West: Reading on the walls of the Courier

By MIKE WEST

One thing that catches the eye of visitors to the Cannon Courier is our “wall of fame.”

Or in some cases “wall of shame.”

In case you haven’t seen it, the wall is a collection of photos both old and new in addition to notes and signs like “Rule No. 1.”

That sign was erected by former Courier owner Andy Bryson. Rule No. 1 is “The Boss is always right.” Rule No. 2 states “If the Boss is wrong, see rule No. 1”

Some of the photos predate Andy and feature the Bragg brothers and their dad, the late Rep. John T. Bragg.

The Braggs (Tommy and David) ran the newspaper for a number of years. Tommy is now mayor of Murfreesboro and David is a Circuit Judge (so maybe there is hope for your’s truly).

That’s enough of Courier history, we have a ton of it in our files stacked higher and higher.

Many of the photos are of politicians both local and statewide. (That’s where the wall of shame begins to filter in a bit.)

For example, there’s an assortment of Jake Butcher photos. Do you remember Jake? An East Tennessee banker, he ran for governor back in the early to mid-1970s. He never was elected, but he did manage to pull a stint in Federal prison on bank fraud charges.

Like Jake or not, you’ve got to admit that he had a head of hair. (You had to have a head of hair to be elected anything during that period.)

Speaking of heads of hair, you can see Al Gore’s hairline recede on our “wall of fame.” Al started out in his run for Congress with an impressive flock of dark hair. These days his hairline is slipping like his reputation. Particularly since selling his floundering TV network to Al Jazeera, the newly expanded news channel funded by Arab oil money. There’s more than a touch of irony in that deal. Remember Al’s stance on global warming .... remember? 

On a much more positive note, visitors to our board can watch Bart Gordon grow from college student to congressman. And he still has his hair! 

Speaking of hair, there’s a few snapshots of yours truly posted on the board. You can watch what few hairs I possess quickly disappear. Thank heavens for beards, although mine is much too gray.

And speaking of the even more hairless, there’s a snap or two featuring Dan Whittle, who is plain, old bald. Those hats don’t hide it Danny boy. But you need to catch that photo of Dan on the beach. It’s a classic.

Switching away from the hairless comments (yes, I value my job), there are a goodly number of photos of our fearless leader Ron Fryar. He’s always got a grin on his face especially when snapped with his daughters, all four of them. Yes, they are all beautiful thanks to the genetics of their mom Becky. Yep, she’s on the wall of fame too.

There aren’t than many shots of Teresa, our gracious advertising director. Oh, we try and try again to take a snap or two of Teresa, but those photos quickly disappear. She prefers shots of her children and grandchildren. Oh, yes there are more than a few photos of Honey and Coco Puff, the Courier’s wonder dog. Heck there’s even a photo of Teresa’s hubby, Bob, back in his Tennessee Highway Patrol car. (No, it’s not a model T.)

There’s also a criminal or two posted on our wall, but we’d rather not discuss that.

Come check ‘em out sometime.