Barry CourterChange is inevitable, and as I've gotten older, I've learned to embrace it. Getting stuck in a rut can be just as bad as losing something you've grown to know and love.
But, the losses of several local businesses and community leaders over the last several months have been a little more jarring than usual. Just this past week, Jeff and Cindy Messinger announced they'd be closing Mount Vernon restaurant after 63 years in business.
The closing took a lot of folks by surprise, especially since it didn't close because business was bad. A couple of co-workers had tried to go there on the day before Jeff Messinger told this paper they were closing because of health reasons. We'd become sort of addicted to the spinach casserole they served, and the crab cakes were pretty amazing, as well.
Just a few days before that, on Christmas morning, the city lost Fletcher Bright, who passed away at age 86. It's hard to fully appreciate the impact people like the Messingers and Bright have on a city.
Selfishly, I'll miss the food, but places like Mount Vernon mean a whole lot more than a place to grab a bite to eat. Another food source will replace it.
No, for 63 years, Mount Vernon, and restaurants like it, not only offered food, it became a regular meeting place for friends and family. How many birthdays, anniversaries and just weekly get-togethers with friends or co-workers have taken place there?
It also provided untold numbers of jobs for people who then provided food and housing for their own families.
We'll never fully know the impact Bright has had on this community. I know that for years, he probably funded out of his own pocket more concerts and special events such as parades and block parties than just about anybody.
We all know about the incredible 3 Sisters Bluegrass Festival that he, and then members of his family, have presented for free to local fans, but he also funded so much more without ever wanting it known.
People die, or move away, and things change. For the most part, I think Chattanooga is a better place today than it was a decade ago, or even five years ago, because of change and new people coming in with new ideas, but you can't replace a person like Bright, or Ruth Holmberg, or Jack Lupton or the handful of other folks who had not only the means, but the desire to give so much to the city they loved.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.