Almanac
People & Places

Missy Prowells doll restoration business is a labor of love.

Rx for Dolls

Missy Prowell, co-founder of Antiques-A-Rama, has a very special skill: She has been making and repairing dolls since 1947.

From its small-town origins, Prowells operation has gained global recognition in the doll-repair business. Prowell receives dolls in need of repair from all over the world. She has worked on dolls from such far-flung locations as Mexico City, Milan and Quebec.

Dolls have been part of her life since she was a young girl, Prowell says. Her favorite doll is still the Bye-Lo baby she received at the age of 3.

Just 10 years ago she opened Antiques-A-Rama, a variety antique store. The store specializes in "good, bad, old, not-so-old and ugly" items, Prowell says.

She started the store because her daughter had just gone off to college: "I was bored, this was my background, so this is what I decided to do."

With increased traffic in her doll-repair business, however, work for Prowell has literally piled up.

"Im not ever gonna have nothing to do," she says, looking over the 150 dolls awaiting her attention.

Prowell says dolls are brought to her by the truckload. She can repair about one doll per week, which illustrates the meticulous attention and care she lavishes on each broken doll.

Loving Their Neighbors

If the Sportsmens and Businessmens Charity had a slogan, it might go something like this: "Lets go help the people who need help."

These are the very words Pete Sain, chairman of the charity, uses to express the mission of the organization that helps so many needy families in and around Manchester.

Each year the organization sponsors a turkey shoot and a fall festival to raise money for community assistance. Beneficiaries range from college students to fire victims to those stricken with cancer. "We help a tremendous number of people that have had tragedies," Sain says.

The turkey shoot and festival is a daylong event held at the Sain farm. Approximately 3,000 people attended last year, enjoying trail rides, a silent auction, kids games, and celebrities such as Jimmy Holt, Glen Smith and Lightnin Chance.

"It started about 14 years ago with a bunch of rednecks sitting around a coffee shop," says Sain, of the colorful event.

This grass-roots idea led to Manchesters banner annual event; it raised around $16,000 in its first year and over $100,000 last year.

The shoot and festival generate a large portion of the charitys funds, but it also receives donations from outside the county. Donors who have heard about the charity and are eager to lend their support send money from as far away as Alaska and Texas, Sain says.

"The rewarding part of all this is the expression on someones face when you give them money when their house is still smoking or when someone calls to thank us for helping with their college education," Sain concludes.

Celebrating Heritage

Shoeing horses, washing clothes by hand, making molasses out of tree sap, and working wood with a spindle are all part of the experience at Old-Timers Day, the largest event of the year in Manchester.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 people attend the event the first Saturday in October to learn about the past, enjoy special activities, and connect with friends and neighbors.

"The purpose of this day is to promote the heritage of our community by bringing out the old-timers so they can display, provide information and educate the community on where we came from and how we have progressed, says Theresa Wright, this years chairwoman of the event. Residents of the town consider Manchesters past part of its unique character and appeal.

"This year we are hoping for a more down-home atmosphere so people can see what Old-Timers Day is about," Wright says.

Some of the main recurring attractions are the 5-kilometer run, homemade doughnuts, the baby contest, beauty pagaent and the parade.

For this years event, Wright is planning to have some old-time craftsmen and bluegrass musicians on hand. She is also organizing an antique car show. "With these new events, we are hoping to better reflect the heritage of our community," Wright says.

Old-Timers Day 2000 promises fellowship between young and old, and information about the way things used to be.

No. 1 in Aviation

On June 25, 1951, Harry Truman dedicated the Arnold Engineering Development Center with these words:

"The scientists who work here will explore what lies on the other side of the speed of sound. This is part of our effort to make our air power the best in the world and to keep it the best in the world."

AEDC has done exactly that as it approaches the 50-year anniversary of its dedication. It is recognized as the largest flight-simulation facility in the world.

The technology of this Manchester-based center certainly does go beyond the speed of sound, offering state-of-the-art testing for virtually every flying object.

A variety of aircraft such as fighter planes, commercial planes, helicopters, satellites and missiles are tested within the complexs 58 flight-simulation test facilities, worth more than $6 billion.

Flight simulations allow AEDC technicians to examine a tremendous range of possibilities, from a Boeing 777s massive jet engines in a storm to a satellite being hit by meteors in outer space.

These simulations reduce the number of costly launches and test flights, as well as the time required to develop new systems.

The Arnold Air Force Base sits on 40,000 acres, most of which was dedicated for that purpose by the Tennessee State Legislature in 1951. Some 100 military personnel and 200 government civilians are affiliated with the base. Much of the work on base is outsourced, with 2,600 of the 3,000-member workforce reporting to private contractors.

Some of the major contracting companies are Sverdrup Technology Inc., the AEDC Group, ACS, DynCorp and the General Physics Corp.

This center got its start through Henry Hap Arnold, the only Air Force commander to achieve a five-star rank. As head of the Air Force in World War II, he realized that America needed to step up its air power in order to stay safe from weapons such as the long-range rockets German scientists were developing.

His vision to ensure the United States greatness in the air came alive in 1947 with $100 million in initial funding from the federal government.

The impact of Gen. Arnold, for whom the center is named, cannot be underestimated. His dream has allowed for drastic improvements over the years in aviation technology, officials say.

Middle Tennessee and Coffee County are certainly proud of AEDC and its prestigious accomplishments, not to mention its $500 million annual economic impact.

For more information about AEDC and public tours, visit www.arnold.af.mil.

Grab Yourself a Cuppa

What better place than Coffee County to celebrate the dark-roasted drink that wakes up America?

With the first annual Coffee Perk-Off held in 1999, the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce took advantage of its name if not its namesake. (The county was named after Gen. John Coffee, a close friend of Andrew Jackson and a hero of the War of 1812.)

"Wake Up to Coffee County: Manchesters Perking" was the theme of the event that brought 2,600 coffee-thirsty people out to drink and be seen.

The Perk-Off allowed citizens to taste-test a wide variety of coffees. The event even has its own mascot known as Perky.

"I kept thinking of an event unique to our county, and I got this brilliant idea coming back from the Governors Conference," says chamber president Jewell Noblitt.

The Perk-Off was organized around a sidewalk café, offering a variety of coffees to taste. A diversity of brands was represented, from JFG and Folgers to some foreign brews, including one from Japan.

"We were really happy that two of the larger coffee companies came and participated," Noblitt says.

Starbucks fans can expect an appearance from that coffee maker for the 2000 event, she says.

The Perk-Off was part of an extremely successful Old-Timers Day in Manchester last year, according to Teresa Wright, Old-Timers Day chairwoman. This year, the Perk-Off will be a part of the International Food Fair, another community celebration. The Perk-Off is expected to go down especially smoothly along with this annual taste-testing event for area restaurants.

By Josh Thurman
Photo by David Mudd