There’s a new house in town, or there will be soon. Groundbreaking for a new Chi Omega sorority house took place in February at 515 O’Neal Street on the UTC campus. The Delta Alpha Chapter of Chi Omega was founded on the University of Chattanooga campus on March 15, 1919. After over 40 years on Douglas Street, the chapter moved to 850 Oak Street over 50 years ago. Now, the Delta Alpha chapter has outgrown its beloved Oak Street home, and the sorority sisters are looking forward to a beautiful new home on O’Neal Street.
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Jan Rhodes, director of fundraising and house construction of the Chattanooga Chi Omega House Corporation, said, “I can’t tell you how excited I am about this! Our active members have been without a home to hold their chapter meetings for such a long time. Now the actives and alums can enjoy a beautiful new home.”

Many local alumnae are excited, too.

Pam Fleenor said,  “As an alum I cherish the wonderful memories and good times we had at the Chi Omega house in Fortwood. Sharing a house creates a lifelong bond. I am excited that we are breaking ground on this awesome new house so that Chi Omegas in the future can similarly experience a home away from home!”

Her sorority sister Hollie Kent agreed, saying,  “Chi Omega was a very special part of my years at UTC.  Lifelong friendships were created and nurtured there.  It’s been sad for me in the more recent past that our house on Oak Street has been unable to keep up with the growth of the chapter, and it’s exciting for me to have this long anticipated groundbreaking for the beautiful new house on O’Neal Street!”

River Street Architecture designed the new home, and all involved agree it is outstanding. The new house will be even more appreciated after the pandemic.

Amy Bercher, president of the Chattanooga Chi Omega House Corporation explained, “College students today are still reeling from the effects of the pandemic. For some, it’s the first time they have left home. They need a place where they can physically connect with each other. The new Chattanooga Chi Omega house will allow young women to support each other personally and academically in a home-like setting.”
Founded in 1895 at the University of Arkansas, Chi Omega is the largest women’s fraternal organization in the world with over 400,000 initiates, 181 collegiate chapters, and 248 alumnae chapters. And there are quite a few of these gals in the Chattanooga area.

“The current 228 Chi Omega Alumnae and Collegians living on Signal Mountain are celebrating a multi-year effort to construct a new home on the UTC campus. The house will be a meeting place of pride and community for education and scholarship endeavors, community engagement, and supportive Sisterhood. Beginning in college, the National organization encourages women to be life-long strong leaders and compassionate friends, as so many Chi Omegas have demonstrated in our Signal Mountain community,” said Claire Smith.

Jan Cooper added,  “Becoming an active sister in Chi Omega was the icing on the cake during my years at UTC. I was part of a respected group that was filled with supportive sisters who valued scholarship and friendship and a huge dash of fun. So many of those sisters are still my best friends today. We had wonderful times at our house on Oak Street, and we are all so excited about building a beautiful new house on O’Neal Street for today’s Chi Omega sisters to enjoy!”

 Melissa White sums up the feelings of thousands of Chi O’s beautifully, saying,  “Groundbreaking on our new home has been a day we’ve dreamed of even before celebrating our chapter’s Centennial in 2019. Chi Omega members, both active and alumni, and friends have been lovingly dedicated to the cause and moving things forward despite a pandemic. One thing is for certain, when a Chi Omega and especially a group of Chi Omegas sisters, set their sight on a goal, it will be accomplished! I am so proud of how far we have come, grateful for our entire volunteer team and generous donors making this day possible, and thrilled to serve on the team pushing forward to the finish line! Let’s go, Sisters!”

by Ferris Robinson

We lost an old, beloved hemlock tree during a recent windstorm. I was shocked when I drove up the driveway and was greeted by this tree, broken in half and dangling. I immediately called my husband and sent a text to all the children and their spouses mourning our loss. I was deeply saddened.

The tree was an old friend, a daily welcome sight, a haven for wildlife, shade for our yard, a windbreak, a privacy screen, a graceful and beautiful being. I sent a text to our family friend who owns Alpine Roots, a local tree service. His response was, “No, not the hemlock!” He and our son-in-law kindly dismantled the tree and hauled it away - a funeral for a friend. As I look out into my yard daily, I yearn for what was.

Prior to this loss, I had recently read an article about eco-grief, and now I was directly experiencing it in my own yard. Eco-grief, eco-anxiety, eco-anger and climate rage are identified emotions that are being studied in the bereavement category. It’s likely many will experience these emotions as climate change continues. A friend commented the other day about the clearing of some trees going down the front of Signal Mountain. She said, “I hardly recognize my hometown.” Her comment really resonated with me as I felt the same. Another form of eco-grief.

