days, and all I could find was a preview interview story in the Free Press focusing mainly on the comedic Ray Stevens.

After Mr. Sherman’s performing heyday, he had the admirable job in later life of giving CPR and first aid training to police officers in California.

His death was likely a sentimental trip back in time for women around their mid-to-late 60s, who might have needed some first aid as well back in the days if they had laid eyes on him in person in Chattanooga or elsewhere!

A woman who died Aug. 3 and who drew admiring eyes as well from the same age group of males a little later after she became famous for the late 1970s’ TV show, “WKRP in Cincinnati,” was Loni Anderson.

She received some Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations for a woman who played an attractive-but-also-smart character, a somewhat new role for TV women characters at the time. She is also remembered for her marriage to and later bitter divorce from the high-profile movie actor Burt Reynolds. I did not also realize until she died that she had been married the last couple of decades to Bill Flick of the 1960s’ folk group, the Brothers Four.

Ms. Anderson, among others like Farrah Fawcett, did set an early example that women could be attractive but still achieve a successful career through merits and accomplishments that had nothing to do with their looks.

Many might say Marsha Blackburn fits a similar mold. She was a former beauty pageant contestant in high school before becoming a student leader at Mississippi State University and political activist as she became older. She then was elected a U.S. representative and senator from the suburban Nashville area.

She has been in the news this week with her announcement that she plans to run for Tennessee governor in 2026.

Possessing a seemingly serious and determined manner when she speaks in public, she seems to a more casual observer interested in keeping children safe and strongly supporting Donald Trump, who campaigned for her at UTC’s McKenzie Arena in 2018.

The segment of the Tennessee population that does not support Donald Trump – and it might be close to at least 40 or 45 percent – are probably also hoping that if she becomes the first woman elected governor in the state, she also helps their lives in some way as well.

Another person entering a high-profile political race this week is Derek Dooley, the former UT football coach and son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley. He is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in an effort to unseat Democrat Jon Ossoff.

Derek Dooley struggled winning enough games as UT’s coach from 2010-12, kind of like the Braves this year.

As I have written about before, I was living in Knoxville when he was the coach, and he and his family regularly came to worship at the large and Gothic-style Church Street United Methodist Church near the UT campus where my wife had earlier been a pastor.

I had one or two brief encounters with him there, and he had also written me a kind note one time after I had written him.

He was also a top student at the diverse Clarke Central High School before going on to the University of Virginia and then law school at Georgia.

Coach Dooley was also a natural and entertaining speaker at press conferences at UT until the number of losses made that the singular focus, so he already has the natural skills needed of a politician. As a non-diehard UT fan who had briefly tried to play football at Georgia for his father, I always thought he had bad luck as much as anything in a limited three-year opportunity. Maybe an extra season with a good defensive coordinator might have righted the ship. Ardent UT fans would probably strongly disagree.

And he has probably matured and been humbled since his UT days, when some questioned some of his people skills. As a result, that might give him further wisdom as a politician.

My instinct is that he is more naturally a traditional Republican like the Bushes or even Gerald Ford and might at least draw a little more support from independents and even Democrats, especially those who pulled for the Dawgs when his father was the coach. Whether he embraces the MAGA movement naturally or for political reasons will have to be seen.

One sure fact is that he is getting a chance at individual restoration, an opportunity that will not come for the old Elbert Long/CSLA school building.

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net