Grandfather Joseph Phillips - The Director
Although I sometimes say that my grandfather's name was trashed by most of his family either because of his divorce from my grandmother or his career as a Treasury Agent, he didn't let that bother him very much. He enjoyed the outdoors, especially fishing. He did that often. My father and Uncle Doug Wilson were also fishermen and loved to go with grandfather, "Dad", as they all called him.
This group of pictures will give you an idea of how much my grandfather wanted to be a Movie Director rather than a Treasury Agent. He was the proprietor of the very first movie theater in the small community of Tazewell, Tennessee showing film by candlelight. He later, with a group of businessmen formed a power company and ran power to the theater located on the streets of Tazewell. He brought a movie production company from California to film such events as the Barren Creek Flood and the only remaining footage filmed in about 1918 of a May Day Event between the two Churches, the Baptist and the Methodist. Probably celebrating the 10th year of the Methodist building. I believe he actually completed at least one production but I am unable to locate it at present. I had earlier mistaken the group of pictures in the center as having been taken at Tobes Motel and Motor Lodge in Oneida but I can't find any pictures of Tobes ever having been a two story structure. I believe that the picture of the individual is William Q. Phillips who died in 1944. The older gentleman and the older lady are still unidentified. The others I believe that I know where they were made and have made notation with the pictures. Please email me if you have ideas as to the identity of the older gentleman and lady.
After he retried he bought the Senator John Toomey house in Huntsville. When it burned he stayed between our house in Tazewell and back at Tobe's Belle Meade Tourist Court or Motel ( 2001 picture) Tobe's is mentioned in this New York Times article regarding Oil exploration in Scott County in 1970. Tobe's is where he was found dead in 1959. He was welcome at the house that my father built in 1955 and 1956 but traveled between Brownsville, Texas, Knoxville and the Avent family and Tazewell to stay with us.
In his will he left each of his minor grandchildren $10,000 each
to be kept in a Trust until they reached college age. The Will was contested
and the law suit that followed, resulted in most of that money going for
lawyer fees and to the courts, not allowing anything for the grandchildren.
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