The National Library of Medicine states, “Climate change is increasingly recognized to pose a variety of threats to human health, including mental health and well-being.” Think of those who have been directly affected through a natural disaster or extreme weather event with the loss of a home, damaged crops, or loss of natural space. There may be indirect stressors from the events like difficulty reconstructing the home, fewer food sources, increase in food prices or less recreational places to enjoy the outdoors. These effects can be acute to chronic. Some people will hear about or witness these climate change events and their produced outcomes and begin to suffer the emotional consequences associated with anticipated environmental changes.

The National Library of Medicine continues to say that climate-related non-economic losses have shown that people are subject to intangible harm from climate change like the disappearance of flora and fauna, loss of cropland and living spaces for animals, loss of ways of life, loss of personal identity constructed in relation to the physical environment. Ecological grief is the emotional response to such losses. 

The “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health” defined ecological grief as the “grief felt in relation to experienced or anticipated ecological losses, including the loss of species, ecosystems and meaningful landscapes due to acute or chronic environmental change.” This may be particularly pronounced in those who retain close living, working or cultural relationships with the natural environment such as foresters, farmers, naturalists, biologists, outdoor sportsmen or indigenous people. It’s likely this will be a universal reality.

Solastalgia is a new concept developed by philosopher Glenn Albrecht to give greater meaning and clarity to environmentally induced distress. A blend of the words solace and nostalgia, solastalgia is used not just in academia but more widely, and some U.S. researchers refer to it in their climate change studies. It describes the feeling of distress associated with environmental change close to your home. Another group of researchers refer to it as, “The distress caused by the unwelcome transformation of cherished landscapes resulting in cumulative mental, emotional and spiritual health impacts.” I think all of us can relate to this term with the ridiculous amounts of development going on in our area. The landscape is forever changed.

The National Library of Medicine states, “Climate change-related environmental degradation and loss of species or ways of life can evoke emotional reactions even before its occurrence. Eco-anxiety is a response to impending threats by climate change.” The awareness of the slow moving and fast moving impacts of climate change can elicit feelings of hopelessness, uncertainty, and a type of anticipated sadness. Distress and anxiety ensue. Fear for the current generation and the many future generations becomes a real worry. 

I can deeply relate to the term place attachment. This refers to the concept of a place having an acquired personal meaning and can be applied to aspects of the social and physical environment such as a house, neighborhood, landscape or natural environment. Many of us form a deep attachment to places, constructing part of our identity around them. The duration of your eco-grief may be influenced by specific types of attachments. I have lots of place attachments and can only guess that most of us do. It’s truly painful when one of our places is damaged or lost by new construction or severely damaged by storms. It’s not only we humans who suffer; wildlife certainly suffers as habitats are forever changed.

Grief researcher William Worden defined one of the key tasks in a grief process as “the adjustment to a new environment,” while grief researcher Thomas Attig depicted the whole grief process as “relearning the world.” When there is profound change, something is either lost or in the process of going away, grief can help us adjust. Researchers agree that naming emotions is useful practice. When things have a name, they can be more easily understood, and experiences about them can be more easily shared. A BBC article reported that, “At its best, a grief process leads to the revitalization of a person’s energies, to an ability to reinvest meaning in those practices of life. The world is now different and I am different, but there can still be meaning in life.”

The National Library of Medicine agrees that, “As emotional states motivate behavior tendencies, feelings associated with ecological grief could motivate environmental behavior. Some think the ecological loss may give people a sense of hopelessness (it doesn’t make a difference what I do), subsequently reducing the likelihood of active adaptation. However, “research on psychological adaptation to climate change and its relation to environmental behavior has shown that some psychological distress in response to climate change-related environmental problems was positively associated with psychological coping or adaptation which in turn predicted engagement in pro-environmental behavior.”

As we experience this eco-heartbreak, unfortunately, this process is likely to become a more frequent experience around the world.

Let’s not wallow in the grief and anxiety. Identify it, find healthy ways to cope and be the catalyst for change. We have to start making changes and educating our children so they know how to effectively lead this world as generations peel away. 

