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- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 19 Dec 2001.
Mary Butler Henry obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 14 Apr 2011.
17 new members are added to Sevier Education Hall of Fame
Education Hall of Fame inductees, or their representatives, include, seated from left, Anna Frank Hammer, Nancy Jo Henry, Betty Lewelling (for Carl Lewelling Jr.), Glenn Parton, Shirley Hall, Charlotte Manning Hardin (for Gary Hardin), Marie Temple; back row, Dan Blalock (for Glenda Blalock), Lucretta Williams, Charles Nave (for Roena Nave and Stanley Nave), Jerry Huskey (for Eugene Huskey), Sally Ownby Chapman, Phil Large (for Betty Large), Johnnie Faye McClure (for Wanda Newman). Not pictured or represented: Eula Case and Omalee Wilson. (Submitted)
By RACHEL OSBORN
GATLINBURG — Seventeen local administrators, teachers and support staff members have been inducted into Sevier County’s Education Hall of Fame.
The awards banquet, sponsored by Sevier County Bank and the Board of Education, recognizes the inductees for their years of service.
Nancy Hayes Henry, one of the new hall members, taught English at Sevier County High for 22 years. But her career didn’t start there.
“I came here in 1954,” Henry said, “when I took the job as an assistant to the director at Pi Beta Phi. It was my first job out of college.”
She worked as an assistant for two years, then accepted the job at the high school. Her courses included 10th-grade honors English and a combined studies course, usually focusing on history and world literature.
While at SCHS, Henry started the school’s first mock trial team.
Henry retired in 1998. But, she believes her interest in education didn’t stop then. “We should all be lifetime learners,” she says.
The banquet also honored the 45 teachers of the year from Sevier County schools, a tradition that started 17 years ago. The state’s 10th largest school system employs over 2,000 teachers and support staff.
The board of education plans to create a wall of fame at the central office to honor Hall of Fame inductees and teachers of the year.
Sally Ownby Chapman, another Hall of Fame inductee, started her teaching career at Sevierville Middle School. She taught sixth grade and the school’s gifted student program. “This is back in the day when teachers taught everything,” she said. “I taught music and art too.”
After nine years at the school, Chapman moved to Seymour Middle, where she taught seventh-graders math and pre-algebra.
She also was in charge of the school’s computer lab. “I taught the first computer skills class,” she says. “It was a two-week curriculum. For the two weeks students had computers instead of math.”
At first, the computer lab was tiny and in an unexpected location. “The computers were kept in a closet by the library,” says Chapman. “But, as time went on computer labs became more prominent in the schools. With parent and county support, we built a larger computer lab.”
Chapman also was surprised by the news that she was an inductee. “I was thankful to be nominated,” she says. “I am very grateful.”
Anna Frank Hammer has one of the longest careers of the Hall of Fame inductees — almost 60 years. She taught at Pigeon Forge Elementary before switching to Sevierville Primary.
At Sevierville Primary, she taught grades 1-4.
“Second and fourth are my favorite grades,” she says. “You can do so much with the children. You can have fun with them.”
In 1989 Hammer retired after 39 years. But she didn’t stay away from school long. She returned in 1991 as an assistant, and has been for the last 20 years.
“I just love children,” she says. “I’m just used to going to school. I wanted to keep it up.”
Currently, she is an assistant in Debbie Mize’s kindergarten class at Sevierville Primary. Hammer works a half-day every school day, arriving at 7 a.m. and leaving around noon. “The kindergartners are so sweet,” she says. “You can learn a lot from them.”
Education Hall of Fame inductees in the different categories:
Teaching
o Glenda Sue Blalock: Taught third grade for 37 years at the old Sevierville Elementary and the Sevierville Primary and Intermediate schools. Taught from 1966 2003. Dan Blalock received the award for his sister.
o Sally O. Chapman: 36 years as a teacher at both Sevierville and Seymour schools, became a teacher for children with special abilities and got her bus driver’s/chauffeur license so she could make sure her students got to and from class. Taught computer skills at Seymour Middle.
o Anna Frank Hammer: Teacher in the school system for 61 years. After retiring in 1989, she returned to the classroom as a teaching assistant at Sevierville Intermediate and now Sevierville Primary.
o Nancy Jo Henry: Taught English in the system for 28 years at Sevier County High School. She designed and implemented combined studies for 10th-grade level studying world history and world literature.
o Betty Large: Teacher in the Sevier County system for 38 years, 36 teaching fifth grade and two years as math supervisor. Her son Phil Large accepted the award.
o Roena Nave: Taught typing and business at Sevier County High School for 42 years. Her brother, Charles E. Nave, accepted the award.
o Wanda Faye McFalls Newman: Began teaching school in 1944. She taught all eight grades in one large room. Taught at several schools before finding her home at Sevierville Elementary where she taught from 1961 to her retirement in 1983. Her daughter Johnnie Faye McClure accepted the award.
o Marie Temple: Taught Spanish and Latin and worked with students on the Sevierian Yearbook.
o Omalee Blalock Wilson: Taught at Pittman Center then at a small school on Allensville Road before settling in at Sevierville Elementary where she taught seventh- and eighth-grade math. 44 years of teaching. Her son Dennis Wilson accepted the award.
Administration
o Gary D. Hardin: Founder and principal of the Alternative Learning Center. His widow, Charlotte Manning, accepted the award.
o Eugene Huskey: Taught at Pittman Center School starting in 1947, where he also served as principal. He was Gatlinburg-Pittman High School’s very first principal. First superintendent to organize a system-wide curriculum and introduce computers into students’ classrooms. Huskey established the first environmental education program for students in Sevier County. His son Jerry accepted the award.
o Carl Lewelling Jr.: 36 years in the Sevier County School System as a high school teacher, football coach, baseball coach and principal of Pi Beta Phi for 31 years. At Pi Beta Phi, Lewelling was responsible for a new school building to accommodate K-8 students. His wife Betty accepted the award.
o Stanley Nave: Served the system from 1929 to 1973 as a teacher, principal and a teaching principal. His son Charles Nave accepted the award.
Support staff
o Eula Case: Cook in the cafeterias of Seymour Primary and Intermediate schools for over 25 years.
o Shirley Hall: Began as part-time secretary and bookkeeper at New Center and Jones Cove. Eventually assigned full-time to Jones Cove. Retiring this year after 34 years of service.
o Glenn Parton: Has worked for the school system for over 40 years as a maintenance supervisor.
o Lucreta Williams: Worked multiple jobs in the system from 1982 to 2003 when she retired from full-time work. She still substitutes.
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(Age ~ 95 years)