| Sources |
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 16 Jul 2005.
College honors longtime supporters
SEVIERVILLE - Walters State Community College's Sevier County campus is in the business of honoring those who have honored them.
During a luncheon Thursday afternoon, the college honored several individuals who have been significant contributors to the campus' success, including Josephine Burchfiel and her late husband, Norman; their daughter, Kathy Kile; the late Hattie Ogle McGiffin; and hotelier and philanthropist Linda Ogle.
On Tuesday, the college honored Luther Ogle during a luncheon, naming an administrative wing in Maples-Marshall Hall after him.
The library and two rooms in Maples-Marshall Hall were named after the Burchfiel family, McGiffin and Ogle, bearing the names Burchfiel Library, Hattie Ogle McGiffin Office Administration Classroom, and Linda Ogle Culinary Arts Laboratory.
"It wasn't because I'm a good cook. It was probably because I was eating here so much," Ogle said with a laugh. "I never expected this - I thought they would name it for my husband.
"It's an honor to have my name on anything at this school," Ogle continued. "I'm just so thrilled. I will always be involved with this school - it's an important part of the community. Being in the hotel business, they can help us get new employees from the culinary arts department."
"I'm just thrilled to death," said Burchfiel, whose husband was one of the first from Sevier County to serve on the college's Foundation Board of Trustees. She and her daughter also serve on the college's foundation and the Walters State Sevier County Development Council.
"The library is the best thing of all. This is such a surprise. I wasn't expecting it. I hope people will take advantage of (the college) so they don't have to go far away to go to school. I just hope it gets bigger and bigger."
"I am extremely proud," said Kile of her parents. "My father would have been so thrilled for this day. For our family, this is one of the most important things to happen to Sevier County to have this college here."
McGiffin was active in real estate, retailing and motel businesses for more than 75 years, opening the first craft shop in Gatlinburg in 1932. She was also instrumental in establishing the city's first chamber of commerce and served as a board member.
"We deeply appreciate the support each of these individuals has provided to the development of the Sevier County campus," said Walters State president Jack Campbell, who will retire at the end of the month, in a press statement. "Because of their generosity and leadership, future generations of students from this area will have access to higher education opportunities without having to leave Sevier County."
The college is actively campaigning to raise $7 million, which is needed to start construction on a new academic building and culinary arts/professional building. Approximately $2.5 million has been received to date.
* jkindred@themountainpress.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 14 Aug 2006.
Grads from the 1930s still gather to share the past
August 14, 2006
They move a lot slower these days, and sometimes you see a cupped ear when conversation needs to be heard. But there is no denying the camaraderie that exists among these octogenarians, these men and women who helped make Sevierville what it is.
Each year the Sevier County High classes of the mid-1930s gather at the home of Mary Louise Hailey to reminisce, have a drink or two, peruse scrapbooks, talk over old times and discuss how things have changed. That's really what reunions are for.
There are 28 of them still able to drive up the hill overlooking the Ultraflow to Mary Louise Waters Hailey's secluded home overlooking the town she's lived in for more than 80 years. She's Class of 1938, and for years she would put together a reunion of her class and the one that preceded hers. But about 16 years ago as her classmates began to depart this earth, the reunion was expanded to includes classes from 1935 through 1938, and it moved from a rented building to her home.
Only one member of the '35 class was able to attend this weekend: Josephine Thomas Burchfiel. There were 13 in her class, and she went on to earn a degree in home economics at the University of Tennessee. "I don't know how I did it," she laughs. She has an easy laugh.
These are people who spent their teen years trying to survive the Depression in a town of less than a thousand people that tourists hadn't yet discovered. There was a courthouse, two drug stores, three or four grocery stores and lots of unpaved roads. And the school.
Oliver DeLozier was on hand. Make that Dr. Oliver DeLozier. He's from the Class of 1938. This man whose grandfathers were doctors watched as his father lost his job because of the Depression. DeLozier worked at Lee's drug store and delivered newspapers to put some money into the household. He also was class valedictorian. Yet he never thought his education in Sevierville would be good enough to do well at UT with men and women from much bigger and better financed schools. Man, was he wrong. He got his degree, then finished medical school and was an OB/GYN in Knoxville for more than 30 years.
"I thought I would be unable to compete," he said of his early college years. "But I found out my education had been solid, that I had remarkable teachers."
