Larry and Deborah Hancock Celebrate Golden Anniversary

August 21, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A well-known couple and business owners beloved by the community celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Saturday.

Larry and Deborah Hancock were joined by family and friends at the Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church gym for the happy occasion to enjoy fellowship and refreshments. The venue was decorated with balloons and featured a 50th anniversary cake as well as a display of memorable “over the years” photos of Larry and Deborah.

The couple were married on August 16, 1973.

Larry is the son of late James and Joann Hancock of Gassaway, and he has one brother, Gary. Hancock’s father, James had cut timber for a living and served for several years as Road Supervisor in Cannon County. Joann was owner and operator of Woodbury Insurance Agency, now run by one of Larry and Deborah’s sons, Travis Hancock.

Deborah is the daughter of the late Clifford and Josie Pack of Smithville, who for many years owned and operated Pack’s Plumbing and Electric. Deborah has two sisters and a brother still living, Dianna Adams, Darlene Evans, and Daniel Pack. Another brother, David Pack died in 2019.

Larry and Deborah first met at a family fish supper when the two were high school sophomores in November 1970.

“Deborah’s mom and dad were having a fish supper and my mom and dad were invited by Allen Hooper, who was also attending, to join them there and that’s where we met,” said Larry.

Larry and Deborah kept in touch and began dating. They fell in love and tied the knot almost three years after that first meeting.

“We bought our first house on Pack Circle after we got married and lived there until 1987,” recalled Deborah. “We then bought the house on McMinnville Highway where we are still living today”.

Initially they held down separate jobs to make ends meet.

“I worked in McMinnville at Citizen’s State Bank when we got married and Larry worked for my dad for a couple of years at Pack’s Plumbing and Electric and then he built houses with John Agee, Floyd Agee, and Garland Johnson,” said Deborah.

In 1980, the Hancock’s started their own business, “Larry’s Discount Grocery”, which they still own and operate today. It remains one of Smithville’s longest running active family-owned businesses and has served countless customers in its 43-year history.

Although both had come from families with a business background, Larry and Deborah had no experience in the grocery business but got the idea after a venture Larry had participated in with Deborah’s uncle Donald Pack.

“I was building houses in 1980 but when that business began to slow down, I started cutting firewood to pay the bills,” Larry explained. “At Christmas we were at Deborah’s grandparents’ house and her uncle, Donald, who had bought two loads of salvage groceries to sell in Cookeville, asked if I wanted to help him at $200 a week. That was better pay than cutting firewood, so I went with him over there in January, but that location didn’t work out, so we came back and set up in a building owned by my father-in-law Clifford and we stayed there another month. We then relocated to where we are now at 309 West Broad Street in March of 1980. Donald stayed with us until August of that year and then we (Deborah and Larry) bought it from him, and it took off from there,” said Larry.

The Hancock’s are proud parents of two sons and their spouses, Travis and Mary Hancock and Chris and Lydia Hancock. There are also six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Today, the Hancock’s love for each other and their family is as strong as ever and their years together serving the community in the business has been a labor of love.

“We have many special memories,” said Larry and Deborah.

“Down through the years some of the kids who once worked for us in part time jobs, now have kids of their own who are working or have worked for us. A lot of them worked until they got through college. Many of them went on to become very successful. You get really close to them,” Larry continued.

Although retirement may be just beyond the horizon for them, Larry and Deborah are not ready to ride off into the sunset together just yet.

“We enjoy the business and serving our customers. It’s a lot of fun,” added Larry.

August 20, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Cultivating a love for gardening!

Thanks to the Farm Bureau Federation and other partners, a group of DeKalb Middle School students are learning first-hand where their food comes from and how important farming and agriculture are to their daily lives.

Through the Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom Foundation, DMS has been awarded a $500 Outdoor Classroom Garden grant and a check in that amount was presented to the school on Thursday by Mack Harney, President of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and Bradley Locke, Agency Manager of the local Farm Bureau Office. Board member Mike Conley joined them for the presentation. Receiving the $500 check were Suzette Barnes, DMS Teacher, along with Principal Caleb Shehane and Assistant Principal Teresa Jones.

Barnes said funds from the grant will be used to expand the current garden program as well as other agriculture projects at DeKalb Middle School.

“We started an outdoor garden and kids in summer school became involved in it but then other students here at the school have gotten interested since and are now helping take care of the plants. We go out and hoe and till the garden and then when the produce is ready to be picked, the students get to take it home. A community member, Myron Rhody came out to plow and till the garden for us in the beginning and he donated our seeds and plants so the kids were able to plant and harvest produce like zucchini squash, yellow squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes and we have planted cabbage, sweet potatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, carrots and a variety of other fruits and vegetables,” said Barnes.

Over the summer, Barnes and three other teachers from DeKalb Middle School, Courtney O’Conner, Carson Speck, and Melba Farmer attended a Professional Development Day for “Ag in the Classroom” and participated in the training that highlighted agriculture while covering a variety of state academic standards. The training was held at Jere Whitson School in Cookeville. The teachers were provided with materials and resources for immediate use in their classes at DeKalb Middle.

