Sunday, August 30, 1682: On this day, three hundred and forty-four years ago, William Penn set sail for America. “William Penn was a constant source of frustration for his father, a wealthy English admiral. The rebellious younger Penn got kicked out of Oxford University for refusing to attend Anglican (Church of England) services. Then he joined the Society of Friends, a religious sect known as the Quakers because their leader had once told an English judge to ‘tremble at the Word of the Lord.’ Quakers’ religious beliefs and refusal to swear allegiance to any king but God led to their persecution. William Penn found himself imprisoned more than once.
“Admiral Penn was an old friend of King Charles II and loaned the monarch a good deal of money. When the admiral died, William asked that the debt be paid with land in America. The king liked William, despite his religious beliefs, and granted him a huge tract of wilderness, which Charles named Pennsylvania, meaning ‘Penn’s woods.’
“On August 30, 1682, William Penn sailed for American to begin his ‘Holy Experiment’ – a colony that would be a refuge for not only Quakers but settlers of various faiths. Penn’s guarantee of religious freedom was then one of the most comprehensive in the world. Indeed, his plan to include diverse populations while extending a broad measure of religious and political equality was nothing less than revolutionary for its time.
“Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Frence Huguenots, and even Anglicans rushed to settle the rich lands. By 1700, Pennsylvania had as many as 21,00 settlers. The capital, Philadelphia (‘City of Brotherly Love’), because a thriving metropolis, soon the largest of North America’s colonial cities. As settlers arrived – English, Scots-Irish, Welch, German, Dutch, Swedish, and more – Penn’s woods began to resemble the famous American ‘melting pot.’”
(Source: The American Patriot’s Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T. E. Cribb.)
Monday, August 30, 1926: A century ago today, the Johnson City Staff-News reported several short news items in a column entitled “Personals”. Some of the news items were as follows:
“Misses Mildred, Una V. and Kathryn Lacey returned Saturday from Watella, Iowa, where they spent the summer as the guests of their grandmother, Mrs. C. T. Lacy. Enroute home they visited relatives in Springfield, Ill., where they attended the Illinois State Fair.”
“Mrs. Cora Crumley Smith with her two children, Miss Dorothy and Master Clarence, Jr., who have been spending some time here, will leave today for Chicago to join Mr. Smith before returning to their winter home in Florida.”
“Miss Marjorie McDowell, Miss Louise Davvis, and Mrs. George McClellan of Bristol motored to Johnson City Sunday and spent the day.”
“Mr. and Mrs. R. T. McNees and Miss Lee McNees spent the day Sunday in Knoxville.”
“Mr. Geo. R. Smith and two children, Miss Georgia Marie and Master ‘Buddy,’ of Dorchester, Vt., who have been the guests of Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Britton, W. Maple street (sic for Street), left today, accompanied by Miss Mary Ella Britton for a motor trip through North Carolina.”
“Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Tomlinson had as their guest Sunday Mr. and Mrs. Carl Osborne and son of Sulphur Springs, and Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Tomlinson and daughter and Mrs. and Mrs. G. R. Holt, of Indian Springs.”
Sulphur Springs is a community in rural Washington County, while Indian Springs is a community located in rural Sullivan County.
“Miss Louise Jewell has as her guests her cousins, Mrs. Margaret Jewell of Rochester, N.Y., Misses Alline and Helen Jewell of Los Angeles, Calif.”
“Misses Pauline and Eloise Fitzgerald returned Sunday to their home in Cleveland after visiting Mrs. D. W. Lowry, East Unaka avenue (sic for Avenue).”
It is assumed that the Cleveland referenced is that of Cleveland, Tennessee, which is about 188 miles from Johnson City. It is southwest of Johnson City.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dave M. Parker and family of Waycross, Ga., have returned to their home after visiting Dr. and Mrs. J. D. Williams. While here they visited various points of interest.”
The Williams family continued in the news. “Mrs. John D. Williams is visiting in North Carolina, a guest at the High Hampton Inn, Lake Texaway. She is with a party of friends from Atlanta, Ga., and Charleston, S. C. “
“Miss Edith Warren is visiting in Augusta, Ga.”
“Mr. Raleigh V. Reece and his sister, Miss Laura Reece, left Sunday for several days’ visit with friends and relatives in Florida, making the trip by motor.”
“Major and Mrs. Paul E. Divine, Mrs. Vint M. Thomas and Mrs. Henry P. Bridges have returned from Pressman’s Home, where they spent the week-end (sic for weekend) as the guests of Mayor and Mrs. George L. Berry.”
Pressmen’s Home is a non-abandoned ghost town and former headquarters for the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of North America from 1911 to 1967, in the Poor Valley area of Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States, nine miles north of Rogersville. It included a trade school, a sanitarium, a retirement home, a hotel, a post office, a chapel, a hydroelectric power production plant, telecommunication utilities, and other facilities designed to make it a self-sufficient community.
The entire site of the complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district.
Pressmen’s Home was the brainchild of George L. Berry, who grew up near the site in Hawkins County. After he became president of the Pressmen’s Union, he convinced union leaders to purchase the Hale Springs Resort, a mineral springs retreat. The buildings from the resort formed the core of Pressmen’s Home around which later facilities were constructed.
As the union grew, so did Pressmen’s Home, adding larger and more elaborate facilities. In its heyday, Pressmen’s Home was a self-sufficient town that even provided its own electricity (several years before the Tennessee Valley Authority did the same for the rest of Hawkins County). (Source: www.wikipedia.com.)
Rogersville is located in Hawkins County, and is about 37 miles from Johnson City.
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