| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 196.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 30 Jan 2014.
Lagretta Cureton Parrott became the second woman to lead the Cocke County School System during World War II when she defeated incumbent Deck C. Williams.
Born in 1907 in Newport, she was the oldest of five daughters born to Walter C. Cureton and his wife, the former Lora McNabb.
Parrott’s brilliance quickly asserted itself and she completed Newport Grammar School in a mere six years, then graduated as valedictorian of her class at Central High School in 1924.
Next she earned her degree from the University of Tennessee in 1928, returned to Newport, and began teaching English at her alma mater.
As a divorced, single mother in the war years, she sought election, no doubt to the delight of her father, a well-known politician. One story told at the time involved her father being asked, “Walter, how old’s your girl?” to which Mr. Cureton responded, “Old enough to do the job.”
During her first four-year term, Parrott faced a constant shortage of teachers for the county’s numerous one-, two-, and three-room schools. As more and more men were either drafted or volunteered for military service, finding replacement teachers became harder and harder.
Another problem facing Parrott came when Tennessee adopted a consolidated retirement plan. Cocke County’s older teachers, some of whom began their careers in the 1890s, often found that no early school records remained to confirm their years of service.
In 1948, Parrott was re-elected, but in 1952, citing health reasons, she stepped down from office and returned to the classroom. Some claimed, however, that Parrott shrewdly recognized the upcoming major consolidation plan would be politically dangerous and sidestepped the issue by leaving office.
In 1956, Parrott was re-elected to the superintendent’s post, this time without opposition and served until 1960. By this time, Cocke County’s long battle to adopt a massive building program loomed on the horizon.
From 1960 until her retirement in 1969, she was on the CCHS staff. During this time, she became the school’s first guidance counselor and, at one time, sponsored the Student Council.
Following her retirement, she helped organize the Cocke County Retired Teachers Association and served two terms as president.
Parrott died in 1993.
School Days 2!
- [S112] Census, 1910.
name: Lagretta Cureton
birthplace: Tennessee
relationship to head of household: Daughter
residence: Newport, Cocke, Tennessee
marital status: Single
race : White
gender: Female
immigration year:
father's birthplace: Tennessee
mother's birthplace: Tennessee
family number: 173
page number: 7
Household Gender Age Birthplace
self Walter C Cureton M 33y Tennessee
wife Lora Cureton F 24y Tennessee
dau Lagretta Cureton F 3y Tennessee
dau Nedra Cureton F 1y 6m Tennessee
Mary Southerland F 17y Tennessee
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 20 May 2003.
Nedra Cureton Bales obituary
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 50261232).
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
groom's name: Walter C. Cureton
groom's birth date:
groom's birthplace:
groom's age:
bride's name: Lora Blanche Mcnabb
bride's birth date:
bride's birthplace:
bride's age:
marriage date: 25 Mar 1906
marriage place: Cocke, Tennessee
groom's father's name:
groom's mother's name:
bride's father's name:
bride's mother's name:
groom's race:
groom's marital status:
groom's previous wife's name:
bride's race:
bride's marital status:
bride's previous husband's name:
indexing project (batch) number: I03562-1
system origin: Tennessee-EASy
source film number: 1928642
reference number: 521
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