I’m going to replace my lost hemlock, replant the area around it and encourage a new ecosystem to flourish. I have to, for my sanity and for my future generations.

by Tish Gailmard

Andrea Zoppo is a lot of things. She is a teacher. She is an artist. She is an environmentalist. She is a naturalist. Most of all, she is fun! With the nickname Ms. Ladybug, how could she not be? And she brings a sense of that fun to all she does. She comes by that naturally. Her mother ran an event planning business that all family members were part of, so Andrea was accustomed to dressing like a clown and making people laugh.

An educator, making people laugh as they learn is one of Andrea’s goals. And she’s good at it. Her causes are serious. Reducing the carbon imprint is no laughing matter, but with a big red clown nose in the middle of her face, she makes the issue approachable. Especially for the planet’s youngest stewards.

With an ultimate goal of making people enjoy learning, Andrea is not an average educator. She strives to make each and every child feel important and recognized. Not only does she have a unique ability to work with children, she also has a gift for sharing the magic of curriculum and lesson planning with colleagues. And her latest endeavor is a children’s book, “Storm Bugs.”

A caring person from childhood on, Andrea was properly frightened by storms. But instead of fearing that trees would crash on her house, she was concerned about the creatures outside that were exposed to the elements.

“When I was a child I would get anxious about what could happen to animals, especially bugs, during a storm. With lightning crashing and thunder booming, I would wonder, how do bugs survive? They are so little and fragile … and maybe I felt that way too,” she recalls, understanding the vital connection our planet has with its tiniest creatures.

While there is some fun with imagination in “Storm Bugs,” the facts imbedded in the rhyming story are true. Mosquitoes can really ride raindrops, and honeybees really seem to know when it’s going to rain!

The book’s illustrations are amazing. Jordan Ososki created the images by hand with colored pencils. 

“When my longtime friend Andrea offered the opportunity to collaborate with her on this fun book, I jumped on it! I really love the original concept, and nature is one my favorite art subjects. And, like Andrea, Ms. Ladybug, I love to garden too!” Jordan said.

Jordan wanted the bugs to be instantly recognizable, so he modeled his designs on real photos. “I am now an insect anatomy expert,” he laughed. “When you’re looking from a bug’s eye view, details are huge! I know that ‘Storm Bugs’ will be a fun way to share the often overlooked details of the insect world with the bug-loving kids in your life.”

Andrea is excited to share her love of nature with children and, true to form, is brainstorming puppet shows, theatrical performances and costumed readings to share at schools and community events. Chances are, she’ll be sporting a big red clown nose!

Don’t miss her reading at Signal Mountain Library at 11 a.m. on April 18! Also, don’t miss her reading and performance on May 13 at Art 120’s “We Make” event in Miller Park. And keep your eyes open for a series on WTCI that features “Storm Bugs” later this spring. 
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by Ferris Robinson

Hiking in the winter has its perks: smaller crowds; views unobstructed by foliage; and less poison ivy. However, it can also be uniquely treacherous due to slippery fallen leaves and hidden ice. If you’ve ever wondered who would have the equipment and skills to rescue you after an unplanned descent into a ravine, enter Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service (CHCRS).

Formed in 1937, the organization currently provides cave, cliff and wilderness rescue services. Captain Brandon Powers, who has served with CHCRS for 10 years, explains what CHCRS does and why it is so critical:

“We serve the Tri-State area through technical expertise, search and rescue, and emergency incident rehabilitation services. We are one of the few rescue teams in the country with the skill level and experience to save lives both above and underground.”

Powers continues, “Different than your local fire departments, which provide many other lifesaving services such as firefighting and vehicle extraction, our skill and expertise is directly related to the wilderness and subterranean setting. It’s our primary focus, and we train extensively for these types of remote environments.”  

Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations and support from Hamilton County for its funding. It typically responds to two to three calls per month, and deploys at the request of law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency management agencies. While its service area is defined as Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, Capt. Powers expresses that they go where their services are needed, saying, “Our expertise is occasionally requested outside our immediate service area. We have deployed to New Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia, Arkansas and North Carolina, as well.”

There is no one typical rescue. Per Captain Powers, a ‘typical’ rescue situation for CHCRS could be anything from a hiker who needs simple assistance to the expedition caver who is severely sick and injured - miles into a difficult vertical cave system. We will respond to help if called, no matter the scale of the situation.”  

In addition to answering emergency calls, the CHCRS team is sometimes requested at local trail races and other outdoor recreation events. A recent event where CHCRS was present is the annual “Stump Jump” race on Signal Mountain, which has a course with many narrow paths bordered by steep drops. Captain Powers explains, “We were asked to come and provide standby services for the race. Most of the events we provide standby for are in rugged wilderness settings. That setting is the environment CHCRS trains in. For this rescue team, it’s a perfect match for skill deployment and environment. We often get to cheer our teammates on as they compete in these races.”  

