The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 18

N2 THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL MEMPHIS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15 1988 PAST TIMES Randolph dominated early river towns When Randolph was dropped from consideration even Latham decided it was time to throw in the towel In 1836 he moved to Memphis casting his lot with that town and establishing the Memphis Enquirer Memphis was definitely the coming town During the 1840s it grew while Randolph shrank The final blow to Randolph came during the Civil War when Sherman sent federal troops to destroy a band of guerrillas and they burned the entire town in September 1862 Randolph had been the home of some colorful characters Jesse Benton brother of Andrew enemy Sen Thomas Hart Benton made the second bluff his home and was visited there by Davy Crockett The notorious Murrell gang who preyed upon travellers terrified the citizens of Randolph in its early days Stories of gracious living in elegant homes and of duels fought on the streets of the town added to its colorful history Now like the ghost towns ofthe far West it has passed into legend While Memphis grew streets and buildings only vines and bushes grew at the site of Randolph its onetime rival Memphis outgrew its rival When John Overton wrote to James Winchester on Oct 25 1818 that must not let the owners of the property on the Bluffs at the Mississippi above us be beforehand in laying off towns as it might damp the sale of he was in a hurry to make his investment in West Tennessee land pay off But during the early years of Memphis it looked as if Randolph would become the major town on the Mississippi Randolph was on the second Chicakasaw Bluff at the lower mouth of the Hatchie River 40 or 50 miles by water above Memphis The Hatchie was the largest of the four rivers draining West Tennessee into the Mississippi and steamboats could travel the 60 miles to Bolivar John Brown and Robert Bedford were the proprietors and the site they chose to lay out a town seemed promising as there was a good landing for Mississippi flatboats They named their town for Virginia statesman John Randolph The date of the founding of Randolph has been variously given as 1823 1827 or 1828 in any case a few years after the founding of Memphis But Randolph developed quickly By 1829 it had three commission warehouses six dry goods stores 10 phy- the population was 1000 Then something happened Randolph began to decline while Memphis grew A setback came when the commissioners appointed by the legislature picked a site in the center of the county to be known as Covington for the county seat This also happened to Memphis when Raleigh was chosen Then in 1829 a mail line was established from Nashville to Jackson Bolivar Somerville Raleigh and Memphis leaving out Randolph Another setback was a lawsuit dis- Giting ownership of the town A rs Gambrelling of New York filed suit saying that the title to the land was faulty Eventuall a group of citizens negotiated a settlement paying 58000 in 1835 A bigger blow was construction ofthe military road from Memphis to Little Rock in 1835 But the citizens of Randolph had another project in mind a canal to connect the Hatchie with the Tennessee River The grand design never really took shape and the opposition of Andrew Jackson to any interior improvements requiring federal aid doomed it But Memphis was having its problems in the 1830s too A sandbar at the mouth of the Wolf developed and ruined its public landing forcing steamboats to use either a South Memphis site or go on to Randolph Then the same thing happened at Randolph in 1838 proving the capriciousness of the river The purchase of the remaining Indian land in Mississippi and its opening to cotton Howard grooms world-class aikirfo ikMAiu) PubHshtd by MEMPHIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CALLUS Newt for Neighbor 529-2S73 Photos for Neighbor 529-2340 Neighbors Calendars 529-5979 Advertising in Neighbors 529-2471 To start home delivery 5294669 To order extra copies 529-2688 WRITE US Neighbors The Commercial Appeal PO Box 334 Memphis Tenn 38101 NORTH REPORTERS William Bayne John Knott NORTH DELIVERY TO THESE ZIP CODES 38002 38122 38133 38029 38127 38134 38053 38128 38135 38108 CORRECTIONS AMPLIFICATIONS Neighbors tries to correct promptly any error in fact or clarify any misleading information appearing in news articles To report any error or need for clarification please call 529-2490 From Page HI Day west to Church Street south to Navy Road west to Newport north to Easley and east to West 'Street and Millington Central Hijzh School Events planned at the center Include a crafts fair an art show microwave cooking a children's pet show -aand a contest for the best most original olden days dress 7Z have asked us -olden telling them from the 1800s to the Ridings said The impor-tance here is originality and stylishness for the era the dress 'represents" A new event Ridings said he hopes will become popular in '-the celebration is an antique "auction This is going to be like an old- limey country auction" he said rWell have antiques like crosscut saws and farm tools but also going to sell fresh vegetables by the bushel that have been donated For exam- pie a bushel of ears of corn or a bushel of sweet Food and drink cholesterol and blood pressure checks games and horse rides for the children also will be offered Ridings said volunteers on the board have been meeting weekly for months planning for the -events and volunteers will be working throughout the weekend He said Marines and Navy vol- unteers from the air station will help with the set-up and cleanup duties for the event From Page N1 Honor and its needs are constantly changing The first formative years of a child's life are so important We need education programs for the total community for our preschool age children for their parents naturally for our students and also for pur citizens as they approach the status as senior Millington Mayor George Har-vell Jr who will make the presentation to Mrs Dobbins at a day lady in every respect She has been a leader at the local level at the state and national levels in the field of education and she's certainly a credit to our community" Mrs Dobbins has been a member of the Shelby County Board of Education since 1976 She was made vice chairman of the board in 1977 and became board chairman in 1978 She was elected vice president of the Tennessee School Boards Association in 1983 and presi-1 dent of that organization in 1985 She was elected a director of the National School Boards Association in 1987 and re-elected to a three-year term March 28 Mrs Dobbins is the first woman ever to serve as president of Memphis Town (198384) She has been a board member of the Mid-South Fair since 1971 She served as president of the Tennessee Federation of Women's Clubs (1978-80) Mrs Dobbins said she had nev-er taught school but had become interested in schools and education long before any of her children began school With three sons and two daughters she was named Tennessee Mother of the Year in 1982 me" she said with a laugh five children I got an She was elected president of 'the Women of the Church at Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis where she has taught a young class for 20 year IRANDOURHI farmers brought a new source of trade and prosperity to Memphis Finally the railroad promoters entered the picture teams By Thomas Butler would be far more expensive The last seats cost 570 each when Howard added 4000 two years ago- For all the problems a few benefits have occurred When the University of Mississippi played the Naval Academy at the field last February Howard said the field was brown The Bermuda grass had not greened out "I had the grass painted I wanted it to be pretty for the Same and I got 'em to use green ye or paint on the grass Later when the field got covered by a flood the- grass that had been painted was saved and the rest of the grass died win some and you lose he mused just want to lose sight of the fact that ultimately we want to keep moving ahead and bring more recognition to our town the city of Millington and all the great people we have teach a course on alcohol and culture this spring She joined the MSU faculty in 1986 For the last 18 years Dr Bennett has gone back and forth to Yugoslavia for anthropological research She is fluent in Croatian the language of the country ADULT EVENING CLASSES Craigmont High School 3311 CwnNr Pkt MMfhh IN 13128 Business Office Ed Interior Decorating Flower Arranging Picture Framing Auto Mechanics Photography Radio Broadcasting Woodworking $26 to SM par 6-12 WK Cearse Ossms Start Sept 20 1981 382-0159 PERRE MA6NESS Past Times sicians one tavern and 20 or 30 families In 4834 it had its first newspaper the Randolph Recorder edited by New Yorker Francis Latham who wrote was laid off in 1828 but improved but little until about 1830 when the rich soil of the interior invited a spirited immigration building sprung up rapidly and now our town presents beautiful continuation of neat white buildings strongly resembling an eastern town The march of Randolph is onward and she must owing to her superabundant advantages and in spite of neighborly towns rise to great More steamboats were arriving each week at Randolph and more cotton was being shipped through Randolph than through Memphis When Memphis boasted of the number of bales it shipped editor Latham sneered of it comes from In the 1830s there were four hotels and nearly 50 businesses including a distillery and a dozen saloons There were private schools one of which called itself a college In 1835 Howard looks over American Legion games and is Millington this year and Howard said he would prefer a few more home dates Cubans sold out and the Korean team drew very well he said team from Taiwan might have drawn well if we had not had so much rain about that time I just know But a few more dates might The American Legion World Series is set for the Millington Field in 1990 Additionally Howard said he would like to see the field used for some type of invitational tournament for some of the better college and university baseball teams in the early spring Howard is haunted by the crowd at the stadium Aug 6 when ticket sellers had to turn away about 2000 people who wanted tickets to see the national teams of the United States and Cuba play we had more sellouts we treatment in that country as part of her own ongoing research The award consists of two starshaped medals one a pin and the other a pendant on a silk ribbon Accompanying the award were three bar pins like those worn by military officers and a plaque explaining the honor is service in the development and advancement of collegial research scientific collaboration and friendly relations between the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the United States of America" friends there told me that they don't give this award very often After the war (World War ID they gave it out primarily to people who had been heroic during the she said a tremendous Her research in the Adriatic studies the peoglerifsmalMso- DAYS SAME AS CASH DAYTON TIRE DMTRMUTOR MCHEUN TIRE DEALER STAR TIRE DEALER RALEIGH TIRE SERVICE 7 AUSTIN SEAY Noil 3SEE211 Baseball players train in Millington By William Bayne Staff Reporter While most West Tennesseans would welcome more rainfall