Latest news with #Hoobler
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Historic East Nashville church survives disaster, prepares for homecoming
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After surviving decades of disaster, East Nashville's former Tulip Street United Methodist Church building is preparing for a special homecoming. 'It's a remarkable survivor for well over a century,' said Jim Hoobler, retired senior curator for the Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee State Capitol. Built in 1891 on Russell Street, Hoobler said the building is one of the most historic churches in East Nashville. Its original congregation—organized in 1859—moved in after it outgrew its previous building on the other end of the block. Clock over East Nashville High School honors 59 killed in WW II 'It's Richardsonian Romanesque, which means that it's architecture before gothic. So it has rounded arches, and some beautiful terracotta — that's glazed clay,' Hoobler said. Hoobler pointed out a variety of life-sized elements including cherubs, figures of the archangel Gabriel holding a trumpet and a dragon holding up a balcony. More than three decades after it was built, the church's stunning features were faced with one Nashville's most devastating tragedies — the Great East Nashville Fire of 1916. According to Hoobler, the fire is rumored to have been started by a child playing with a ball of yarn that caught fire near lumberyards by the Cumberland River. 'Bam! With all of the wind, a huge fire started. It swept through this area. It burned 650 buildings and 3,000 people were homeless,' he said. But, miraculously—the church survived. And more than 80 years later, it made it through yet another disaster in 1998. 'When the tornado came through here, it decimated the building. It blew out the entire east wall of the building, and the stained glass was lying in the street, the sanctuary was wide open,' Hoobler recalled. Why these cottage-style homes were once gas stations Still though, the church was rebuilt and remained standing. Ultimately, it wasn't a force of nature that closed it's doors in 2017, but rather low attendance. The Methodist Church decided its congregation was too small, and moved in another congregation—one that just happened to have been started at this very same church, and lost their building in a 2020 tornado. 'A church that was formed here, East End Methodist, lost their building. So they are now coming back to their mother church, and they will be worshipping in here at Tulip Street once again,' Hoobler said. East End United Methodist Church confirmed they have purchased the building and are in the process of renovating it —what Hoobler estimates is a $4.5 million project. The congregation declined a full interview with News 2 as they are in the middle of the process, but did provide some insight into their plans. | READ MORE | East End Rev. Brandon Baxter said in a statement he believes this is the congregation's best pathway forward. 'After our historic sanctuary was catastrophically damaged in the 2020 tornadoes, we had a strong desire to remain in ministry in East Nashville,' he said. Baxter added East End plans to fully renovate the building for ministry to the community while maintaining its historic character, restoring elements like the Jardine organ in the sanctuary. 'Jardine organs are late 19th century organs. It's remarkable that one of those still survives, that they've maintained it all of these years and it's still playable,' Hoobler said. Until the renovations are complete, Baxter said East End will continue to worship one block away in the auditorium at Warner Arts Magnet Elementary School. Hidden Tennessee | Discover some of the Volunteer State's best-kept secrets Hoobler said survivors like the former Tulip Street Church building show us who we are; a sentiment best portrayed by John Steinbeck in a quote he shared from 'The Grapes of Wrath.' 'She says, 'How are you going to know where you come from, unless you remember where that was?' And that's what historic structures tell us. They tell us where we came from, and they help us remember where we are,' Hoobler concluded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
22-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
Thomas Hoobler, Half of a Prolific Writing Couple, Dies at 82
