This Cruel War
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Dan Whittle, Post Columnist, April 14, 2011 On April 12, 1861, shots rang out across the harbor at Charleston, S.C., signaling the official start of the Civil War when the Confederacy fired on Ft. Sumter. It was almost year before the war reached Rutherford…
Junior Ranger Day at battlefield
The Murfreesboro Post, April 14, 2011 On Saturday, April 23, park rangers and volunteers invite young visitors and their families to Stones River National Battlefield to celebrate Junior Ranger Day. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., all children ages 6 and up will have the chance to participate in special…
Fan’s Laughed at his Name, Liked his Name
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, April 3, 2011 By Greg Tucker, President Rutherford County Historical Society Johnny Beverley Gooch, born November 9, 1897 in Smyrna, was a victim of Murderers’ Row in 1927. In 1942 the government took the family’s historic home. The first Rutherford County native…
WHITTLE: Civil War sniper rifle dealt death to Yankees
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Dan Whittle, Post Columnist, April 3, 2011 It’s a rifle with a record. A deadly record with a long trail of blood-letting by a civilian Confederate-sympathizing West Tennessee sniper who waged “vengeance kills” on Yankee soldiers stemming from the decapitated heads of two of…
Sgt. York’s son recalls humble hero of war
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Ken Beck, April 3, 2011 The most famous soldier of World War I, Tennessee born and bred Sgt. Alvin C. York, was a reluctant fighter and a humble hero. Yet most Volunteer State residents might be surprised to know his most personal legacy was…
Bike the battlefield
The Murfreesboro Post, March 29, 2011 Stones River National Battlefield will present ranger guided bicycle tours of Stones River National Battlefield at 9 a.m. Saturdays from April 2 through Oct. 29. Get healthy exercise, reduce your carbon footprint, and learn about the major Civil War battle that occurred here in…
Mayor (Westbrooks) Presents Points
March 4, 1977, The Daily News Journal Mayor W.H. Westbrooks made several points during last night’s City Council meeting as he requested that the City’s Sign Department to study a request to set a historic marker at the intersection of Highway 96 and Clark Blvd.. the marker would point out…
Tennessee unveils Civil War 150th anniversary License Plate
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, March 8, 2011 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is pleased to announce the official Tennessee Civil War 150th Anniversary License Plate. Sponsored by the nonprofit partnering organization, Tennessee Civil War Preservation Association, proceeds from the plate will help preserve Tennessee…
Stone’s River: ‘History Channel’ before television
As published by the Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, March 6, 2011 By Dan Whittle Want to trace the history of your community? Follow the channel! Middle Tennessee historian Toby Francis recently floated Friends of Long Hunter State Park (nature park preservation group) back in time, tracing the impact of the “Stone’s…
Searching for the Past
The Daily News Journal, February 27, 2011 Rutherford County’s Archivist John Lodl pushed through the underbrush on a warm winter’s morning to discover a long-lost gravestone staring back at him slightly cock eyed. The stone is part of an equally long-lost cemetery hidden in a cedar glade off Manchester Highway near…
Yankee Captain Found Opportunity Here
As published by the Daily news Journal, Sunday, February 20, 2011 By Greg Tucker, [email protected] This Yankee came south to quell the rebellion. Seriously wounded at Stones River, he recuperated in a local home. After the war he returned to Rutherford to make it his home. He also made a…
Maneuvers help win war on Western Front
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Ken Beck, February 20, 2011 Editor’s note: This is the second in a two part series on Middle Tennessee’s role in training soldiers for World War II. During World War II in the U.S.A., life on the homefront meant ration books, victory gardens and…
New book details WWII maneuvers in Rutherford County
Ken Beck, [email protected], The Murfreesboro Post, Sunday, February 13, 2011 During World War II in the U.S.A., life on the home front meant ration books, victory gardens and scrap drives, but there was a lot more going on around Murfreesboro. In Rutherford and other nearby counties it meant thousands of…
New book details WWII maneuvers in TN, RuCo
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Ken Beck, February 13, 2011 Editor’s note: This is the first in a two part series on Middle Tennessee’s role in training soldiers for World War II. During World War II in the U.S.A., life on the homefront meant ration books, victory gardens and…
‘Boro celebrates 200 years
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, February 12, 2011 When the Tennessee Legislature agreed on Oct. 17, 1811 to establish Rutherford County’s seat near where Lytle and Town creeks meet, few dreamed it would become the metropolis it has become. Yet change it did, becoming known as Murfreesborough the next…
Genteel lifestyle depended on ‘Duskies’
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, February 6, 2011 By Greg Tucker, President Rutherford County Historical Society There was a vast social distance between the wealthy Rutherford County upper class of the 1900s and the slave descendants of the period, but the practical relationships were close and often…
New book documents MTMC’s rise in ‘Boro
As published in the Murfreesboro Post, Mike West, Managing Editor, January 30, 2011 Throughout Murfreesboro’s growth as a community, few things have stayed the same. One of the constants, however, has been the Middle Tennessee Medical Center and its commitment to serving the needs of Murfreesboro. This commitment is what…
WHITTLE: From rural Gum Road, global fame came for ‘Gumms’
Dan Whittle, The Murfreesboro Post, January 30, 2011 This is an open invitation to you, Liza, from a community of mostly modest hard-working folks who humbly claim kindred spirit to you, mainly through your relatives named Gum and/or Gumm, with one “M” or two “MMs” being optional. So, to borrow…
Scales Elementary 5th Graders Give Oaklands Museum $866.69
January 26, 2011, WGNS Radio The Oaklands Historic House Museum educational programs received a generous donation from 150 fifth grader students at Scales Elementary School. The school’s “Step Up and Serve” fundraiser donated 10 per cent of the classes’ money to Oaklands. That translates into $866.69 for such popular educational…
Memoirs Portray Rutherford Lifestyles in the 1900’s
As published by the Daily News Journal, Sunday, January 23, 2011 By Greg Tucker, President Rutherford County Historical Society Elizabeth Ophelia Howse (Mrs. G. S. Ridley Jr., 1896-1984), at the urging of her children, wrote and published her memoirs in 1960. Despite complaints from a few, her writings give us…