Randy Bond has retired from Cumberland County Bank. I can say for sure, that he will be missed by his friends and customers who relied on him over the years for their banking needs. Randy is one of those people who are always pleasant and easy going, and was a tremendous asset to the bank. He also always looked like he just stepped out of a GQ Magazine ad — with every hair in place, his business suit well pressed, all accessories to match.
He was a throwback to the banker of yesteryear. He called his customers by their first name, and no matter how frazzled you were, he put you at ease and a “we’ll take care of it.” His desk-side manner made you feel important even when you were not. He made you feel proud to be banking with Cumberland County Bank, and the customers will miss him the most. He never seemed to be too busy to take care of your problem, and was always the same, never seeming to be having a bad day.
No doubt, it was Randy and a few other key individuals who kept the customer base happy. Courteous to a fault, they took care of their customers. It is that kind of attention to detail that kept me a loyal follower for two decades. Until the new downtown office was completed, you would see one of them nearly every time you went in the bank. Since moving into the “big new building,” they are hidden back behind walls which may be good for them, but it is bad for us. Big is not always better.
We say “we’ll miss you Randy,” and we know Miss Glenda will be proud to have you home. We hope to see you on the golf course soon.
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Odds ‘n ends
While drinking coffee at Mitchell Drug Store (one of my two trips a day), I observed Bob Mitchell’s 11-year-old grandson, Alex Petty, playing with a yo-yo, and he didn’t appear to have mastered it yet. He was struggling. Being an
old yo-yo affectionado, I showed him how to rig his string so he could “walk the dog” and a few other tricks. In just a minute, Oscar Elmore took over, then another of the “drinkers.” That’s one thing you can depend on, take a room full of 60 to 70 year-olds and I’ll bet several of them will claim to be an old yo-yo expert. Alex picked up some real tips that day.
Lantana Autobahn
I played golf at Lake Tansi recently, traveling to the course on the back roads from my house, out 127 South, across Hillendale and coming in on Dunbar. When we finished, I headed for the office and had the opportunity to drive on the new Lantana Autobahn for the first time. Wow! What an unbelievable improvement from what was there before.
Its like driving a 1966 Volkswagen bus for 40 years, then trading for a Chrysler Town & Country –its one smooth ride!
If the Lantana area is not in your traffic pattern, you should take a drive out I used to live in a section just off Lantana and I hated that commute. It was one dangerous road, and if Grandma Moses happened to be in front, you were in for a bad, slow day.
It is five lanes, no waiting. I think the speed limit is 45 and it could be higher with the turning lane available for exits.
However, it is not all perfect. If you follow the road into town, traveling straight through the light on Miller, it takes you to Crossville’s version of “malfunction junction,” where five streets meet at a 4-way stop. I don’t think the state highway department gave it much thought, but anyway you look at it, the new highway is divine.
Lunch on the Lawn
I had lunch on the courthouse lawn a few weeks ago during Habitat’s Lunch on the Lawn promotion, where local businesses and restaurants came out with food, and patrons purchased a bowl and could go from tent to tent to sample everyone’s food. It made for a great lunch. There was a lot to choose from, but I found the best food, in my opinion, at the Catfish Cabin tent where Jackie Harris and his parents were serving up fried catfish and hushpuppies. It was so good, I went out and ate at their restaurant. This is one good place to eat!
The Cumberland County Bank tent was my choice for the best food by a non-restaurant. They had a seafood boil, of sorts, with shrimp, crawfish, sausage, onions, potatoes and corn or the cob, cooked in a crab boil, and it was delicious. Sarah Baisley served my food, and I found out she was one of the cooks. My hat is off to her and the rest of the staff that took time to participate.
Made in Tennessee
One of the regular coffee drinkers at Mitchell’s Drug store is Bill Hargis. Not too long ago, he had some of his custom made writing pens with him, made from rifle casings. I was immediately impressed. He went out to his truck and brought back four or five different styles – most of which are shown here in my photos. Some of his barrels are made from deer antler, some from marble. Some have a rifle or deer head for the clip. They are all solid, attractive pens and write well. He makes and sells them as a hobby. If you are looking for a product for a gift that is made not only in Tennessee, but in Crossville, you can contact Bill at 484-7703 if you are interested in buying them. They sell for $20 each.
A nice deed
I would like to commend Upper Cumberland Federal Credit Union for their community involvement and effort to help many of our students here in Cumberland County, as well as Fentress.
This year, on the first day of school, credit union staffers delivered back packs filled with school supplies to Pineview, Crab Orchard, Brown and Pleasant Hill elementary schools. They were given to 5th graders. Elementary schools in Fentress County also received the back packs. The credit union has a branch in Clarkrange.
Imagine how many students will benefit from this over the next decade. It is the plan of the credit union to continue this practice as their way of “Making A Difference Every Day.”
No Bull! Raymond “Bull” Brown dead at a 100
Speaking of the end of an era, Raymond “Bull” Brown has died at the age of 100. You can’t be a Tennessee Tech student or fan and not know who Bull Brown was. I met him for the first time, a long time ago, in the early 70’s, perhaps when he was probably the golf coach at Tech. I worked at Cookeville Country Club, where he was a legendary sports figure.
He has been and done just about anything you can imagine in his illustrious career in sports. As an athlete before WWII, he earned 15 letters in four sports (a record that stands today). He was the head basketball coach at Tech for eight years, assistant football coach for seven years, and golf coach for 16 years, where he won three OVC titles and took home the Coach of the Year honors.
He was named to the Tech Hall of Fame in 1976, the Ohio Valley Conference Hall in 1980 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. He stayed in great shape for 80+ years of his life, excelling on the tennis court and the golf course at an age when most people only watch it on TV. He did it all from play-by-play man on WHUB radio, to nine years on City Council in Cookeville, to Chairman of the Tennessee Commission on Aging for Gov. Lamar Alexander. Throw in 40 years as a Sunday school teacher, and you will start to get the picture.
He was tough! He earned the nickname “Bull” as a young athlete. He graduated Tennessee Tech in 1942 and served in the U.S. Navy during the war. Five years later, he came home and became a graduate assistant on the University of Tennessee football team, got his Masters, and started his career at what was then, Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (TPI).
I will always remember him. Every few years, Tech will host former ball players and introduce them at half-time of one of the home basketball games. Bull Brown played four collegiate sports at Tech between 1933 and 1937 and is always the first person introduced. When he walked out on the floor, his posture and gait defied logic, that this man could have possibly played that long ago. He played decent golf well into his 90’s.
Raymond “Bull” Brown, a native of Alexandria, Tennessee, died at his home at the age of 100. His services were held Sept. 22, 2012. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Mary Smartt Brown.
