Author Archives: Tom

About Tom

I'm an old news man, any way you look at me. Not as old in years as some local journos I much admire, but committed to bringing old news from Nashville's deeper past back to life.

Bowers v. Bowers, 1928

Posted on 30 November 2021 by Tom
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

1994-95 at The Tennessean

Posted on 4 September 2020 by Tom

1994-95_brag_file

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Prep Prattle: Nashville Teen Life, Early 1950s

Posted on 27 December 2015 by Tom

Gannett has not even bothered to market a service it’s offering that will delight scores of Nashville-history nerds. The entire archive of The Tennessean and its predecessors, dating back to the early 19th century, is now available in digital, searchable form … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1884 story on what would become Sulphur Dell

Posted on 24 September 2013 by Tom

1884 story on new Sulphur Dell

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

1940 census discoveries: Red Grooms, age 2

Posted on 5 April 2012 by Tom

Here is my mother Nancy Bowers Wood’s Hillsboro High classmate Red Grooms as a baby, right on the edge of Sevier Park. To the end of her life, Mom regretted not saving the textbooks of hers in which Red had … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Paper losses

Posted on 26 February 2012 by Tom

We interrupt this dormant blog to mourn and kvetch about corporate journalism. Continue reading →

Posted in Nashville history - general, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

History on hold

Posted on 2 January 2011 by Tom

To all who have enjoyed reading Old News in its first few months, Happy New Year. A hectic holiday season kept me from rolling out the weekly posts after mid-December, and now I am about to embark on a project … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

This week in Nashville history: Goodbye, hello

Posted on 15 December 2010 by Tom

Departures and arrivals figure prominently in this week of Nashville history. December 13 was the date of at least three notable Nashville demises in the first half of the 20th century, as noted in this NashvillePost.com history item from 2005: … Continue reading →

Posted in Nashville history - general | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

In other news: Vandy turns down Orange Bowl invite

Posted on 6 December 2010 by Tom

3 December 1935: Red O’Donnell of the Evening Tennessean reports that Vanderbilt’s football program has rejected a “feeler bid” to play in the second annual Orange Bowl at Miami on New Year’s Day 1936. The Commodores have just wrapped up … Continue reading →

Posted in Nashville history - general | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

This week in Nashville history: News of the military and the ministry

Posted on 6 December 2010 by Tom

This week, millions of Americans will remember Pearl Harbor, the calamitous Japanese attack that brought our country into the Second World War — even though only a few thousand survivors of the raid on the U.S. Pacific Fleet remain to … Continue reading →

Posted in Nashville history - general | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment