By Ralphine Major

“Family—All because two people fell in love!”  The beautiful wall art hangs just above the bay window in their home.  There are traces of family everywhere I look:  a piano, photos on the wall, a tree house in the backyard.

Bob and Janet Dagley met at Carson-Newman, both of them aspiring to become teachers.  She became a science teacher; he taught physical education and coached.  Much of their story has been told in earlier columns about the Gibbs Eagles’ basketball team of 1964-65.  That was when a young Dagley made his mark in the Knox County School system as he took a small, rural school’s basketball team to a 31-2 season!  “I went to 87 ballgames in one year,” Janet told me.  Even today, people talk about it everywhere I go.  There are still many in the Gibbs Community and beyond who remember and witnessed those exciting times.  The Dagleys spent years in education.  Janet taught for 37 years, and Bob was a teacher and administrator for 38 years.

The Coach still remembers those games, the players, and the fans.  He also remembers some other people who influenced his life as a young student and coach.  Dagley pays tribute to three prominent men who once played vital roles in the Knox County School System and credits them in helping him become the person we know as a family man, coach, school administrator, and church leader.  The next segment will feature Dagley’s thoughts on those three men who influenced him so greatly:  C. B. Chesney, W. E. Robertson, and R. E. Graham.