Things that Might Have Been and Things as they Should Be

 Hello everyone! 

I learned some interesting stories from the local people in this area who have told me about the neighboring Sparta. I haven't had the chance to research it myself, but regardless it is an interesting thought experiment. 

We were visiting some local falls in the area last Monday with a member. We told him how we went to see the Northcutt Cove chapel. It's the oldest standing chapel for our church in the Southeast built in 1909. He said his great grandfather helped build the chapel. He continues to say that Sparta was once the biggest city in Tennessee. It started off as a big coal mining town. 

My mission is the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. However, long before it was created, there was once a mission that included all of the southern states. Apparently, the headquarters for that mission was found in Sparta, TN! Who would have guessed? 

We went to visit another life long resident of Sparta. They confirmed what the other member told us. They also said that Sparta was once considered to be the capital of Tennessee. It was overlooked for the smaller town of Nashville. Could you imagine? Sparta, the country music capital of the world. 

My little town of Spencer would have thousands instead of hundreds. The property high on the mountain above the capital would be worth millions. My mission would be called the Tennessee Sparta mission instead of the Tennessee Knoxville Mission. But would that really be a good thing? 

I'm sure if I asked every single resident of this area if they wanted Sparta to return to its former glory, they would all say no. There is a lot of excitement in big cities and I think they are great to visit. There is definitely a beauty here that can't be matched in many other places. I am grateful that Spencer is what it is today. Anyways, that's the end if my history lesson. 

Another great thing happened this week. Angela finally came to church for the first time!!! Now she can be baptized. For those that are alarmed, let me explain. We have have been teaching her for a while. We have seen her change so much since I have been here. She has accepted everything we have taught her. 

She has a strong desire to be baptized and be apart of this church. However, the church requires that the person attends church twice before baptism. This helps the people stay active in the church and not drop of the face of the earth after baptism. 

She has had a lot of struggles that prevent her from coming to church. Now that she has resolved some of her issues and things are looking really good. I think this is the highlight of my two transfers here so far. 

One of the powerful insights I have received during this week has helped me a lot.

Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

Our Heavenly Father wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. He is not someone to just worship on Sunday. If we let him, we can have a father and child relationship that can help us everyday. I am so grateful for that and have enjoyed developing that these few months.

Let The Depths of Humility Raise You Up

Elder Oram

Note from Mom:

Elder Oram asked if I would do actual research to see if any of this was true. I sent him some of the following information. I'm including it here for his memory blog. :)

SPARTA

            The first county seat was at the house of Joseph Terry, the present site of Rock Island.³ The 1809 the Legislature passed an act to establish a permanent seat of justice for White County. A commission was appointed, and the present tow of Sparta was laid off. The name Sparta⁴ was given to the settlement after Sparta in Greece because both were located on small rivers.

            Some years after the settlement of Sparta, there was an election held in the state legislature to select a permanent capital for the state. Many of the towns in East and Middle Tennessee were voted on. When it cam to the vote between Nashville and Sparta, that vote failed to be put on the House Journal. The legend goes that Sparta lacked only one vote of receiving enough to make it a capital, and that vote was sold for a drink of whiskey. Sam Turney at that time represented White County as senator and he worked for Sparta. The representative from White County was John Dearing, who, in the election, voted for Nashville. It is uncertain what influenced him to vote thus as it would be reasonable to expect one in that position to vote according to the wishes of his people and also for his home town. He has ever since been criticized for his action then.⁵

Uncle Billie Young, in an article for the Sparta News⁸ describes one of the early schools which is typical of many of the early schools. He says of that school:

About eight miles south of this town, near the old Sparta and Spencer road, and near River Hill, is an old place by the name of Union. About the year 1810 the land there was donated to the Cumberland Presbyterian church by one Spencer Mitchell. Then a log house was erected and put down near the forks of the road. That house was about twenty-four by thirty feet and set east and west. The door, as was the custom of building country churches and school houses at that time, was placed in the side and this one was in the south side and the pulpit on the north side. There was a six foot fireplace on the west end with a stick and clay chimney. There was an eight foot opening in the east end and a brush arbor over it on the outside.          The seats were of split logs with holes bored in them and legs driven in. The seats were so high a common size boy could not sit on them and touch the floor with his feet. The schools usually began about July and lasted from three to five months, but stopped two weeks about September to pull fodder. The things taught then were reading, writing, and arithmetic. More interest was taken in spelling and arithmetic than anything else. Along about that time some schools did not have any classes or recitations except in spelling. If the teacher lived so far he could not come from home he would board around among the scholars as they were called. One of the qualifications expected of the teacher then was he was to be able to make good goose quill pen, the only kind used then. The teacher then sat in a high chair with a good sized switch in his hand and when a boy needed a little attention the teacher would pitch the switch at him and make him bring the switch back to him. Sometimes two boys would have to bring the switch back with one at each end of it. Then when it was necessary the teacher knew how to apply the limb to the back and he generally had enough cases to keep him in practice.           Occasionally the teacher would give orders for all to go to getting the reading and spelling lessons, and they would go to reading and spelling out loud which made a considerable racket. There were few lady teachers then and no young ones like we have now. Most all teachers were old men. The only name we have of those who taught in that old house is that of Miss Emma Shackleford and that was about 1848.***           One of the old-time customs was to let the large boys sit in the shade of the trees to cipher on their slates which meant to work out their problems in arithmetic. Another custom was to have trapping or turning down, as they called it in the spelling class, and all were proud to get a headmark. Webster’s blue back spelling book was the standard then and so were McGuffey’s readers and Davies’ arithmetics, but there were schools before any of these were published and some schools in this county before any of these were published and some schools used the new Testament for readers. Sometimes just before the school was out the boys would turn the teacher out, as they called it, to make him treat. That was done by barring the door and windows some morning and not letting the teacher in till he would promise to set up a treat. The writer was a party to that sport one time at Old Union and the teacher agreed to treat and did bring up the apples. It was said the boys in some schools in those days had to take their teacher to a pond and duck him before they got a treat from him.