Central 1961
Aerial Photos from 1956 and 1961
Author: Bob Johnson
Graduated from Central in 1965. Had the honor of being Mr. Central 1965. Started on the Central Basketball Team for three years and was a member of the Track Team in my senior year. Shared command with Bryant Millsaps of the Central JROTC unit in my senior year. Other activites at Central are documented in the 1963 -1965 Champions. Received an athletic scholarship and played Division I College Basketball for four years. When I graduated from Auburn in 1969, I was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army Adjutant General Corps and served 25 years on active duty, retiring in 1994. Some of the military awards I earned include the Legion of Merit, one Meritorious Service Medal for Achievement, six Meritorious Service Medals for Service, Joint Service Medal for Achievement, two Army Commendations Medals, and Viet Nam Service Medal. After retirement in 1994, I became a Real Estate Broker until my second retirement in 2010. I am passionate about Central History and am pleased to be Administrator of this Blog/Site.
Gary Thomas, Sr., Class of 1953
I am married to Patricia Genter Thomas (Central High 1956) and we have a son & 2 daughters, 5 g-children & 4 gg-child. My wife & I were married on August 30,1957. Before going to college I was in the Army for 3 years…..then Combustion Engineering for 5 years…..then to University of Chattanooga for 2 years, then to Samford University, Birmingham, AL, for 3 years graduating with a degree in Pharmacy. Then to Rhyne Pharmacy, Rossville, Ga -then to Cole Drug bought by Revco Drug bought by CVS Pharmacy…..Campbell Clinic Pharmacy bought by Medical Park Hospital…..Memorial Hospital Pharmacy…..Parkwood Nursing Pharmacy…..Valley Psychiatric Hospital….K-Mart Pharmacy…..Georgia State Board of Pharmacy, Atlanta, Ga…..All jobs were in Chattanooga, TN, except for Rhyne Pharmacy in Rossville, Ga and Georgia State Board of Pharmacy in Atlanta, GA. In Febuary of 2003 I retired from CVS Pharmacy after working as a pharmacist for 40 years. I was in the Army from Feb 1954 till 2-27-57. Basic training at Ft Jackson, SC., advanced infantry training and Metorologist School at Ft Gordon, GA., and Airborne school at Ft Benning, Ga., all of the former was with the 101st Airborne Division then to Ft Lewis, Wash., then to Japan, where I was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division Artillery HQ HQ as a Metorologist (Some of our unit was stationed in Inchon, Korea and I was TWY to Inchon on two different occasions) -Camp Chitose, Hokkaido, to Camp Youngins, Honshu, to Camp Sindi, Honshu, to Camp Drake, Honshu. I was in Japan for 2 years except for two TDY tours to Inchon, Korea & a TDY to Okinawa. While in Japan I took 30 days vacation. Although I visited Kobe, Nagoya, Osake, Okinawa & Hiroshima in the south. My favorite place was in the north, which I visited twice, was Kegon Falls near the city of Nikko at the base of Mt Nantai and Lake Chuzhen. The city of Nikko was removed from the bombing maps of the US Air Force during WWII due to the many religious temples. Nikko & Kegon Falls is about 75 miles north of Tokyo and has many temples, shrines and a sacred bridge. A very beautiful area of Japan. In Feb of 1957 I returned to Ft Lawton, Wash and then to Ft Smith, AK., & then HOME to Chattanooga.
1952 Central Football
Forward from the The Champion 1915
As I read this, my thoughts turned to how the words apply so much to
the Preservation of Central History Team’s ongoing efforts nearly 100 years later.
Remember, “We are from Central”
This quote printed at the bottom of page 9 of The Central Digest, October, 1910, caught my attention. Below is an extract from the article entitled “What Central Means” on that same page.
The launching of the enterprise of the County High School in Hamilton County was attended by a rare conjunction of favoring conditions: fearless, intelligent, broad-minded men in places of power endorsed by an equally intelligent and broad-minded public; so Central, in addition to an auspicious launching, with two progressive men in the respective chairs of principal and superintendent, may verily be said to sail under a lucky star. Her future may be judged by her past; and the most conservative mind must predict for her a growth and development that will rank her the equal at least, of the foremost high school in the state. N. C. C.
Charlie Sedman provided Nannie Carmack Carter as the name represented by the initials:
Market Street Bridge
By 1911, load limits and costly repairs of the Walnut Street Bridge led officials to begin planning for a new bridge. Many officials and residents of Chattanooga wanted a Market Street Bridge because so much of the traffic crossing the river was destined for Market Street, the commercial center of downtown. But officials also wanted a concrete bridge because maintenance would be easier. Construction began in 1914, and the Bridge opened in 1917.
Market Street in 1907
Same year Central opened her doors to students:
Memories
State Champions
Class of 1965’s Ronald S. Meers Retires
Class of 1941’s Luther Inducted into Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame
Please click on the following link to view a clip of the TV news report:
Eddie Lance Honorable Mention All American
As a 3-year C-Club member and Auburn alumnus, I’d like to share this bit of Central history with you in memory of Eddie:
All American Eddie Test
As a former Central basketball player, it gives me great pleasure to post this bit of Central history:
1970 Champion
The 1970 Champion is now posted.
Would certainly be a little easier working this project if I weren’t nearly 3,000 miles away from the originals. So…can use all the help I can get with page sequencing/numbering.
In the case of the 1970 Champion and others, pages may not be sequenced exactly right. In general, pages which I had difficulty sequencing appear after the last known page number. Please look at them and let me know correct page numbers.
The End of An Era from 1969 Champion
While preparing the files of the 1969 Champion for upload to this site, I came across the following article written by an unspecified author:
The halls of my teen-age years are empty now; my footsteps cut through the unfamiliar silence. I’ve known this building through many exciting years; and as I walk down this littered, well-worn path, scenes of my life run through my mind. Yes, I was fifteen years old–and I was scared. I saw this building sitting upon its throne looking like a giant with his mouth stretched wide open as if to swallow tender young sophomores. Slowly but surely, my fear subsided; strange faces had names, and some soon became a symbol of my new life. Then I was sixteen years old, and I knew it all! After all, I was a junior! I showed sophomores where to go because I knew my way around. The oceans of kids were familiar, but the sophomores were so young! A year passed, and I was seventeen years old; I felt that I was too mature for acting silly. As the senior year began, I kept pushing the future out of my mind. I was sure the Seniors of “69” were the greatest ever–and I meant it! Now, as I slowly pass the trophy case and see the white football jersey lettered with a purple “80”, I cry. As I walk down the rotunda I try not to look back. But as I reach the sidewalk, I slowly turn back to catch a last glimpse. In the corner of my eye I read “Central High School–Founded 1907.” I see that building, and it looks weary and tired; but that ageless twinkle is still there. How can I leave this school, this warm old friend, with its endless memories? New students will not arrive in the fall, but the building will not be forgotten. I’m going now, and the sun rolls behind a cloud–the wind seems to blow right through me and through the halls of that empty building, and it whispers the loneliest tune. I have grown up, and I can’t look back. The enormous crane, swinging down and crashing the building where precious memories were made, is one scene I could not bear to see. Change is inevitable, but my eyes are brimmed with tears–not so much tears of sadness, but tears of knowledge that students will no more attend classes here. Many kids have gone before me, and many will come soon–not here, but at a new school. Right now I am alone with my memories, for it is an end of an era in my life. I wipe my eyes, turn up my collar, and walk away from a friend.
This well-written piece certainly captured emotions and memories for me. Please help me identify the author. Feel free to add a comment about this article or add your own memories.
Preservation of Chattanooga Central History 
