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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Author hopes his accomplishments inspire youth

HIS ARTICLE REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE KNOXVILLE NEWS=SENTINEL


Fiction: Author hopes his accomplishments inspire youth
By John Shearer

Don Hickman has already enjoyed a multifaceted life as a pioneering black professional, but he recently took on one more role - that of a novelist.


The retired Tennessee Valley Authority assistant inspector general has published his first novel, "Truth Matters," which was loosely based on the killing of a former TVA colleague.

Hickman said he made plans to write a book when he retired after 18 years at TVA in 2004. However, the book was to be a nonfiction account dealing with the deaths of both his former colleague, who was beaten to death, and an assistant principal he knew while serving in the military.

Quickly, though, Hickman gave himself a rejection notice.

"About a third of the way through it, I said that this is not really interesting to anybody," he said with a laugh.

With the encouragement of a friend, he decided to make the book fictional.

The story deals with the bizarre circumstances of a former FBI agent's death and the arrest of his wife for the murder. Through skillful legal work, she is vindicated, although former FBI agents continue to search for the truth.

When Hickman completed the book in 18 months instead of the six or eight he expected, he faced rejection from potential publishers and agents.

"After eight or 10 rejection letters, I said that my ego cannot stand that, so I looked at self-publishing," he said.

He was able to get it published through self-publishing company Infinity Publishing, and the book came out last April. To date, he has sold several hundred copies, he said.

Hickman's own life has been as rich as that of a character in a novel. He was the first black student to graduate from Kingsport's Dobyns-Bennett High School, where he was a top student and a talented athlete. From there, he went to Maryville College and became a standout athlete.

He played briefly in the National Football League before joining the military and served on a nuclear missile base in South Florida at the end of the Vietnam War.

In 1978, after teaching and coaching at Oak Ridge High School, he became the first black FBI agent in Mississippi. "(I) would walk in and say (I am) an FBI agent and people would look at (me)," he said, recalling people's surprise.

Throughout his novel, Hickman tries to give insight into the investigation work involved in solving crimes.

Hickman relocated to Washington, D.C., but in 1986 began working for TVA in Knoxville and served for a period as the acting inspector general. He and his wife, Janet - the sister of former University of Tennessee basketball coach Wade Houston - live in Farragut where he also is involved in volunteer work.


Despite his previous accomplishments, Hickman hopes the book can help him take on one more position- that of a literary role model to young blacks.

"I grew up in a time when I never knew anybody who had written a book," he said. "We often hear stories of kids whose role models are professional athletes. I hope my life clearly demonstrates we can be successful without having to roll the ball out on a court."

Hickman is already at work on a second novel about a black nanny who works for the governor of Mississippi and becomes an informant for the FBI.

John Shearer is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.

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A Taste of Soul - Soul food meal to be served Friday


Elisabeth Brice, Savion Camp, Alicio Brice, Trey Richardson and Johnnie Mae Swagerty gather at the V.O. Dobbins gym to make up the menu for the third annual Soul Food Black History Month Meal to be served at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at the Boys and Girls Club, presented by New Vision Youth.

• KINGSPORT — The third annual Soul Food Black History Month Meal will be held Friday beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Riverview Boys and Girls Club on Carver Street. Food served will include homemade macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, deer meat, collard greens, soup beans, cornbread, cabbage, cole slaw, scalloped potatoes, stewed corn, pigs feet and barbecued pigs feet, fried chicken, chow-chow, apple cobbler and peach tea. The meal, which is being presented by New Vision Youth, is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Youth Talent Show

New Vision and Elk Lodge is sponsoring a Youth talent Show on March 29, 2009, Sunday, 4:00 pm at the Elk Lodge.
Admission free, youth ages 5-17 may enter. Call Johnnie Mae 423-246-6623
Practice 3/ 7/14/21/and 28 - 4:00 Elk's Lodge

Monday, February 23, 2009

Douglass Alumni Trustee Board Meeting - February 21, 2009

We won't be getting everything we had requested out of the historic Douglass Auditorium.


Members of the Douglass Alumni Association Trustees Board were given that news at the board's meeting this past Saturday, February 21, 2009. The city informed us that before they could talk to the contractor the city hired for the auditorium's demolition, the firm had already started the abestos removal process and many items, including rows of seats were destroyed in the setup process. We have received the top part of the blue stage draperies, but the side curtains are now contaminated with asbestos fibers and have to be destroyed.

We will have more on this story in the coming days.



Also, arrangements are being made to store the new schoolbooks discovered in lockers on the second floor. After they are moved out of the school building, the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority has offered storage space in one of its buildings. Original plans to store them inside the old Sarge's Place building have been scrapped because of chronic leaks and moisture problems there. The new storage place will be decided soon.





Calvin Sneed also proposed that the old school books that have supplied our School Book Fairs up to this point, now be sold to the general public, regardless of the former students' names in them. The reasoning is, the Board has held them for the past year on reserve for the people to come and get them, and if they haven't picked them up by now, they must not want them. Those books will be sold along with the general school books and Douglass Library books with no names in them.





As for the NEW books recently discovered, the proposal is to go through and record the former students' names just like the old ones, then reserve the NEW books for former students to get them, just like before. We will have school book fairs for the NEWLY FOUND books between now and the Douglass Reunion the 4th of July weekend.
AFTER THE REUNION, they will be lumped in with the old books, and all will be sold to the general public and anyone who wants to buy them.





In discussion of Trustee Board OLD BUSINESS from the last meeting, Reverend Mills of White Pine, Tennessee was invited to the meeting to talk about his publication business, and he presented samples of what he has done for other organizations. It was decided that the Ad Committee would put together the Souvenir Booklet and present it to the Trustee Board.

Board Member and Ad Committee chairperson Linda Bly voiced her opinion about bringing someone else in for the publication, after she had already spoken to someone else about it. President Doug Releford then advised her that she is the chairperson for the Ad Committee and whatever she presented to the Trustee members would be accepted. Linda also explained how the booklet would be constructed.



President Doug Releford is also talking to a person who does DVD duplication to sell as a fundraiser, the "Douglass Teacher Memories" DVD recently shown at the Last Great Program in the Douglass Auditorium. Those findings are to come soon.

Alumni Association Vice President Andra Watterson told the group that she and Calvin Sneed have lots of pictures and inquired if those pictures would be used in the booklet. Linda Bly explained that she wanted the booklet to be about Douglass, and not what is going on in the community. Trustee members agreed and told her to bring in her final draft and present it to the other Trustee members.


Several names of local churches were submitted as sites for the Douglass Reunion Memorial Service on Sunday, July 5th. The board selected by the Trustee Board is Mt. Zion Church, 386 Dunbar Street. Linda Bly will contact the pastor of that church.

Trustee Board members also voted to have Rev. Anthony Daniels be the main speaker at the Memorial Service on Sunday, July 5th. Pamela Sensabaugh will contact him.

Also chosen as the main speaker for the Douglass Reunion Banquet on Saturday, July
4th, is Thomas Bond, Jr. Virginia Hankins will contact him.



Under NEW BUSINESS, trustee board member and Ad Booklet chairperson Linda Bly inquired about the reunion activities of the Kingsport Ebony Club, which is holding its Reunion in conjunction with the Douglass Alumni. President Releford had spoken with Jeff Faulkerson, the Ebony Club organizer about the group holding its Reunion Banquet along with the Douglass Reunion banquet. After discussion, the Trustee Board members decided that the Ebony Club could take part in the Douglass Banquet, but that the Douglass Alumni Association would have complete control of the program. This creates a conflict with the Ebony Club, as that group wants to honor its original Dobyns-Bennett teacher sponsor Elizabeth Dudney and longtime D-B teacher-sponsor Dawnella Ellis, so the Ebony Club is in search of a new banquet location for its members.

Due to the lateness of obtaining a band, Board Trustee members have decided to get a D-J to supply music for the Reunion events. Trustee member Ozine Bly is contacting Richard Ford of DJ Express to see if he is available for the July 4th weekend.

THE DOUGLASS REUNION PARADE - THERE WILL NOT BE A PARADE FOR REUNION 2009 - DOUGLASS ALUMNI WILL BE TAKING PART IN THE KINGSPORT 4TH OF JULY PARADE

Dates and times for the Douglass Reunion events were decided on at the meeting.

