September 14, 2014, The Murfreesboro Post, Gloria Shacklett-Christy
There are times that life does not turn out the way we anticipate and living life is simply a bewildering adventure. We rarely know what’s coming next.
There are times that life does not turn out the way we anticipate and living life is simply a bewildering adventure. We rarely know whats coming next.
Often, we surmise that if I do the right thing then life will all turn out in my favor devoid of dead ends and muddy detours. But then somehow there appear circumstances that arouse and baffle. Life comes as a surprise!
We realize that preferential treatment does not come by simply doing the right thing. These moments challenge our faith and our hope. It is even more important that we learn to wait and listen. Listening to that inner voice that will help us discern the reality of our situation. Even with our puzzled complaints and God-accusations, we can realize that every detail in our lives is God-directed. He truly is working out something good. And so begins a story from the Great Depression of the 1930s in Murfreesboro.
As the consistent chill of winter enshrouded Middle Tennessee with gray skies and blustering winds, Jan. 26, 1932 had been yet another cold and uneventful day. Glancing at the clock in her classroom, Miss Perry saw that it was almost 1PM and ignored the slight growl in her stomach. Hurriedly, hoping for a few minutes to eat the sandwich shed brought, this fastidious teacher gathered the cluttered papers that had accumulated from her morning classes.
Her desk in order, Miss Perry glanced longingly at the desk drawer that concealed her small sack lunch. But upon noticing the section of blackboard that reminded unintended, she grabbed the science book, a piece of chalk, and began clacking out the remaining afternoon assignments. Completing her preparations dissolved her last few minutes of solitude, for now students began entering the classroom each one finding their seats. All waited attentively for Miss Perrys congenial greeting.
Good afternoon, class, she addressed in her usual all-business tone. Though Miss Perry Williamson was stern; she was loved and respected by all of her students.
We will begin with page 101 in your book today. With that announcement, a young student flung open the door to hand Miss Perry a white sheet of paper. The class fell still as she turned and strode to meet the breathless messenger. Reading the note, Miss Perrys countenance fell. It seemed to her students as if the winter chill had somehow swept through the room.
Vanished was their teachers steadfastly cheerful demeanor, stolen by a colorless cast of astonishment gripped by fear. No propensity remained in her mind to balance the routine of myriad incidentals, nor even an awareness of the hunger pangs that only moments before had sorely distracted her.
Panning across a roomful of puzzled faces, Miss Perry met the compassionate gaze of one of her brightest and best. Susan, would you please take charge of the class until I return?
Of course, Miss Perry, affirmed Susan as she began making her way to the teachers desk. Confident that her class was secure, Miss Perry slid her arms into a sweater she swept up from the back of her desk chair as she dashed out the door.
Bursting from the massive entryway of Central High, Miss Perry plunged into what seemed a wall of cold air. With determined strides beneath her feet, in mere moments she arrived the block and a half away leading up to the Square right to the front of the prestigious First National Bank. Just ahead, she could see a crowd had already gathered as she approached.
All she found there was a wave of confusion, some anger, a few were sobbing, others merely stood by, silent and downcast. No one had been prepared for this news. All were shocked and filled with dismay. Feeling intuitively that there was little to be gained by remaining amid the encounter, Miss Perry turned and began what now felt an uphill journey back to her beloved Central High and her classroom of concerned students.
With each step, a margin of confidence returned, as if her determination to hold fast to her responsibilities her world as she knew it would shore her up against the economic storms that were gathering across the land. The Great Depression had arrived in Murfreesboro!
Assuredly, a woman of principle and value was coming to terms with what matters most in life those things that truly sustain and endow beyond whatever perils may cross our path. I will not let circumstances control my emotions, she thought. These children need me to be strong. They depend on me. I can and will start over again. Anyway, its only money. Through what had seemed the longest walk back, Miss Perry had breathed a stream of prayer for strength and courage. Gradually her troubled heart found a solid foothold of comfort in recalling this though from Scripture, God smiles on his child in the eye of the storm.
After an absence of about 30 minutes, Miss Perry returned. Though her cheeks were a bit rosy from the January air, a marked paleness remained, constraining her class to observe her movement and expression very closely. Their astonishment and curiosity had turned into genuine concern for the teacher they had come to deeply admire, for never before had they seen her this way. Warming to the embrace of familiar hallways and reliable kindness of all who entered her classroom, Miss Perry resumed teaching the rest of the day.
Though Miss Perry Williamson never married or had a family of her own, she was one of Murfreesboro Central High Schools most beloved teachers. She was a Senior Class sponsor for more than 20 years. Students will fondly remember her as a polite, precise person, but always motivating others in a positive way. One former student simply described her as a Central Highs Lovely Lady.
The note handed to Miss Perry that wintry day recalls similar episodes repeated thousands of times across America during the Great Depression of the 1930s. According to varied recollections of those who where there, the note read: The First National Bank has closed its doors. Miss Perry was one of the hundreds of depositors who suddenly found themselves victims of an economic disaster.
The First National Bank had been an integral part of the financial community in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County for nearly 63 years. During Reconstruction, Ingram Banks Collier was instrumental in the founding of this institution after the Civil War in 1869. Mr. Collier, also mayor of the city of Murfreesboro from 1869- 1871, had amassed a huge fortune and built the Italianate house now known as the Collier-Crichlow-Smythe home at 511 East Main Street.
As reported in the Murfreesboro Home Journal, Jan. 26, 1932, the directors of the First National Bank of Murfreesboro decided in the interests of their customers to temporarily close its doors. By the end of 1932, panic had so overcome this institution that it never recovered. Eventually however, within the following year and a half, the Board of Directors did repay a commendable 85 percent of the deposits.
Although Miss Perry had suffered an irrevocable financial blow, this event did not affect her remarkable resiliency for life. It was said that she never missed a Central High School basketball or football game. She continued to serve as Senior Class sponsor until the early 1950s. Even now amid our own uncertain and challenging time we may draw inspiration from Missy Perry Williamsons exemplary witness of faith, courage, and indelible character.
By early 1930 as the economy plummeted, banks began to fail, mortgages went unpaid, and unemployment increased staggeringly. The citizens of Murfreesboro began to feel the effects of the widespread Depression while panic also began to extend into the community. Although President Herbert Hoover declared that prosperity was just around the corner, things got steadily worse. In 1932, after the nation fully grasped the situation, Franklin Roosevelt was elected overwhelmingly in hopes that his plan would lead to an economic recovery.
In times of turmoil when circumstances all around us are falling apart, real peace, real joy comes from calming down and choosing to be positive. Be determined not to allow loss define who you are and determine your future. Amazingly, your positive attitude can redirect your destiny more than anything else.
Dont let life circumstances derail your journey. The situation may not change or even get worse but your attitude does not. It is your positive attitude that determines your altitude in life. You cannot expect the negative energy it takes to complain and murmur to result in positive changes. It has been said, In this life, pain is inevitable but misery is optional.
Learn to enjoy every moment as a gift from God and that He has situation under control even when it seems out of control. Knowing this is good medicine for your troubled mind and soul. You can relax and put your mind at ease knowing that God is taking care of everything!
God is more interested in your character than your comfort! In this moment, your inner life is more important than your loss. Its amazing how knowledge of this calms you inner soul. Regardless, choose to have a positive attitude! Your troubling situation may be Gods way of pushing you into a place of more faith and trust for the new thing that He wants to do in your life.