Old school Tina Turner will be renovated

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
The school Tina went to as a child will be renovated. Thanks Billy King!
Here are photos and an article about it.

















"Tina Turner's old Flagg Grove School House move and restoration
· 1866 Tina Turner's great, great grandfather Logan Currie signs a labor contract in Madison County, Tennessee, with Jesse Currie, the man that owned him during slavery. In exchange for land and the resources to cultivate it, Logan promises to grow grain and cotton. Such arrangements came to be known as sharecropping.
· 1889 Benjamin B. Flag, the older brother of Tina Turner's maternal great grandfather, George Flag, sells one acre of his land for a school, Flag Grove School House, in Haywood County, Tennessee.
· 1939 Tina Turner is born Anna Mae Bullock in Haywood, Tennessee.
Present Tina Turner is among the most influential R & B, Rock and Soul performers of all time. She began her singing career first in church as a young girl then on to become one of the most loved performers of our time winning 8 Grammy Awards and an induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Tina Turner attended this small school as a child and lived close to the tree line visible in the background behind the old school house.

The Big Black Creek Historical Association, Haywood County and The City of Brownsville are involved in a project to move Tina's old school from the farm field to a space at The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center at exit 56 off of Interstate 40. The building will be restored and open to the public.

Brownsville Aldermen vote to preserve historic school

BROWNSVILLE TN (APRIL10, 2012):Flagg Grove School , in the Nutbush community, is one of only a few remaining African-American schoolhouses in Haywood County . The Brownsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Tuesday evening to help preserve the school where music legend Tina Turner once attended grade school, by funding its move to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center . Once at the Center, the school will be restored and become a part of the Center's permanent exhibits.

The one room school has significant historical value for the community and can be tied directly to Turner's ancestry. The land the school is built on was bought from Benjamin Flagg in 1889. Flagg was a former slave who came from North Carolina after the Civil War. He was also the brother of George Flagg, Turner's great-grandfather. The school closed in the 1960s and has since been used as a barn.

"Ideally, we would love to preserve Flagg Grove School on its original acre of ground," explains Delta Heritage Center Director Sonia Outlaw-Clark, "but since this is not possible, it just makes sense to move it where it can be restored and seen by the most people."

The building, along with other artifacts found in the school, is being donated to the Center by local restaurateurs Pam and Joe Stephens. "Pam and I wanted to save the building," says Stephens. "It's an important piece of Haywood County history." The building has been owned by the Stephens family since the late 60s.

Moving the school to the Center ties directly to the mission of the Center which is to promote the heritage of the region and increase tourism in rural West Tennessee . "The school will become an integral part in telling our story," says Clark, "especially where education and music are concerned in Haywood County ."

Regarding the efforts to save the school and open it to the public, Tina Turner commented: " I'm pleased to know that children from around the world, who stop at the Visitor's Center in Brownsville, will be able to visualize what it was like growing up during the era of my childhood."

While the City will fund the initial move, the preservation work will continue through fundraising ­­efforts of the Friends of the Delta Heritage Center ; a non-profit group who supports the work of the Center. Anyone wishing to help with these efforts can contact the Center at 731-779-9000, or donations can be made payable to the Friends of the Center, 121 Sunny Hill Cove, Brownsville , TN 38012 .

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is a tourist information center and home to three regional museums depicting the history and culture of the West Tennessee people. Inside visitors will find the Cotton Museum , the West Tennessee Music Museum and the Hatchie River Museum . Over 20,000 people toured the Center in 2011 from 38 countries. To learn more about the Center, visitwww.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.

CAPTION: The former Flagg Grove School , located in the Nutbush community of Haywood County , Tenn. , had been used as a barn for the last 40 years. Owner Joe Stephens stands in front of the building that will soon be moved to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville . Plans for the school includes interpretive exhibits about African-American education as well as a Tina Turner exhibit. Turner attended the school in the 1940s.

from http://www.bigblackcreekhistorical.com/46_tina_turners_old_flagg_grove_school_house_move_and_restoration

