Joe Lones and the Blue Bridge

By Austin Zettle and Haley Jansson

The blue pedestrian bridge over Oak Ridge Highway is a Karns landmark. It is often used to give directions – “Turn left right after you go under the bridge…” It celebrates our birthdays with banners that say “Lordy, Lordy, ______ is 40!” For many children, it serves as a safe passage between the elementary and middle schools. To some, it is an eyesore. But the history of the bridge, and how it came to rest in Karns, is a story of how a community came together after tragedy.

The story begins on the morning of April 8, 1976. Ten-year-old Joe Walker Lones was up bright and early to get ready for another day in the 5^th grade at Karns Elementary. His birthday was in two days, and he was undoubtedly excited about the prospect. April mornings were still a bit chilly, but the sky was clear, meaning Joe’s walk to Karns Elementary should have been an easy one. On that day, however, as Joe was crossing Oak Ridge Highway, he was fatally struck by a passing vehicle.

Joe’s mother, Hilda Lones, worked for Karns Middle School in the cafeteria at the time. To this day, she remembers how considerate the kids were to her after the tragic incident

occurred, saying that many of them collected their lunch money together and donated it to her as a gift. Joe was remembered as a kid of wonder. His sister, Traci Lones Seffernick, was only three years old at the time of the accident, and was unfortunately left an only child after her big brother passed. What she remembers most about Joe was that he loved tickling, and was a loving and unbelievably sweet boy. She recalls a moment that plays like a movie in her memory: “Joe used to play baseball at Ball Camp and in the middle of the game Joe rode his bicycle into the outfield. He really was a young man with a sweet side.” He and his family were active members of the Ball Camp Baptist Church, and his body was laid to rest there. Although tragedy struck the Lones family, it brought them and the community even closer together as the citizens of Karns came together to comfort the heartbroken family and to mourn the passing of their bright son.

But the community members knew that supporting the family was not enough. Something needed to be done to make sure that this kind of tragedy did not happen

again. You see, this was not the first time a young student was killed on Oak Ridge Highway. Sixteen years earlier, another boy, fifteen-year-old Wendell Cowden, had been hit by a car after departing a bus. A solution was needed to ensure the safety of schoolchildren. Starting shortly after Lones’ death, community members began working tirelessly to convince Knox County to put up a pedestrian bridge. Costs were a concern. One contractor estimated that a new structure would cost $170,000. Another issue was land rights. There were several families involved in disputes in securing a location for the bridge. Beyond that, TDOT discouraged the project saying that traffic counts on Oak Ridge Highway were not high enough to merit the installation. Still, the community was undaunted, presenting a petition signed by almost a thousand Karns residents. Five years later, in September of 1981, they succeeded. The county agreed to move an older pedestrian bridge that had once stood over I-40 in a section called “Malfunction Junction.” TDOT absorbed the expenses, and land was donated by John C. Cobb. In addition, the community received crossing guards and flashing school zone signs to ensure the safety of all pedestrians. On October 7, 1981, the Lones-Cobb Bridge was officially dedicated. About fifty people were in attendance, including the Lones family.

For Hilda and Tracy Lones, the existence of the bridge is “thrilling and also bittersweet”. They know that the tragic passing of their bright, loved, and caring boy has resulted in hundreds of students being able to travel safely to school. They still live in the Karns community, and Hilda continued to work for Knox County Schools for thirty years. In spite of a rededication of the bridge five years ago, many current community residents are unaware of its origins. The blue bridge is known as a Karns landmark, but it should also be viewed as a monument to the persistence of a community and a sweet ten-year-old boy.