While reminiscing, I have fond memories of a kind and gentle man who made a lasting impression on me. He was Robert W. “Tee-ninny” Scales.
My first introduction to Robert was when I began working at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce back in 1986. I immediately felt an affinity with his personality and demeanor, soft spoken and always taking time to converse without making me think that I was invading his space or wasting his time. His radiating spirit made a statement about respect and integrity.
I came to admire him for many reasons. If memory serves me correctly, Robert was the first African-American to be elected to an at-large city council seat in the South since Reconstruction. Year after year, he even led the ticket by getting more votes than anyone else. He was truly a trailblazer; from being a city councilman, a Tennessee Rotarian, the Murfreesboro City School Board member, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, successful businessman, and the list could go on and on.
Those accomplishments were remarkable, but I also appreciated the man, a gentleman and a peacemaker. He really showed his metal during the transitional years in the 1960s when our community, the state, and the nation needed calm spirits and steady hands. Murfreesboro was spared the unrest and sometimes violence that plagued other cities, thanks in large part to Robert Scales.
I remember listening to Robert talk about those troublesome times, and how he found common ground where all people could meet and discuss the issues peacefully and with dignity. He said, “If you can’t get a whole loaf at first, get a half-loaf and keep on working to finally get the whole.”
Yes, he was a wise man.
Now, let’s go back in time to September 1988. Robert at that point was slowing his pace as a public official, although he will always be remembered as an energetic leader. The Chamber of Commerce and a group of other community movers and shakers decided to do something that would be noteworthy in celebrating his legendary life; a tribute to a living legend at the largest indoor gathering place in Rutherford County: Murphy Center at MTSU.
After weeks of planning, the much-anticipated event arrived. It was the largest attendance for a sit-down dinner and banquet in the history of Murphy Center with more than 900 present.
One by one, pillars of the community and the state lauded Robert’s accomplishments in business, education and public service. The celebration lasted over four hours, but no one complained. We were there to recognize good and to praise it. Time didn’t matter.
I was honored to be a part of that celebration, serving as master of ceremonies. When all the many glowing tributes were completed, I presented our honoree. He came to the podium with a handkerchief in his hand, brushing aside the tears as he thanked his family, friends and the many others for helping to give his life purpose.
That night with our tribute to Robert W. Scales will always be a special memory to me. Thinking about it now reminds me that a person cannot give something away that he or she does not have. In other words, love and respect cannot be given to others unless a person first has love and respect. Someone wiser than me more than 2,000 years ago said, “Love others as you love yourself.”
I believe that Robert Scales knew and lived that admonition. |
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