If you are wondering if you will get a massive bill if you need this rescue services, the answer is no. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service does not charge for its services, which is possible only because their rescuers are all volunteers. Captain Powers says that while CHCRS provides training, rescuers provide their own gear. “Typically, our members have several thousand dollars’ worth of rescue gear that they keep in their go bags - ready at a moment’s notice.”

The approximately 40 volunteer rescuers on CHCRS’s roster have diverse backgrounds such as wilderness first responders, EMTs, paramedics, flight nurses, physicians, cavers, rock climbers, and trail runners. Captain Powers says the organization is fortunate to have a variety of volunteers, including many rope access technicians, rope rescue instructors, and individuals whose “day jobs” are related to rescue.

While additional volunteers are always welcome, there are many other ways to support the organization. Per Captain Powers, those who want to help CHCRS’s mission can “visit our website, donate, apply if you have transferable skills, say ‘hi’ if you see us out.  If you are part of another rescue organization, let’s train together!”

Of course, the best case scenario is not needing CHCRS’s help at all. Captain Powers offers these tips to anyone planning to trek into our beautiful local wilderness settings:

1. Leave an itinerary with family or a friend.
2. Bring adequate food and water. 
3. Have a way to navigate: map, compass, GPS. Don’t always rely on your cell phone. 
4. Have a source of light with you in addition to a cell phone.
5. Make sure to bring appropriate layers of clothing or supplies to stay warm.  
6. Lastly, if you have called 911 for help, please remain in one place. This will help with locating you faster.  

For more information on CHCRS, go to https://www.chcrs.org/. Stay safe out there!
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by Ginger Gibson ​

A photo gallery is at the end of the article. 

Our Purple Lady, Sonia Young, has died. She was a Chattanooga institution. She was a solid gold character, unmatched. She was a force to be reckoned with. She was a matriarch to many of us, and friend to all she met along the way. 
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Early in the morning hours of December 22, my dear friend Sonia fell peacefully asleep in the home that she designed and built with her late husband, Mel. She was exactly where she wanted to be. She was comfortable and peaceful. And, this makes me happy to know.

It’s hard to use the word happy as I contemplate the passing of someone so special to me, but damn, didn’t Sonia bring happiness to so many of us? 

How can I not remember her humor, her joy for all of the best things in life, and her boundless generosity?
When I was 25-years-old, Sonia Young adopted me. Sure enough, she flat-out adopted me into her tight-knit, rag-tag, good-humored group of chosen family.

For quite some time, our little family knew that Sonia was failing, and for months we spoke on the phone daily to her and to each other, prepping for that time when our Purple Lady would go on to her great reward. The support system has been invaluable. 

Though I kept my emotions about the matter to myself, I was convinced that her passing would leave a Texas-sized hole in my heart. I was convinced that there would be weeks - if not months - of rudderless wandering, and a possibility I might break under the grief. After all, my adopted mother had passed away. She was my best friend. We spoke on the phone two or three times a day for the better part of two decades.  

But in fact, my PL’s passing has not only bolstered my spirits, it has given me pause in all of the very best ways. Pause to embrace gratitude. Pause to embrace friends and family (adopted family especially). Pause to bring joy to others when I can. Pause during the day to make an off-color joke at no one’s expense. Pause to love and pause to improve the things and people around me. 

In all of these things, my heart hasn’t diminished; in these things - these gifts - my heart has grown, and it has become much richer in character. And, our Purple Lady is responsible. 

Sonia’s volunteer fundraising efforts to benefit local nonprofit organizations are legendary. She raised millions of dollars to build the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, a community gem where she founded the Youth Theatre; where her father’s name is memorialized on the Circle Theatre; and where the Main Stage lobby is named after Sonia’s late husband, Mel. 

In recent years, she spearheaded an effort to build a giraffe exhibit at the Chattanooga Zoo, and, by golly, in her 80s, she made it happen. 

I remember a story about the fundraising push to purchase a permanent home for the Chattanooga Ballet. Mel was one of the founding directors of the Ballet, so the Youngs were particularly interested in the organization’s success. 