Friday, July 3rd - Start Time TBA: Reunion Registration-Check In, Meadowview
Friday, July 3rd - Start Time TBA: Sock-Hop, Meadowview
Saturday, July 4th - 7 AM: Scholarship Golf Tournament, Cattails at Meadowview
Saturday, July 4th - 10 AM: Kingsport 4th of July Parade (Alumni Float)
Saturday, July 4th - 12 Noon to 3 PM: Reunion Field Day, Douglass Ballfield
Saturday, July 4th - 6:30 PM: Reunion Banquet, Meadowview Main Ballroom
Sunday, July 5th - 10:30 AM: Church of your choice
Sunday, July 5th - Start Time TBA: Alumni Memorial Service, Mt. Zion Church

Residents gather for 14th annual Community Unity Celebration

‘We pray for guidance in this 14th gathering of this community to celebrate our unity, and we know God that we must work hard to achieve this goal, but through you all things are possible.’
— the Rev. A. Clark Jenkins

MORE PICTURES IN THE PHOTO GALLERY


THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By JEFF BOBO
jbobo@timesnews.net

KINGSPORT — Sharing music and uniting in prayer, Kingsport residents came together Sunday evening for the 14th annual Community Unity Celebration, demonstrating once again that people can work and worship together while appreciating each others’ cultural diversity.


JALISSA FERGUSON'S MOM HOLDING A PICTURE OF HER DAUGHTER

The event is sponsored every year by South Central Kingsport Community Development Inc. (SCKCD) and was inspired by the tragic death of 4-year-old Jalisha Ferguson, who was killed by a stray bullet while playing in her yard in 1994 when a drug deal in her neighborhood turned violent.
Every year the event reminds Kingsport residents that although they may be separated by different neighborhoods, different churches or have different skin color, they still share the same goal of making Kingsport the safest and most prosperous city for everyone who lives there.





In that spirit the annual SCKCD scholarship was awarded to Dobyns-Bennett High School senior Phillip A. Hamilton, who will receive $500 toward college tuition throughout his four years of college studies. Presenter Linda Calvert, who read from Hamilton’s application essay before presenting the scholarship, said she knows of no one better deserving of the award than Hamilton, who is a role model for youths in his community.




Another award presented during Sunday’s event was the SCKCD Community Service Award, which went to Johnnie Mae Swaggerty in recognition of her work with children over the past 20 years and the long list of volunteer activities she performs in community programs. She volunteers with Kingsport Big Brothers-Big Sisters, she's a tutor for the Kingsport Literacy Council at Johnson Elementary School, she's the Upper East TennesseeHuman Development Board Secretary of Head Start Policy, she volunteers with the Kingsport Boys & Girls Club, she's a board member of South Central Kingsport Community Development, Inc., she is a youth mentor for DEFY (Drug Education For Youth), she volunteers in the soup kitchen at the Kitchen of Hope at the Full Gospel Mission Church, she's a Youth Leader on the Kingsport Clean Team, she's a Special Advocate for Juvenile Court, she's a volunteer with VITA (the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program), she's the Vice Chairperson of the Ebony Club Association and a member of the Douglass Alumni Association Trustee Board, and a Daughter of Dunbar Temple #344 Elks Lodge.

KINGSPORT MAYOR DENNIS PHILLIPS SHOWING BLACK HISTORY PROCLAMATION TO DR. IVY MCQUIRTER, PROGRAM PARTICIPANT

Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips read a proclamation establishing February as Black History Month in Kingsport and asking “everyone to join me in thanking our African American citizens for their contributions to our community and nation.”
But the main attraction for Sunday’s Community Unity Celebration, as it has always been, was the music and dance performances on the stage of the Eastman Chemical Co. Toy F. Reid Employee Center, which has hosted all 14 Community Unity events.


THE COMMUNITY UNITY CHOIR














THE MOUNTAIN MISSION SCHOOL CHOIR




DR. IVY MCQUIRTER

Among the vocal performers were the Community Unity Choir, the Mountain Mission School Choir from Grundy, Va., and Dr. Ivy McQuirter performing a reading of a selection by African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.







THE CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH PRAISE TEAM















THE HALES CHAPEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PRAISE TEAM

There were also dance performances by groups from Central Baptist Church and Hale’s Chapel United Methodist Church of Gate City.










The invocation was given by the Rev. A. Clark Jenkins of the First Broad Street United Methodist Church.
“We pray for guidance in this 14th gathering of this community to celebrate our unity, and we know God that we must work hard to achieve this goal, but through you all things are possible,” Jenkins said.

Black History Month: Discovering the Greene County Roots

Sometimes it's amazing what you can learn about Black History, just by going to the local museum.

Dozens of Riverview adults and children discovered the heritage of a bygone era, during a visit to the Nathaniel Greene Historical Museum in Greeneville, Tennessee. Greene County was named after Nathaniel Greene, and the museum in his honor, is right across the street from the Andrew Johnson National Historical Site. The visit was on Saturday afternoon, February 21, 2008, to the museum's Black History exhibits, in honor of Black History Month.

MORE PICTURES ARE IN THE PHOTO GALLERY

The trip was sponsored by Kingsport Parks and Recreation, New Vision Youth, the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority, South Central Kingsport Community Development, Inc., and the Elks Lodge in Riverview.

"People really enjoyed it and had a good time," says Mark Kilgore, Parks and Recreation Director. "Just learning the different cultures is great. This museum has a little bit of everything for everybody."

One of the most popular exhibits for the adults has been a collection of old, vintage pictures of African-Americans who lived in Greene County. Turns out, they're all related to many people in Kingsport, and the visit was an historic trip down Ancestral Lane.


"My people are all from Greene County, and these pictures take us way back," says Pastor Geraldine Swagerty, as she studied an exhibit of old pictures. "The Pierces are family to us, and have children that still live here. It's important to remember this kind of history, because our grandchildren can see their generations, see who they come from, and historical points that we've made through the years."

"The kids are in the playroom," says Mark, "and it's no secret that's their favorite exhibit. They've got a sample of the Native American culture familiar to upper East Tennessee, to the pioneers who first settled here, to things of modern times."




29 children made the trip on buses from Kingsport, and each one of them found something to like in the playroom, which housed a replica of a log cabin familiar to the area, and Native American drums and music makers. Every child seemed to enjoy a different part of the exhibit.

23 adults spent the time perusing the old-timey displays and photos. "My grandmother, Vannie Clark was the nanny to Andrew Johnson'sgrandmother," says Pastor Swagerty, "and she used to talk about it all the time while I was growing up. She would tell us about how whenever they'd have the big dinners in these homes in Greeneville, that she'd take the granddaughter and put her in the middle of the table, and she was the actual centerpiece of the dinner table. My grandmother would go into the Andrew Johnson tailor shop and help out. Here in town, she would go into the jail and minister to the inmates, she would stop by the sheriff's office and teach them. She'd also go on on the streets, and she had this knack of being to tell what was ailing you, 'you know the Lord has shone me what's wrong, you got a bad heart or something, and she would pray for them and they would fall out with the Spirit. She would keep praying and laying on of hands and they'd go to the doctor and find out they were healed."


The Nathaniel Greene Historical Museum is located at 101 McKee Street in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

4 Generations of Family

Vaughn Says He’s Not Finished Yet

Kingsport Democrat Nathan Vaughn lost to Republican Tony Shipley in the Tennessee 2nd House District race.

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
By HANK HAYES
hhayes@timesnews.net

KINGSPORT — A Saturday night appreciation event for former state Rep. Nathan Vaughn turned into a campaign-style rally with calls for him to run for election and win his seat back in 2010.
“We would be extremely pleased if he would take a look at running again,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said of Vaughn, a Kingsport Democrat who served Tennessee’s 2nd House District.


