On June 26, 1890, in Gibson County, Tennessee, a baby girl by the name of Johnnie was born to Marcus and Virginia Hale, both of whom were school teachers.  That date marks the beginning of an incredible life which would eventually have an indescribable positive and profound influence on the lives of countless persons.  I feel fortunate and blessed to be numbered among that throng of persons.
     When the Hales moved to Milan, Johnnie was three years old, and it would have stretched the imagination of even the most imaginative and far-sighted person who was living in the community at that time if someone from the future had said, “Let me tell you the wonderful story about what this little girl is going to do and how she is going to affect the lives of so many persons during her lifetime.”
     In every community there are those special persons whose influence is so important that it changes that community from that time forward.  It is an understatement to say that, because of Johnnie Hale’s life and influence, Milan would never again be quite the same!  From that fateful day when she moved to Milan, she  continuously exerted the kind of positive influence which has resulted in momentous consequences.
     However, as we reflect on the influence which she exerted on persons throughout her life, we realize that it is not only the Milan community which has been impacted by her influence, because many persons whose lives she touched have gone out from Milan to the “far corners of the globe.”  Thus, like the proverbial stone which drops into the water, the ripples of her positive influence have spread far and wide from one generation to the next.  It is not uncommon to hear persons saying something similar to what Bobby Jones writes about her: “In addition to teaching Betty and me, she taught both my mother and father.”
     She started to school in Milan when she was 5 years old, and she graduated from MHS in 1907.  She then attended George Peabody Teachers College in Nashville, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1910.  (One of the photographs which the family loaned me in preparation for writing this article is a picture of Miss Johnnie, at the time of her graduation, wearing a floor-length white dress which was made from China silk.  This dress was made by Mrs. Wills Mathis, grandmother of Robert, Paul, Billy, and Rankin Mathis, Jr.)
     After having earned her teaching credentials, her first teaching position was in Gulfport, Mississippi.  She later taught Latin, French, and English in Wolf City, Texas.  In 1913 she returned to Milan where, except for a year as a civil service worker in Washington, and another year at Peabody College to further her academic training, she taught such subjects as foreign language, history, and arithmetic continuously for more than 40 years until her retirement in 1959.  It is not uncommon for persons to remark, “She forgot more about Latin than most of us will ever know.”
     My first encounter with her came during the year that she was my instructor in Tennessee History.  I was so impressed with the way she made the characters and events in our state’s history “come alive and walk off the page.”  Not only did she present the facts, but she inspired an appreciation for the history of our state!
     At some point in her teaching career she became known as “Miss Johnnie,” and, in time, that name became a “household word” which evokes “precious memories” in the minds of all persons who have ever known her.
     Miss Johnnie was married to Homer Metcalf who preceded her in death, and although she never had any children of her own, she helped to raise her sister Katherine’s children after Katherine died of tuberculosis in 1941.  The children are: Homer (deceased), Robert Courtland, Nancy (deceased), Carolyn, and Jerry.  One member of the family said, “These children were the light of Miss Johnnie’s life.”  She also has a brother, Marcus C. Hale, Jr., of Jackson, Tennessee.  (I want to express my appreciation to several members of Miss Johnnie’s family for providing me with certain resources which have been helpful in writing this article.  These family members are: Betty Hale Harper, Robert Metcalf, and Carolyn Metcalf.)
     Barbara Tipton Baker gives us a glimpse into what it was like to be a neighbor to Miss Johnnie: “I lived only two houses away from Miss Johnnie, and I remember that, in her backyard, there were chickens and a huge paper-shell pecan tree which my brother, King, and I raided by climbing over a high fence onto an out-building.  She always had cats.”
