PARIS!

IN AUTUMN 2020

On The Cover: In a sign of the times, Paris residents don masks to protect the community from the pandemic that is ravaging 2020.

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Editor’s Notes

Leaves are Falling and Autumn is Calling.

You would be hard pressed to find a magazine with as many “must read articles” as the Autumn issue of PARIS!

First, a couple of Henry Countians have risen to prominence recently. Karen Geary shares the story of a Paris youngster whose brilliant smile and stirring message has gone around the world this summer. And Shannon McFarlin keeps us up to speed with a local who is finding fame thanks to his creative prowess and adventurous spirit.

Susan Jones, Bill Neese and Barry Hart will have you either laughing or shaking your head in their features. Jones explains how she almost locked through Kentucky Dam this summer. Neese shares a good one about a homemade go kart, and Hart puts you in the Halloween spirit with a tale of the Chapel Hill ghost.

A few new projects are featured in this issue. The first two were created by a couple of local Boy Scouts with the Little Pantry created and new planters around our courthouse. Another is an ongoing collection of local interviews called Paris Podcast by Drew Wheatley.

Yes, we know it’s hot, but summer is not over, so check out Garden Guru John Watkins as he reveals his favorite beat-the-heat plants and shrubs.

How about some history? It’s been seven decades since Henry County began considering the construction of a county hospital. “Reminiscence” tells us how it happened. And if you’re not familiar with Rosenwald Schools, “School of Thought” explains the incredible project that directly linked Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute with six local schools.

Finally, if you want to ensure that your children will make delicious dinners for you in your old age, better teach them how to cook and have fun. Find out how in “Paris Cuisine.”

Enjoy the colorful, cool season of autumn, and thanks for reading PARIS!

In This Issue

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The Go Kart

By Bill Neese

About the time I was 12, a man at Dad’s work got into building go karts. My dad was not one to buy me mechanical devices any more extravagant than a single speed bicycle, but one Saturday this fellow showed up at our house in Memphis with a red homemade go kart in the back of his pickup
truck.
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Locking Through Kentucky Dam...Almost

By Susan Jones & John Nichols

Usually, when the Two Travelers are in the water, we’re in kayaks. But recently, I signed on for two days with a couple of self-described river rats traveling the length of the Tennessee River from Knoxville to Paducah by boat.
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Paris Podcast

By Andrew Wheatley

The Krider Performing Arts Center has a special place in the collective memory of the young Wheatley family. At a performance in December of 2018, Alsey Wheatley went into labor while enjoying her child cousin’s part in the performance of “The Nutcracker.”
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Shawn Helton Alone

By Shannon McFarlin

Without knowing it, Shawn Helton had been training for his appearance on the History Channel’s intense survival series “Alone” all his life.
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Little Girl With a Big Message

By Karen Geary

On the hot, humid evening of June 2, an event occurred that is seldom seen on the Paris courthouse square — a protest march.
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On My Honor, I Will Do My Best

By Shannon McFarlin

Paris is lucky! Because of the community minded spirit of two local Eagle Scouts, the citizens of Paris are benefiting greatly from two recent and
ongoing projects.
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Faces & Places

People and events about town.
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Rosenwald Schools in Henry County

By Shannon McFarlin

How many among us were aware that Henry County has a direct connection to Booker T. Washington, the Tuskegee Institute and the Rosenwald Schools, which were one of the greatest initiatives for the education of African Americans to be established in the United States?
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The Genesis of Henry Co Hospital

By Shannon McFarlin

Henry County General Hospital – it was a million-dollar idea. And the people of Henry County agreed, voting 5-to-1 to build the one million-dollar facility in the spring of 1950.
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The Chapel Hill Ghost

By Barry Hart

I stood near the outside door of the church gazing over the tops of old tombstones that faded slightly as the hill sloped towards the woods. It was dark, and the moon was just beginning to slip out from behind a cloud that had been slowly drifting towards the east.
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Fun Cooking with Children

When it comes to raising an adventurous eater, it is not just about coaxing kids to eat their veggies. Bringing up a child who can enjoy a cantaloupe as much as a cupcake takes patience and persistence, but it doesn’t have to feel like a chore.
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The Red Hot Gardener

By John Watkins

So, as I sit here writing this article, the temperatures for the past week or more have been in the 90s with the heat index well above 100! Almost too hot to enjoy even the thought of working outside in the garden.
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Library Bookstore Benefits from Book Collection

It has been hard work, but good hard work. For the past several weeks, W.G. Rhea Library Bookstore Director Darcy Louer and volunteers have been busy moving, sorting, pricing and shelving thousands of books donated by the family of the late Barton and Regina Robison.
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