State of Department of State Tennessee State Library and Archives

Tri-Star Chronicles Files 2015-2017

RG 448

COLLECTION SUMMARY

Creator:

Fontenay, Blake

Inclusive Dates:

2015-2017

Scope & Content:

Consists of interview notes, drafts, lecture notes, articles, newspaper clippings, photocopies, digital images, digital video recordings, and a magazine. Blake Fontenay, newspaper journalist and editor of the Tri-Star Chronicles, interviewed numerous public figures during his career. His notes show a unique awareness of political and historical events, and they act as guides for the video recordings. The information in the folder labeled “Scott County (Tenn.)” concerns that county’s 1861 secession from the state.

Notes and videos include interviews with Republican Governor , NASA astronaut Rhea Seddon, entrepreneur and philanthropist Joseph R. Hyde III, colorful political personality John Jay Hooker, Tennessee State University (TSU) Tigerbelles track and field coach Ed Temple, and Manhattan Engineering District (Oak Ridge) photographer Ed Westcott. All interviews resulted in comprehensive essays for the Tri-Star Chronicles.

Governor Dunn discusses his life from boyhood to the governor’s mansion with special emphasis on his 1971-1975 term. For the Dunn piece in Tri-Star, Fontenay talked with several notable Tennesseans including Governor Lamar Alexander, U.S. Representative Bob Clement, historian Charles Crawford, University of

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Tennessee history lecturer Bob Hutton, and Dunn campaign manager Harry Wellford.

Civil War and Tennessee historians may be interested in the material on Scott County, which comprises newspaper articles, a personal recollection, and other items regarding the Free and Independent State of Scott. Fontenay has long been a student of Scott County history, particularly the county’s 1861 “rebellion within a rebellion” when it seceded from the state. The typescript 1926 memoir of Julia Marcum tells charming and culturally important stories of the war. The county’s 1986 all-in-fun readmission to the state festivities provided plenty of newspaper ink. Photocopied items document General Assembly resolutions to recommend and accept Scott County’s belated request for inclusion.

The substantial files on the 1996 Summer Olympic Games could hold special interest for sports enthusiasts. The Ocoee River section in Polk County served as the venue for the whitewater slalom competitions, while Lee College in nearby Bradley County hosted the athletes at a mini Olympic Village. State organizers hoped for an economic boom in .

Fontenay recorded interviews with sixteen prominent Tennesseans between 2015 and 2017, including Winfield Dunn, John Jay Hooker, Rhea Seddon, J. R. Hyde III, Ed Temple, and Ed Westcott. He made copious notes usable as an index for each conversation. Joellen Dickey, Richard Fisher, Jack Higgins, Lou Patten, Paul Wright, and J. T. Lemons discussed the 1996 Olympic events. Jordan Hughett, Dwight Murphey, and Stephen West reminisced about the Scott County celebrations, and Terry Rappuhn recalled the 2010 Nashville flood relief efforts.

Digital video recordings of all interviews as well as digital images relating to the Winfield Dunn interview are available upon request.

The Tri-Star Chronicles files would be of interest to journalism, writing, and modern Tennessee history students.

Physical Description/Extent:

.5 cubic feet; 69 gigabytes (16 files)

Accession/Record Group Number:

RG 448

Language:

English

Permanent Location:

RG 448

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Repository:

Tennessee State Library and Archives, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee, 37243-0312

Administrative/Biographical History

Blake Fontenay was born in Nashville in 1966. After attending elementary and high school in that city, he studied at State University before earning his bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Florida. He worked as a communications officer for the State of Tennessee for a little over eight years. He has been a newspaper journalist for a quarter century and is the author of three published novels and a short story. From 2015-2017, he conducted interviews with sixteen distinguished Tennesseans and analyzed them for publication in the Tri-Star Chronicles.

Of the interviewees, Winfield Dunn discussed the highlights and failures of his administration. He also recalled meeting his 1970 Democratic rival at a Tennessee strawberry festival. Dunn especially noticed John Jay Hooker since Hooker was wearing bronze makeup. Another story went that President , after meeting the governor once, made “weird tooth-touching gestures” when he saw Dunn later. It was Nixon’s way of showing he remembered Dunn had been a dentist.

Perennial candidate John Jay Hooker (1930-2016) of Nashville also sat for a conversation about his life, focusing on his work as an advisor to Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s. He won the 1970 Democratic nomination for governor, but ultimately lost the general election to Winfield Dunn. That year Congressional and SEC investigations of Hooker’s stake in Fried Chicken franchises doomed his political fortunes. His January 2017 Nashville Scene obituary noted that he was a longtime , politician, entrepreneur, and social justice advocate.

John Jay, as he was called, graduated from the celebrated Vanderbilt Law School Class of 1957, which Fontenay covers in his notes. One journalist remarked that the ’57 class was “the most impressive group ever sent packing into the real world.”

Murfreesboro native and NASA space shuttle astronaut Margaret Rhea Seddon talked about her professional life including her three space flights. The 5-foot-2 physician found challenges in astronaut training and education. “I was raised to be a fine Southern lady whose scariest moment should be whether the souffle at the dinner party would puff or not.” Her fascination with science, prompted by the launch of Sputnik during her grammar school days, led her along an ambitious path. In a separate interview, Seddon’s Murfreesboro business partner described her as “a perfect blend of Tennessee belle and technical expertise.”