“Let’s make this a campaign kickoff,” House Democratic Leader Gary Odom of Nashville told Vaughn’s supporters.
Vaughn said he wasn’t making any announcements about his political future but indicated he will have one.
“I just know that I’m not dead yet,” Vaughn said. “I intend to be involved in the community. I intend to be involved in the state. It is not my intent to basically go away. This is not a celebration of my retirement.”
There was also plenty of venting about the campaign tactics used last fall against Vaughn, Northeast Tennessee’s first African-American state lawmaker, in his narrow loss to Republican Tony Shipley.
“The campaign tactics used to defeat him were racist and disgraceful,” Odom said. “I’m encouraging Nathan to run (for election) and I promise to do everything I can to help him in that effort.”
Vaughn said if he had “played the dirty political tricks” used against him, he would have won.
“But we need people willing to be statesmen rather than politicians,” he told the crowd.
During his re-election campaign, Vaughn faced political attacks on at least three fronts.
There was an effort from Tennessee House GOP legislative aide Scott Gilmer to use Vaughn’s name in fake Web sites distributing false campaign information.
Vaughn alleged in an ethics complaint that House GOP Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol and House GOP Caucus Chairman Glen Casada of Franklin directed Gilmer’s work.
The Tennessee Ethics Commission, however, dismissed the complaint and claimed it did not raise any issue related to the state’s ethics reform law.
Vaughn got a restraining order last September to take down the Web sites and also took out a criminal complaint against Gilmer. He accused Gilmer of violating a state law that says campaign information is supposed to be authorized by the candidate, his campaign or his representative.
Gilmer will enter a no contest plea to the complaint, Vaughn said.
“If Jason Mumpower did nothing wrong, then why is (Gilmer) pleading no contest?” Vaughn asked at the event.
The most controversial attack came from the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) in a direct mail piece that electronically pasted a picture of Vaughn’s head on a blackbird.
Forrester called the mailer a “racist attack” against Vaughn “led by (TRP Chairwoman) Robin Smith, fueled by Jason Mumpower and stoked by (former TRP Chairman) Chip Saltsman.”
Vaughn was portrayed in the direct mail piece as “part of the liberal, big government flock” with President Barack Obama and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Losing GOP presidential nominee John McCain beat Obama by 41 points in Sullivan County — more than 26,000 votes.
In response, Sullivan County GOP Chairman Jason Booher defended the mailer.
“Birds of a feather flock together, that’s a common expression that’s been around for a long time,” Booher said. “That was the intent of the mail piece to establish that Nathan Vaughn, being a Democrat, aligns himself with the individuals portrayed in the ad. It had nothing to do with race. The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln with equal rights for all.”
Then there were attacks coming from Shipley, who claimed Vaughn was soft on illegal immigration and backed “jobs killer” legislation supporting a higher state minimum wage.
Vaughn suggested a series done by the Kingsport Times-News examining Shipley’s claims against Vaughn’s voting record was unfair.
“That’s the kind of thing that really does discredit to our media,” Vaughn said of the series.
There was also venting — and some laughter — about Mumpower, who failed in his bid to become House speaker when Odom nominated Carter County Republican Kent Williams to succeed longtime Democrat House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh of Covington. Williams won the speakership by a 50-49 vote with his and the votes of 49 House Democrats.
State Rep. John Litz, D-Morristown, joked that he brushed against Mumpower on the House floor last week.
“(Mumpower) said ‘I want you to send mine and (Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey) Ron’s appreciation to the event on Saturday,’ ” Litz said. “If I would have thought quick enough, I would have asked him for one of those flags (Mumpower had ordered numerous flags to be flown over the Capitol on the day of the speaker election). He didn’t need them.”
In concluding his remarks, Vaughn called for unity and said he didn’t want people to think he was done politically.
“I will stop serving you when they throw the last bit of dirt on my coffin and say ‘It is done,’ ” he said.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Douglass-V.O. Dobbins Renovations Begin

The long-awaited, long-anticipated reconstruction of the Douglass High School building has begun.


Only days after "The Last Great Program" in the historic Douglass Auditorium, and literally hours after the city of Kingsport approved an eight-million dollar bond issue for the renovation, the removal of asbestos began in the auditorium, and the room that once housed the renown Douglass High School Band is torn completely down.









"The old one-story band room had to be the first to go," says architect Dineen West, "because all of the building's underground utilities converge there.. water, gas, electricity.. everything comes into the building right there. That service has to remain in place until we get the new service in, so that existing tenants in the building will have electricity. The new utility hookups will come through that same area."







"As soon as the new service is put in," she continued, "the old lines to the auditorium and on to the rest of the building will be severed, and then that part of the school building will come down to make way for the new non-profit tower to be built."








The removal of asbestos in the auditorium is an extensive process. The entire room was sealed off with plastic from top to bottom, from wall to wall, and the asbestos is being removed first by wetting it to weigh it down, and then using anti-dust emission controls.

"The consultant we hired, S-N-M-E, has tested certain areas of the building, and has found that the amount of the material varies in several degrees all throughout the building," says Mrs. West, "but the severest concentration is in the auditorium. They testing the ceiling, the walls, the caulking around windows, the flooring, and whereever they find it, we have to use certain methods to remove it, using certain breathing protections and precautions."




The general contractor for the Douglass/V.O. Dobbins renovations is C.N.T. Construction Company of Johnson City, and the demolition contractor is E. Luke Green, also located in Johnson City.

"Right now, we are very weather-dependent," says Mrs. West. "While the asbestos removal is going on, the rest of the work right now is underground.. any rain or cold weather will delay the outside work we have to do. If the weather cooperates, we're estimating about a month or so, to get on the underground utility work completed. We have a construction meeting every two weeks, and the contractors update us on any problems or setbacks."



"It is an emotional time, and it's also exciting at the same time," Mrs. West says. "We've been talking about a complete makeover for Douglass/V.O. Dobbins for some time now, and we're finally starting to make some progress."

Douglass-Ebony Club Memorial Golf Tournament Entry Form



Please click on the picture above, and print it out. Then, fill it out, and send to Golf Tournament Director George Smith.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Kingsport Ebony Club's New Flyer and Reunion Discussion Forum


The Kingsport Ebony Club is also looking for discussion on its upcoming reunion, to be held in conjunction with the Douglass Alumni Reunion on July 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2009.

Please click on the picture to print the form, so you can print it out, fill in and mail in.

Also, click on the link below to join the Ebony Club Forum to discuss the reunion with suggestions.


Ebony Club Reunion Planning Committee

The following is the tentative agenda for the Ebony Club Reunion, which closely parallels the Douglass Alumni Reunion:

***Friday, July 3rd

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Check-in and Registration, place TBA

7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Comedy Hour (Tim Hall performing) and Old-School Music After-Party at Rascals


***Saturday, July 4th

7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Memorial Golf Tournament at Cattails at Meadowview Resort and Conference Center

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Field Day at Douglass Ball Field

8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Ebony Club Banquet (place TBA)


***Sunday, July 5th

8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Attend church service of your choosing


NOTE TO EBONY CLUB ALUMNI AND MEMBERS FROM JEFF FAULKERSON:
During the July 4th banquet, we will be able to honor retired educators Lib Dudney and Dawnella Ellis. Gretta is also trying to pull together talent for an abbreviated Talent and Fashion Show.

We also formed subcommittees to put some meat on this rib bone (i.e., agenda). If you wish to serve on one or more of these subcommittees, please reach out to the subcommittee chairs listed below.

Check-in and Registration (Kandes Dungey)

Comedy Hour and Old-School Music After-Party (James "Trippy" Deal)

Memorial Golf Tournament (Frederick Smith, if he accepts my invitation)

Field Day (Gretta Maxwell Simon)

Ebony Club Banquet (Gretta Maxwell Simon)

We also agreed that payments received for the Reunion Weekend will be placed in the account of PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Nonprofit Services Division (NSD) (i.e., my not-for-profit organization) because the Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association has yet to receive this designation. All monies received will be logged into a database, which will be forwarded to Kandes and members of her subcommittee for check-in and registration on Friday, July 3rd. Any remaining funds for our Reunion Weekend will be deposited into a new account, which I have agreed to set up at a later date on the association's behalf at Bank of America.

Because no plans are currently underway to incorporate the Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association, I believe temporarily maintaining these funds in my PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS NSD account will allow us to make donations to local charities. Many of us no longer live in Kingsport, and the only way we can make a difference in our home community is to create a scholarship fund (like the Douglass Alumni Association) or make mini-grants to deserving not-for-profit organizations. I'm willing to temporarily place the association under the auspices of PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Nonprofit Services Division until we can hash out a viable plan for incorporation.

We discussed doing something to remember classmates who are no longer with us. Names of a few lost classmates were thrown out, but we need your help to generate a more comprehensive list. The finalized list could be printed on one sheet, or published with other information in a Reunion Weekend Souvenir Booklet.

We didn't discuss the souvenir booklet idea during the conference call, but I think it would be great. It would allow us to generate additional revenue for our events by giving area business owners an opportunity to purchase advertisement space (full, half, quarter) in the booklet. Members of the Reunion Weekend Planning Committee would assign prices to the different sizes, and these funds could be deposited into the yet to be created "Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association" bank account.

The Reunion Weekend Planning Committee will be conducting conference calls every Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. (EST). If you would like to participate in these calls, give me a call at (919) 562-8428 so your call can be connected. I also encourage each of you to join a subcommittee, so reach out to the assigned subcommittee chairs ASAP.

Be blessed, and continue to be a blessing.

Jeff "Pac-Man" Faulkerson
DBHS Class of 1986

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

New Social Network Available for Former Members of DBHS’s Ebony Club

Kingsport, Tennessee – A new social network is now available to former members and friends of Dobyns-Bennett High School’s Ebony Club. The Ning network, “The Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association”, is dedicated to building community among Dobyns-Bennett’s African-American graduates by offering a website that helps them restore linkages to their glorious past.

The Ebony Club was founded in 1976 by former John Sevier Middle School teacher and track coach Lib Dudney. It was created to give the school’s African-American students a better sense of their collective history, as well as a more accurate understanding of the varied contributions of their ancestors to the American way of life. Dawnella Ellis, a former Dobyns-Bennett High School teacher, assumed oversight of the club in 1977, continuing to work in this capacity until her 2005 retirement.

A hallmark of the Ebony Club was its annual talent and fashion shows. Participation in these events was open to the DBHS student body, as well as individuals from the community. Funds raised from these shows supported the club’s activities, which included community-service projects and field trips.