     Not only is Miss Johnnie distinguished because of her extraordinary memory, but she was a “walking encyclopedia” of information regarding the history of sports in Milan High School.  Many persons have commented on how she could recall specific plays, players, incidents, and scores of games which were played long ago.  Milton Mayo shares this story which illustrates Miss Johnnie’s incredible memory of sporting events: “When I returned to MHS to coach basketball in 1947, after a pep rally, I remarked that in a particular basketball game during 1947 we scored more points than we did in a certain game during the time I played back in the early 1930’s.  Miss Johnnie said, ‘Milton, you should get your history corrected.  I saw that game, and you Milan Bulldogs beat them 12 to 11.’”
     Mollie McCarty echoes this same thought: “I remember how Miss Johnnie rarely missed a ball game of any kind and could tell you about players and games from the distant past.  She had a remarkable memory.”  Jack Parnell refers to Miss Johnnie as “the consummate MHS supporter, especially in athletics.”
     Not only did she remember what had happened across the years in the history of sports at MHS, but she had also played a vital role in the sports program.  For example, in 1922, as a member of the faculty, she helped to organize the first MHS football team.  The September 4, 1960, edition of the Milan-Mirror Exchange carried a photograph of Miss Johnnie standing beside three of her former students--Boyd Norman, Dwight Norman, and James Shoaf--who were members of that 1922 team.
     In addition to instigating the beginning of a football team, she picked the school colors (Purple and White), set the first school “Fight-Song” to music, and--if I am not mistaken--she helped to write the school Alma Mater.  And, there is no way to count the number of times that she was invited to be the guest speaker at school pep rallies, sports banquets, and other functions in the school and community.  (There are countless photographs of Miss Johnnie speaking at these events.)
     There is no way to know how many young persons Miss Johnnie encouraged to participate in sports.  Bill Lowery writes: “I have so many fond memories of Miss Johnnie.  She was always on my case because I played baseball but not football.  So, I finally went out for football and played during my senior year.”
     Her love and support of the school sports program did not go unnoticed.  Because she embodied the “spirit” of Milan High School, and, because of the community-wide appreciation for her love of the school, in 1963 the Milan city leaders named the football stadium in her honor--Johnnie Hale Stadium.  (Thanks to Bill Haney for providing the date of the naming of the stadium.)
     As with any school teacher who becomes a legend, there are countless humorous and anecdotal memories which are associated with Miss Johnnie.  For example, almost everyone remembers the humorous incidents which are associated with Miss Johnnie’s eyeglasses.  Bill Pitt recalls: “I took Latin under Miss Johnnie and always loved to go to her class when a pair of her rather cheap reading glasses were near the end of their useful life.  She would wear the dime store glasses until she had to hold them together with rubber bands.  Occasionally a pair would get so bad that she would ask me to go to town during school hours and get her a new pair at the Ben Franklin Store.”  Bobby Jones remembers it this way: “When Miss Johnnie needed new glasses she would send one of the boys to the dime store with instructions to ‘Tell Mr. Ragland what I need.’  Mr. Marion Ragland would fill a sack with several pairs of reading glasses with instructions to ‘Tell Miss Johnnie to take what she needs and send the rest back.’”  Suzanne Holt Young writes: “I remember Miss Johnnie’s glasses!  She always cleaned--‘smeared’--them with her fingers and not with a tissue.  I can’t imagine how she ever saw out of them.  They were glasses from the Ben Franklin Five & Dime Store, and, when she either lost or broke a pair, some lucky student was chosen to go to town during class and buy another pair for her.”
     Barbara Tipton Baker recalls how Miss Johnnie “always tapped a drinking glass with her eyeglasses to call the class to order.”  She goes on: “I recall how one of the boys in our class (David Mayo, Paul Hilliard, or Larry Long) would ‘faint,’ fall out of his desk onto the floor, and Miss Johnnie would grant permission for two other boys to haul him to the bathroom until he ‘came to.’”  Bill Wagster writes: “Along with many other students, she struck the palm of my hand with her ruler.”   Bill Lowery says: “I remember Judy Sanders passing out one day in Miss Johnnie’s class.”  Jack Parnell writes: “I recall many times when Bobby Williams would get a little boisterous, and Miss Johnnie would send him to the principal’s office.  He would do the ‘begging routine’ all the way to the classroom door, and she would finally relent and allow him to come back on the promise that he would not let it happen again.”  One former student--who desires to remain anonymous--recalls the time when Miss Johnnie had the class to construct a cardboard scale-model of the City of Rome.  He writes: “Miss Johnnie and the class were in ‘Caesar Heaven’ over this project; however, someone set the model on fire, and, once again, history repeated itself--‘Rome burned!’”
