New museum mural shows 1930s life in Meigs County

DECATUR, Tenn. — A new display at the Meigs County Museum includes a mural of downtown Decatur in the 1930s and a trunk with medical equipment used by a doctor who practiced in a building depicted in the mural.

“The idea for this mural came about after I saw a photo of James ‘Dee’ McKenzie standing in front of his father’s store,” Meigs County historian Paulette Jones said. “After asking him to share the history, I realized most people today have no idea what Main Street was like in the 1930s.”

Ms. Jones said she didn’t want the city’s history to be lost so she applied for an Arts Builds Communities grant through the Southeast Tennessee Development District. She got matching money from the VECustomers Share Foundation and the Meigs Historical Society.

She and others arranged for Mr. McKenzie, 88, and his 91-year-old sister, Willie Ashley, to reminisce about life in the ‘30s while artist Bill McDonald sketched their thoughts on paper.

Their father bought the H.M. General Merchandise store on Main Street across from the Meigs County Courthouse, where Regions Bank now stands.

The mural includes the store, doctor’s office and other businesses. A Model T Ford owned by the elder McKenzie is parked under a tree, and Mr. McKenzie’s first bicycle is nearby.

Mr. McKenzie remembered an incident with the bicycle.

“There were three of us kids on the bicycle going out to smoke, and the one on the front got his foot caught in the spokes,” Mr. McKenzie said. The bike crashed and he hid it for several weeks until new parts he ordered came in the mail. But he wasn’t home when the parts arrived, and his father found out about the wreck.

The brother and sister said seeing the mural spurred many memories. Money was scarce in the Depression times, and his father often took barter — chickens, rabbits, eggs and other items — for items carried in his store, Mr. McKenzie remembered.

He and his sister have donated many items to the museum, including the wooden steering wheel from the steamer Joe Wheeler where his grandfather worked. The steamer came to Meigs twice a week to bring supplies.

They said they hope the mural will encourage people to learn more about Decatur and Meigs County history.

Mr. McDonald said he enjoyed developing the mural and meeting the siblings.

“They just started talking about the downtown, and I could close my eyes and picture it,” he said.

The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and other times by appointment.