| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 331.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 8 Oct 2006.
How exactly we ended up talking about Kiffin Yates Rockwell, I can't remember but last week several folks you know were at Drs. Foster & Steele Family Optometry. We were guest guinea pig pretend patients for women who were taking a national eye technician exam. Among the earlier risers were Dr. Bill Henry, Nancy Oberst, Mayor Connie Ball, Kim Allen, and Barbara Davis. The bad news was we had to be there at 6:30 a.m. but the good news was the arrival of Bob Seay with lots of breakfast treats. I particularly liked the large cinnamon-apple muffins. Dr. Henry and I chatted about things a long time ago, as he is in his mid 70s and doing great after prostate cancer treatment over a year ago. He knew George Little and also Kiffin's young son, who excelled at bridge but not life, as he died an unfortunate early death. After WW II, young Kiffin was a playmate to Bill and several others who hung out together including Johnny Nease, Jack Henry, Jack Cope, Charlie Morgan and Forrest McNabb. Maybe we were talking about how young men take risks. Bill still recalls traveling back to Newport on the old Asheville Hwy, when the convertible he was in went out of control. It did a 270-degree spin and slid to the edge of the highway. A couple more feet and the boys would have been airborne over a steep cliff-probably getting killed.
We also heard of a movie to be released titled, "Flyboys." It features World War I flying aces and, of course, among them should be Kiffin. That's what we were wondering about-would his flying exploits be featured. If you've seen the silver historical marker at Woodlawn and East Broadway, you will know he was born just up the hill but grew up in Asheville. How did he end up being born here? I asked Bill. He suggested that I call George Little Sr.'s daughter, Mary Ann Little. Of course, Bill talked about George Little Jr., who was an outstanding citizen operating his own insurance business. I was impressed that he delivered a Plain Talk paper route as a boy. Little George was blind from glaucoma. His sister, Mary Ann, of College Street, is also blind. I was impressed that Bill knew that George died Dec. 30, 1974. When I chatted with Mary Ann, she explained that Rev. Chester Rockwell was the third pastor of First Baptist Church and had three children-Kiffin being one. Mary Ann's grandmother, the former Irene Ayers came to Newport to help her sister, Lula Rockwell, raise young Kiffin. Irene later met J.A. Susong and married him. There were some other connections of passing interest to me. Mary Ann's mother, the former Mrs. Eleanor Hickey, married George Little Sr. who was from Marion, N.C., Now, if you travel east on I-40 just past Asheville you will come to Marion. Turn to the north and soon you will be near Boone and Avery counties where our newspaper company owns several newspapers. Mary Ann was born at Crossnore, NC, in Avery County. Our Avery Journal co-publisher, Nancy Morrison knew the Ayers family. Mary Ann never married and lived about 17 years in Michigan where she taught. Her mother taught many of you piano lessons. Airman Kiffin was shot down over France, dying 90 years ago on Sept. 23, 1916. His brother Paul was also a WW I aviator.
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1892 - 1916 (24 years)
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