Johanna

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
This is a message I got from Billy King, the president of The Big Black Creek Historical Association over in Madison County.
"The Brownsville City Council voted to pay the cost of moving the school from the present site. The farmer needs it off his land, so he can put in a sprinkler system.
We plan to move it to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, and after the move we will restore the building. It still has some of the original desk, chalk board and the little stage in it.
We already have Sleepy John's little house there and a room dedicated to the music of the area.
Their web site is http://www.westtnheritage.com/. The director there is Sonia Outlaw-Clark, she is doing a great job.
We already have some items that belonged to Tina. We will write a grant through Haywood County to completely restore the little building, it probably is one of the last one room schools left in Haywood County.
I am president of The Big Black Creek Historical Association over in Madison County, we are in the Denmark Community, Tina would be familiar with this area since we are just over the Haywood County Line. Denmark is the oldest town in West Tennessee, 1820.
Our web site is http://www.bigblackcreekhistorical.com and our facebook pages are Big Black Creek. The school appears on both of these sites. Thanks again. . . we are very excited. Bill"

Johanna

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
Here is another update about the move and restoration of the school Tina went to.
"We do have a time frame, we need to have the school off the farm by the first of May, since we are using City money we have to advertise for bids, we will do that in the little weekly paper today and again next week. We think there will only be one bidder. He is doing the work on the Denmark Church for us and is experienced in historic restoration. He is ready. He will do some work on the building before the move to stabilize it. Remember it is over 100 years old. We are forming a friends group and looking for as many of the students as we can find who attended the school. Mrs. Carolyn Flagg is helping us, she and Tina were good friends. Bill"

Johanna

[Allen W]

This is Simply the Best. Yes, there is a museum there and it does acknowledge Tina and other artists from that region. And Sleepy John's cabin is there. There is a video where Tina finds out about the history of this school and her family connection. I am sure that you have all seen it. You can see the impact that this news has on her. I still have my pictures to share with all of you from my voyage down there from my home in Minnesota. Now that I have been to Nutbush and the area where she grew up, this does kind of get to me. I wish everyone well on this. Thank you

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
This is the message I got from Bill King today:
"By lunch today we should have the school at its new home. It has been a interesting trip from a wheat field, looking like an old barn it will have made the trip even with some of the desk, chalk board and tables still in it. It was built in about 1879 on land given by Tina Turner's great grandfather. She went to school here and most likely sang on its little stage up front of this one room building.
Bill King, Big Black Creek"

The new location is at Interstate 40, Exit 56, in Brownsville. The school will take its place beside the former home of Bluesman Sleepy John Estes on the grounds of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, 121 Sunny Hill Cove, Brownsville.

Here is a little video about the move. Thanks Keith!



And some more photos










Bill King, the president of the Big Black Creek Historical Association

Johanna

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
Here are some more photos from Tina's old school and the new location.
Tim: "The moving company stabilized the building by building support walls, they will come out when the roof work is complete and the building is placed on the permanent piers."
Bill: "We have formed a not-for-profit 501C 3 to raise money for its restoration."
Thanks Bill and Tim!

Move - 2 June 2012









New Location



Tina Turner display inside the museum building



And an article about it:
"For many Brownsville residents, the sight of an old wooden house sitting on the back of a semi-tractor trailer truck literally stopped traffic on Friday morning.
Flagg Grove School, a former subscription school located in Nutbush, traveled from Tenn. 19 — also known as Tina Turner Highway — to its new home at the West Tennessee Heritage Center on Friday.

The center plans to restore the structure and use the building, once restored, to include interpretive exhibits about early education and former student Tina Turner, said the center’s director, Sonia Outlaw-Clark.

“The school was built in 1889, the land was donated by a former slave who came from North Carolina after the Civil War. It was a subscription school — each student paid a dollar a month to go,” she said. “Then it became one of our county schools. It’s a very important part of our early history in education. Also, of course, this was the school Tina Turner attended, back when she was Anna Mae Bullock. We are preserving a piece of the early African-American education system. There are not many of these buildings like this one left. I’m proud we’ll be able to move it to the center and be able to do exhibits.”

Outlaw-Clark said the school was donated by Pam and Joe Stevens, who own the Backyard Barbeque in Brownsville. His father owned the property when the school closed in 1968.
Joe Stevens donated the building, the city agreed to pay for the cost of moving the school and now a private, non-profit group will work to raise the funds to restore the school, she said.
Brownsville Mayor Jo Matherne watched as the school building was ushered into the space reserved for it at the heritage center. She and others had gathered to watch the final steps of the process.