on their fields Babe Howard wants to get the water off his field more quickly not going to be satisfied until I have it to the point that we can play 30 minutes after a he said Where many West Tennesseans are growing cotton soybeans cattle flowers or vegetables Howard is hoping growing major leaguers perhaps a future Hall of Fame baseball player His field is the Millington Legion Field where the United Olympic baseball team trained this year Howard will be host for at least the next four years to select and train Team USA the national amateur baseball team no doubt in my mind that soon approaching the day when you be able to turn a game on on television and not see one of the kids had here in Howard said getting is the very cream of the crop And those young men are going to make a definite imprint on professional baseball in the years to Howard hopes Millington will become entrenched as the amateur baseball center of the nation "Colorado set up the national Olympic training center and now they have all these sports medicine facilities to accompany the center no reason we couldn't have some of that here in he said For now Howard would like to see more support for the amateur teams that plav at the Millington facility and more dates for the 5000-seat stadium Team USA which will represent the United States next week in the Olympics in Seoul South Korea will be reconstituted next spring to represent the country in the Pan American Games and possibly in the baseball world championships The team played 12 games at Hi the baseball field he built in Millington which is the site of the training camp for the USA Olympic baseball team Ferre Magness is a Memphis free-lance writer Sources: "Early Memphis and Its Rivar Rivals" by Edward Williams III Wait Tumtssoo Hfttorfcaf Soclaty XXII INS "Town of Randolph Now Only a Momory Threatened Supremacy of Memphis" The Commercial Appeal Nov 27 IMS The Biography of a Hlvor Town by Gerald Capers From Page N1 Events Fra Oaf DM Wern-S pan Shelby Cantar Faaa A Eat Mil Summer Car WmL II i-m-l pjn Oak Court Ex von mi rOglOra PT8CNQI V9 eBHeln UflKOT TIM aaeham Spamarad fcy Ria MampM Hal Uataamty Ordar Of Omaga PaMan IM Uurtim Naan Rartlttt UnHad MaWndlrt Church 547ft Staga Road 1pm or ad fcy IfM Dwell CM at Ratalgtvbart-latt fwaiw HbhS ekMa4aM MainpfcN CMMniYl TkaaMa Audtflaua II anirl pan Saturday pan Tuaiday and Thurt-day SAM Avery CNMran naudad la iara at actart and backilage mrfcara far the fhaatar December priductlm Spam Canfar S4M Summer Rutt-pwtt go-cart rtdet vMie gamai and prtias Admlt-tan: S75C In advance MS0 at Ihe door Children under apt tree Proceed! ta benawt Lat Panati ChHdmrt RahabMtattan Can-tar Tlcfcdti avallafcta at La Pawn Head-tuartarx 40 South Idliwlld Poia Auactattan Ground! Oermuntawn at ftlaa4aaftaB 1- JI! a wnmvuvr RiOfii rrKVoeo mtenr are taomptUl Admlnlon NeadnB Piychlc AMHty and Yaw pan Unity Truth Church SOS Kirby Reed Spoofcor: "wSmtit Larry Speabea Lecture e-M pan Utawanlty Cantar PaWroanv Mampftlt Stata Uni vanity ta MSU itudonti and Hoff The Neighbors cstsndsr Hats wisat bigs and ovonta lor ths wook ahsad In your community Listing are aubjoct to editorial diacfoHow Sand written Nsttngo at least two weeks in advance to Neighbors The Commercial Appeal PA Box S34 Memphis 3S101 HHi Neighbor! Read us every Thursday COMMUNITY CALENDAR Call Beth 529-5876 EUREKA YOUR CHOICE SALE Eureka Upright 40 Amp Motor Dual Edge leaner Power Driven Beater Bar Brush Roil Carpet Height Adjustment A 1432 SAVE 30 MIGHTY MITE 7 pc cleaning Lightweight Powerful MSPP 9995 SALE 6995 TRADE-IN $1000 5995 Offer good thru SepL 21 1988 We Sell The Best And Fix The Rest Bobby jKVHV-4 v-4 2810 Bartlett Road 382-P133 MSU professor surprised by Yugoslav honor certainly would consider adding more permanent Howard said now we have about 5000 permanent seats and about 2000 more we can put in temporary Howard's expertise has not come cheaply He recalled the original construction on his field and stadium in 1981 had never had anything I was as proud of in my life That field was as flat as a pancake and it had the prettiest Bermuda grass in the world I found out that the best fields flat and that some drainage had to be provided I had everything plowed up There's now a slope of 14 inches from home plate to the outfield fences I had to dig out an entire lake to get enough dirt to build it up he said Some drainage has been added and the field has a complete sprinkler system More seats lated villages how they have retained their own dialects and logical and cultural evolution was the work that has brought me the most collegial ties she said Her own research into alcoholism and its treatment includes study of Memphis treatment facilities as well as various methods of treatment and education practiced over the years in Yugoslavia Dr Bennett teaches anthropology data analysis and plans to CATERING ANY AND ALL OCCASIONS FOR ANY SIZE BUDGET CALL 363-2797 By Paula Wade Staff Reporter A Memphis State University professor has been awarded Yugoslavia's highest honor for her research work in that country MSU anthropology professor Dr Linda Bennett won the Yugoslav Flag with Golden Wreath the highest honor the Soviet-bloc country gives during an international scientific congress in Zagreb Yugoslavia this summer was a complete surprise My friends had told me there was going to be some sort of award but I never dreamed it would be something like she said Yugoslav officials sur- Erised her with the award at a anquet Dr Bennett is the American project officer of a joint Ameri-can-Yugoslav research study bf population characteristics in the small isolated island villages on the Adriatic Sea She also studies alcoholism and its.