Community honors Joe Spence

Longtime local historian and educator Joe Spence was recognized Saturday for contributions to the community and Lenoir City Museum.

The gathering at the Southern Belle in downtown Lenoir City also featured a $10,000 donation to the museum by former Spence student Anthony Howard.

Members of the Lenoir City Cotton Mill Association, which oversees the museum, hope the money will go a long way toward taking care of the facility.

Howard talked with Spence in the summer about a possible donation. Although the Loudon County Education Foundation was initially considered — especially since Spence spent nearly four decades at Lenoir City High School as an American Studies teacher — but the two men decided the money should go to the museum.

“Joe was approached by an individual who wanted to establish some sort of endowment in Joe’s name,” Matt Brookshire, Cotton Mill Association president, said. “The endowment to the Cotton Mill Association is the result of that. Currently, the Cotton Mill Association is looking at the best way to establish the endowment so that it will continue to grow over the years to support hopefully the continuation of the museum.”

Howard said donating money in Spence’s honor made sense because he influenced Howard’s life and made more of an impact than even professors at the University of Tennessee.

“Joe developed a very rigorous, difficult curriculum full of not just textbook studies but a number of novels that he required we read during the course of the year and all kinds of field trips that we would go on to Nashville and Rocky Mountain up near Jonesborough and Greeneville, here around Loudon County to all the National Register of Historic sites, as well as Blount Mansion in Knoxville,” Howard said. “These weren’t just free days off from school, but there were projects and homework attached to these trips as well.

“There was always a major project that everyone in American Studies had to do during the course of the year,” he added. “When you look at the curriculum he put together and the body of knowledge of American Studies that he required us to study and to learn, again, there were very few professors that I could think of at UT that rose to that level of professionalism.”

Spence has taught countless students. Several were present Saturday, including Howard, Brookshire and Paul Gentry.

“He was a very good history teacher, so we certainly learned to appreciate history from that,” Gentry said. “These are my boys playing here and we actually ran back into Joe a few weeks ago when the Children of the American Revolution group met at the museum and Joe gave a tour and they did some yard work to clean up and all. We’re involved in historical reenactments and things like that, so certainly being taught in high school from a teacher who’s obviously interested in history and still interested in it even though he’s retired is certainly impactful on anyone.”

Gentry’s sons John, Luke and Andrew played music during the ceremony.

“At this point, we just want to be able to establish a fund that can ensure the future of the museum, whether that is through providing funding for displays,” Brookshire said. “... That’s the goal at this point is to put this money in place to where it can grow, generate revenues that we can then use to maintain the museum long term.”

“This is a good step in the right direction for the future of the museum,” Spence added.

With a laugh, Spence said seeing a crowd Saturday meant “a lot.”

“Every once in a while (my former students will) say, ‘I might not have liked history when I was in your class, but love it now.’ That’s the most common remark I hear from people who come back to the museum,” Spence said. “... My legacy is I guess the students that are in the community that are former students of mine and I think they got a sense of history and government and they have participated and I think made Lenoir City a better place. Something like this is sort of a special event, and Anthony and I have argued back and forth as we planned this. Anthony’s said, ‘No, it’s your day. I’m honoring you for all these years you’ve taught.’ And I said, ‘Well, but I want to honor you for giving to the museum in my honor.’ It’s a two-way street.”

Ruth McQueen has known Spence for 30 years in connection with the Loudon County Historical Society. She considered him a “very valuable community person particularly at the museum.”

“I’m positive (the money) will be to benefit the community and be for a good purpose,” McQueen said. “The fact that it has Joe’s name on it, it’s recognition of a very influential individual in the Lenoir City community. He has given unselfishly of his time for education, historical projects for the museum, so it’s fitting that there be a Joe Spence day and that he be recognized. This is something that will carry on his name for decades to come, and that’s good.”