Hail Chattanooga! Hamilton Bush here once again providing powerful, thought-provoking, and possibly even preposterous prattle concerning the history and heritage of the Scenic City.
These days your resident teller of local tales has a plethora of points to ponder, not the least of which is the lifelong struggle to which all of us are party – that of achieving balance. Now, Old Hamilton must admit that achieving balance in all aspects of one’s affairs is virtually impossible. In the case of yours truly, handling the personal checking account may be the most difficult exercise of all. However, in the grand scheme of things, other issues take priority. As the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle offered, “Everything in moderation.” Therefore, it follows that virtually synonymous with “moderation” is “balance.” Now, your history hound is no scholar or doctor of philosophy, but it also seems apparent that somewhere in the Oriental wisdom of the yin and yang there is a yearning for balance. Even in nature itself, one of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion specifies that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therein, lies the concept of balance.
Now, as Old Hamilton has aged through the years, that lens of hindsight is darned unforgiving. From time to time, those thoughts beginning with those words of regret, “If only…” or “I wish…” creep into the recesses of the mind, sapping strength, eliminating enthusiasm, and eventually robbing us of our most precious resource – time.
Wow! Isn’t it wonderful to work at one’s assigned task and accomplish a little simultaneous psychotherapy? The upshot, dear readers, is this. Old Hamilton works to remember every day that the priorities include the quality of our relationships with our Maker and with others. Apply the golden rule. Do the right thing. Reach out with a helping hand or a kind word. Hug your spouse and your children. Say thank you. Call your mother while you can. How easy it is to find ourselves consumed with the trivial and the unimportant. Tempus fugit!
Permit Old Hamilton just one more historical allusion. Those great thinkers of ancient Rome left us with a most appropriate one-liner. Carpe diem. Seize the day. In doing so, we also seize life.
Dear Hamilton Bush,
I recently heard that a condominium development is planned for the property where the Missionary Ridge School once stood. I remember, as a youngster, playing football on the lawn in front of the old building. Then, I recalled that nearby Bragg Reservation was a popular rendezvous for teenagers to engage in long conversations, while studying the stars after dark. Could you possibly provide me with a brief history of the school?
Sincerely,
Man on a Mission
Dear Mission,
The Missionary Ridge Elementary School and environs have indeed played an important role in the lives of Chattanoogans. Situated nearly smack in the middle of the length of historic Missionary Ridge, the building was constructed in 1912 and christened the Mission Ridge School. A commemorative plaque affixed to the building noted that the chairman of the Hamilton County School Board was J.A. Hargraves, while the superintendent and ex-officio secretary was J.B. Brown and its members included J.A. Patten, Dr. T.J. Ziegler, W.S. Beck, and J.A. Curvin, and G.W. Abel was listed as a retiring member. The plaque also records that Huntington & Sears was the project’s architectural firm and that the construction was done by Chambers & Son Builders.
Actually, a school had occupied the site since before the turn of the century. Students in grades one through eight attended classes in the building, which was enlarged in 1929 until a junior high school was opened in Brainerd in 1930.
Later known as the Missionary Ridge Elementary School, the facility operated until it was officially closed in 1977. The following year it was leased as the home of the Chattanooga Museum of Regional History, which remained on the premises until 1985. During the 1980s, proposals were considered by the city commission to convert the building into condominiums, and the property was eventually sold to local real estate developer George Elder. A group of concerned residents actually filed suit to block the sale of the school, but their petition was dismissed. By 1990, after more than three years of legal battles, Mr. Elder abandoned his plan for the condominiums. Ownership of the building then reverted to the city of Chattanooga.
In 1992, a devastating fire destroyed the venerable schoolhouse, and the property remained undeveloped for some time. Throughout the 1990s, prospects for the highest and best use of the land were considered. Among these were a mixed development of single family residences and townhomes. Then, in the spring of 2007 developer Greg Vital unveiled plans for a residential development consisting of 12 condominiums and six carriage houses with an anticipated cost of approximately $8 million. Site work began near the end of the year, and at this time the project is well underway.
Appropriately named Bragg Point, the development once again brings attention to this historic location directly across from Bragg Reservation, the site Confederate General Braxton Bragg’s headquarters during the Civil War Battle of Chattanooga. Bragg Reservation itself is indeed a site to see. Dominated by the towering Illinois monument, it also has numerous tablets explaining the events of the battle, which took place on November 25, 1863, and other monuments as well.
No doubt, many local residents fondly remember their grade school days on Missionary Ridge, including not only the teachers and the hours of study but also the playground with its swings and merry-go-round, and the lower ballfield.
Dear Hamilton Bush,
I recently heard that the severe drought which has been experienced throughout the Southeast for some time has prompted some lawmakers in the state of Georgia to attempt to redraw the southern boundary with the state of Tennessee in order to take in a portion of the Tennessee River, thus providing a new source of water to Georgia, particularly the big city of Atlanta. What do you know about this?
Sincerely,
Tennessee River Rat
Dear Rat,
Incredible as it may seem, you heard right. Legislators from the neighboring state of Georgia have cast a covetous eye upon that great waterway to the north, insisting that they have a claim to the waters of the mighty Tennessee. Now, Old Hamilton would always be the first to provide a thirsty man, friend or stranger, with a needed drink of water, but when it comes to just trying to take what you want, that makes this escapade difficult for your scribe to swallow.
It seems that the Georgia claim is rooted in some notion that the original boundary between the states was incorrectly recorded 1.1 miles south of where it should have been. Now, one would think that such an error would have been noticeable and called to the attention of someone in charge long, long ago. A distance of 1.1 miles is more than a slight error, but of course it stands to reason that if the disputed distance were no more than an inch the Georgians would try to take a mile! Those legislators in Atlanta contend that the state line should actually be recorded at the 35th parallel of latitude. Should their modern-day land grab gain traction and ultimately prevail, the result would redraw a border which has been acknowledged universally since the year 1818, a full 190 years ago. The new boundary would encompass an area of Marion County which includes a portion of Nickajack Lake and the Tennessee River, thus accomplishing a big slurp of Tennessee water southward.
By the way, here in Hamilton County the good residents of East Ridge, St. Elmo, and others of our citizenry would wake up one morning officially as Georgians. Aside from the water question, one other bone of contention would obviously rear its ugly head. Would these fine people then be recipients of the tremendous honor of paying a state income tax due to their Georgia residency?
If one were a betting person, it is likely that the legislators of the sovereign state of Tennessee will not sit idly by while a loud sucking sound emanates from south of the state line. In fact, the riled up folks in Nashville have already rendered an opinion that the Georgians are indeed all wet. One Tennessee lawmaker referred to the Georgia ploy as “shenanigans.” Initially, the Georgia General Assembly has passed a resolution calling for the appointment of a commission to look into the boundary dispute. However, for there to be any change both states would have to agree, and the decision would require approval from the courts. Since Tennessee is quite unlikely to agree to anything and will probably ignore the call for a commission, the Georgia effort could be dead in the water. After nearly 200 years as is, a change in favor of the Georgia resolution would be an unlikely event.
One interesting footnote reveals that the state of Virginia once attempted to lay claim to land in upper East Tennessee, citing a faulty 1803 survey. Ninety years after that survey was completed, the United States Supreme Court ruled against Virginia, and those who were then Tennesseans remained Tennesseans. One point in favor of the Virginians was that they at least started the legal wheels turning in half the time it took the Georgians – and there was no ulterior motive as far as Old Hamilton knows.