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Bob Cox, Johnson City Press, 08-18-2008=20
Paul Gill, a former resident of Johnson City, sent =
me a=20
package chocked full of documentation about his family =
history=20
that has numerous links to the city=92s past. One =
story in=20
particular caught my attention; it deals with the 93rd =
birthday of Tenna Sherfey Leighton, Paul=92s aunt, on =
August 17,=20
1957. She was born on August 17, 1864, eight months =
before the=20
Civil War ended.=20
This was a memorable occasion for the 1410 East =
Unaka=20
Avenue resident. While opening her many congratulatory =
cards=20
that arrived in the mailbox that week, she was =
astonished to=20
find one with a return address of =93The White House,=20
Washington.=94 The sender of the correspondence was =
Mamie=20
Eisenhower, wife of the 34th president of the United =
States.=20
The First Lady penned the letter just prior to her =
entering a=20
DC hospital.=20
Mrs. Eisenhower congratulated the elderly citizen =
on her=20
milestone: =93Dear Mrs. Leighton: It is a pleasure for =
me to=20
extend warm and cordial congratulations on your =
approaching=20
birthday on August 17. May peace and happiness be =
yours in=20
abundance in the years to come.=94 The president=92s =
wife learned=20
of Tenna=92s accomplishment from Sherfey Hodges, a =
great-nephew=20
of hers and retired Naval officer. He wrote Mrs. =
Eisenhower=20
and made the request of her. Mrs. Leighton was so =
delighted=20
with the letter that she took it to her church, the =
First=20
Church of the Brethren, and showed it to her pastor, =
the Rev.=20
B.J. Wampler, who, in turn, read it to his =
congregation.=20
Not to overlook this act of kindness by Mrs. =
Eisenhower,=20
Mrs. Leighton sent a =93thank you=94 note to the White =
House. When=20
asked what she wrote, she responded: =93I thanked her =
and sent=20
her my best wishes and I enclosed a pretty =91Get =
Well=92 card=20
too.=94 Tenna, a stanch Republican, always admired =
Mrs.=20
Eisenhower, a fact she insisted had nothing to do with =
her=20
political affiliation. =93She is a fine woman,=94 she =
said, =93and I=20
respect her, regardless of politics.=94=20
The elderly lady lived alone in the home that she =
had=20
occupied since 1940, cooking her own meals, doing the =
daily=20
cleaning and washing all but heavy articles. She =
canned=20
tomatoes, peaches, corn, beans, apples and prunes.=20
The Sherfey family once lived on a farm along what =
in now=20
Austin Springs Road. Her father named her =
=93Tennessee=94 because=20
her mother had the privilege of naming their first =
child,=20
=93Virginia,=94 the home state of the mother.=20
The family later moved closer to Johnson City. =
=93Tennessee=94=20
had many fascinating memories of the days when the =
city was a=20
village and the population was sparse. She recalled =
that it a=20
grand occasion to come to town, riding behind her =
mother on a=20
horse. They brought butter and eggs with them to sell, =
after=20
which they would use the money to buy groceries before =
returning home.=20
During the 1896-97 school year, a grownup Tenna =
taught=20
third grade at Martha Wilder School on Myrtle Avenue, =
then=20
considered to be the newest and finest of educational=20
institutions in the area. She married Charles D. =
Leighton in=20
1898 and went with him to live on a farm near =
Lawrenceburg,=20
TN. In 1919, the family relocated to California. They =
returned=20
to Johnson City after the death of her husband.=20
=93Tennessee=94 was an avid reader of newspapers =
and magazines.=20
She commented that her favorite book was the Bible. =
She kept=20
records in the back of it that showed where she had =
read it=20
from cover to cover 24 times.=20
The 93-year-old=92s special birthday came and went =
with=20
little fanfare, which is the way she wanted it. Her =
many well=20
wishes extended from as nearby as her household and as =
far=20
away as Washington, DC. The hardy Johnson Citian lived =
another=20
12 years, departing this life at the age of 105.=20
boblcox@bcyesteryear.com
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