Airplane Filling Station: Every change  involves  a  contradiction,  wrote Heraclitus.  James Bay Co.  of  Fountain City,  and Bryan Christian,  the skilled and energetic restoration specialist  is  Changing  the Airplane,  to  preserve  it—  the  Same way  the  old folks—  remember  when.  Many  of  us  believe  in  Miracles;  and  the  excellent work  accomplished  by him  and  his  talented crew,  seems  miraculous! Crown College students  are the very model  of  modern major generous community outreach!  Their hands,  some  Digital skills  exerted,  for  Hera-clean  finagling  and flushed  the  Agean Stables!  Every effort counts,  and those efforts enumerate  the sequins of  restoration.  Our emphatic encomium  exudes:  Thank you  for  the help!      Mr. Joe Inman  was elected president  September,  2006,  during  the  Annual Meeting  of  the  Airplane Filling Station Preservation Association  (AFSPA).  He  is  very enthusiastic  about restoring  the  “Airplane”  to  the way  that  the  “young at heart”  remember  when  we  grew up  in Powell.  Mr. Inman  is  quite experienced  with  restoring  Studebaker  classic automobiles.  Mr. Tom Milligan  has  accomplished  so much;  from  the idea,  to  completing  the purchase  of  this important landmark,  that  he deserves our appreciation  by  volunteering to continue the work of  restoring  this unique handiwork  of  our community.      Mr. Roch Bernard  was elected  Vice President.  Roch Bernard  has served as Treasurer  since  the  AFSPA  was chartered  in 2003.  He has dedicated careful attention  to recording the  (piddling)  transactions  during this time of  fundraising  and completing work on the buried fuel tanks  (to address environmental concerns).  My worst fears—  that he had absconded to South America  with the donated funds,  were pleasantly calmed  when I attended the closing of  the purchase transaction,  at the title company  last year.      Ms. Amber Witte  was elected Secretary/Treasurer.  She has served  as Secretary,  and was rewarded for the  good job  she has done,  by  another  good job to do! Elected individuals will serve in their positions,  beginning  January 1,  2007,  and  ending  December 31,  2007.      Mr. Tom Milligan,  President of  AFSPA,  continues to whale at this preservation effort  as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Thoroughly modern Milligan  is pleased that  Mr. Inman  has volunteered to become the new president,  after being swallowed up like Jonah,  in this historic preservation project. To order Tea shirts  (“Tea Room” —  next to  the Airplane), and volunteer,  please call  Roch Bernard  at:  (865) 933-7158. Keep up  with plans  and progress: powellairplane.org      History of  the Airplane:      The Historic Airplane Filling Station  was planned by Henry and Elmer Nickle.  They grew up on their family’s farm on Nickle Road,  South of  Black Oak Ridge.  Henry Nickle  was  a  Deputy Sheriff  in  Knox County,  and  his brother  Elmer Nickle  was  a mechanic.  Elmer Nickle’s service station  was  on  Western Avenue,  which was  the original  U.S. 25W highway,  before  the New  Clinton Highway  was completed  in 1930.      The Airplane  was designed  by  Wayne Smith,  County Engineer,  and  close neighbor  (Pleasant Ridge Road).   Dated pictures  show that  the Airplane  and the new road  were completed  in 1930.  The autogyro—  top rotor  with  four blades,  was  not added  until  a year later.  Drawings  in the  McClung collection  of the  East Tennessee Historical Society  show  this design,  which was submitted  for  a patent.   Wayne Smith  was very proud  of  this work,  and  he kept  the  original drawings  in his  personal papers,  said  his younger brother,  Wade Smith.      The Airplane Propeller  in front  was attached  to  half  of  an  axle-differential  from  an  old car.  This was  only recently  revealed,  when  paneling  was removed  to begin  restoration.  The picture  made  on  opening day  in 1930,  shows  a Propeller  of  different shape  from  the one  removed  after the  Auction Sale  conducted by  Mr. Sam Furrow  in 1972.  Mr. Gene Monday  out-bid  Mr. Roy Lambert,  and  took  that Propeller  home  to preserve it,  after  he bought  the Airplane  that day.  His sons  were very gracious to allow the Preservation Association  to display the propeller  while raising funds  to buy  the Airplane property.  The original Propeller blades  were shaped  like a kayak paddle,  and the  newer blades are curved,  with brass covers  which protect the leading edges.      The Autogyro rotor  was a cutting-edge development in airplanes  from 1920,  and improved to fly  with great economy and landing stability,  in 1929 — 1931.  Improvement of  this design  made possible  the modern helecopter which was developed by Mr. Sikorski.      We are all curious to learn  why this design for the Airplane  was chosen.  Perhaps the Nickle brothers chose the idea of  the Airplane,  and the engineer,  Wayne Smith,  designed the structure  to accomodate the function of  a  filling station?  Skilled craftsmen built the Airplane.  The quality of  the sheet-metal work  (and receipts)  confirm that conclusion.  But  the choice of  the Airplane shape,  and the addition of  the  Autogyro rotor,  remain a mystery?  I was told that the Nickle brothers saw an Airplane shaped building  in Kentucky,  but no explanation  or details  were given.  