“This is so important on so many levels, it’s hard to point out,” she said. “Certainly, this is preserving a very important piece of the history of Haywood County. The one-room schoolhouse and the historic significances one-room schoolhouses played in public education are important. And obviously the fact that Flagg Grove school was where Tina Turner, our most famous citizen, came and spent her elementary school days. The historic and cultural significance of this building make it worth saving.”

Matherne said Brownsville’s Board of Alderman voted to cover the cost of moving the schoolhouse, agreeing to pay up to $20,000 for the move. Mike Youngblood of BWY Construction Contractors LLC was the contractor for the move. BWY was also the company responsible for the preliminary preservation of the Old Denmark Presbyterian Church in Denmark."



from http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120602/NEWS01/306020011/Tina-Turner-s-old-schoolhouse-moved?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Johanna

[libralion]

Hi everybody,

On the 28th of September 2012 there will be a fundraising event for the renovation of Tina's old school.
Here is more info about it:
"This is an official International Tina Turner Fan Club event. Many fans are expected from all around the world. We will be staying in Brownsville , Tn. There are several hotels near the West Delta Heritage Center. This event will be a fan dedication fundraiser to bring awareness and financial support to ensure Tina's heritage is celebrated with this in mind and other preservation opportunities. Special thanks to Elle Denneman, Keith Gambill, Sonia Outlaw-Clark."
And here is the Facebook group where you can find more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/448136735211658/448559208502744/

Hi everybody,
The school Tina went to as a child will be renovated. Thanks Billy King!
Here are photos and an article about it.

















"Tina Turner's old Flagg Grove School House move and restoration
· 1866 Tina Turner's great, great grandfather Logan Currie signs a labor contract in Madison County, Tennessee, with Jesse Currie, the man that owned him during slavery. In exchange for land and the resources to cultivate it, Logan promises to grow grain and cotton. Such arrangements came to be known as sharecropping.
· 1889 Benjamin B. Flag, the older brother of Tina Turner's maternal great grandfather, George Flag, sells one acre of his land for a school, Flag Grove School House, in Haywood County, Tennessee.
· 1939 Tina Turner is born Anna Mae Bullock in Haywood, Tennessee.
Present Tina Turner is among the most influential R & B, Rock and Soul performers of all time. She began her singing career first in church as a young girl then on to become one of the most loved performers of our time winning 8 Grammy Awards and an induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

Tina Turner attended this small school as a child and lived close to the tree line visible in the background behind the old school house.

The Big Black Creek Historical Association, Haywood County and The City of Brownsville are involved in a project to move Tina's old school from the farm field to a space at The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center at exit 56 off of Interstate 40. The building will be restored and open to the public.

Brownsville Aldermen vote to preserve historic school

BROWNSVILLE TN (APRIL10, 2012):Flagg Grove School , in the Nutbush community, is one of only a few remaining African-American schoolhouses in Haywood County . The Brownsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Tuesday evening to help preserve the school where music legend Tina Turner once attended grade school, by funding its move to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center . Once at the Center, the school will be restored and become a part of the Center's permanent exhibits.

The one room school has significant historical value for the community and can be tied directly to Turner's ancestry. The land the school is built on was bought from Benjamin Flagg in 1889. Flagg was a former slave who came from North Carolina after the Civil War. He was also the brother of George Flagg, Turner's great-grandfather. The school closed in the 1960s and has since been used as a barn.

"Ideally, we would love to preserve Flagg Grove School on its original acre of ground," explains Delta Heritage Center Director Sonia Outlaw-Clark, "but since this is not possible, it just makes sense to move it where it can be restored and seen by the most people."

The building, along with other artifacts found in the school, is being donated to the Center by local restaurateurs Pam and Joe Stephens. "Pam and I wanted to save the building," says Stephens. "It's an important piece of Haywood County history." The building has been owned by the Stephens family since the late 60s.

