| Sources |
- [S76] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume III, 1974-1986, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 18 Apr 1980.
Leona Brown Ogle obituary
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 31 Jul 1992.
Willie Kate Brown Murphy obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 14 Nov 2010.
Upland Chronicles: Central Hotel fixture in Sevierville many years
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 23 Apr 2012.
Upland Chronicles: ‘Pug’ Murphy thrilled by Clarence Darrow encounter
by CARROLL McMAHAN
Ralph “Pug” Murphy taken in the later years of his life.
Clarence Darrow (left) with William Jennings Bryan at the Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tenn. in 1925.
The New Central Hotel in Sevierville where a call was received on July 26, 1925 from a Chicago Tribune reporter who was trying to locate Clarence Darrow.
When the phone rang late on the night of Sunday, July 26, 1925 at the New Central Hotel in Sevierville, Manager Ralph “Pug” Murphy and his wife, Wille Kate, were about to go to bed. Ralph answered the phone in the hotel lobby, which was the only long distance line in Sevier County at the time.
The late-night caller was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune who asked Ralph whether he knew that William Jennings Bryan had died earlier that day.
Ralph informed the reporter that he had heard the unfortunate news.
The next question from the inquiring gentleman was if he knew if the famous attorney Clarence Darrow happened to be visiting Sevier County.
Coincidentally, Ralph knew that too! After the Scopes “monkey” trial had concluded in Dayton, Tenn., Knoxville lawyer Williston Cox had come through Sevierville with the famous defense attorney, who had opposed William Jennings Bryan, the leader of the prosecution.
Attorney Cox had stopped by the hotel briefly and told Ralph he was taking Clarence Darrow to a cabin at Elkmont for a few days of relaxation. However, Darrow had remained in the car.
So Ralph told the reporter that Darrow was up in the mountains and therefore unreachable by phone. The reporter was persistent. He wanted someone to go to Elkmont that night and interview Darrow so he could report it in the Chicago newspaper the following morning.
To get rid of him, Ralph told the pesky reporter to call someone in Maryville, that there might be a phone connection from there to Elkmont. But he called back shortly and said he’d had no success with Maryville.
The relentless reporter again asked Ralph to find someone to go to Elkmont. Ralph told him that it was a hard trip and would cost a lot of money to get somebody to go all the way to Elkmont that time of night.
“I’m willing to pay $50,” said the reporter. Ralph replied, “For $50, I’ll do it myself.”
Ralph did not own a car at the time, so he hired Boyd Charles, a man who frequently spent the night at the hotel and drove passengers between Sevierville and Knoxville in a seven-passenger Buick.
It was after midnight by the time they reached Elkmont and awakened Mr. Cox, who was sleeping in an adjoining cabin to the one occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Darrow.
Thinking of Darrow’s potential wrath, Cox decided he’d better awaken his friend rather than have Ralph become a victim of Darrow’s infamous temper.
Once awakened, Darrow had some uncomplimentary comments about the Chicago Tribune and told Ralph to tell the reporter he’d call the paper in the morning.
“If I go back and tell him that and nothing else, they won’t pay me for coming all the way up here,” said Ralph.
Darrow asked, “How much are they paying you?” “$50,” replied Ralph. “The cheapskates, you should have asked $500!” retorted Darrow.
The legendary attorney pondered a minute and then said, “I don’t know. ... Bryan was truly a crusader. He believed every damn word he said. Oh, hell, tell them I’ll call them tomorrow.”
Darrow did call the newspaper the following day. But Ralph had called first with those two sentences — although somewhat edited for the sake of decency — from Clarence Darrow.
The elated reporter got his quote in time to meet his deadline, and Ralph received payment of $50 and an awesome story that he shared with others the rest of his life.
In 1925, Ralph was 25. He had been manager of the new hotel since it opened a year earlier, replacing the old wooden building that had been destroyed by fire in 1923.
A graduate of Murphy College and Randolph Military Academy, he worked with his father, one-time Sevierville Mayor W.S. Murphy, at the family business, Murphy’s Department Store, before he became manager of the hotel.
In 1935, Ralph was appointed postmaster, a position in which he served for 35 years and longer than any other. Ralph was a dedicated leader all of his adult life, a member of several civic organizations and very active in the First United Methodist Church in Sevierville.
For many years, his wife, Wille Kate Brown Murphy, operated the Park Theatre on Court Avenue.
Ralph seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. In 1940, he was privileged to meet Franklin D. Roosevelt when the president traveled through Sevierville en route to the dedication of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Along the way, Roosevelt was chauffeured through the streets of Sevierville, traversing Main Street, Park Road, Bruce Street, Court Avenue and Joy Street.
Because Ralph was a prominent, visible Democrat in an overwhelmingly Republican county, the motorcade picked up the postmaster, who joined the entourage in shirtsleeves.
Ralph Murphy died in 1982 from injuries he received in an automobile accident while driving to a Rotary Club meeting. Throughout his life he loved to repeat the story of his encounter with the legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow.
— Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments; please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 26 Apr 2014.
Upland Chronicles: President Roosevelt’s visit to Sevier County remembered
CARROLL MCMAHAN
Upland Chronicles
President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking at Newfound Gap on Sept. 2, 1940.
More than 10,000 people gathered at Newfound Gap for the dedication of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The formal invitation to the dedication of the national park.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the presidential entourage left Washington, D.C., by train on Sunday evening, Sept. 1, 1940, and arrived in Knoxville the next morning at the old Southern Railway Depot. Thousands of people waited to catch a glimpse of the popular president, including Sen. K.D. McKellar and Gov. Prentice Cooper, as well as Clyde Hoey, governor of North Carolina.
From Knoxville, the presidential motorcade made its way to Chattanooga where President Roosevelt was scheduled to dedicate the Chickamauga Dam. Meanwhile, excitement was rising in Sevier County, as residents made final preparations for the first and only visit of a sitting president to the county.
After the dedication of the Chickamauga Dam, Roosevelt and his party returned to Knoxville. Thousands of people had been waiting for hours along the sidewalks of Gay Street to see the president. The tremendous turnout slowed down the motorcade considerably. By the time the entourage crossed the Henley Street Bridge, it was already behind schedule.
Hundreds stood along Chapman Highway to see their president and first lady as they passed by. The presidential limousine, with its top down, rolled slowly past the enthusiastic throngs as Roosevelt held his hat above his head to acknowledge the applause and grinning faces.
Although hopelessly behind schedule, the dignitaries stopped in Sevierville long enough for the president to be greeted by Postmaster Ralph “Pug” Murphy, one of the leading Democrats in the county. At Murphy’s suggestion, the motorcade’s route was slightly adjusted in order for the president to travel down Joy Street, where several Democrats resided.
Even though the event took place on Labor Day, Sevier County schools were in session. However, classes were dismissed early so students could stand along the route and get a glimpse of the president. Truckloads of school children came to town from all over the county to witness the historic event. Carrying American flags and handmade signs, students from Sevierville Elementary School and Sevier County High School walked to downtown Sevierville.
Church bells rang out heralding the president’s arrival in Pigeon Forge. Hundreds of spectators were on hand there as well.
As in Knoxville, Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, the streets of Gatlinburg were filled with throngs of people who had been patiently waiting for the president to arrive. National Guardsmen lined the streets, and all traffic was halted on the Parkway from noon until after the motorcade passed.
The ceremony at Newfound Gap was scheduled to start at five in the afternoon, but cars had been gathering as early as seven that morning. Just hours later, there was no parking for automobiles, and those wishing to attend the ceremonies had to be shuttled in school buses. By the time the president arrived, 10,000 people were waiting.
The manager of Knoxville’s Andrew Johnson Hotel had filled a truck full of food to feed Roosevelt and his party. The luncheon fare included fried chicken, crab salad, cheese sandwiches with caviar, and sardines and crackers. The president was observed smoking a cigarette in his famous holder after having eaten, enjoying the magnificent view.
At the dedication ceremony, Gov. Prentice Cooper and North Carolina Gov. Clyde Hoey spoke to the crowd, along with Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes.
Sen. McKeller, wearing a tan suit and black bowtie, sat behind the president as he began his speech. McKellar had conducted a bitter open feud with J. Ross Eakins, superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The dispute seemed forgotten as McKellar sat behind the president. The scene was saved for posterity in a photograph that became a very popular postcard.
Following an introduction by Ickes, the Commander-in-Chief delivered his speech atop the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Memorial, which was built with funds donated by North Carolina and Tennessee and was supplemented by Civilian Conservation Corps work. Wearing the leg braces that enabled him to give the illusion he could walk, he got up and spoke to the masses that welcomed him enthusiastically.
Once the crowd settled down, the president began his remarks, saying, “I have listened with great attention and great interest to the thousands of varieties of plants, trees, fishes and animals that Gov. Cooper has just told us about, but he failed to mention the hundreds of thousands of species of human animals that come to this park.”
Later in his speech he said, “There are trees here that have stood before our forefathers ever came to this continent; there are brooks that still run as clear as on the day the first pioneer cupped his hand and drank from them. In this park, we shall conserve these trees, the pine, the redbud, the dogwood, the azalea, the rhododendron, the trout and the thrush for the happiness of the American people.
“The old frontier that put the hard fiber in the American spirit and the long muscles on the American back, lives and will live in these untamed mountains to give future generations a sense of the land from which their forefathers hewed their homes.”
Throughout his remarks, the president emphasized the virtues of the new national treasure and warned of the impending perils that could adversely affect freedom.
He concluded with the following words: “The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mountains, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic – have always blown on free men. We are free today. If we join together now – men and women and children – to face the common menace as a united people, we shall be free tomorrow.
“So, to the free people of America, I dedicate this park.”
Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments; please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org.
- [S73] Rawlings Funeral Home, Book 2, 29 Apr 1982.
Murphy, Ralph M. Feb 19, 1900 Tn April 29, 1982
Spouse: Brown, Willie Kate
Father: Murphy, Stewart
Mother: Nichols, Carrie
Cemetery: Shiloh
Sisters: Mrs. Reba M. Hicks, Mrs. George Flannigan
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 361.
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