     Without any exceptions, every person who wrote a letter to me about Miss Johnnie recalled not only the humorous experiences, but they went on to describe the kind of person she really was and how she had influenced their lives.  Bud Mayo shares the memory of a particular incident which illustrates how focused Miss Johnnie was on her teaching: “One day in Latin Class, Miss Johnnie was sitting at her desk concentrating on translating a passage from Latin into English.  Obviously, she assumed that we students were as engrossed in translating the passage as she was because, for twenty minutes, she never once looked up.  One of the guys a few rows back made a paper airplane and sailed it.  It circled and landed right on her desk in front of her book.  Everyone giggled.  She looked up and said, ‘John Keaton!’  (John’s desk was right in front of Miss Johnnie’s desk.)  John looked at her and said, ‘Miss Johnnie, I didn’t throw that airplane.’  She replied, ‘What airplane?’  Many times I have looked back and wished that I could have been as focused as she was.”
     Marcella Stevens Moore writes: “Miss Johnnie was a caring, loving teacher.  Somehow she found out that I had no lunch money because my mother was traveling to and from Lexington daily to work and had two teenage daughters to support by herself.  What do you suppose she did?  Rather than allow me to accept her charity, she paid for my lunch in exchange for my tutoring a relative after school.  Miss Johnnie had so many good qualities and was such an extraordinary teacher.  I thank God that we have some teachers like her today.  She wanted you to learn, but she also knew there were other sides to life.”
     Bud Mayo shares this: “When I was in her class, I developed pneumonia and spent two months in the hospital.  As a result, I missed the mid-term exam and received an Incomplete for the First Term.  I completed the Second Term, and Miss Johnnie retired at the end of that school year.  The next year I took Latin II under Mrs. Martha Willis, and no one noticed the Incomplete until late in my senior year when I wanted Latin listed as one of my minors.  Mr. Mayo had me to schedule an appointment with Miss Johnnie at her home, and she took the time to give me an oral exam and then to inform the school so that the Incomplete could be removed from my record.  She was a dear lady and a caring teacher.  She not only affected my school transcript...she affected the transcript of my life!”
     Bill Wagster puts it this way: “She made us all feel that we were special to her...She was much more than a teacher; she was a friend with whom I could talk when the problems and difficulties of life became so overwhelming for a teenager.”
     Suzanne Holt Young says: “Miss Johnnie is one of those treasures in our past that will never be forgotten and will always be fondly remembered.  I am thankful to have been one of her students.”
     Milton Mayo wrote this about her: “Miss Johnnie loved poor pupils and ballplayers.  I took Latin I and French I under Miss Johnnie, and I had all three of my daughters to take two or three classes under her so that they could learn some of her philosophy.  A lady who lives in Milan, and who was one of Miss Johnnie’s students, told my wife, Lois, that she hope that Miss Johnnie outlived her (the former student) because she wanted Miss Johnnie to write the eulogy for her funeral.  This lady went on to say that Miss Johnnie always said something good--never anything bad--about a person.”
     In my own case, I recall that one of the most important and formative experiences of my early life was that of spending an hour each morning for several weeks studying Latin with Miss Johnnie during the summer between my sophomore and junior years.  She and I sat in the swing on her front porch which faced Main Street, and, there, I began to learn and appreciate the language.  She patiently taught me the basics of Latin grammar, and she impressed upon me the importance of learning vocabulary.  She opened the door so that I could glimpse the power of words.  I can still hear her saying, “Don Harold, learn the root meanings of these Latin words because this is the foundation for our modern language, and, besides, it will help you as you study other languages.”  This experience was priceless, and it helped to lay a foundation for my work as a writer in the years which lay ahead.  There is no way that I could repay her for those priceless gifts which she gave to me.  These are the kinds of gifts which money cannot buy, and, like so many others, I am forever in her debt.
