A statesman, an educator, Whitey Hitchcock was an example of service
HARRY C. ‘WHITEY’ HITCHCOCK III
Hitchcock, who served three terms as an Anderson County commissioner and taught for 16 years at Clinton High School, was well respected by his fellow commissioners and teachers.
“He was a very unique person,” Commissioner Robert McKamey said of Hitchcock. “He was one of the most down-to-earth people I have ever met.”
McKamey knew him before they served on the board together, because Hitchcock had taught McKamey’s son. McKamey said he sat next to Hitchcock at commission meetings and they talked together between votes.
“He knew government and he knew how governments works,” Mckamey said. “He put the county first.”
McKamey said he learned from Hitchcock that there is a difference between wants and needs. Hitchcock said that sometimes commissioners have to say, “no,” to people’s wants and “yes,” to their needs.
“I learned so much from him,” said Commissioner Shain Vowell, who also sat next to Hitchcock. “He was a mentor to me.”
Vowell called Hitchcock “a wealth of knowledge” and added that his advice saved the commission a lot of times.
Commission Chairman Joshua Anderson was not elected to the commission until after Hitchcock’s time on the board.
But he said, “I stood on the shoulders of giants,” referring to such men as Hitchcock who had served before him.
Anderson remembers Hitchcock from serving on boards that dealt with environmental issues. He recalls Hitchcock as being studious and scholarly, and very thoughtful with the responses he gave.
He said Hitchcock was detail-oriented and came to the meetings very well prepared. He was thoroughly familiar with agenda packages, even when they contained hundreds of pages at budget time.
“He was not afraid to ask the tough questions, but he did not get personal,” said Commissioner Tracy Wandell. “I liked that.”
Wandell remembers Hitchcock from serving on the conservation board. They would have their meeting in the morning and then have lunch at a county park. After lunch, Hitchcock would inform his fellow board members about the plants found in the park.
Hitchcock had an extensive knowledge of mushrooms. Because of that, Wandell called Hitchcock, “Dr. Mushroom,” or “Dr. Shroom.” Wandell said Hitchcock was responsible for getting the county a Department of Justice grant.
“He was a character,” asserted Commissioner Jerry White. “Whitey was his own person.”
White is in the pest-control business. He would go to Hitchcock’s house for what should have been a 30-minute spraying job. Hitchcock’s company was so enjoyable that the event would last two hours, White said.
At their last meeting, commissioners observed a moment of silence in honor of Hitchcock. Upon reflection on that event, White said Hitchcock would probably have laughed because his classes at school were very humorous.
Dr. Tim Parrott, director of Anderson County Schools, who taught with Hitchcock for “five or six years” at Clinton High School, said Hitchcock was a teacher who taught outside the box. He said Hitchcock really pushed his students and taught them to be thinkers, and that he was on the cutting edge in a lot of areas.
He taught anatomy and physiology, biology and other science subjects. Parrott said that at that time, Hitchcock’s students were the only high school students allowed to work with human cadavers.
Hitchcock graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in forestry and received a master of forestry from Northern Arizona University. In 1988, he earned a Ph.D. in exercise physiology from the University of Tennessee. He also served as strength and condition coach for the Lady Vols. Hitchcock served with the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam and wrote a book called, “The Soul of a Teacher,” which discussed the importance of being a life-long learner.