Lenna Marr Smith
Shortly before graduation from college, LENNA received a contract to teach
from the Oneida Independent School System and subsequently moved to Oneida. The
principal of the Oneida Elementary School when LENNA arrived was CLARENCE H.
SMITH. Three years later, she and CLARENCE married and to their union was born a
son, BRUCE, who also was an educator by profession. BRUCE
and his wife, MARY ETTA, reared a daughter, ELEANOR ANN SMITH PHILLIPS, and a
son, RANSON, a freshman at Oneida High School. MARY ETTA and ELEANOR ANN are
both school teachers.
At the request of her Uncle A. M., LENNA opened a checking account with her first paycheck in September, 1929 with the First National Bank of Oneida. Mr. COOK and Mr. B. L. SADLER were good friends, despite the fact that they were employed by different banks. Mr. COOK was a director of First Trust & Savings Bank of Oneida. Mr. SADLER was a director of First National Bank. For more than 63 years, LENNA has continually had an active checking account with First National Bank.
LENNA has endured the hardships of the years of the Great Depression, of having to walk five miles (one way) to teach in a one-room county school, of losing her husband and son to lingering illnesses, and of recovering from a severely broken leg. At 86 years of age she still raises a garden, cans relishes and preserves, and walks daily for her health with regular trips to the bank and post office. She’s a strong-willed lady and truly and inspiration to us all.
FNB Chronicle, Vol. 4, No. 1 – Fall 1992
First National Bank
P.O. Box 4699
Oneida, TN 37841
(p1, 4-7)
This page was created
by Timothy
N. West and is copyrighted by
him. All rights reserved.