Silent heroes are a guiding light for life

In the course of a lifetime we make hundreds of acquaintances, find some good friends, and if we are very fortunate, we encounter a person or two who make profound impressions on us which last a lifetime.

I have been very blessed in that respect as a result of the friendship I enjoyed with Professor James Scott. I was born and raised on a small dairy farm near Belfast in rural Marshall County.

I attended a small elementary school and never really did much socially until and started my first year Marshall County High School at Lewisburg in 1961.

I felt inferior to most of the "city" kids when I started there and expected to be to be treated accordingly by the teachers and other students.

My misgivings were quickly relieved after I met Principal James Scott. He too came from a farming background and soon learned that he treated every student with equal respect and concern. I remember that his mild manor and stern presence in ever changing times lead to stability in a young and restless baby boom generation..

Mr. Scott moved from Lewisburg and became principal at Shelbyville Central in 1966.I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1969 and applied for a teaching position at Shelbyville Central High School that same year.

Apparently I had not made a bad impression on Mr. Scott as a student, and he gave me my first "adult" job teaching architectural drawing and mathematics.

He was still my principal, but our relationship took on deeper meaning. He became my mentor and showed tremendous interest in my efforts to teach students who were in some cases just a few years younger than me. I was given great latitude in developing a very modern approach to teaching. His advice was always sound, and he never failed to encourage his teachers to do their best even as he encouraged the students under his charge.

I always felt that he wanted us to enjoy our work and learn to see the worth of it in the future success of the kids we taught. As I encounter my former students today, I realize how right he was in his outlook.

I gave up my teaching job in four years to pursue private business ventures. Mr. Scott wished me well and encouraged me to keep in touch with him.

I would see him from time-to-time and was always amazed that he was keeping up with my progress in the business world. His words were always kind, and he was proud that things were going well for me.

He left his position at Shelbyville Central High for a new challenge as the principal of the Tennessee Preparatory School in Nashville. A position as demanding as that takes a person with determination, patience, and a kind heart.

I know Professor Scott applied himself to that with the same vigor and intensity he applied to every aspect of his life. I have no doubt that there were some troubled young people whose lives were changed as a result of his efforts over the years he was there.

I was happy to see him when he retired from teaching and came back to live and farm in Shelbyville.

He was one of the busiest "retired" people I have ever known. I know that he was very active in his church and with a variety of civic interests.

Every time I would encounter him it seemed that he was pressing forward on projects at his farm or working to help someone out. He always seemed proud to see me and wanted to know what projects I had underway.

His mood was always energetic and upbeat. If I mentioned his name to others, they would always comment on the incredible pace he kept despite his age. In all the years I knew him, I never heard one of his former students or teachers that taught under him speak anything but words of respect and admiration for him.

I learned of his passing when I remarked to a friend that I was going into Shelbyville and was going to drop by to visit with him while I was there. I was shocked and saddened when the friend told me of his death and the fact that his funeral had already taken place.

I learned from my experience with James Scott that you do not have to be the President of the United Sates, the CEO of a large company or a movie star to spread wealth of spirit and happiness to those around you.

All you really need to do is be a friend and show compassion to be a genuine success in life and that success is measured in how many peoples lives you touch for the better. I'm sure that James Scott touched and improved thousands of lives in his time without even knowing it.

In my mind he was one of what we refer to today as a "silent" American Hero.

-- Denny Hastings is a Marshall County Central High School alumnus, Class of 1965.