Thomas Hoobler, who with his wife, Dorothy Hoobler, wrote 103 books across a vast range of subjects, including young-adult biographies of Margaret Mead, mystery novels set in 18th-century Japan and, most recently, a book about presidential love letters with the attention-grabbing title 'Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making?,' died on Feb. 22 in Manhattan. He was 82. His wife and their daughter, Ellen Hoobler-Banavadikar, said the cause of his death, at a hospital, was a stroke. His death was not widely reported at the time. The Hooblers were journeyman writers, contributing to series that will be familiar to any pre-teenager or parent of a pre-teenager, including Penguin's wildly successful history books known by fans as 'Big Heads' for their cartoonish covers, which bore titles like 'Where Are the Great Pyramids?' (2015) and 'What Was the San Francisco Earthquake?' (2016). The couple also wrote their own series. They were proudest of the 10 'American Family Albums' they wrote for Oxford University Press, starting with 'The Chinese American Family Album' in 1994. The series, which drew on diaries, photographs and newspaper clippings to tell the story of the American immigrant experience, won a slew of honors, according to the Hooblers' website, including three awards from the Parents' Choice Foundation, a nonprofit guide to children's media and toys. Such recognition was typical of the Hooblers' output for young readers, which drew on extensive research but presented history and personalities in compelling, age-appropriate language. Given their prolific output and the esteem they earned among teachers, parents and librarians, it's a good bet that a sizable percentage of any given elementary school library was written by Mr. and Mrs. Hoobler. They took their subjects and their readers seriously, assuming that storytelling mixed with the right amount of facts could get young people interested in, say, a Chinese Communist leader ('Zhou Enlai,' 1986) or a world war ('The Trenches: Fighting on the Western Front During World War I,' 1978). Most of their work was nonfiction, but they also wrote novels: 'In Darkness, Death' (2004), part of a seven-book series about a samurai detective, won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Despite his abundant writing, Mr. Hoobler was never a household name — though he had a brief bit of fame in 2001 when he appeared on the television quiz show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.' Wearing a black sweater, made by Mrs. Hoobler, checked with colorful diamonds, he powered through enough rounds to win $500,000, some of which they used to pay for a monthlong trip to Italy. It also gave them enough of a financial cushion to expand their audience to adult readers, a market where they could not count on multi-book contracts. They wrote a book about Mary Shelley and the writing of 'Frankenstein,' 'The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein' (2006), and one about the theft of the Mona Lisa, 'The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft and Detection' (2009), which was excerpted in Vanity Fair. Their 103rd and last book, on presidential love, came about almost by accident. Mr. Hoobler was researching in the archives of Richard M. Nixon when he came across letters he had written to his wife, Patricia, before he became president. The book, published last year, received positive reviews, including one from the novelist W.M. Akers, who wrote in The New York Times that 'it answers the question 'What does a president in love sound like?' with a refreshing 'Just as dopey as anybody else.'' Thomas William Hoobler was born on June 12, 1942, in Cincinnati, the son of John Hoobler, a printer, and Jane (Pachoud) Hoobler, who managed the home. His life in letters began early: He worked alongside his father at his print shop as a child and got his first paying job, as a copy reader, at 10. He studied English at the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1964, followed by a year at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He then returned to Cincinnati, where he taught high school English and coached basketball. Eager to push his writing career forward, he moved to New York City in 1971. He met Dorothy Law on his first day in town. They married that year. Mrs. Hoobler and their daughter survive him. His brother, Jerry, died in 2016. The Hooblers spent most of the 1970s as editors at trade magazines, even after they began writing books. Their first three books all appeared in the mid-1970s: 'House Plants,' a manual; 'Frontier Diary,' about a young girl's 19th-century trip across America; and 'Margaret Mead: A Life in Science.' That last book in particular set the template for their approach. They did not, as some curious readers assumed, sit side by side, clacking out manuscripts on matching typewriters. They worked in separate rooms, with separate responsibilities. Though they both researched and wrote, Mrs. Hoobler proved better at the former — she even interviewed Ms. Mead — while Mr. Hoobler took the lead on the writing. 'Sometimes I would do a very rough draft, and then he would write the final script of it — it really did depend,' Mrs. Hoobler said in an interview. 'We worked together pretty well, I think. Obviously, we got these projects done.'