To access the new site, click on
Kingsport Ebony Club

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Names for the New HOPE VI Development in Riverview

JUST A REMINDER...THESE ARE THE NAMES SUBMITTED SO FAR, FOR THE HOPE VI HOMES IN RIVERVIEW, WITH THE NUMBER OF VOTES IN PARENTHESES:


Riverview Place (8)

Riverview Estates (4)

The Gates at Riverview (with the spirit of a new gateway of change) (1)

Riverview Crossing (with the spirit of crossing over to a new era) (1)

Riverview Legacy Homes (1)

Douglass Village (Using Douglass retains heritage but also gives fresh spirit to the community) (1)

Riverview-Douglass Legacy Homes (1)

The Legacy Homes @ Riverview (1)

Riverview - "A Good Place To Come Home" (1)

Memory View Estates (1)


IF YOU HAVE A NAME SUGGESTION, PLEASE SEND IT TO:
douglassriverview@gmail.com
SO WE CAN GET IT TO THE HOPE VI FOLKS

Monday, February 16, 2009

New Vision Youth: 6th Annual Black History Program

A wonderful gathering of the community at the 6th Annual Black History Program, sponsored by the New Vision Youth in Kingsport.


PLEASE SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE PROGRAM IN THE PHOTO GALLERY

The theme was "Blacks in Technology," featuring music, speeches, drama presentations and the Spoken Word. The event was hosted by St. Mark's Methodist Church, and it was standing room only.








The event began with words of welcome, highlighted by the 2008 Little Miss Vision, Miss Elizabeth Brice. She just wowed the crowd with grace and dignity, and everyone in the audience fell in love with her princess-like wave. Master Edward Newcombe served as the Master of Ceremonies, and did so with authority and poise.

Music from the St. Mark House of Prayer Praise Team, the Full Gospel Mission Choir and the Central Baptist Choir provided inspiration in song. The beautiful voices lent an air of reverence to the program, as the audience was kept in the mood of the occasion.



The Hales Chapel Praise Dancers of Gate City were a special highlight of the program, graceful with their melodic movements in song. The last number with of the praise dancers in whiteface, was specially noted for Black History, and the struggles of African-Americans for equality.







Another highlight of the program was the recitations of the New Vision Youth, who performed in a skit named "Who Am I?" Each boy and girl were dressed in the outfit that closely fits the person they were portraying, and when they turned around and told the audience who they were, it was evident that they had put a lot of time and effort into becoming the person they were representing. It was a magical moment in the program.



Special Guest Speaker Paul Montgomery noted that the election of the nation's first African-American president is a milestone that keeps the dream of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alive. Paul is the Vice President for Talent Management at Eastman Chemical, the first African-American Vice President at one of Tennessee's largest industries. Attending the swearing-in ceremony is something Paul says, neither he or others ever thought they would see in our lifetimes, and it serves as a reminder that the impossible is achievable.

Calvin Sneed with the Douglass Alumni Association, spoke to the youth in the audience, reminding them of the sacrifices of their parents, grandparents and early relatives to reach the point of Barack Obama's inauguration.

The New Vision Youth also recognized those who took part in the program with statues and plaques.




The program was well received, and Johnnie Mae left everyone with a goal of keeping our youth on track, and a reminder about the upcoming Little Miss Vision pageant coming up.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Little Miss Vision "Youth in Praise" Announcement

Little Miss Vision Pageant
P.O.Box 7582
Kingsport, TN 37664
423-357-6690

February 13th 2009

To Ministers and Youth Directors:

Little Miss Vision Pageant Committee is having 1st annual “Youth in Praise” program. We are asking if you will send your Youth Choir, Praise Dance Team or Youth to participate in our program. Please let us know by March 5th 2009.

If you can’t participate please send your Youth to be with us.

Program will be at Central Baptist Church, Kingsport, Tennessee, Sunday March 15th at 4:00pm. Please let us hear from you by March 5th 2009. Please call Lillian Leeper-Chairperson 423-357-6690 or Carolyn Faulkerson 423-246-1591.

Yours in Christ,
Lillian Leeper - Chairperson

Thursday, February 12, 2009

UPDATED Douglass School Book List for February 16, 2009 Book Fair

FOR MONDAY'S DOUGLASS SCHOOL BOOK FAIR AT THE RENAISSANCE CENTER, THESE STUDENTS HAVE SCHOOL BOOKS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PURCHASED YET FOR A DOLLAR:


A
Adams Jr., George (20th Century Bookkeeping & Accounting)
Adams, Ruben (Making Mathematics Work)
Adams, Ruben (Story of Our America)
Adams, William (English Grade 7)
Anderson, Iris Lee (Using Words)(same book as Pat Anderson, Mildred Gillenwater,
Pauline Horton, Luther Graves Jr.)
Anderson, Joe--GATE CITY, VA (Our Environment)
Anderson, Pat (Using Words)(same book as Mildred Gillenwater, Pauline Horton, Luther
Graves Jr., Iris Lee Anderson



B
Bachman, Shirley (Consumer Economic Problems )(same book as Priscilla Etter)
Banner, Annie Lois (On the Long Road-reading book)(same book as Gwedolyn Burnette)
Banner, Bennie (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Jerry Horton, Eugenia Mason)
Ballenger, James (My Spelling 6th Grade)
Bly, Linda Christine (To School & Home Again-reading book)
Blye, Linda C (Prose & Poetry)
Blye, Nathan (English in Action)
Bogus, Mary Ann (Adventures in Reading)(same book as James Simonton Jr.)
Bond, Darwin (Arithmetic We Need)
Bond, Pvt. John (20th Century Typewriting)(same book as Lorraine Maxwell, Dorothy
Sensabaugh)
Bond, Marvin (Arithmetic We Need)
Bond, Regina (Language for Everyday Use-5th Grade)
Bowditch, Janice (You & Science)
Bradford, Carl (Spelling to Write)(same book as Elizabeth Rutledge, Roy Eugene
Bradford)
Bradford, Glenna (English in Action)
Bradford, Roy Eugene (Spelling to Write)(same book as Carl Bradford, Elizabeth
Rutledge)
Bradley, Audrey (New Spelling Goals)
Bradley, Audrey (Experimenting in Science)
Bradley, Audrey (Living Together in the Old World)
Briscoe, Alma (Man's Story)(same book as George Turner)
Bristol, Fredia (The United States in the Western World)(same book as Sarah Ann
Childs)
Bristol, Patricia (Science)(same book as Alice Arthurine Doneghy)
Bristol, Patricia (How & Why Club)(same book as Deborah Delaney)
Burnette, Gwendolyn (On the Long Road-reading book)(same book as Annie Lois Banner)
Burnette, Jackie (Exploring Biology)(same book as Florence Ray)
Burnette, Jackie Sue (Science)
Burnette, Major (New Applied Mathematics)(same book as Loftus Smith)



C
Calloway, George (Making Mathematics Work)
Calloway, George (My Spelling Grade 4)(same book as Vera Stokley, Mary Ellen Cox)
Campbell, Barbara Lynn (New Standard Arithmetic)
Campbell, Denese (You and Others)(same book as B.B. Long)
Campbell, Georgian (On the Long Road)
Campbell, John (Living Together in the Americas)
Cash, David (English Grade 8)
Cash, Donald (Distant Doorways)(same book as Lanetta Lee)
Cash, Nathan (How & Why Conclusions)
Carnes, Billy (The United States in the Western World)
Carnes Jr., Billy Gene (Consumer Economics Problems)
Carnes, Leon (Active Citizenship)
Carpenter, Jimmy (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Regina Carpenter, Robert Hardy,
Carmetia Hardy)
Carpenter, Regina (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Jimmy Carpenter, Robert Hardy,
Carmetia Hardy)
Cash, David (On the Long Road)
Cash, David (The Way of Democracy)
Childs, Ann (Living Together in the Americas)
Childs, Sarah Ann (The United States in the Western World)(same book as Fredia
Bristol)
Clark, Martha (Literature & Life in England)(same book at Irene Maxwell)
Coclough, Daimon (Lanuage for Everyday Use)
Coclough, Daimon (Living Together in the Western World)
Coclough, Daimon (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Louis Jackson, Prince Miller,
Johnny Lee)
Coclough, Linda (Adventures of the American People)
Coclough, Linda (For Heathy Living, The Road to Health)
Cole, Ann (New Spelling Goals)
Cole, Douglas (Adventures in Reading-9th Grade)
Cole, Joe (Living Together in the Old World-6th Grade)
Comage, Doreatha (One the Long Road)
Cox, Linda Urtis (Plane Geometry)
Cox, Mary Ellen (The United States in the Western World)(same book as Melvyn Douglas
Kinchloe)
Cox, Mary Ellen (My Spelling Grade 4)(same book as Vera Stokley, George Calloway)
Cox, Mary Ellen (Prose and Poetry)
Cunningham, Janice (English Grade 4)



