Chattanooga Times Free Press

Savage was children’s hero during 1878 epidemic

BY LINDA MOSS MINES Linda Moss Mines, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County historian, is honorary regent of the Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR. Visit chattahistoricalassoc.org for more information.

(Editor’s note: Third in a series)

During the 1970s as the Children’s Home approached its 100th birthday, the Chattanooga Free Press regaled readers with the story of Harry Savage, “gambler, saloon keeper and man of the world,” who had redeemed himself by “giving his life for the sake of orphans and [by] starting a children’s home which has endured for almost a century.”

As the Chambliss Center for Children prepares to commemorate its 150th birthday this fall, Harry Savage’s story reminds us that serving others is often the road to redemption. John Wilson recounted in that original story that Savage was “looked down upon” until 1878 when Chattanooga found itself in the grip of a yellow fever epidemic that had spread rapidly after originating in New Orleans. As hundreds of citizens left the city for the safer high elevations, some residents chose to remain behind to care for the sick and to bury the dead.

One unexpected consequence of the epidemic was the children who were orphaned when their parents perished from the “Yellow Jack.” Oral tradition says that Thomas Hill was concerned about the welfare of those children and asked for assistance from community volunteers. Savage stepped forward and gathered the children together in a safe house at the corner of Ninth and Market streets, providing food and encouragement. As the fever continued to sweep across the city, more than 360 people died — among them the gambler with the good heart. Many of those citizens who had previously shunned Savage attended his funeral and then collected the funds to erect a tombstone to his memory.

Today, a stroll through Citizens Cemetery near the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga reminds Chattanoogans that, while people die, their good deeds are remembered as they read Savage’s tombstone’s inscription: “He buried the dead, relieved the sick, cared for the orphan children and fell a victim to his courage and devotion to work of charity. May he rest in peace.”

The work that Savage and the Women’s Christian Association began all those decades ago changed countless lives, and the original orphanage evolved with each generation.

By October 1955, the Chattanooga Times carried the announcement that the “Vine Street Orphans Home,” which had moved to Gillespie Road in Brained in June 1939, would now be known as the Children’s Home. One year later, the board gathered at the home to consider programming to address the needs of the children in their care. As Superintendent Robert Weatherford noted, the home’s goal was to assist parents in regaining “their children,” and the previous year had been successful. Eighty-six children had been admitted to the Children’s Home while 108 had been removed, with “82 being returned to their parents, 12 returned to other agencies and 14 released under guardianship.”

The board included Mrs. O.B. Andrews, Mrs. W.E. Brock Jr., Mrs. W.D. Gilman III, Mrs. Walter Hoyle, Mrs. Tom Moore, Mrs. S.B. Strang, Mrs. T.C. Thompson Jr., Mrs. Fred Turnbull, Mrs. George White and Mrs. Mark Wilson Jr.

The work of the Children’s Home was proving successful, and in 1959 the Chattanooga Times featured a story about Mrs. Edna Bunn, the home’s caseworker, who counseled “applicants seeking temporary care for their children because of unusual circumstances like illness or other emergencies.” She explained that most of their young charges stayed for only “six weeks, three months, six months.” While children were allowed to remain longer if circumstances dictated it, the goal was always to reunite families as quickly as possible.

Weeks later, the Times reported that President Mrs. Walter Hoyle, along with her board officers Mrs. W.L. Montague, Mrs. Calvin Fowler, Mrs. Scott Brown, Mrs. Gaines Campbell, Mrs. Griffin Martin and Mrs. Fred Turnbull, had organized a Christmas party and secured gifts and donations from across the city. The Elks Club supplied dinner, while the list of benefactors required two lengthy paragraphs and included the Fleetwood Coffee Co., Gilman Paint, Chattanooga Nylon’s employees, Chamberlain Avenue Baptist Church, Peacock Jewelry, Elesay Jewelry, Provident Life and Accident Insurance employees, Avondale Baptist Church Training Group, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Shapiro’s Catering Service, the Arthur Murray Dance Studio and Fowler Brothers Department Store which provided toys for the children and new playground equipment for the home. With brightly colored decorations, festive holiday music, gifts and a special visit from Santa Claus, the 1959 Christmas party was certainly memorable.

As the board planned for the new decade, they had no idea of the challenges that would await them.

“He buried the dead, relieved the sick, cared for the orphan children and fell a victim to his courage and devotion to work of charity. May he rest in peace.” – INSCRIPTION ON THE TOMBSTONE OF HARRY SAVAGE

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