Nyla Cauthern — Looking Back to 1958 On February 2, 1958, nurse-anesthetist Nyla Cauthern put on her crisp, starched uniform and prepared to welcome the public to the newly opened Rhea County Hospital. She was among the hospital’s first employees and helped put the finishing touches on the facility before its doors opened. For Rhea…
County Wide
Remembering Rhea County Hospital
Where Life’s First Cry Was Heard, Hope Was Restored, and Final Goodbyes Were Gently Spoken The movement to build a county hospital in Rhea County began shortly after World War II, around 1947, following the passage of the federal Hill-Burton Act. The legislation made state and federal assistance available for hospital construction and opened the…
Bela Varga Rhea High Teacher
Former Students Celebrate a Beloved Teacher at 90 Bela Varga is a longtime educator and former training manager who spent nearly six decades in Dayton, Tennessee. Born in Hungary, he escaped the turmoil of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution at age 20, making a perilous journey to Austria before immigrating to Venezuela and later living in…
Vance Elsea- Chattanooga News Free Press
On Sunday, November 21, 1976, the Chattanooga News-Free Press honored longtime Rhea County district supervisor Vance Elsea for his many years of service delivering and supervising newspaper circulation throughout the county. By that time, Vance had already devoted thirty-two years to the News-Free Press and had become a familiar figure to generations of Rhea Countians.…
Gone in the Midnight Hours: Golden Eagle Market
(Shown in the white fire helmet is the late Chuck Kinney, Rhea County Fire Investigator at the time of the fire. Photo by Dean Wilson) Every town has places that become part of its identity. In Evensville, Golden Eagle Market was one of those places. Located along the old Highway 27, it was more than…
Glenn Willis Woodlee: Rhea County’s Chancellor
(Photo Courtesy Cunnyngham Archives C/O Dean Wilson) Back in the day, folks in Dayton spoke with a certain respect when they talked about Chancellor Glenn W. Woodlee. Born October 2, 1906, he grew up to be one of the county’s most trusted legal minds, and when he passed on June 2, 1969, they laid him…
Virginia Miller Rhea Teacher In Memory
Virginia Miller Retired Rhea Teacher passes on April 29, 2007 Virginia Miller’s life offers a quiet yet enduring testament to the power of local educators who shaped generations in small-town America. Born on February 16, 1921, in Evensville, Tennessee, to Chatt and Ella Collins Thurman, she spent most of her life in Dayton, where she…
A Complete Look at the Legacy of a Local Photography Icon
Shown above is the old Cooley house after it was purchased. You can see that groundbreaking has begun for the new addition of the dome. Pictured in the photo is young Michael Cunnyngham. (Photo Cunnyngham Archives) Cunnyngham Studio Capturing Happy Times for over a half century In the fall of 1939, two lifelong friends, Madge…
Blythe Ferry Echoes from a 1983 Newspaper
Looking Back: Blythe Ferry’s Role in Tennessee History In 1983, a local newspaper revisited the long and storied history of Blythe Ferry, a modest but vital river crossing that once linked Meigs and Rhea Counties across the Tennessee River. At that time, the ferry was still in operation—one of the last of its kind in…
Remembering the Hastings-Locke Ferry
A 1983 Glimpse into Tennessee River History In 1983, long before a bridge spanned the Tennessee River at State Route 30, the Hastings-Locke Ferry — more commonly known as the Washington Ferry — was still in operation, quietly carrying cars and stories between Meigs and Rhea Counties. This ferry, a flat-bottomed, steel-hulled barge built in…