Potential donors seemingly dragged their feet too long for Sonia’s taste, so she went to the longtime, much-beloved executive director (now executive director emeritus), Bob Willie. She told Bob that she had created an ad hoc committee to raise the final $300,000 to purchase a building off North Market Street to be the Ballet’s permanent home. Bob, graciously thanked her and asked, “Who’s on your committee” to which Sonia replied, “I am. I only work on committees of one.” 

So, for the ensuing two weeks, The Purple Lady went around town telling business leaders and philanthropists exactly how much money they were going to contribute to the effort. 

Ten days into the fundraising effort, Sonia had single-handedly raised $290,000 by cobbling together $10,000 here and $5,000 there. She needed $10,000 to reach the goal, so she called an old friend. 

She arrived at Joe Decosimo’s office with Bob Willie in tow. They sat down and Sonia did all the talking. Mr. Decosimo, always the gentleman, listened to Sonia’s plea and graciously explained that his firm’s philanthropic budget was exhausted for the year and he simply didn’t have the money for a nonprofit donation of $10,000. 

Sonia leaned back in her chair, folded her hands in a very assured manner and said, “Joe, do you have any other meetings in this office today?” Mr. Decosimo said, “Yes, I do.” Sonia retorted, “I guess you should find a conference room for those other meetings because I’m not getting out of this chair until you give me $10,000.” Mr. Decosimo chuckled, excused himself from his own office and came back a few minutes later with a check made out to the Chattanooga Ballet for the prescribed amount. 

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic raged in the 1980s and 1990s, Sonia was on the forefront locally, raising money for Chattanooga CARES (now CEMPA), a medical resource center that helped the afflicted when many people and organizations would not. 

During one of CARES’ fundraising pushes, Sonia approached a preeminent Chattanooga philanthropist for a donation, who declined. Sonia politely thanked him, and immediately drove home and called his wife. By all accounts, her performance was Oscar-worthy - tears and all. She explained to the wife that her husband had hurt her feelings and that she didn’t know he had the capacity for cruelty. By the end of the conversation, the wife was in tears and was infuriated with her husband. The next day, a personal check from the wife for $25,000 was delivered to Chattanooga CARES. 

Sonia raised a lot of money for Chattanooga Symphony and Opera over the years. For several years after Mel died in 2009, The Purp (the late Will Montague’s nickname for Sonia) and I attended the CSO’s opening night in September. This particular year, the late West Oehmig had just sold his town car and limousine fleet to a fellow who was one of his drivers. Sonia wrote an article on the business and made friends with the new owner. She called me up the Saturday morning before the evening concert and said, “Don’t worry about picking me to go to the Tivoli. I’ve arranged for a ride. I’ll pick you up.”

I was a bit confused, but Sonia worked magic on a pretty regular basis, so I didn’t ask any questions. That night she arrived at my house in the longest limo in the city of Chattanooga. As we came up Broad Street she told the chauffer to slowly pull in front of the Tivoli and to take up both lanes of traffic. When the behemoth came to stop under the glimmering marquis at our much-loved Jewel of the South, I hopped out and offered my hand to her. She refused and said, “Go on, darlin’. I’m going to sit here for a minute.” As I walked toward the box office, concert-goers on the sidewalk gawked, asking, “Who’s in that limo? Who in the world could it be? It must be someone famous!”

A group of wonderful grande dames, Hedy Davenport, Susie Bryan, Sarah Moore and Harriet Chipley, stopped me under those twinkling lights and asked, “Who is in your limo?” Each one asked, each one more demanding than the last.

“That would be The Purple Lady’s limo,” I finally answered. Susie playfully and lovingly rolled her eyes and chuckled, “Well, that’s Sonia for you!”  

And, dear readers, did you know that little Sonia (Winer) Young, the Mountain Mirror’s rapscallion publisher emeritus Billy Parker, and Elder Mountain’s Morton Center were in the same class at Normal Park Elementary School? 

If my math serves me right, those three would have entered first grade together in 1939. I can only imagine the scene with those three characters in the same classroom. Sonia must have been organizing her classmates for a Tootsie Roll drive to raise money for homeless pets. Billy must have been charming all of the girls and making everyone laugh with his inimitable wit. And Morton was probably chewing a cigar while causing laughter all around. 

The laughter that Sonia brought is priceless, and will be the hallmark of her character in my memory.

My best friend is gone. I’m saddened. But, my gratitude for being loved by a splendid soul named Sonia Young far outweighs any grief I may feel. Let’s all raise a glass in her honor, and celebrate her spirit of generosity and Lavender Love!

by Andrew Clark