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COURTHOUSE
The courthouse in McMinn County has probably undergone remodel since 1946, however it could still be put under siege from the truncated corner of the Johnson Building across the street. From Chattanooga head northeast on I-75 to exit 49 and turn left on Hwy 30. Athens is about 5 miles further. DAY 14: APRIL 5, 2013
Day 13 was spent resting at the wrong end of town in Chattanooga and watching the Kentucky Derby. I wanted to do some laundry yesterday but it turned out to be more than the motels on the Alabama side of town could accommodate. Early check-in was the problem. The Ramada had guest laundry facilities and they offered to allow me a room there for an early check in fee of $15. I told them to kiss my big pink Texas ass and tried the Best Western next door. That place did not have guest laundry facilities, so I tried the Clarion across the street. They did not have facilities there either, but while I was talking to the room clerk some haughty woman barged in to the lobby and demanded to know who was driving the Jeep. She wanted it moved right away so that her husband could park there under the canopy and she could get in without stepping into the rain. It was the rudest, most self-centered comment I had ever heard. I told her it was my damn Jeep and I was trying to conduct some commerce, and
FIRING POSITION
The riflemen took up firing positions at the truncated corner room on the second story of the Johnson Building. The courthouse is on the right in this picture and the Johnson Building is across the street on the left in the picture. she should make a damn bet with her husband about what would happen first; me moving the Jeep, or her getting her silly pompous ass thrown in the mud. Turned out her husband had plenty of room to park beside the Jeep. It was a wide canopy. Room clerk said those folks were from Atlanta. Finally found a room at the Econolodge, but they did not have guest laundry facilities either. The Derby preliminaries were about to start so I decided to blow off my laundry and went to watch it. Because of the storm the NBC Sports channel that was airing the preliminary show was experiencing technical difficulties. I could get picture, but no sound. The sound clicked on during commercials, but clicked off again soon as the commercials ended. Fortunately the Derby was aired on a good channel, but I did not attempt to pick a winner. I am glad Old Shug finally ran a winner. The rain storm continues today, but I did not care to spend another night in Chattanooga in hopes the weather would eventually clear and I could get up to Lookout Mountain. Chattanooga had an important rail junction and the Confederates had it
STREET FIGHT
The firing position in the Johnson Building was covered by men in the pink building and at locations further along that street to the south and east of the intersection shown. From the courthouse return fire in any direction was difficult without risk of getting shot. The deputies were not enthusiastic about getting killed to support their cowardly boss and switched sides. strongly defended by artillery from the high ground commanding the approaches. They had artillery but little infantry support and the Yankees drove them off of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. It was called the Battle of Chickamauga and the Yankee victory enabled General Sherman to invade and ravage Georgia. The view from Lookout Mountain is splendid on the rare clear day. Have pulled in early today at a La Quinta in a little place called Crossville, Tennessee. It is at the junction of Hwy 127 and I-40. It has been a rainy drive of 142 miles with visits at Athens and Dayton. The laundry is finally getting done. Some shithead, probably from Atlanta, is doing his laundry ahead of me but cannot be bothered to check the machines.
The Battle of Athens Some black soldiers had returned home to Athens in 1945 from fighting in Europe. They found that their community was being controlled by a crooked sheriff and corrupt officials. In 1946 an election was held and the sheriff and his pals lost by a huge margin but tried to steal the election and refused to leave office. It was just
MONKEY TRIAL
From Athens go west on Hwy 30 until you get to Dayton. It is a lovely community the sort of thing those soldiers had fought against in Europe and were not going to allow in Athens, Tennessee. They armed themselves with rifles from the armory and put the sheriff under siege in his own courthouse. The deputies abandoned him, and he and his corrupt pals were forced to scamper off like rats after a brief, but effective, gun battle. It took black men of extraordinary courage and conviction to oppose white authority in the Jim Crow South back then. A tip of the hat to men who will stand up for what is right and good.
Dayton During the summer of 1925 a media circus rode in to the little town of Dayton, Tennessee. A high school teacher named James Scopes stood accused of teaching the students that mankind evolved from lower life forms. Such a thing was against the law in Tennessee. Teaching against the holy word could not be tolerated. Scopes did it anyway hoping to draw attention to an idiotic law. To prosecute the case William Jennings Bryan, the orator, long time populist Democrat, and perennial Presidential hopeful was brought in to uphold the teachings of
RHEA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Courthouse is in the town square. There is a Scopes Trial Museum in the basement but was closed today, it being the sabbath. the Bible. Scopes did not have a fair chance in court against a braying ass like Bryan, so Clarence Darrow the nationally prominent judicial sharpster was brought in on the side of the defense. To cover the proceedings in the press the Baltimore Sun sent their out their own braying ass. His name was Henry Louis Mencken. The trial lasted 11 days and was heavily swayed toward the prosecution. Scopes was found guilty, of course, and sentenced to a modest fine that was gladly paid by the Baltimore Sun. He lost his Baptist fiancé due to the press coverage. Bryan died shortly after the trial ended. Bryan College was later built in Dayton and is thriving still except for its biology department. The Scopes Monkey Trial changed the perception for teaching science throughout the country. Hollywood made a pretty decent movie starring Spencer Tracy as Clarence Darrow. It was called Inherit the Wind. For those interested in reading Mencken’s account of the proceedings pull out your chrestomathy and read the piece called The Hills of Zion. The Baptists still believe devoutly in Creationism.
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