     Across the years of her life, Miss Johnnie continued to give herself completely and without reserve to her work at Milan High School.  She was instrumental in the organization and growth of the MHS Alumni Association.  And, because of the kind of person she was, her efforts did not go unnoticed.
     After teaching for more than 40 years, in 1959 Miss Johnnie retired, and soon after her retirement the City of Milan proclaimed “Miss Johnnie Day” for an entire month.  The MHS Alumni Association also established the annual Johnnie Hale Scholarship in her honor.
     The Milan-Mirror Exchange carried an article about the MHS Alumni Meeting on May 27, 1960, during which New York Postmaster, Robert Keaton Christenberry (MHS Class of 1916) praised Miss Johnnie: “Mrs. Johnnie Hale Metcalf had more tolerance with me than anyone I know.”
     At a special breakfast on August 16, 1976, which marked the official opening of the new high school building, Miss Johnnie, along with other devoted former teachers, was officially recognized as “one of the great educators in the history of Milan.”
     1980 was a “big” year for Miss Johnnie.  That year she was voted MHS Alumni Queen by the MHS Alumni Association.  She was also voted Milan’s Woman of the Year by the Milan Business and Professional Woman’s Club.
     Miss Johnnie was a member of the Milan Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  She was also a life-long member of First Presbyterian Church in Milan.  In the words of Barbara Tipton Baker, “She gave her ‘all’ to her family, students, community, and church.”
     Although Miss Johnnie had lived most of her life in Milan, in 1983 she moved to Memphis to be near relatives.  She died early on Thursday morning, December 13, 1984, at the age of 94, at the Johnson Nursing Home in Memphis, Tennessee.  Her funeral was conducted on Saturday, December 15th, at First Presbyterian Church in Milan, by Rev. Tom Patton.  Pallbearers were Ralph Holt, Richard Burrow, Milton Mayo, Wylie Wheeler, Jimmy Thomas, and Bob Parkins.  Bodkin Funeral Home was in charge.
     In one of my old scrapbooks I have a few pages of photographs of Miss Johnnie, and, in the margins of those pages, I recorded these words: “No one could have gone through high school at Milan without taking courses under Miss Johnnie--nor would anyone have wanted to--because her classes and conversations were filled with wit and wisdom.  I was fortunate to have had her as a teacher during her mature years after she had accumulated a lifetime of experience in teaching and living.  She was so knowledgeable in World History, Tennessee History, and foreign language.  I owe this good and brilliant lady more than I could repay her in ten lifetimes.  She was always telling us not only what had happened in the past, but she was also constantly looking into the future and describing things that would eventually happen.  Long before the interstate highway system was built, she told us one day in history class that the day would come when we would have super highways.”
     A particular photograph which I cherish is one which was made in the old high school auditorium in 1959.  In the photograph, Miss Johnnie is sitting on the stage, being honored during a pep rally by the faculty and student body.  Clay Morris Chandler is at the podium, and the pep band is sitting behind her.  I was a member of that group of musicians on stage, and many times I have gone back to that photograph with deep appreciation and humility because I know that, as I sat on that stage behind her, I was in the presence of true greatness!
     I thank God for the life of Johnnie Hale Metcalf!

Editorial Note: Due to the fact that Miss Johnnie's family, colleagues, friends, and former students provided me with such an abundance material for this article (most of which I was unable to use due to the limited amount of space), I will be preparing a special scrapbook on Miss Johnnie where copies of all these materials can be permanently preserved.  This special scrapbook will be placed in the MHS Alumni Association Office.  If anyone would like to contribute any memories, resources, or photographs of Miss Johnnie for this scrapbook, please contact me.  

DHL  

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