Harber’s History Lesson, Daily News Journal, November 2, 2014, Susan Harber
Zadie Beatrice Bowling Key lived a very full life as an advocate for Rutherford County and could only be described as a “go-getter.”
From left, Lydia Glanton, Margie Heath and Zadie Key, president of the Rutherford County Democratic Women’s Club, participate in a tea to discuss issues of the day in the 1970s.
She was born on Oct. 21, 1921 to Beatrice Kelton and John William Bowling. John was born in 1884 and served as constable in Murfreesboro; and her mother was born in 1899 in Murfreesboro. Her maternal grandparents were George Edmond Kelton and Sallie Lightfoot Cathey.
Her grandmother Sallie was born in 1885, married at age 13, and gave birth to daughter Beatrice at age 14. Zadie’s paternal grandparents were Jesse Stokes Bowling (born 1847) and Mary Jane Peyton; and they had nine children. Mary and Jesse are buried in the Herrod Cemetery of Rutherford County.
Zadie wed Edward Key, and they had three sons: John, Huey and James. Edward continues to live in Rutherford County at age 93. Her siblings included Mary Cathy, James and Libby. Her brother James was in the military for 30 years and highly decorated. He served in the Navy during World War II and in the Air Force in both the Korean War and Vietnam War.
Zadie had an infectious personality that radiated with joy all her life. She attended Central High and graduated from the Middle Tennessee Teachers College in 1941 at age 20. She was a writer for the Sidelines campus newspaper in 1940. Zadie worked as a teacher and l ater retired as a secretary from MTSU. Her memory of the Teachers College were “many romances beginning on the steps of Kirksey Old Main.”
Zadie was a dynamic operative for the Democratic Party in the state and president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women. She was also president of the Rutherford County Democratic Women’s Club.
She actively camp aigned for candidates, including Al Gore Jr. in his 1988 presidential election. Zadie was also the chair of the Rutherford County Democratic Party for decades. She was a delegate to presidential national conventions and had met every Democratic president since Franklin Roosev elt. For 50 years, she never missed voting in an election and encouraged others to do the same for their county and their country.
On a personal level, she was a volunteer Scout leader for 13 years and the first woman in Tennessee to achieve the Long Rifle Award. In 1971, she was Tennessee Secretary of the Year and president of the PSI Secretarial Chapter. Zadie was also on the board for MTSU Alumni A ssociation; and she was an adviser for the College Democrats at MTSU. She was a member of the Rutherford County Chamber of C ommerce and promoted United Way in Murfreesboro.
What impressed me was her sojourn with the Rutherford County Historical Society. She was a longtime member and served four terms as treasurer from 19881992. She was also an editor of Frow Chips and a member of the executive board working closely with mastermind historian Mabel Pittard. With Zadie’s passing, the historical society described her as “a peopleoriented, communityconscious, caring individual, who strived to make a difference.”
Today, one can visit the Al Gore Center at MTSU and view the Zadie Key Papers that include amazing scrapbooks, letters, clippings, newspapers, outstanding h istorical photographs and cookbooks. In this collection is the ‘Association of Secretarial and Clerical Employees Cookbook’ that is still actively pursued today. The papers also provide insight from Murfreesboro Democratic women, organized as a solid force in the 1970s and 1980s. Zadie was a generous individual who believed in giving back to others and rarely sat down. She was a person who loved e veryone and had a strong desire to enhance her community with unending zeal.
After her memorial service at North Boulevard Church of Christ on Aug. 31, 1992, Zadie was buried at Evergreen beside her father John. Zadie Bowling Key, an energetic ‘mover and shaker,’ definitely left Rutherford County a better place.