Tennessee Trivia & Tidbits - Page 4

Looking for Tennessee trivia? Try our list Tennessee little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—For folks who prefer to harvest grain or cut weeds by hand, the Marugg Co. in Tracy City (pop. 1,679) has been making scythes since 1873. VIRGINIA—Susan W. Evans, a mathematics teacher at Rural Retreat High School in Wythe County (pop. 27,599), was named the state’s 2007 Teacher of the Year. Among her achievements, Evans has created an after-school math program and an annual mathematics night.

first appeared: 4/22/2007

—In 1978, the state became the first in the nation to require the use of safety seats for children who are passengers in motor vehicles. Within a decade, all 50 states passed laws mandating some form of child restraint in automobiles.

first appeared: 4/8/2007

—Milky Way Farms, with its Tudor mansion in Pulaski (pop. 7,871), was built in the 1930s by Frank C. Mars, creator of the Milky Way candy bar. Today, the mansion is a bed and breakfast inn and corporate retreat, and the property is noted for its magnificent mature magnolias.

first appeared: 3/25/2007

—The inventor of the eight-string fiddle was Benny Martin (1928-2001). Born in Sparta (pop. 4,599), Martin was one of bluegrass music’s premier fiddlers and performed with Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff and other bluegrass legends and opened for Elvis Presley 35 times.

first appeared: 3/11/2007

—In 1939, Strolling Jim became the first grand champion Tennessee Walking Horse after being trained in Wartrace (pop. 548), where he is buried.

first appeared: 2/27/2007

—In 1962, former University of Tennessee broadcaster George Mooney found a faster route to the bustling football games at Neyland Stadium. He navigated his little runabout down the Tennessee River and spawned what would become the “Volunteer Navy.” Today, about 200 boats comprise the giant floating tailgate party. Tennessee is one of only a handful of universities with stadiums adjacent to the water.

first appeared: 2/11/2007

—First lady Sarah Polk popularized the playing of “Hail to the Chief” to introduce the president of the United States because her husband, President James K. Polk, was such an unassuming fellow that he often was ignored when he entered a room. Sarah was born in 1803 in Murfreesboro.

first appeared: 1/28/2007

Clinton’s (pop. 9,409) former all-black school opened last fall as the Green McAdoo Cultural Center museum to tell the story of the 12 black students who first attended Clinton High School. In 1956, Clinton became the first Southern town to desegregate a public high school.

first appeared: 1/14/2007

—The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga offers passenger service, generally provided by a steam locomotive. During the holiday season, young passengers climb aboard the museum’s North Pole Limited to ride to the “North Pole” for a visit with Santa Claus.

first appeared: 12/17/2006

—With 2,881 guest rooms and 600,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville is the nation’s largest non-gaming resort. The hotel opened in 1977 with 600 rooms.

first appeared: 12/3/2006

—The 1896 Victorian manor Falcon Rest in McMinnville (pop. 12,749) is nicknamed “the Tennessee Biltmore” and is open for tours. The home was built by mill owner Clay Faulkner, who manufactured Gorilla Pants, so named because they were so strong that a gorilla couldn’t tear them apart.

first appeared: 11/19/2006

—Shiloh National Military Park near Savannah (pop. 6,917) was established in 1894 to preserve the site of the first major battle in the Western theater of the Civil War. The battle occurred April 6-7, 1862.

first appeared: 11/5/2006

—In 1946, Jimmy “Boats” Newberry started PT Boats to keep in touch with other former World War II patrol torpedo boat veterans. Headquartered in Germantown (pop. 37,348), the organization keeps alive the history of the PT boats and the men who manned them.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

—With a five-mile stretch of continuous Class III and IV rapids, the Ocoee River is a paddler’s paradise and was the site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater slalom events. The rapids begin near Ducktown (pop. 427).

first appeared: 10/8/2006

In the 1950s, Memphis deejay Dewey Phillips at WHBQ Radio hosted the popular Red, Hot and Blue show. He conducted the first live on-air interview with Elvis Presley.

first appeared: 9/24/2006

Psychic Uri Geller bought the four-bedroom Memphis house where Elvis Presley lived in 1956 before moving to Graceland. Geller placed the winning bid of $905,100 in May in an online auction. He claims he knew instinctively that he had won.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

Judge Benjamin Barr Lindsey, born in 1869 in Jackson (pop. 59,643), is known as the Father of the Juvenile Court System. The judge believed young offenders could be redeemed and established a juvenile court, independent of criminal court, in 1903 in Denver, Colo.

first appeared: 8/27/2006

A larger-than-life statue of the Rev. Billy Graham with outstretched arms and a Bible, sculpted by Terrell O'Brien, was unveiled in June at the Southern Baptist Convention in North Carolina and will be permanently displayed at the religious organization's headquarters in Nashville.

first appeared: 8/13/2006

Opened in 1876, A. Schwab Dry Goods Store in Memphis still sells everything from overalls to kitchen flatware to knickknacks. The business is the mid-South's oldest family-owned and operated general store.

first appeared: 7/30/2006

The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site at Greeneville (pop. 15,198) preserves the two homes, tailor shop and gravesite of Johnson, who worked his way up from tailor to U.S. president, serving as the nation's chief executive from 1865 to 1869.

first appeared: 7/16/2006

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