IF IT'S ON THE FLOOR, PICK IT UP--T.E. Chisholm

Thomas Edward Chisholm

Thomas Edward Chisholm was born in 1917 in the state of Mississippi. After graduation from high school, he attended college at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, on a basketball scholarship. He served his country in World War II. Then he spent the majority of his life in the field of education as a teacher, coach, and administrator. He married Ruby Dee Vinson from Adamsville, Tennessee, and they had one daughter, Nancy Jane, who became the wife of Larry Roser from Savannah, Tennessee. If you walk the streets of Adamsville today, people who knew him often refer to him as "Chis".

On November 3, 1979, only four months after his retirement, Chis passed away. I had only known him for the last five years before his death and during that time our relationship was special. Chis had retired as principal of Adamsville High School and he, along with Lendon Martin, the school board member for the 2nd district in McNairy County, TN wanted me to be the new principal. I reluctantly agreed to try it for one year but stayed in that role for seventeen more. 

It was a sad day in Adamsville in the fall of 1979 when this legendary educator passed away. Lendon and I were asked by his family to speak at his funeral along with the leader of the church where he worshipped. The funeral services were held in the old AHS gym where he had coached for approximately twenty-five years. He never had a losing season and he took four teams to the Tennessee state tournament. Of special note is his 1956 team which went to state with a player named Buford Pusser.

After his death the gymnasium at the new school, which opened in the fall of 1981, was named in his honor. The plaque in the gym gives a special summary to his life:

    Mr. Chisholm gave of himself without reservation to education. And his ideals and influence will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone. He was a leader, an educator, and, above all, a fine Christian man.

He worked each summer without pay--helping to fix, paint, and repair the old facility that was built in 1942 after a fire had destroyed the previous one in July 1941. When I came to Adamsville High School in 1974, I soon realized that it was not unusual to see this man walking down the halls picking up trash. He even had signs posted in special locations saying, "If it is on the floor, pick it up!" That old school was taken care of with special attention from the man at the top.

Though I knew him a relatively short time, Mr. Chisholm played an important role in helping to shape my educational philosophy. One of my very special memories is from the fall of 1975 during lunch period in the old building. The cafeteria was a multi-purpose facility which had a red carpet flooring. I was sitting at the teachers' table along with other faculty members when one of our students, Garland Robinson, accidently dropped his tray. Food and drink spattered across the red carpet near the serving line. A loud reactionary roar rose from students seated in the lunchroom. It was deafening! What a disruption!

Then we all observed Mr. Chisholm striding into the cafeteria. He saw the aftermath and commotion and proceeded to instruct Garland to clean up the mess. I can still feel the tension in the room and see the expressions of the onlookers' faces as Garland said, "I am not going to clean it up! Someone "goosed" me from behind and made me do it." You could have cut the apprehension in that room with a knife, especially when Mr. Chisholm slowly turned and left the cafeteria. He was headed toward his office.

Most folks in the cafeteria that day were almost certain that Chis was going to his office to get his paddle. In those days corporal punishment was a common method of disciplining students. And no one was above receiving this form of discipline when necessary. Everyone was treated the same and this was true for Garland, an African-American student from the Purdy community. I was especially observant of what would happen because Garland was  one of my basketball players. So suspense could be felt throughout the lunchroom as everyone anticipated the return of our principal.

Well, in a few minutes the door opened and Mr. Chisholm returned. He had a white towel slung over his right shoulder. Students were holding their collective breath as he approached Garland and the spilled food and drink on the floor. Then, in an instant, this sixty year old man got down on his hands and knees and began to clean up the spilled tray mess. You could have heard a pin drop. What just happened?

 Amazingly nobody, not even any of the teachers--including me, offered to help Garland. Mr. Chisholm allowed Garland to get another tray of food. Afterwards everyone continued as if nothing had ever happened. I took that as a great lesson demonstrating peace, humility, and wisdom in the midst of chaos.

Though he never had the opportunity to be administrator in our new AHS, the gymnasium there was dedicated to him. Remembering this story and others, I felt that we should honor this man in a meaningful way. So we included a quote from him at the bottom of our school stationery to further show appreciation for what he meant to our school and community. The statement is this: "Let's leave our school better than we found it." --T. E. Chisholm. 

There are many stories that could be shared from those who knew Chis. His final eleven years as principal of AHS left an exemplary legacy which was greatly instrumental in shaping the foundation of education for those in our part of McNairy County. 

For all these years since that early time in my career, I have remembered his example with admiration. Personally he and his family were so good to me and my family. Debbie, my sister, lived with Ruby Dee for a period of time after Chis died and Ruby Dee's extended family helped her to get her first teaching job. They were great people. 

As I close this narrative, I can still see this big man of strength humbly walking the halls of the old school, demonstrating to everyone around him, "If it is on the floor, pick it up!" 

Remember, we are all leaders regardless of our position.