These old people talk a lot about their teachers' dedication. The pay was probably lousy, but teachers like Blanche Wade McCall, who taught languages, and Addie Bell Marshall, who taught English, were beloved and still remembered fondly and with reverence. So is Mary Kate Hodges, an art teacher who, at 96, attends the reunion every year. So how remarkable, how dedicated, is Mary Kate Hodges? For more than nine years she kept her ailing husband Theron at home despite his Alzheimer's disease.
Amos Marshall's mom taught him English. Marshall, Class of 1936, was a 120-pound quarterback on a team that went undefeated in 1933. He went on to serve 24 years on the Sevierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
"We all knew each other. We knew everybody. Couldn't get away with a thing," he said of those halcyon days, when nobody really knew what they didn't have.
Everybody walked everywhere, teachers alongside students as they made their way to the high school - now the home of the school system central office.
When Hailey's own son once complained about walking to school, his mom firmly told him of her own school days, when lockers were decades away, when there was no lunchroom and you either brought your food or went home to eat, when there were no buses and a gymnasium was just a dream. "He said we were underprivileged," Hailey laughed.
The talking went on a long time, past the Damon's barbecue and mixed drinks. Next year they'll have more stories to tell, even if their numbers have shrunk. That's what reunions are for.
- Stan Voit is editor of The Mountain Press. His column appears each Sunday. He can be reached at 428-0748, ext. 217, or e-mail to svoit@themountainpress.com.
- [S112] Census, 1930.
Name: Josephine Thomas
Event: Census
Event Date: 1930
Event Place: District 05, Sevier, Tennessee
Gender: Female
Age: 13
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Birthplace: Tennessee
Estimated Birth Year: 1917
Immigration Year:
Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Enumeration District Number: 0006
Family Number: 224
Sheet Number and Letter: 12B
Line Number: 65
NARA Publication: T626, roll 2271
Film Number: 2342005
Digital Folder Number: 4547919
Image Number: 00697
Household Gender Age
Parent Mack P Thomas M 49
Parent Emily M Thomas F 39
Mc Kindell Al Thomas M 19
Josephine Thomas F 13
Christine Thomas F 11
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 4 Dec 2012.
Josephine Thomas Burchfiel
September 25, 1916 - December 04, 2012
Birthplace: Tennessee
Resided In: Sevierville Tennessee USA
Visitation: December 08, 2012
Service: December 08, 2012
Josephine Thomas Burchfiel, age 96 of Sevierville, died peacefully like she lived, Tuesday, December 4, 2012. She was a direct descendant of Isaac Thomas, Sevier County’s first white settler. She was preceded in death by her husband, Norman Landis Burchfiel; infant daughter, Julia Josephine; parents, M.P. and Emily Thomas; brother, M.P. “Jake” Thomas, III; and sister, Christine Thomas Jones.
Josephine was a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in Home Economics and a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. Norman and Josephine were childhood sweethearts, but did not marry until she graduated from UT, at which time they moved to the farm on Middle Creek Road, where they resided together for 58 years. They loved to travel and spent their summers on the river in Pittman Center. Josephine never worked outside of her home and devoted her entire life to her family and church. She was a member of First United Methodist Church, a long time member of the Manthano Club and the Emily Thomas Circle.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to First United Methodist Church, 214 Cedar Street, Sevierville, TN 37862. Memorials may also be made to a charity or organization of your choice.
She is survived by her Daughter: Emily Burchfiel Kile; Granddaughters: Jaclyn Diane Kile, Julia Paige Kile Clinton and husband Howard C. Clinton; Great-granddaughter: Landis Catherine Clinton; Nieces: Cynthia Jones Thompson. Cheryl Jones Dickert, Jean Ann Burchfield and Noranna Burridge Warner; Nephew: Charles C. Burridge; Extended family: Anita K. Ogle and Diana Wynn Long; Loving caregivers were Annette Lane, Helen Greenlee, Georgia Tellef and Vicky Whitchurch. Our most sincere gratitude to the staff of Sevier County Health Care Center
Family and friends will meet in the Great Hall of First United Methodist Church, Sevierville at 4 PM Saturday with a memorial service to follow at 5 PM in the church sanctuary. Rev. Bruce Adams, Rev. Bobby Ely and Rev. Ted Baker will officiate. A private interment will be held. Arrangements by Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville. (www.atchleyfuneralhome.com)
|
Search | Advanced Search
1916 - 2012 (96 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
= Link to Google Maps