Moving the school to the Center ties directly to the mission of the Center which is to promote the heritage of the region and increase tourism in rural West Tennessee . "The school will become an integral part in telling our story," says Clark, "especially where education and music are concerned in Haywood County ."

Regarding the efforts to save the school and open it to the public, Tina Turner commented: " I'm pleased to know that children from around the world, who stop at the Visitor's Center in Brownsville, will be able to visualize what it was like growing up during the era of my childhood."

While the City will fund the initial move, the preservation work will continue through fundraising ­­efforts of the Friends of the Delta Heritage Center ; a non-profit group who supports the work of the Center. Anyone wishing to help with these efforts can contact the Center at 731-779-9000, or donations can be made payable to the Friends of the Center, 121 Sunny Hill Cove, Brownsville , TN 38012 .

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is a tourist information center and home to three regional museums depicting the history and culture of the West Tennessee people. Inside visitors will find the Cotton Museum , the West Tennessee Music Museum and the Hatchie River Museum . Over 20,000 people toured the Center in 2011 from 38 countries. To learn more about the Center, visitwww.westtnheritage.com or call 731-779-9000.

CAPTION: The former Flagg Grove School , located in the Nutbush community of Haywood County , Tenn. , had been used as a barn for the last 40 years. Owner Joe Stephens stands in front of the building that will soon be moved to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville . Plans for the school includes interpretive exhibits about African-American education as well as a Tina Turner exhibit. Turner attended the school in the 1940s.

from http://www.bigblackcreekhistorical.com/46_tina_turners_old_flagg_grove_school_house_move_and_restoration

Johanna

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
A new article about Tina's old school with a lot of info about Tina in it!
"Memories, history preserved in schoolhouse
One-room Flagg Grove School counts Tina Turner as its most famous student
An off-hand comment made during dinner put one of Haywood County’s oldest wooden structures on a path to preservation.
Pam and Joe Stevens own land in Nutbush where Flagg Grove School, a former subscription school, stood for more than 120 years.
For many Brownsville residents, the sight of the old wooden house sitting on the back of a semi-tractor trailer truck literally stopped traffic the morning it was moved.
Flagg Grove School, a former subscription school located in Nutbush, traveled from Tenn. 19 — also known as Tina Turner Highway — to its new home at the West Tennessee Heritage Center on June 1.
The center plans to restore the structure and use the building to include interpretive exhibits about early education and former student Tina Turner, said the center’s director, Sonia Outlaw-Clark.

“The school was built in 1889; the land was donated by a former slave who came from North Carolina after the Civil War. It was a subscription school — each student paid a dollar a month to go,” she said. “Then it became one of our county schools. It’s a very important part of our early history in education. Also, of course, this was the school Tina Turner attended, back when she was Anna Mae Bullock. We are preserving a piece of the early African-American education system. There are not many of these buildings like this one left. I’m proud we’ll be able to move it to the center and be able to do exhibits.”

Outlaw-Clark said the school building was donated by Pam and Joe Stevens, who own the Backyard Barbeque in Brownsville. His father owned the property when the school closed in 1968.
The city agreed to pay for the cost of moving the school and now a private, non-profit group will work to raise the funds to restore the school, she said.
Brownsville Mayor Jo Matherne watched as the building was ushered into the space reserved for it at the heritage center. She and others had gathered to watch the final steps of the process.

“This is so important on so many levels, it’s hard to point out,” she said. “Certainly, this is preserving a very important piece of the history of Haywood County. The one-room schoolhouse and the historic significances one-room schoolhouses played in public education are important. And obviously the fact that Flagg Grove school was where Tina Turner, our most famous citizen, came and spent her elementary school days. The historic and cultural significance of this building make it worth saving.”

James Smith, 72, attended the Flagg Grove school from 1945 to 1954. He said he went to school every day with his sister while his parents worked on a farm.
He saw the schoolhouse in its new location at the center and is glad work is being done to restore a place where he spent many years.

“I think it was a good idea to move it,” he said. “I’ve been telling different folks to stop by. I think it’s a good idea.”
The small school had two outhouses — one for boys and one for girls. A school system supervisor would make the rounds to check on the school.
Teachers spanked unruly students.

