My father; John M. Edwards, grew up in rural Southern, Illinois on a farm, adjacent to a small town named Cave-N-Rock. Cave-N-Rock has notoriety, as it was featured in the infamous movie, How the West Was Won, with a scene with river pirates and a trading post, as a nod it it’s history as a roughshod river town.

My father respected history. As we grew up he made sure in our travels that we visited museums, national parks and battlefields, to learn history and see those places of significance to our heritage as a people. 

Upon graduation from High School he went on to gather a secondary education at SIU and entered the world of retail business. 

The father, I know is a bit different than the father my middle brother, and my youngest brother knew, as we are spread out in age. I was born when dad was just 21 during the turbulent times of the 60s. My middle brother Michael was born 7 years later and my youngest brother was born as I was graduating high school.  Each of us knew a different version of dad, due to age differences.

The thing that was consistent with each of us was dads support and love for each of us, no matter how different we each are from one another, no matter what path life lead us down. He might be angry or disappointed with a decision that we made, but he remained loyal and steadfast in his commitment to us as a father. 

In my youth, my father’s business choices had a significant impact on the environment and influences I was exposed to. Thus, the political and societal climate of my youth impacted me differently than my younger brothers.

I’d venture to suggest that their youth was less chaotic and more traditional than mine only because of time changes within society in just a few decades.

Thus, what follows is lengthy, but is not only a tribute to my dad, but is also a history lesson of a transitional south coming out of the age of segregation and biblical oppression, and one man’s small role in that saga.

My father’s business experience, carried me as a youngster, throughout the south. moving quite often, as dad was a “trouble shooting manager” for Woolworth from the early 1960s till he transitioned to leading T.G.&Y Family Center center stores in the early 70s and 80s.

Dad was a recognized professional, and during those years, he and mom would have been classified politically and socially, at the time as “progressive.”  

Dad began his career with operating Woolworth stores in Evansville Indiana. Because of the success of that store he was asked to transfer to Vicksburg, Mississippi and “fix the operation” there.

While in Vicksburg, he was tasked with integration challenges of the store, all the while I was in kindergarten. The south during those years was in the midst of a huge cultural transition with the ending of racial segregation, and race was a hot topic of the times.

I can remember the turmoil of the time, and threats against our family, when he promoted the first black and female Assistant Manager at his Vicksburg store.

He did was was right, not as a political act, but because she was well qualified, an excellent leader, and it was the right thing to do. 

From Vicksburg, we moved to Memphis where he managed the store just block’s away from where Dr Martin Luther King would loose his life.

Memphis was a politically charged city then. My dad held steady and tried to maneuver the politics of societal change with business savvy. He did it well.

In Memphis we lived in a middle class and white neighborhood. Memphis like much of the south of the time was deeply segregated both racially and definitely economically. In our neighborhood as a part of the schools integration plan at the time, black teachers were brought to our school to teach. Several students tried to boycott those classes, and many parents pulled their children out of classes with Black teachers. Dad stood firm, along with mom, that we should live in a colorblind society and the black teachers were well qualified to teach me and would do so.

From Memphis, dad transferred us briefly to Tulsa, Oklahoma from their dad continued with Woolworth and helped launch their new concept at the time Woolco Stores. They were similar to a JC Penny at the time. As a leader for Woolco he garnered notice of the leadership of T.G.& Y. He ultimately left the Woolworth company to work with T.G & Y. An interesting fact is he also garnered the attention of Sam Walton, who at the time owned only 3 Walmart stores and wanted my father to join his team. Dad considered it, but felt Sam’s stores were messy and living in Arkansas was not appealing to him nor my mom.

From Tulsa dad moved us back to Memphis for a short term where he opened a new T.G.&Y store and then we moved again my 2nd grade year to Florence Alabama. In Florence, dad ran his store at the 7 Points Shopping Center just down from the University of Northern Alabama. His store was a huge success, but dad was not content with the blue laws that existed at the time. So he took them on. Blue laws in some southern states did not allow retail stores to be opened on Sundays. Dad opened his store as a challenge to those blue laws and as a result was arrested. He continued to open and continued to fight the right of business to operate challenging the validity of the laws that were crafted based on religious beliefs verses constitutional principles. Ultimately the case went to the Alabama Courts and dad along with the retail industry prevailed in breaking those barriers.

We lived in Florence, Alabama until I was in 7th grade and from there we moved to Clarksville, Tennessee of which will always be home to me. Dad opened and oversaw two T.G.&Y stores in Clarksville. One near Ft Campbell and near my middle and high school. His stores were amongst the busiest in the company.

Dad had an excellent relationship with the base commander and other city leaders which would play an influence on into leading me to political activism, as a high school student and with the strong support of him and my mom and into adulthood.

Dad made it a point, to be very supportive of my education and was very supportive of my middle and high school as a community booster.

When I found a passion for speech and debate, his store was a key sponsor for our teams travels. Because of that support we traveled across the state and into Kentucky, and national meets in New Mexico and California. Few high school speech and debate teams in Tennessee had the support ours did nor the recognition for wins. Dad helped garner that support from the business community.

When I was elected Tennessee State HOSA president and traveled throughout the state, and was appointed to Governor Lamar Alexander’s Commission of Vocational Technical Education as a student representative, dad made it a point to be there at the state capitol beaming with pride.

Dad though busy with work, always made the important functions in support of me. He maybe did nor always agreeing with my political opinions, nor choices, but he always backed my decisions and was always supportive. 

The father that I knew growing up was young and in many ways a big kid himself. We played whiffle ball for hours together in the We built train sets together and raced Johnnie Lightening. In backyard at home and at my grandparents wiffle ball and badminton was a constant. He supported my clumsy attempts at little league Football and baseball. He supported me as a scout. In Clarksville we would go fishing and talk at Dunbar Cave and Lake and had amazing conversations when I was a teenager. 

As I grew older I too ended up following his lead in business. Dad would warn me of potential mistakes, discuss ethics with me and when I stumbled or made a mistake no matter the circumstances he was there to catch me of assist to his ability. 

As dad grew older his views became increasingly “conservative” politically and with society. His frustration with the status quo would seem to be a change from his views as a young adult. It would seem he made a flip, from progressive ideologies to conservative ideologies, but in reflection he was just disappointed and dissatisfied with the status quo. 

Dad saw significant changes during his lifetime in governance, business, technology and how people interacted and engaged with one another. 

Dad used social media and was not opposed to technology, but even as a senior he enjoyed human interaction with his peers and friends more than social media engagement.

 Dad loved to use social media to “get a rise” out of me and my youngest brother, Steven. He enjoyed a good debate and exchange of ideas. Our take on events, or News or the topic de jour may differ but there was always respect for one another. Dad would post comments or memes on Facebook,  just to engage us, and remind us he was not that far away. Those social media engagements, at times were gentle reminders not to forget dad, though we were separated from by thousands of miles. 

As a senior he remained active and  he enjoyed senior baseball, pickle ball and a goal of his was to meet me at an a National Senior Olympics event. While cancer stepped in and changed that plan, the idea he wanted us to meet at a Senior Olympics and toss a whiffle ball or now a pickle ball shows the bond of those whiffle ball games in our backyard from my youth with him were important and heartfelt moments that imprinted on the memories of each of us.

My brother Steven has said, if we could be even 1/4 of the father that dad was to us then we did good. While I will never share the beauty of fatherhood, I’ll always be thankful for the father I had. To my father John Edwards, I never said it enough but thank you, job well done!