DAYOTN — On Friday, April 26, a dedication ceremony was held for the newly renovated Pendergrass Park in Dayton. There was lots of excitement with this grand opening, which not only included the dedication ceremony, but also food trucks so that the public could get food and drinks while enjoying the event. Naturally, the park has been closed due to the work going on there; now everyone is glad to have a brand new park reopened and ready for visitors!
From The Herald-News, July 2 and December 31, 2023, we find that the City of Dayton and Blue Cross Blue Shield broke ground in July of 2023 for a brand new Pendergrass Park. This modern playground was completely renovated and transformed into an upgraded recreation site for children. Positioned on Main Street and across from the Rhea County Welcome Center, Pendergrass Park was chosen to be the recipient of a four million dollar Blue Cross Healthy Place grant which will fund the total repair and improvement of the park. Then, in addition to the four million dollar investment, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Foundation arranged for an additional eight hundred thousand dollars more for park maintenance to be given.
Included as part of these new features are play areas for ages two through five and five through twelve, a splash pad, fitness area, pavilions, benches, restrooms and a walking track; the two play areas are completely suitable for children of all abilities with ramp access on the five through twelve playground, ground-level play activities throughout and poured rubber surfacing. The splash pad will be a summer stopping place for cooling off and playing, featuring ground-level sprayers and an amazing “Massive Splash.” This area is also accessible to visitors of all abilities.
Some of you may not know the history of this park. It was named for a teacher in the Rhea County School System, Juanita Pendergrass. According to Churches and Schools of Rhea County, she began her teaching career at Oak Hill during the 1942-43 school term, and continued to teach English at Garrison, Frazier and Rhea Central High School. The last teaching assignment was the 1966-67 school year. However, Miss Juanita passed away during August of 1967.
From the obituary (Dayton Herald, August 24, 1967) of Miss Juanita Violet Pendergrass, she was fifty-nine years old when she died on Sunday, August 20, 1967. (She was born May 4, 1908.) Her parents, William and Stella Hickman Pendergrass, of Soddy, preceded her in death. Miss Juanita was a member of First Baptist Church of Dayton; she was also a member of the Alpha Kappa Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society of teachers, and had taught in the Rhea County Schools for the past twenty-six years. She was a graduate of Bryan College in Dayton and of the University of Tennessee. Interment was in Varner Cemetery of Soddy, Tennessee. Survivors of Juanita Pendergrass included three sisters, one brother, her step-mother and several nieces and nephews.
Most people who remember Juanita Pendergrass will be mindful of her most famous quality, her gruff, blunt personality! She didn’t use this in a mean way, but in a matter-of-fact, truthful way. She would give students a bar of soap and tell them to go and wash, indicating that they were emitting an unpleasant aroma! Miss Juanita had a voice that could “interrupt” a student’s conversation, but that student would soon begin to respect her. I can remember when I was a student in Rhea Central High School, she was in charge of the study hall class period I had. Most of my classmates, including me, were scared to death of her! However, after a time, we all began to like her when we realized she was there to help us learn. And the students who needed soap and water? They learned the necessity of those things, and hopefully have retained that lesson throughout their lives. Everyone seems to have the same story about Juanita Pendergrass. She told students to use soap and water, and even gave soap to a number of students to be sure they got the correct meaning!
I remember Miss Juanita as being someone who could scare a person to death, especially a student! When I was in her study hall class, I was almost afraid to breathe, because of the way she could look at a student without saying a word. (During high school, we all had to have a class for “study hall” so that we could get homework done and not have so much left to do at night.) Her methods of discipline taught me a great deal, so that when I became a teacher, I patterned some of my disciplinary actions after Miss Juanita. Those methods worked very well, and helped me to appreciate Miss Pendergrass.
Why was this park named for Miss Juanita? According to The Herald News, September 3, 2023, “Oh, Taste and See,” she volunteered every afternoon to watch the young children at the park. Then after her death, the park was named for her. This newly renovated area will be a fitting place to honor a former teacher who took care of young children and taught them the basic fundamentals of life.
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