The heavy axle shaft on top  is bent,  and the rotor  was removed—  another mystery?  Was it damaged by a wind storm?  Did vandals  climb out  on  a rotor blade  and bend the axle?  And why was  Z 13  painted on the Airplane,  as an identification?  These things have been out in plain view  since 1930 — 1931,  yet  Helen Keller  was better informed  than fiends and neighbors of  the Nickle brothers  and Wayne Smith.      The four blade  Autogyro rotor on top  was turned by the wind.  The axle and bearings  for the top rotor  include a sheet metal bracket for a  wood insulating board  and copper slip-ring.  This was used to conduct electricity to lights  attached to the four rotor blades  which turned above the wings.  This added a carnival ambiance to the Airplane,  which seems to be styled similar to the  Spirit of  St. Louis,  flown to Paris  by Charles Lindberg  in 1927.  The larger,  boxy shape  is also similar to a Ford Tri-Motor,  which landed at the first McGhee Tyson airport  on Sutherland Avenue  (documented by photographs—  Earl Lambert).      Where was the electricity generated in 1930  for the Airplane?  The Nickle brothers used electric lights,  before the first  TVA generating plant—  Norris Dam,  was completed  six years later,  in 1936.  Gill Lumber Company had a steam engine,  which was brought to Powell by horses and wagon.  Water for Powell  was pumped by a steam engine  at the lumber mill,  next to the spring house  on Emory Road.  George Gill told me that the Knoxville Public Service Co.  built lines out to Powell  in 1924.  William G. McAdoo  helped to found the Knoxville street car lines,  and a steam power plant was built  next to Standard Knitting Mill,  to provide electricity for the street cars,  and the city of  Knoxville.  I was told by  Mr. DeBusk,  that a line was built from  a hydroelectric dam  near Madisonville,  to supply additional power  to Knoxville.  Mr. McAdoo was active  in financing railroad construction  to connect Knoxville with  other cities.  He  and  Mr. Carter Glass  served as  U.S. Treasury Secretary  for  President Woodrow Wilson.  Mr. McAdoo was also influential  in creating  the Federal Reserve Banking system.      The  162 KV  transmission line  which goes through Powell,  and across the ridge behind the Airplane,  was built to connect Norris Dam  with the Alcoa Aluminum Company  (the largest aluminum smelting plant in the world).  Andrew W. Mellon,  was a major stockholder of  Alcoa,  and  was the  primary influence  to reverse the  tax increases of  these previous Secretaries  of  the Treasury.  The original powerplant of  the Niagara Cataract project  was also used to power an Alcoa Aluminum Co.  smelting plant in Buffalo,  New York.   The steel towers of  the transmission line  are stamped  “Carnegie USA”.  Carnegie Steel was combined with other companies  to create the  U.S. Steel Corp.,  thirty years earlier,  in 1901.      The original  “Dixie Highway”  was routed along Western Avenue,  across the Asylum Avenue Viaduct,  in front of  the L & N depot.  The Louisville and Nashville Railroad  was known as  “The Old Reliable”.  [ Perhaps this was Mussolini’s inspiration  for the improvement of  Italian train service? ] This reputation was demonstrated by  delivering  the advertised  on-time performance  of  Train 99  (and 100):  “PAN AMERICAN”  passenger train  from Cincinnati  to  New Orleans  (NOLA).  The National Life and Accident Insurance Company  advertised on their  WSM  radio station:  Home  of  the  “Grand Ole Opry.”      James Agee wrote about the Asylum Avenue Viaduct,  which was named after the  Tennessee Asylum for the Deaf.  There was a brass plaque,  cast into the concrete,  along the sidewalk,  which documented the name,  and date of  construction.  This was likely removed when the viaduct was rebuilt in recent years  for the express tunnel to Henley Street.  Tennessee School for the Deaf was later moved South of  the river  to  Island Home.  The Asylum building was then used as our City Hall.  That seems consistent  with the quoted remark about South Carolina:  “Too large  for an insane Asylum,  Too small  to be a separate country.”  Knoxville does not have limited government,  or they would not have outgrown that facility.      That viaduct was built over Southern Railroad tracks  to the Tennessee River bridge  near Henley Street bridge.  The Carolina Special  blasted up the Saluda grade  to climb from Charleston,  up the eastern slope of the Appalachian Mountains  to Asheville,  and along the French Broad River gorge to Knoxville.  This train,  and the  Dixie Highway  connected Knoxville,  to Cincinnati,  Ohio.      THE TENNESSEAN,  was the first class passenger train of  Southern Railroad,  which ran from Washington,  D.C.  to NOLA.  Mr. Willie Moore,  was the senior Engineer on that train.  He lived with his wife,  who was blind,  on a farm  next to New Gray Cemetary.  This is across the road from Mr. Elmer Nickle’s service station on Western Avenue.      Before the new  Clinton Highway,  was built  and completed  in 1930,  the  original highway  from  Western Avenue,  which  is  behind  the  Airplane Filling Station,  was known  as  “Old Clinton Highway.”  The  Principal  of  Pleasant Ridge School,  Ms. Irene Easterly  worked  to  name  the  old road  after  the school.  “Old Clinton Highway”  was  changed  to  Pleasant Ridge Road,  from  Western Avenue—  to  the  Airplane Filling Station. The original road  down  Hines Valley  from  Pleasant Ridge Road  to Beaver Ridge Road  (near  Solway Highway),  was near  the present  Northwest Park Drive,  through  the industrial park  behind Wal*Mart.  Follow your nose  along this road  to  the newest  olfactory of  Merita Bread,  and RURAL METRO  Firetruck Repair Garage.  The road turned south  at the top of  the next hill,  behind the office  and new shop of  Air Components & Systems,  ran past  a lake  built by the  Civil Conservation Corps  (CCC)  during the 1930s,  to intersect  Schaad Road,  at the creek.  Since the road is named after  Mr. Joe Schaad,  the section which  continues straight,  to  Pleasant Ridge Road,  was  most likely  built  after  he acquired  the farm.  Joe Schaad was married  to  Blanche McLain.  Her father,  Mr. McLain,  originally  owned  that farm.  I  presumed  they were  related to the  McClain family,  which owned  a  large farm at  Merchant Road  and  new  Clinton Highway.  (Recently,  I  learned  that  the spelling  of  the names  is different,  and  the families  are  not related.) McClain’s Nursery  was located there,  and  “Colonel”  W. T. Thrasher  and  Kent McClain  are  the  proud grandparents  of  the extraordinary  Tina Wesson,  of  the Survivor  television show.      Henry Nickle  and his wife,  Irene Nickle,  lived in a house located on  the original highway,  down behind  the Airplane.  Mrs. Irene Nickle ran the Tea Room diner  in front of the Airplane,  and Henry was a Deputy Sheriff in Knox County.      Elmer Nickle  and his wife Margaret Nickle,  owned a service station located on Western Avenue  (above),  when the new highway was being planned.  They lived in a stone house  on the section of Nickle Road which was later re-named Sullivan Road  (Pleasant Ridge  to Nickle Road).      These neighbors were alert to the opportunity of the new road intersection,  just across the ridge from their family farms.  Their expertise as County Engineer,  Deputy Sheriff,  and Service Station owner,  was a unique combination  which can explain the unusual business that they created.      After Henry and Irene Nickle moved back to their old home place,  their house was rented to a black family named Blanton.  This is the same family name of the original owners of the farm which extended from the top of Beaver Ridge,  adjacent to Mr. Lonnie Harris’ nursery,  down the ridge to Judge Johnson’s Lakewood Swimming Pool.  I was told that the Blanton family owned the land where the Airplane was built.      The Bassett family on Schaad Road  was the only other black family  in the neighborhood.  They are an exceptional family,  who lived on their farm until recently,  across from Tekoa Baptist Church  where Blakewood Condominiums are now built.  I visited the aunt of John Bassett,  who told about her father’s encouragement for his children to get a good education.  She attended some of the first schools for black children,  including the school founded in Greeneville  by President Andrew Johnson,  and was the first black woman in the state of Tennessee  to earn a college degree.  The oldest daughter,  Beaulah,  married Mr. Isaac Hardin.  He and his brother were also  very exceptional gentlemen.  I learned that Mr. Hardin  (Isaac’s brother)  had been active in Knox county politics,  and had attended three presidential inaugurations.  I recently learned that Mrs. Hardin is a very capable musician and teacher,  who has been able to encourage many exceptional children to pursue their goals  and become remarkable examples for all of us.  This sleepy community of Powell,  was known to travelers from Toledo, Ohio,  to the Gulf of Mexico,  because of the Airplane Filling Station.  We take it for granted that it is dull and boring here.  Consider all the reprobates who were able to proceed on their journeys,  because of the supplies and service they received at the Airplane.      Recent news about local gunslingers:  Tim Burchett  and Greg Lambert,  emphasize the safe,  peaceful community,  which we have taken for granted all these years.  Mr. and Mrs. Lyons walked in front of Powell High school  each morning,  to Lyons’ Store  at the corner of Brickyard  and Emory Road.  I remember that Mrs. Lyons carried a small basket  with a white towell folded neatly on top.  They were always courteous,  but did not stop to talk  when they walked past me.  One day  I mentioned to a friend,  that she always carried the wood basket,  and was curious what could be under the white towell?  The basket was a small fruit basket,  and I was told that she carried the money to make change at their grocery store.  And—  I was told:  she had a pistol underheath the white towell.  Every evening the Lyons walked home with the cash from sales that day.  Every day  they risked the fate of  Mr. Lambert  and the Walgreens delivery driver.  But Powell was a boring,  sleepy community  because they prepared for  those who were less pleasant and virtuous than they were.  How much we take for granted:  We do not experience nightmares of death threats and robbery—  because of people  like  Mr. and Mrs. Lyons. Cleveland, Ohio,  newspaper headlines proclaimed  one year  in late February:  “First Week this year—  No  Bank-Robberies! ” sleepy Powell