D
Davis, Curtis (New Applied Mathemetics)
Davis, Curtis (A Sound Body)(same book as Linda Etter, John Lewis)
Davis, Gloria (Health & Happy Days)
Davis, Hilda (New Spelling Goals)
Davis, Hope (New Spelling Goals)
Davis, Hope (New Friendly Village)(same book as Sherry Russell)
Davis, Marshall Lee (Living Together in the Old World)
Davis, Marshall Lee (Our United States)(same book as Rowena Foster)
Davis, Melody (Language for Everyday Use)
Deadrick, Glenda (Experimenting in Science)
Deadrick, Glenda (Thinking with Numbers Grade 7)
Deadrick, Glenda (New Thinking with Numbers 7)
Delaney, Deborah (How & Why Club)(same book as Patricia Bristol)
Delaney, Deborah (Adventures in Reading 9-A)
Delaney, Deborah (Your Health & Safety)
Delaney, Deborah (Building Better English)
Delaney, Deborah (Growth in Arithmetic)(same book as Almita Jackson)
Delaney, Frederick (Spelling Goals)
Delaney Jr., James (Our Changing Social Order-12th Grade)
Delaney Jr., James (New Applied Mathematics)(same book as Dora Sara Good-Robinson
Student)
Delaney, Jr., James (New Applied Mathematics)
Delaney, John (The Health Parade)
Delaney, John (Our Environment)
Delaney, Taina (People & Progress)
Delaney, Taina (Second Year Algebra)(same book as Phylis Horton)
Dobbins, Maxie (Plane Geometry)(same book as Yvonne Deal)
Dobbins, Maxie (Everyday Foods)
Dobbins, Maxie (New Applied Mathematics)
Dobbins, Melrose (Everyday Foods)
Dobbins, Van (Consumer Economic Problems)
Dokes, Adell (Sunshine Book Prose & Poetry)(same book as James Dulaney)
Doneghy, Alice (United States in the Western World)(same book as Marie Simpson)
Doneghy, Alice Arthurine (Your Health & Safety)
Doneghy, Alice Arthurine (Science)(same book as Patricia Bristol)
Dover, Lestine (New Learning with Numbers)(same book as Cornell Bond)
Drumgoole, Melvin (Sunshine Book)
Dulaney, Carolyn (TN Civics-Fundementals of Citizenship)


E, F
Edward, Clay (?) (Safety Every Day-1949)
Ellis, Dawnella (Health in Work & Play)
Ellis, Mack (Prose & Poetry)
Ellis, Robert (For Healthful Living)(same book as Martha Lee)
Etter, Linda (A Sound Body)(same book as Curtis Davis, John Lewis)
Etter, Linda Marie (French for the Modern World)(Mrs. Dorton-teacher)
Etter, Priscilla (Consumer Economic Problems)(same book as Shirley Bachman)
Evans, ? (Safety Every Day-Health)(same book as Clara Mae Lewis)
Evans, William Earl (Thinking with Numbers)
Finch, Timothy (Living Together in the Old World)
Flack, Anthony (Sunsine Book Prose & Poetry)
Flack, Arthur (Knowing About Numbers Grade 8)(same book as Vera Stokely)
Ford, Dobie (Growth in Arithmetic 5)
Ford, Margaret (Science)
Ford, Margaret (Prose and Poetry)
Ford, Tommy (The United States in the Western World)
Ford, Tommy (Making Mathematics Work)(same book as Charlyne Deal)
Foster, Barbara (My Spelling)
Foster, Marion (A History of our Country)(same book as George Turner, Jr)
Fugate, William Charles (Our Changing Social Order)



G
Garrett, Pierce (The New Friendly Village)(same book as Jerry Green)
Gibson, Lois (New Applied Mathemetics)
Gillenwater, Mildred (Using Words)(same book as Pat Anderson, Pauline Horton, Luther
Graves Jr., Iris Lee Anderson)
Gilmore, Edward Allen (Visits in Other Lands)
Gilmore, Gregory (The New People and Progress)
Gilmore, James (Bookkeeping & Accounting)
Gilmore, James--The Round One (20th Century Bookkeeping and Accounting)
Gilmore, Joe (Your Health & Safety)
Gilmore, Joe (Adventures in Reading)
Gilmore, Joe (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Ronald Ruffin)
Gilmore, Joseph (You and Others)
Goodwin, Kathryn (Our English Language)
Gaines, James (Winter Comes and Goes)
Graves, David Leon (Plane Geometry)
Graves, Leon (Chemistry & You)
Gray, Norma Lee (Plane Geometry)(same book as Dorothea Valjean Smith)
Gray, Rosemary (The Story of Tennessee)(same book as Eugene Kincaid)
Gray, Miss Rosemary (Exploring Biology)
Green, Bertie (Prose and Poetry)(same book as Alvin Kane, James Perry)
Green, Bertie (Our English Language)
Green, Jerry (The New Friendly Village)(same book as Pierce Garrett)
Greene, Charles (More Days & Deeds)
Griffin, Stewart (The New Friendly Village)(same book as Nelson Smith, James Treece,
Michael Lee)
Grino, Velma (Safety Every Day)
Grissom, Velma (Sunshine Book Prose & Poetry)(same book as Nelson Smith)
Grisson, Velma (TN Civics-Fundamentals of Citizenship)(same book as Donald Lynch,
Carolyn Smith)


H
Hale, Eddie (The Firelight Book-Reading Book)
Hale, Freddie Lee Moore)(French in the Modern World)
Hale, Freddie Lee Moore)(Our Changing Social Order)
Hankins, Joy (The Sunshine Book)(same book as Betty Ann Turner, John Lewis)
Hankins, Norman (Traveling New Trails)
Hardy, Claudia (Science)(same book as Cletta Rutledge, Thelma Rutledge)
Hardy, Robert (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Jimmy Carpenter, Regina Carpenter,
Carmetia Hardy)
Harrill, James (The New Friends and Neighbors)
Hemphill, Pricilla (Changing Civilizations in Modern World)(same book as
Wilbur Hendricks Sr., Lloyd Hankins, Virgilia Looney, Linda Lee Hendricks)
Hendricks, Janice (Living Together in the Old World)
Hendricks, Linda Lee (Changing Civilizations in Modern World)(same book as
Pricilla Hemphill, Wilbur Hendricks Sr., Lloyd Hankins, Virgilia Looney)
Hendricks Sr., Wilbur (Changing Civilizations in Modern World-1930 (same book as
Pricilla Hemphill, Lloyd Hankins, Virgilia Looney, Linda Lee Hendricks)
Henry or Henery, Donald (Distant Doorways-reading book)
Henry, T-Bug (Builders for Good Health, same book as Herbert Patterson)
Hickman, William (New Friendly Village)(same book as Patricia Lollar, Wilbur
Hendricks)
Hickman, (?) (New Streets and Roads)
Hoard, Thelma J. (Exploring Biology)
Horton, Calvin (Arithmetic We Need)(same book as Yvonne Reese)
Horton, Elnora (20th Century Bookkeeping & Accounting)
Horton, Jerry (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Bennie Banner, Eugenia Mason)
Horton, Lillian (Sunshine Book)(same book as Fay Mason)
Horton, Phylis (Second Year Algegra)(same book as Taina Delaney)
Horton, Phylis (Winter Comes and Goes)(same book as Florence Ray)
Horton, Sinora (Industry in America LIB)(same library book as Josephine Bowers)
Huff, Katherine (Discovering With Science)
Huff, Zoffree (English Grade 8)(same book as Shirley Ann Lollar)
Hutcherson, Ora Lee (Social Studies-Man's Story)



I, K, J
Jackson, Almita (Growth in Arithmetic)(same book as Deborah Delaney)
Jackson, Eddie (Story of Tennessee)
Jackson, Eddie (A Sound Body)
Jackson, Eddie (Prose & Poetry)
Jackson, Eddie (How & Why Conclusions)
Jackson, Louise (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Daimon Coclough, Prince Miller,
Johnny Lee)
Jeffers, Annie Bell (Let's Travel On-1940)
Jenkins, Kernes (Our Changing Social Order)
Jenkins, Kernes (New Applied Mathemathics)
Jones, Clara (Social Studies)(same book as Connie Ruffin, Helen Watterson)
Jones, Clara (Health and Happy Days)(same book as Ronald Lynch)
Jones, Eddie (Your Health & Safety)
Jones, Eddie Lee (Your Health & Safety)
Jones, Jerry)(Living Together in the Americas)
Jones, Lawrence (Social Living)
Kincaid, Eugene (The Story of Tennessee)(same book as Rosemary Gray)
Kincaid, Eugene (Adventures in Reading)(same book as Marva Welchel, Leola Gray)
Kincaid, Don (Health & Happier Days)(same book as Michael Williams)

Kinchloe, Donald (Growth in Arithmetic)
Kinchloe, Melvyn (The United States in the Western World)
Kinchloe, Melvyn Douglass (The United States in the Western World )(same book as
Mary Ellen Cox)
Kirkpatrick Jr., Carl (Using Words)



L
Lane, Jeane Bachman (How & Why Explorations)
Lee, Johnny (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Louise Jackson, Daimon Coclough,
Prince Miller)
Lee, Lanetta (Distant Doorways)(same book as Donald Cash)
Lee, Martha (For Healthful Living)(same book as Robert Ellis)
Lee, Michael (The New Friendly Village)(same book as Nelson Smith, James Treece,
Stewart Griffin)
Lee, Spencer (Plane Geometry)
Lee, Talmon (Experimenting in Science)(same book as Jerry Lewis, Arthur Morrison)
Leeper, Frances (French for the Modern World)
Leeper, Laura (Our Changing Social Order)
Lewis, Clara Mae (Safety Every Day-Health)(same book as ? Evans)
Lewis, Clifford (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Frank Horton)
Lewis, Jerry (Experimenting in Science)(same book as Arthur Morrison, Talmon Lee)
Lewis, John (TN Civics-Fundamentals of Citizenship)
Lewis, John (A Sound Body)(same book as Curtis Davis, Linda Etter)
Lewis, Will (Your Health & Safety)
Lewis, Will (Growth in Arithmetic)
Lilley, Mildred (Wheeler's Literary Readers)
Lindsay, Ronald (On the Long Road-reading)
Lindsey, Sharon (Making Mathematics Work)
Lollar, Elizabeth (My Spelling Goals)
Lollar, Helen (English Grade 6)
Lollar, Huphelia (Man's Story)(same book as Shirley Lynch)
Lollar, Patricia (New Friendly Village)(same book as William Hickman, Wilbur
Hendricks Jr.)
Lollar, Shirley (United States in the Western World)(same book as Wanda Watterson)
Lollar, Shirley (My Spelling Grade 6)
Lollar, Shirley (Geography Around the World)
Lollar, Shirley (Wings for Reading)
Lollar, Shirley Ann (English Grade 8)(same book as Zoffree Huff)
Long, B.B. (You and Others)(same book as Denese Campbell)
Long, Eddie "Good Looks" (Plane Geometry)
Looney, Virgilia (changing Civilizations in Modern World(same book as Linda Lee
Hendricks, Pricilla Hemphill, Wilbur Hendricks, Lloyd Hankins)
Lynch, Donald (Active Citizenship)
Lynch, Donald Edward (TN Civics-Fundamentals of Citizenship)(same book as Velma
Grissom, Carolyn Smith)
Lynch Jr., Frank (English in Action)(same book as Bravell McClintock)
Lynch, Jonathan (New Learning Numbers 4th Grade)(same book as Carolyn Simpson)
Lynch, Ronald (Health and Happy Days)(same book as Clara Jones)
Lynch, Shirley (English Grade 8)
Lynch, Shirley Ann (My Spelling Grade 6)
Lynch, Shirley Ann (Man's Story)(same book as Huphelia Lollar)



M
Manning, (Mademoiselle) Janis (Economics in Everyday Life)
Marble, Darlene (Fundamentals of Citizenship-TN Civics)
Marble, Leroy (Health in Work and Play)
Marble, Leroy (Prose and Poetry)
Mason, Eugenia (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Jerry Horton, Bennie Banner)
Mason, Fay (Sunshine Book)(same book as Lillian Horton)
Mason, Frances (Living Together in the Old World)
Maxwell, Elizabeth (How and Why Conclusions)
Maxwell, Elizabeth (Nations Overseas)
Maxwell, Irene (Literature & Life in England)(same book as Martha Clark)
Maxwell, Joe Louis (Jr. English in Action)(same book as Priscilla Smith)
Maxwell, Lorraine (20th Century Typewriting)(same book as Pvt. John Bond, Dorothy
Sensabaugh)
Mays Jr., Wilton (Health in Work & Play)
Mays, Wilton Edward (Our United States)
McClintock, Bravell (English in Action)(same book as Frank Lynch, Jr.)
McLemore, Jackie (English in Action)
McLemore, Jackie (Chemistry and You)
McMiller, Edward (The Story of Our America)(same book as Douglass Releford)
McMiller, James (New Applied Mathematics)(same book as Betty Turner)
McMiller, Joe Allen (The United States in the Western World)
McMiller, William (English Grade 8)
McMiller, William (Prose and Poetry-Blue Skybook)
McKnight, Clarence (Thinking with Numbers)
McKnight, Clarence (Health in Work & Play)
Miller, Bobby (Sunshine Book)
Miller, Cora (Our English Language)
Miller, Edward Lee (New Applied Mathmetics)(same book as Joan Shannon)
Miller, Glenda (Experimenting in Science)
Miller, Glenda Sue (Using Words)
Miller Jr., James (Our Environment)
Miller Jr., Jemes (Our United States)
Miller, Linda (Fundamentals of Citizensship-TN)
Miller, Prince (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Louise Jackson, Daimon Coclough,
Johnny Lee)
Miller, Teresa (Language for Daily Use 6)
Miller Jr., Walter (A Sound Body)
Mitchell, Alan (Singing Every Day)
Moore, Harold (The Health Parade)
Moore, William (Practical Chemistry-1926)
Morrison, Freeman (Our United States)
Morrison, Talmon (Experimenting in Science)(same book as Jerry Lewis, Talmon Lee)



N
Nash, James (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Carolyn Reece)
Norwood, Kathy (You and Others)
Norwood Jr., Thomas (French for the Modern World)



O, P
Parker, Pinkie Lee (Lynch, KY)(Intro to American Civilization)
Patterson, Hank (Language for Daily Use)
Patterson, Herbert (Builders for Good Health)(same book as T-Bug Henry)
Perry, James (Making Mathematics Work)
Perry, James (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Alvin Kane, Bertie Green)
Perry, James (Science)(same book as Leona Whittington)
Pierce, Veronia (French for the Modern World)
Price, Linda Lee (How & Why Conclusions)



Q, R
Rasbury, Ann (Plane Geometry)
Ray, Florence (Winter Comes and Goes)(same book as Phylis Horton)
Ray, Florence (Exploring Biology)(same book as Jackie Burnette)
Reece, Jean (Geography & World Affairs)
Reece, Carolyn (How & Why Conclusions)
Reece, Carolyn (Prose & Poetry)(same book as James Nash)
Releford, David (Singing Every Day)
Releford, Harry (Growth in Arithmetic)
Releford, Raymond (How & Why Explorations)
Releford, Raymond (Nations Overseas)
Rhea, Florence (Story of Our America)
Richard, Juanita Louise (Let's Travel On)
Rogers, Carmen (Prose & Poetry-5th Grade)
Rogers, Doris (For Healthful Living)
Ruffin, Connie (Social Studies)(same book as Clara Jones, Helen Watterson)
Ruffin, Ronald (New Spelling Goals)(same book as Joe Gilmore)
Rutledge, Cletta (Science)(same book as Thelma Rutledge, Claudia Hardy)
Rutledge, Elizabeth (Spelling to Write)(same book as Carol Bradford, Roy Eugene
Bradford)
Rutledge, James (Consumer Economic Problems)
Rutledge, James (Prose & Poetry)(same book as Rowena Foster)
Rutledge, Thelma (Science)(same book as Cletta Rutledge, Claudia Hardy)



S
Sanders, Blanche Deloris (A Sound Body-Health)
Sanders, James Alfred (English Grade 5)
Sanford, Bobby (Living Together in the Old World)
Scoggins, Dianne (The Health Parade)
Scroggins, John (Nations Overses)
Sensabaugh, Dorothy (20th Century Typewriting)(same book as Pvt. John Bond, Lorraine
Maxwell)
Shannon, Joan (New Applied Mathmetics)(same book as Edward Lee Miller)
Simonton Jr, James (Adventure in Reading)(same book as Mary Ann Bogus)
Simpson, Carolyn (New Learning about Numbers)(same book as Jonathan Lynch)
Simpson, Dianne (TN Civics-Fundamentals of Citizenship)
Simpson, Joe Louis (Active Citizenship)
Simpson, Marie (United States in the Western World)(same book as Alice Doneghy)
Skaggs, Frederick (Experimenting with Science)(same book as Thelma Skaggs)
Skaggs, Thelma (Jr. English in Action)
Skaggs, Thelma (Our United States)
Skaggs, Thelma (Experimenting with Science)(same book as Frederick Skaggs)
Smith, Betty Jo (Literature & Life in England)
Smith, Carolyn (TN Civics-Fundamentals of Citizenship)(same book as Donald Lynch,
Velma Grissom)
Smith, Dorothea (French for the Modern World)
Smith, Dorothea Valjean (Plane Geometry)(same book as Norma Lee Gray)
Smith, George (You and Others)
Smith, Howard (Growth in Arithmetic)
Smith, James (The Earth We Live On)
Smith, Loftus (How & Why Conclusions)
Smith, Loftus (New Applied Mathematics)(same book as Major Burnette)
Smith, Nelson (Sunshine Book Prose & Poetry)(same book as Velma Grissom)
Smith, Nelson (The New Friendly Village)(same book as James Treece, Michael Lee,
Stewart Griffin)
Smith, Nelson (Knowing About Numbers)
Smith, Olivia (Active Citizenship)
Smith, Patricia (Plane Geometry)
Smith, Paula Dean (2nd Year Algebra-10th Grade)
Smith, Phyllis Ann (Everyday Problems in Science)(same book as Betty Lucille Turner)
Smith, Priscilla (Jr. English in Action)(same book as Joe Louis Maxwell)
Spears, David "The Jailbird" (20th Century Bookkeeping & Accounting)
Steele, Mary (The Health Parade)
Stewart, Louetta (People and Progress)
Stevens, Stephanie (How & Why Experiments)
Stokley, Samuel Grinnell (New Thinking with Numbers)
Stokley, Vera (French for the Modern World)
Stokley, Vera (On the Long Road-Reading Book)
Stokley, Vera (Knowing About Numbers Grade 8)(same book as Arthur Flack)
Stokley, Vera (United States in the Western World)
Stokley, Vera (My Spelling Grade 4)(same book as Mary Ellen Cox, George Calloway)
Stokley, Willie Kate (Active Citizenship)
Summers, Betsy Ann (Social Living)(same book as Valencia Summers)
Summers, Valencia (Social Living)(same book as Betsy Ann Summers)