The grant application encouraged partnerships with local businesses and agencies. For its application, DeKalb Middle School was able to partner with DeKalb Farmers Co-op, DeKalb Soil Conservation District, DeKalb County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, DeKalb County/UT Extension, Community Volunteers and Advisors, Myron Rhody and Mary Sanders.

DMS Principal Caleb Shehane expressed his thanks for the grant award and for Ms. Barnes’ involvement in this project. “She is a great growth mindset here in helping us push a variety of activities for kids who might not otherwise have those opportunities. We are excited about this garden and the donation and where this will go. The kids are already reaping the benefits by getting to take the vegetables home and that’s really cool for us to see,” said Shehane.

“Even though the focus is on the garden, the grant is also for anything agriculture related,” Barnes continued. “We have hatched baby chickens from eggs in the classroom and the students watched that process in the incubator. We keep the chicks for about a week and then send them to local farms. This grant allows us to do things like this and anything that is agriculture and nursery related and not just the garden,” said Barnes.

“We are very pleased that DeKalb Middle School has a program like this that we can help them with,” said Harney.” So many children now are not exposed to farm life. Most of them are four or five generations off the farm and they don’t know where their food comes from or the work that is involved in it, so we want to help students and the school anyway we can promote that in DeKalb County”.

“Anytime we can get behind the school system to promote things such as agriculture, we are all about it and to see these kids grow and learn things they would not have before is a blessing to us,” added Locke.

The program is having the desired effect. 12-year-old Logan Gentry, a 7th grader at DMS and son of Emily Knowles, told WJLE this is his first ever experience with a garden and he loves it.

“I like going to the garden. It provides food that we can take home. The other day I took home some zucchini squash, yellow squash, okra, and Tommy Toe tomatoes and they (family) immediately wanted to eat fried squash,” said Gentry.

August 19, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The Warren County Pioneers can claim bragging rights after defeating the DeKalb County Tigers 34 to 27 in their season opening border battle Friday night at McMinnville.

https://www.wjle.com/tiger-talk/

It was the 19th straight meeting between the two programs since 2005 and Warren County now leads the series in wins during that stretch 10-9. The Tigers had won the previous two clashes in 2022 and 2021.

The Tigers will meet the Smith County Owls in the home opener on Friday, August 25 starting at 7 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE coverage. The Owls defeated their in-county rival at Gordonsville 25-19 Thursday night.

It looked as if it would be a Tiger night early on but Warren County would rally to keep it close, even in the Pioneer’s eventual victory.

DeKalb County pitched a shutout in the 1st period on a 45-yard touchdown run by Malachi Trapp with 7:40 left followed by a 4-yard Briz Trapp quarterback run with 1:35 to go capping a 55-yard drive. Kicker Adrian Prater booted the extra point after both scores and DeKalb County took a 14-0 lead into the 2nd period.

Although the Pioneers outscored the Tigers 20-7 in the 2nd period DeKalb County clung to a 21-20 halftime advantage.

Isaiah Robledo was responsible for the first two Warren County scores in the game on runs of 9 yards, capping a 39-yard drive with 7:40 left, and later for 64 yards with 6:20 to go before the half. Keiondie Jackson converted the extra point after the first Pioneer touchdown, but the second PAT attempt was blocked. By then Warren County had cut the Tiger lead to 14-13.

DC extended its advantage to 21-13 with 1:44 left in the 2nd period on a 21-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Briz Trapp to Trace Hamilton completing a 60-yard drive. Prater’s PAT was good.

Warren County answered with 9 seconds left in the half on a 4-yard touchdown toss from Alex Van Vurren to Kalen Latina. Jackson converted the PAT but the Tigers were still on top 21-20 by intermission.

The Pioneers took the lead in the 3rd period on a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Alex Van Vurren with 2:07 left capping an 84-yard drive. A 2-point conversion attempt failed but Warren County had pulled ahead 26-21.

DeKalb County regained the lead with 8:49 left in the 4th period on a 3-yard keeper by quarterback Briz Trapp, completing a 75-yard drive. A 2-point conversion try failed but the Tigers were back on top 27-26.

Warren County later mounted what proved to be the winning scoring drive which started from their own 26-yard line after the Tigers turned it over on downs. The Pioneers drove 74 yards and scored on a 4-yard touchdown run by Alex Van Vurren with 2:56 left in the game followed by a successful 2-point conversion play and Warren County went on to claim a 34-27 victory.

The DCHS 2023 Football Schedule is as follows:

REGION OPPONENTS (*)
August 18: Warren County- McMinnville (TIGERS LOST 34-27)
August 25: Smith County-Smithville 7 p.m.
September 1: Livingston Academy*-Smithville 7 p.m.
September 8: Watertown-Watertown 7 p.m.
September 15: Gordonsville (Homecoming)- Smithville 7 p.m.
September 22: Stone Memorial*-Away 7 p.m.
September 29: Macon County*-Smithville 7 p.m.
October 6: Cumberland County*-Smithville 7 p.m.
October 13: BYE WEEK
October 20: White County*-Sparta 7 p.m.
October 27: Upperman* Baxter 7 p.m.

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