“And if they told parents you acted up, you got in trouble again at home,” Smith said. “I have lots of memories that came back when I visited the school recently. I remember where the stove sat, where we played ball, where we would chop wood for the stove. I was shocked when I saw the little desks were still sitting there.”

He remembers the schoolhouse full with 50 to 60 children and maybe a couple of teachers. “The teacher had to get help with that many. They taught through eighth grade and we were all in the same room, with a partition by the stove,” he said.
Willette Beard was the teacher while Smith was a student. In 1967, when the school closed, she continued to teach in other area schools instead of retiring, he said.
Smith also remembers how his famous classmate, Turner, acted as a student.

“She would always be late. She would come in late and she wanted to sing, wanted to dance and she liked running off,” he said. “She wasn’t alone; I was just as bad. Miss Willette would lock the front door so you had to knock to come in. Then she would know you were late.”

The small schoolhouse functioned like every other school, Smith said. If a student didn’t do his homework, Beard would tell the parents. Flagg Grove held PTA meetings, field days, spelling contests and talent shows, Smith said.

Smith said there is talk of a possible Flagg Grove reunion — maybe Labor Day Weekend.
“There are a lot of people living who went there. There are a lot of memories in that school,” he said.

Lollie Mann, 76, attended the school with Smith and Turner. She also attended school with her sister Julie Taylor. Mann said she’s also glad to know the school building was saved.

“I think it’s a good idea to let folks know that the building is going to be restored and that there are a few of us still around who went to school there and went there with Tina,” she said. “It hurt my feelings when it was turned into a barn. It’s good to know they’re having it restored.”

Mann’s family moved to the Flagg Grove community and the children began attending the historic schoolhouse. She attended for a few years, from 1945 to 1948. Back then, her name was Lollie Beard. She eventually married James Mann, a classmate and “school-days sweetheart,” she said.

“Tina and I used to do devotions — back when they still did that. We would lead each day with a gospel song,” she said.

Mann still remembers clearly how the building looked on the inside — it was a two-room building with a blackboard situated where it could raise up to create one room.
“We had those little desks with the seats attached where we could push our books under,” she said. “
Mann’s favorite Flagg Grove memory involves lunch:

“I remember my mother bringing our lunch to school. She had made us potato croquettes in biscuits. The potatoes were so pretty and brown, some people thought we had chicken. My cousin grabbed mine and ran away to eat. She thought she had a chicken biscuit, but it was just potato croquettes.”

She also recalled playing a schoolyard game called “popping the whip.” A long line of children would hold hands while another one would run straight into it and everyone would pop back like a whip.
“The person at the end would always let go because the whip was so strong. We had a lot of fun,” she said.

Matherne said Brownsville’s Board of Aldermen voted to cover the cost of moving the schoolhouse, agreeing to pay up to $20,000 for the move. Mike Youngblood of BWY Construction Contractors LLC was the contractor for the move. BWY was also the company responsible for the preliminary preservation of the Old Denmark Presbyterian Church in Denmark."

from http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20120624/LIFESTYLE/306240007?nclick_check=1

Johanna

[Allen W]

Very impressive and for many reasons. You do not ever want to lose your history. This project is going to take a lot of care, work, love, patience, etc. You all know what I mean. It will really help matters that there are students from that era that will be able to assist and guide in this project. And to have that next to Sleepy John's cabin. There is so much that a project like this has to offer. I am sure that Tina will be kept up to date on this one. I was able to visit Nutbush last August of 2011 and it was very personal for me. I plan on another visit at the end of August of this year. Will stop to visit the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH on the way. My best to everybody

From Allen W in Minnesota

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
Some more info about the event at the 28th of september to raise money for the rebuild of Tina's old school.

Besides Starr Fisher there will be performances of Dylan Whitney and Billie Jean Teehee.













More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/448136735211658/

Johanna

[libralion]

Hi everybody,
Here are some posters about the Tina Turner Heritage Celebration at the 28th and 29th of September 2012.
In Tina's Hometown Brownsville/Nutbush, TN.
There also will be a special Tina Turner Fan Dedication of her girlhood Flagg Grove School restoration.
Ribbon cutting to include city officials, Tina Turner Fans and Elle Denneman of the International Tina Turner Fanclub.
Thanks Michael!





Johanna