T
Taylor, Edith (Plane Geometry)(same book as James Deal)
Thomas, Horace (Prose and Poetry)
Thompson, Joseph (Experimenting in Science)
Thompson, Joseph (Adventures in Appreciation)
Treece, Carolyn (The United States in the Western World)
Treece, Carolyn Mae (Growth in Arithmetic 7)
Treece, Michael (The New Friendly Village)(same book as Nelson Smith, Michael Lee,
Stewart Griffin)
Truelove, Harry (Story of Nations)
Turner, Betty (New Applied Mathematics )(same book as James McMiller)
Turner, Betty Ann (The Sunshine Book)(same book as Joy Hankins, John Lewis)
Turner, Betty Lucille (Everyday Problems in Science)(same book as Phyllis Ann Smith)
Turner, George (Man's Story)(same book as Alma Briscoe)
Turner Jr., George Robert (A History of Our Country)(same book as Marion Foster)



U, V
Vinson, Naomi (Our United States)
Vinson, Naomi (Thinking with Numbers 7)



W
Walker, John (The Enchanted Past-Reading book)
Walls Jr., Arthur (Health & Happy Days)
Washington, Gary (Find Out Book-1938)
Watterson, Andra (Prose and Poetry)
Watterson, Claudine (On the Long Road-reading book)
Watterson, Freddie (Word Master Speller)
Watterson, Helen (Social Studies)(same book as Clara Jones, Connie Ruffin)
Watterson, Wanda (United States in the Western World)(same book as Shirley Lollar)
Whelchel, Marva (Doing Your Best of Health)
Whelchel, Marva (Adventures in Reading)(same book as Eugene Kincaid, Leola Gray)
Whittington, Cora (The Story of Our America)
Whittington, Leona (Science)(same book as James Perry)
Williams, Loretta (New Spelling Goals)
Williams, Michael (Health & Happier Days)(same book as Don Kincaid)
Williamson, Jessie Mae (Lefty)(Active Citizenship)
Worley, David (Experimenting in Science)



X, Y, Z
Young, Billy (How & Why Experiments)
Young, Charlotte (Our Environment)
Young, Korey (?)(New Spelling Goals)
Young, Jimmy (How & Why Explorations-Science)
Young, Phyllis Annette (Prose and Poetry)



************************************
DOUGLASS LIBRARY BOOKS:


"Aunt Joe's Scrap Bag"
Bradford, Glenna
Foster, Rowena
Giles, J
Green, Bertie
Pierce, Veronica
Skaggs, Barbara
Webb, Roberta
Worley, Lorraine

"Wild Animals I Have Known"
Armstrong, Joe (2-22-40)
Leeper, Clay (Room 5-1939)


"Beggars of Dreams"
Bell, Loretta
Henson, Elizabeth
McMiller, D.
Rogers, Lynetta


"Colorado"
Perry, James (checked out 3 times, fined $0.02)

Cox, Linda Lee
Dulaney, Thelma
Foster, Joane
Goodson, Joyce
Gray, Linda
Hairston, Shirley
Hamilton, Paula
Henderson, Elizabeth
Hicks, Brenda
Lollar, Betty Donald
Mason, Ellen
Smith, Carolyn
Taylor, Edith
Turner, Freda

"Everyday Foods"
Watterson, A.

"Far East in the Modern World"
Hendricks Jr., Wilbur
Truelove, Harry

"Family Troupe"
Bond, Shirley
Taylor, Ronald

"First Book of Dolls"
Coclough, Terry Ann
Delisa (?)
Diana (?)
Foster, Valerie
Harris, Carlitta
Hoard, Pat
Jones, Eula (overdue May 17, 1965)
Leeper, Patricia
Margaret (?)
Mary Helen (?)
Sabrina (?)
Simpson, Dianne

"Five Little Peppers and How They Grew"
Anderson, (?)
Hayes, Billy
Jackson, Majorie
Pyles, Shirley
vinson, Naomi


"White Gull Flying"
Gray, Judy

"The Green Man"
Frances Mason
Arthur Morrison
Jennifer Delaney

"Ready Made Family"
James Delaney,
Irene Simpson
Evelyn Lollar
Lestine Dover

"Pamela & the Blue Mare"
Leola Gray
Larry Greene
Joy Hankins
Joane Foster
Virginia Hankins
Ruth Vinson

"Chalice, A Novel"
Mrs. Weaver

"Dusty Star"
Augusta
Don (62)
Goodwin, Mose (53)
Hankins, Norman (57)
Lollar, Helen (62)
McMiller, Dwike (65)
Miller, Prince (63)
Saunders, R. (65)
Sensabaugh, Hoover (47)
Smith, Lula (43)
"America Rides the Liners"
Freeman Morrison
Evelyn Lollar

"Lost Island"
James Sanders
Harold Shoemaker


"Source Book in European Government"
Gill, Mr. (Oscar)


"Improvement of Basic Reading Abilities"
Cox, Cora
Hickman, Helen


"Peggy Covers The News"
Bradford, Glenna
Burnette, Major
Flack, Carolyn
Green, Carrie
Lollar, Frieda
Young, Charlotte
Mason, Frances
Shirley, Hairston

"Marian-Martha"
Burnette, Jackie
Clark, Frances
Comage, Dorothea
Hendricks, Janice
Hicks, Brenda
Maxwell, Joe Ann
Underwood, Sandra
Vinson, Naomi

"Modern Medical Discoveries"
Campbell, Linda
Cox, Linda
Hankins, Norman
Pierce, Anna
Smith, Estella
Smith, Olivia
Simonton Jr., James
Stafford, Cheyenne
Stafford, Janice
Turner, George
Turner, Lee
Turney, Leroy
Woods, Eugene
Young, Charlotte

"Mystery of Seven Gables"
Bristol, Patricia
Carnes, Mary Jane
Carver, Mary
Hairston, Shirley
Hood, James
Watterson, Jean

"Neighbors in Latin America"
Bowers, Mrs.
Cash, Nathaniel
Hampton, Deborah
Henry, Margaret
Lytle, Rodney Lee
Smith, Nelson

"Problems in American Democracy"
Bristol, Edith
Burnette, Jackie
Calloway, George
Deadrick, Glenda (fined $0.72)
Deal, James
Dobbins, Van
Etter, Linda
Hairston, Shirley
Mason, Eugenia
Mason, Frances
Perry, Floyd
Sensabaugh, Harold
Scoggins, John
Stokley, William
Taylor, Brenda
Wood, James


"Troupers of the Gold Coast"
Lollar, Helen

"How to Conduct a Citizens School"
Gill, O.R.

"Popular Commencement Book"
Hankins, Joy
Henry, Mary
Long, Mrs.



"Barletts of Box B Ranch"
Brown, Brenda
Hankins, Norman


"A Dog's Head"
Bond, Shirley
Calloway, Charles
Calloway, George
Cole, Douglas
Goodwin, Mose
Jones, Rolax
Lynch, Kenneth
Maxwell, Elizabeth
Releford, Pearl
Swafford, James

"Le Miserables"
Delaney, Carolyn
Edwards, John
Reece, Carolyn

"Madmen's Memory"
Hairston, Shirley
Lollar, Evelyn
Rogers, Lynetta


"Apples by Ocean"
Horton, Freddie
Jenkins, Kernes
Johnson, Capurs
Lee, Talmon
Long, Benjamin (fine $0.72)


"Early Journeys in Science"


"Industry in America"
Bowers, Mrs. (Josephine)
Horton, Sinora


"Productive Vegetable Growing"
Armstrong, Joe
Bristol, Robert
Cox, Cora
Dobbins, V.O. (checked out, 1944)
Gilmore, Edward
Thompson, Marie


"The Hour Glass"
Anderson, Jack
Hayes, Billie
Horton, Edward
Lyle, Shirley
Stewart, Johnny


"Artificial Sunlight"
Deal, James
Rutledge, Eugenia


"Early Cave Men"
Coclough, Daimon
Kincaid, Marilyn


"Discovery"
Bradley, Miss
Cox, Mr.
McMiller, James
Weed, Miss


"Drinking in College"
Horton, Jerry
Simonton Jr., James

"The World, Its Lands and Peoples"
Nathaniel Cash
Phylis Horton

*******************************************

TEACHER BOOKS:
"All Children Want to Learn" - Mrs. Cora Cox
"Industry in America) - Josephine Bowers, Sinora Horton
"Active Citizenship" - Jessie Charles
"Dailyaide 1952" - John Cox, Jr.
"Daily Aid" - John Cox, Jr.
"The New Streets & Roads" - Thelma Webb
"Health in Work & Play" - Josephine Solomon
"Health in Work & Play" - Josephie Solomon, Leroy Marble
"Modern Health" - Mrs. S.N. Shannon

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

14th Annual Community Unity Program

The 14th Annual Community Unity Program is Sunday, February 22 at 4:00 pm at
the Toy F. Reid Employee Center in Riverview. Guest choirs include the Community Unity Choir, the Mountain Mission School Concert Choir and Weston Brothers and
Friends. Mountain Mission Choir is composed of 40-50 students in grades 8 through 12. Others participants on the program include 3 praise dance groups, Dr. Ivy McQuirter and more. This program is free to the public. Reception will immediately following the program.

Black History Program set for Sunday

• KINGSPORT — New Vision Youth will present its sixth annual Black History Program Sunday beginning at 4 p.m. at St. Mark Methodist Church, 929 Maple St. This year’s theme is “Blacks in Technology.” The speaker is Paul Montgomery, vice president of talent management of Eastman Chemical Co. Entertainment will include Central Baptist Church Choir, St. Mark House of Prayer Praise Team, Anointed Praise Team, Hale’s Chapel Praise Dancers, Full Gospel Mission Choir and New Vision Youth Drama Team performing “Who Am I.” The public is invited.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Letter to the Douglass Alumni and Friends

February 5, 2009

Dear Alumni Members & Friends of Douglass High School,

The 'Douglass Alumni Banquet Souvenir Booklet' committee has started working on what we hope to be our most commemorative 'Reunion Souvenir Booklet' ever and we are going to need the participation of all of you to make this happen!

The 2009 booklet will not only include memories of 'reunions' past and of course the good ole days at DHS, but we want to have photos, greetings, salutes ect. of you and your families that will also represent the present. Sort of a 42nd 'DHS' YEARBOOK.

As we mentioned above, this committee needs the cooperation of each and every member of the Douglass Alumni Association. So we are asking each of you to be responsible for at least two (2) pages of ads (if you are fortunate enough to get two (2) full page ads then you've done your part). These ads can be of your Children, you and your friends and family, businesses, loved ones, ect. Our goal is to produce a booklet that will not only be cherished by The 'Alumni' attendees, but by all, and give them an idea of 'where we came from, where we've been and..where we are now.'

Every dollar that is generated from this 'Alumni' fundraiser will not only impact the funding of our Reunion events, but it will also help with our Scholarship fund and the various contributions that the Association makes to our Community.

Thanks for your help. If you have questions please feel free to contact me or any of the Comittee members listed below.


Linda Bly
fernnypie@msn.com
linda_bly@yahoo.com

James Bly, Charlene Hodge (vlhodge@charter.net), Sheila Leeper (blondshelia2000@yahoo.com, Ethel Ruth Russell,Calvin Sneed (douglassriverview@gmail.com), Andrea Watterson,Thelma Watterson (thelmaw@eastman.com).

Tiffany's Million Dollar Super Bowl Commercial

Here's the Super Bowl commercial that has Jenny Hankins' daughter Tiffany in:

Tiffany's Million Dollar Super Bowl Commercial

Congratulations to our home girl!

Fredrick K Smith II has sent you a message on The Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association

Hello everyone! I wanted to reach out to you and encourage you to teach or learn something new about black history this month. We all know about the Martin Luther King's and Harriet Tubmans status leaders. I challenge you to learn about someone you do not already know about or know much about. When you have accomplished this, pass it on to a young person. Black history is a great time to celebrate our past but we need to learn about all of our past not just the glorious parts. I wish everyone a joyful month and may everyone be blessed.

Oh yeah, when you learn something new, share it with us!

To reply to this message, you need to join the Kingsport Ebony Club, sponsored by the Douglass Alumni Association. Please do that by clicking here:
Respond to Fredrik's Message Here

Old Douglass Auditorium Seats Find New Home At Sevier Middle

Sevier Principal Jocelyn Lyons had planned to ask for funds to replace the seats in the 2009-10 school budget.

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By RICK WAGNER
rwagner@timesnews.net

SEVIER PRINCIPAL JOCELYN LYONS

KINGSPORT — A part of the old high school that served African-Americans during segregation lives on at Sevier Middle School, which housed the original Dobyns-Bennett High School.
Thanks to Janice Allen, a bookkeeper at Sevier with a sharp eye for a newspaper photograph, Kingsport City Schools has done some creative reuse of 121 old auditorium seats from V.O. Dobbins Community Center, formerly Douglass High School, by moving them to Sevier.


THE PICTURE THAT MS. ALLEN SAW, THAT PROMPTED A COMPARISON OF SEATS

Sevier Principal Jocelyn Lyons said Allen noticed in a January Kingsport Times-News photograph of a Douglass reunion that the Dobbins auditorium seats there were very similar to seats at Sevier.
Lyons had already planned to ask for funds to replace the seats in the 2009-10 school budget. The estimated cost was $40,000 for about 800 new seats.





“She came to me and said they look like the seats already in our auditorium,” Lyons said. “It was actually a very good find.”
Sevier school officials thought the old seats might find a new home at Sevier and contacted the office of Superintendent Richard Kitzmiller.
Lyons said the auditorium is the least-changed section of Sevier, which underwent a major renovation in the 1990s.
“As a history major, I sure wouldn’t have wanted to have lost that tradition,” Lyons said. “I’m glad we got to keep (the older) seats.”



David Carper, facilities director of the school system, said he approached David Austin, who oversees the city’s surplus, about the school system using some of the old Douglass/Dobbins seats.
Carper said he often dreaded calls from Sevier Assistant Principal Randy Quillin to come repair the auditorium seats at Sevier because parts and replacements are scarce.
“Over the years, wooden chair parts are no longer available,” Carper said, explaining that more modern plastic theater seats would not fit into the architecture of Sevier and would be expensive, and that padded theater-type seats would be prohibitively expensive.
“It cost us zero, but it cost us about six days of labor,” Carper said. “Now you’ve got maximum capacity again, which you haven’t had in years.”



The Douglass/Dobbins seats were close enough in design and color that they were used in the balcony at Sevier. He said that freed up some of the old Sevier seats to be used to keep the main floor seating in order and gives the school system a supply of an additional 35 or 40 Douglass seats for use as replacements and parts for the balcony.
“They’re not the same,” Carper said. “They’re lighter colored. But they were able to work for us.”




So 121 seats were moved from Dobbins to the Sevier balcony, not counting the seats to be used for later replacements or parts.
“We ought to be good for 10 years or so,” Carper said.
Sevier Middle was the original campus of D-B, from construction in 1926 to 1968, when the current D-B building along Fort Henry Drive opened.






V.O. Dobbins is a city-owned community center located between Louis and Wheatley streets in Riverview. The building served as Kingsport’s blacks-only school from 1951 to 1966 and was named Douglass High School. However, Lyons said she believes the building dates back to circa-1920s. Lyons said she understands the first home of Douglass, at the corner of Center and East Sevier streets, replaced the old Oklahoma Grove School for African-Americans.




The community center was named after the longtime Douglass principal. Kingsport plans to expand and renovate the center, demolishing part and renovating the rest to include room for a new nonprofit center. The first phase of the $7.1 million project is the demolition of the auditorium, which was deemed to have too much asbestos to be renovated and will become the site of the new nonprofit wing. Demolition is expected to begin this month and will include some asbestos removal. The city will go out to bid on the renovation and expansion phase of the project in March or April.





David Grace —dgrace@timesnews.net
SSEVIER MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOKKEEPER JANICE ALLEN AND PRINCIPAL JOCELYN LYONS INSPECT SEAT SALVAGED FROM THE OLD DOUGLASS HIGH AUDITORIUM