 1951 |
Ben McKinnon Achieved Success as Bridge Builder |
1951 |
Ben McKinnon Achieved Success as Bridge Builder |
Headed state contractors,
won sports renown
Ben McKinnon was a member of an elite but familiar breed, the home-town boy who leaves
home and goes on to achieve success in another place.
He founded McKinnon Bridge Company, a major highway bridge construction firm whose
projects included the Ned McWherter Bridge at Paris Landing. He was a past president of
Tennessee Road Builders Association.
He left Paris in 1951 after graduating from Grove High School, where he had played Blue
Devil football under Bobby Jelks. He played then for Vanderbilt University, and later was
inducted into the Henry County Sports Hall of Fame.
He was an avid outdoorsman, with a passion for fishing and horses. He was a big, robust
man who enjoyed life. He made his mark in life.
Thomas Benson McKinnon
died June 13, 2004
Editorial reprinted from THE PARIS
POST-INTELLIGENCER
June 15, 2004 Edition ~ Used by permission.
Ben's Grove High School Senior Year Vitae ~ 1951
THOMAS BENSON McKINNON
Football, I-IV;
Basketball. I-IV;
Track, I, II, IV;
Baseball, II, IV;
G-Club, I-IV;
Hi-Y, II-IV;
Glee Club, II-IV;
Pep Club, IV;
Tower Staff, III, IV;
Class Cheerleader, I.