Tobacco & Heritage Festival time is the most special week of the year in Logan County. It’s always a wonderful time to visit with old friends, many of whom only visit the Land of Logan once a year or once every five years for their class reunions.
With that said, we had another special time of reunion a couple of weeks ago when the official celebration of 75 years of Rhea Stadium was held. Many people who hadn’t been to a football game at that venerable venue were there that night, and most of them had never been on the field during an actual game before.
We had hoped that the two living members of that 1939 team could join us. Even though they had passed their 90th birthdays, it was very possible that they would make an appearance. RHS coaches Ryan Davenport and Tyler Meacham had secured golf carts to bring them on to the field, but neither John Williams nor William Owen Chapman was able to be there. Owen’s wife Kay said they didn’t decide until the last few hours whether he was willing to risk going out in the night air, but they decided against it.
Mr. Williams’ loving daughter, Linda Williams Smart, had told me this summer that her dad was in amazingly good shape physically and mentally for his age. But just a couple of weeks before the big night, that all turned around and he had entered a nursing home in Springfield. Russellville’s first all-state football player (even the great Homer Chapman was just honorable mention repeatedly), John Williams died three days after the celebration.
Several family members of members of that team were able to attend and were honored on the field at halftime.
The largest delegation came from the Rhea family. Thomas S. Rhea was the one who secured federal funding through the WPA to build the stadium, which is named for him and his family. Two of his grandsons and a granddaughter were there. The men are former Logan County Attorney Tom Noe and Louisville accountant Clark Rhea, whose dad Roland Clark ‘Judge’ Rhea was on the team. The granddaughter is Jane Noe Duncan, a nurse who is Tom’s sister. They are the children of Mr. Rhea’s daughter, Lillian Rhea Noe. Jane also lives in Russellville.
Clark’s wife Sally Boyd Rhea, their son John, and his girlfriend Hannah Maddox made the trip down from Louisville for the evening and returned home that night. Jane was accompanied by husband Ike Duncan, son Will Rosser, and daughter Beth Rosser Merritt.
Their cousins, the Leedom girls, were present. Not only was Tom Rhea their great uncle, but their grandfather, W.V. Leedom Sr., and another great uncle, Dr. Guy Clark, joined Mr. Rhea on the board of education when the stadium was built. Clarkie Leedom Milam was on the field at halftime, as was her husband James, who is the current long-time chairman of the school board. Also in attendance was Clarkie’s sister, Jeannie Leedom Bowles, also of Russellville.
One of the women present who was the daughter of a player on the 1939 team was Jane Brown Dodson, the daughter of George ‘Red’ Brown. She was accompanied by son Victor Dodson and his son, Logan Dodson.
Shirley Nylin is also the daughter of a 1939 player. Her dad was Shirley Pillow. She was joined on the field by her husband, Bob Nylin.
Also in attendance was Marilane Wheeler Kersteins, the daughter of player Joe Wheeler. Joining Marilane was her son, Blake Kersteins, who is a former Panther football player as are Tom Noe and Ike Duncan.
Marilane’s cousins, Carol Wheeler Gaddie and John Wheeler, were also on the field, as was John’s wife Peggy. They are the children of team manager George Wheeler. Carol’s son Nick Gaddie played for the Panthers. John and Peggy came all the way from Oak Ridge, Tenn. to be a part of this special night.
Ann Page Province McReynolds was on the field. She was representing her uncle, player James Province, who was the brother of Ann’s dad, Bill Province. Also at midfield was Ann’s mom, Barbara Reeves Province. Neither Barbara nor Ann ever met James Province, who was serving on a ship which was sunk in World War II. Many of the players on that team served in the war. James Province’s great-niece, Emma McReynolds, was behind her mom and grandmother as a freshman member of the Marching Panthers band, which stood at attention during the ceremony.
Lee Barclay McCombs traveled many miles to represent her step-father, Owen Chapman, on this special night. She is an RHS graduate.
Also honored was Mac Donaldson, who is the son of the coach of that first team to play at Rhea Stadium, El Donaldson. Mac is a member of the broadcast crew for WFKN. He was with James Mooneyhan and Steven Thurmond broadcasting the game for the Panthers’ opponent, Franklin-Simpson, but in his dad’s honor he wore a black shirt on to the field where Coach Donaldson had led the Black and Gold. Mac is the father-in-law of former F-S coach and now principal Tim Schlosser.
Russellville mayor Mark Stratton presented a proclamation celebrating this special occasion to Superintendent Leon Smith, Principal Kim McDaniel and Board Chairman Milam.
Among those in attendance were the three men who have been the only head coaches the Panthers have known the past 39 seasons. They are Ken Barrett (for whom the field is named), Bob Nelson and current coach John Myers.
Chris McGinnis of WRUS was the public address announcer for the ceremony, which was also broadcast on WRUS and world-wide on the internet. Greg Owens and Jean Sosh Reynolds planned and orchestrated the evening to remember.