Chicago Tribune
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Highland Park lifts liquor-license/council restriction at heated meeting; ‘Members … protected their own seats over the will of the community'
Highland Park's ongoing dispute over a 90-year-old ordinance prohibiting City Council members from holding liquor licenses came to an end Monday evening, but bitter comments from council members and residents related to the controversy left a rift in the community. Last year, Councilman Jeff Hoobler resigned from his seat after a Prohibition-era city ordinance was rediscovered barring local officials from holding liquor licenses. Hoobler, owner of Steep Ravine Brewing Company, formerly Ravinia Brewing, chose to step down rather than give up the license. It was the spark for a lengthy and heated controversy that spilled into public events and consumed hours of council meetings. In November, a referendum calling for an amendment to the liquor license ordinance passed with overwhelming public support, but a council vote on the issue was put off until this year despite calls from some residents and council members Annette Lidawer and Andres Tapia to resolve the issue sooner. While Monday evening's amendment passed unanimously, Lidawer, Tapia and several residents questioned the timing of the change. The deadlines for the April municipal election have passed, and all but one City Council incumbent will be running unopposed. Mayor Nancy Rotering pushed back against accusations questioning the timing of the liquor-license vote, arguing the council had acted quickly within reason. After the referendum passed in November, Rotering said she had 'noted we would discuss this issue in 2025.' 'This is the third meeting in 2025, and the first opportunity for a thorough discussion where all voices can be heard,' she said. 'Deliberation and due diligence are not political tactics. They're the foundation of responsible governance.' Rotering and several other board members argued there had been several key questions that remained unanswered about the original goal of the ordinance, and the potential consequences of its amendment. Rather than rush ahead, the mayor said their responsibility was, 'to uphold the integrity of our government while ensuring that policies remain fair, practical and reflective of our values. 'Governance should not be about personal gain or political maneuvering,' she said. 'It should be about fairness, transparency and credibility to the residents we serve.' Several council members, including Rotering, said they had been uncomfortable with changing the ordinance before Hoobler resigned due to the potential for the 'appearance of impropriety,' she said. Anthony Blumberg said he had previously been against amending the ordinance because, 'we were essentially being asked to change the law to accommodate an individual who found himself in violation of the law.' However, Blumberg said he had 'always indicated' a willingness to change his position, 'under the normal circumstances in which we normally legislate.' Rotering discussed several of the questions she has about the amendment, regarding recusal and issues of conflict of interest. According to the city's legal counsel, having a liquor license is largely in line with council members that are in other professions, such as real estate, and will be covered by Highland Parks' existing recusal rules and recently strengthened ethics ordinances. Tapia and Lidawer, the only two candidates in support of putting an amendment on the city agenda last year, were both highly critical of the vote's timing, going so far as to question the motivations of their fellow council members. Tapia argued the controversy had 'damaged' the city's name and credibility, and the issue should have been dealt with sooner without 'dragging' the community through the controversy. He said he was 'glad' to put it behind them. 'It's taken more than a year, and that is unacceptable,' Tapia said. 'We have made very big decisions about very big things in the city with less time taken. I really question the timing, especially when it was an urgent matter.' Lidawer said the issue had been thoroughly studied and researched months ago, but the council failed to bring a vote forward. She felt the process was needlessly extended for political reasons. The date for residents to register as a write-in candidate passed in late January. On Monday, the amendment appeared 'on the council agenda with clarifications as to ethics regulations discussed and accepted in September 2024.' 'Where were all the other questions and the need for additional study that we were advised of in November that over a nine-month period we couldn't have answered?' Lidawer said. 'I don't believe in coincidences. The fact is that several members of this body protected their own seats over the will of the community.' She thanked community members for their efforts to push the amendment. The city had received hundreds of emails voicing support, she said. 'In spite of the delays, this change has been affected because of you, and democracy, while it might be slow, will eventually be served,' Lidawer said. Blumberg said he had been well aware of the public support for the amendment. 'But, as I've stated consistently, the fact an opinion is held by a majority of residents is something that I may consider, I do not consider it to be controlling,' he said. 'We've been asked to vote according to the will of the people, and I'm uncomfortable with that. I'm here to represent the community, not an individual … and not any specific group.' The most bitter comments were made by former council member Hoobler who, because of the timing of the amendment, was not permitted to be added to the ballot to run for the remaining two years of his vacated term. City Council veteran Kim Stone has chosen to run for his former seat, which is currently held by Barisa Bruckman, who is running unopposed for a full four-year seat. Stone faces political newcomers Jon Center and Kevin Cullather. 'This wasn't just a coincidence,' Hoobler said. 'It was a calculated move to manipulate the democratic process.' Hoobler also questioned the withdrawal of The Art Center Highland Park Executive Director James Lynch from the election campaign in December. Lynch was the only non-incumbent running for a full-term seat. 'People are systematically preventing qualified candidates from running, while long-term incumbents remain in power for years, many times not even opposed,' Hoobler said. Lynch, for his part, said he was approached by The Art Center board members who were concerned the council position would make him less effective as a director and be a conflict of interest. He withdrew because he agreed with their assessment, Lynch said. The Art Center shouldn't be involved with politics, he said, and with the challenges facing many nonprofits today, he was 'happy' with his decision to focus on the center. 'I've got my hands full,' Lynch said. During public comments, several residents called for unity after the division wrought by the liquor-license controversy. 'People have said things online that they can never take back to their neighbors,' Ashbey Beasley said. 'This has caused such a divide and such a rift in our community, which is very sad. I would really like to ask you to make an effort to bring our community together again.'