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Ed Temple (1927-2016), legendary TSU Tigerbelles track and field coach, provided stories about his forty-four years at the university and as head coach of two women’s Olympic teams. Under Temple, forty TSU women made it to Olympic Games. At the 1960 Games in Rome, sprinter Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals. Because of Coach Temple’s emphasis on education, thirty-nine of the forty Olympians graduated.

Philanthropist and entrepreneur Joseph Reeves Hyde III spoke about his early life and roles in building the Memphis Arena and bringing the Grizzles basketball team to the city. In 1979 he created the company now called AutoZone and founded the Hyde Family Foundation. The foundation benefits arts and educational institutions.

Ed Westcott (1922-2019) of Chattanooga worked as a photographer for the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. In 1942 he transferred to the Manhattan Engineer District, Oak Ridge, and in 1944 became chief of photographic services. He remained at Oak Ridge for twenty years.

The Tri-Star Chronicles was an online publication of the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office from 2015 to 2017.

Organization/Arrangement of Materials

Paper records arranged alphabetically by document type; electronic records arranged alphabetically by interview subject.

Conditions of Access and Use

Restrictions on Access:

No restrictions.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction:

While the Tennessee State Library and Archives houses an item, it does not necessarily hold the copyright to the item, nor may it be able to determine if the item is still protected under current copyright law. Users are solely responsible for determining the existence of such instances and for obtaining any other permissions and paying associated fees that may be necessary for the intended use.

Index Terms

Personal/Family Names: Dunn, Winfield, 1927-

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Hooker, John J. Hyde, Joseph Reeves, III, 1942- Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968 Seddon, Rhea Temple, Ed, 1927-2016 Westcott, Edward

Corporate Names/Organizations/Government Bodies:

Commercial Appeal Newspaper. Memphis Memphis Grizzlies (Basketball team) Oak Ridge National Laboratory Olympic Games (26th : 1996 : Atlanta, Ga.) Tennessee State University . Army. Corps of Engineers. Manhattan District United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Law School

Subjects:

African American women pioneers -- Southern States Astronauts -- United States -- Biography Olympics -- Economic aspects Olympics -- Press coverage -- United States Women Olympic athletes

Geographic Names:

Memphis (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century Nashville (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century Ocoee River (Ga. and Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century Scott County (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century Tennessee -- Politics and government -- 20th century

Document Types:

Articles Envelopes Clippings (information artifacts) Digital images Digital moving image formats Magazines (periodicals) Notes (documents) Photocopies

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Acquisition and Appraisal

Provenance and Acquisition:

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Communications Office transferred the digital files to the Tennessee State Library and Archives in 2017. Blake Fontenay transferred the paper records to TSLA on May 11, 2020.

Processing and Administrative Information

Preferred Citation:

Tri-Star Chronicles Files, 2015-2017, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.

Processing Information:

Completed by Susan Gordon, October 2020.

Electronic Location and Access:

Digital video recordings and photographs available upon request.

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DETAILED COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

SERIES I. -- PAPER RECORDS

Series Scope and Content: Consists of interview notes, drafts, lecture notes, articles, newspaper clippings, photocopies, and a magazine.

Series Arrangement: This series is arranged alphabetically by document type.

CONTAINER LIST

Contents/Item Title Date Box Folder Articles -- AutoZone 2015 1 1 Articles -- Dunn, Winfield 2016 1 2 Articles -- Hyde Family Foundation undated 1 3 Articles -- Lee College 1994-1996 1 4 Articles -- Memphis Grizzlies 2001 1 5 Articles -- Olympic Games (1996) 1995-2016 1 6 Articles -- Olympic Games (1996) -- Ocoee River 1994-2016 1 7 Project Articles -- Seddon, Rhea 2015 1 8

Articles -- Shinzo, Abe 2015 1 9 Articles -- Vanderbilt Law School Class of 1957 2002-2015 1 10 Drafts -- Dunn, Winfield undated 1 11

Drafts -- Seddon, Rhea undated 1 12 Drafts -- Woman’s Suffrage Landing Page 2016 1 13 Electronic mails -- Oak Ridge 2016 1 14 Envelopes -- Seddon, Rhea 2015 1 15 Lecture notes -- “Geographies of Freedom: Black 2016 1 16 Women’s Mobility in the Western River World,” Hines, Alisha J. Magazines, Medicine 2016 1 17 Notes -- Dunn, Winfield 2016 1 18 Notes -- Hooker, John Jay 2007-2015 1 19 Notes -- Hyde, Joseph R., III 2015 1 20 Notes -- Scott County Secession 1850-2016 1 21 Notes -- Seddon, Rhea -- Interview questions 2015 1 22 Notes -- Temple, Ed 2015 1 23 Notes -- Tennessee State Library & Archives undated 1 24 Notes -- Westcott, Edward 2015 1 25

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Photocopies -- Dunn, Winfield undated 1 26 Schedules -- Great War Commission undated 1 27

SERIES II. -- ELECTRONIC RECORDS

Series Scope and Content: Consists of digital images and video recordings of interviews.

Series Arrangement: This series is arranged alphabetically by interview subject.

CONTAINER LIST

Contents/Item Title Date Dickey Interview 2016 Dunn Images undated Dunn Interview 2016 Fisher Interview 2016 Flood (Rappuhn) Interview 2017 Higgins Interview 2016 Hooker Interview 2015 Hughett Interview 2017 Hyde Interview 2015 Lemons Interview 2016 Murphy Interview 2017 Patten Interview 2016 Seddon Interview 2015 Temple Interview 2015 Westcott Interview 2016 West Interview 2017 Wright Interview 2016

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