302:, became actively involved in Knoxville politics during the 1920s. In 1929, he was named city manager, a position created earlier in the decade. After his appointment, he convinced the state legislature to merge the offices of city manager and mayor. This move proved unpopular, and Dempster was defeated by W. W. Mynatt in the mayoral election of 1937. Dempster continued to lead the opposition to Mynatt, forming an alliance with Knoxville businessman Cas Walker, who had a strong populist backing in the city.
266:, Inc., which focused on heavy machinery. In 1935, the company introduced the "Dempster-Dumpster," the first large-scale waste container that could be mechanically emptied into a garbage truck. As orders for this product arrived from around the world, the company devoted all of its resources to the production of Dempster-Dumpsters. In 1939, the company introduced the Dempster-Balester, which crushed and baled automobiles. During
313:. Smith once stated that Dempster should be "relegated to the political ash heap and buried so deeply that one of his own Dumpsters can't dig him out." Dempster, likewise, quietly ordered the police to scour the city for Smith's car, and tow it away if it was illegally parked (which it often was). Smith ordered
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Running on an anti-tax platform, Dempster's allies managed to recapture the mayor's office in 1945, and
Dempster was again appointed city manager. Dempster broke his campaign pledge, and proposed new city property taxes. This provoked the ire of Walker, who immediately mounted a campaign against
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Dempster hired the city's first
African-American civil service secretary, and supported desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s. He championed a number of causes in support of the handicapped and the blind, including a radio program that featured blind pianists. He was given the Father Abram Ryan
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in
Chicago, although he largely retired from city politics after his defeat in 1955. He later rejoined his old nemesis Cas Walker in a successful attempt to thwart city-county consolidation, which was soundly rejected by Knoxville and Knox County voters in a 1959 referendum. Dempster died of a
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The
Dempster Brothers plant on Springdale Avenue in Knoxville consisted of eleven buildings on 27 acres (11 ha), and employed 450 workers. For humanitarian purposes, the plant employed a large number of handicapped workers. The plant served as a training ground of sorts for welders and
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in 1947. Dempster was elected mayor in 1951. His tenure was largely stagnant, as two major textile mills closed, and the downtown area declined with the rise of suburban shopping centers. After he proposed a modest tax increase, Knoxvillians revolted, and voted him out of office in 1955.
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Dempster. Walker blasted
Dempster's new taxes, and claimed that "gambling, whiskey and prostitution" flourished when Dempster was in power. After Walker was elected mayor in 1946, Dempster resigned as city manager. Walker's new city manager, Paul Morton, accused Dempster of
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that can be mechanically emptied into garbage trucks. During the 1910s and 1920s, the
Dempster Brothers Construction Company, operated by Dempster and his brothers, built a number of roads and railroads across the Southern
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After returning to
Knoxville, Dempster, along with his brothers, Thomas and John, formed the Dempster Brothers Construction Company, which built roads, railroads, and small dams in Tennessee,
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firm that operated a mill on First Creek. As a teenager, George
Dempster travelled around the country working odd jobs for various companies, including the
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over the most effective treatment. One of
Dempster's earliest innovations was a device that allowed his shovel's dipper to mechanically empty its load.
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353:'s gubernatorial campaign in 1928, and was subsequently appointed the state's commissioner of finance and taxation. In 1932, he was appointed to the
219:. During the project, Dempster nearly lost his life on several occasions when rock slides caused his steam shovel to flip over. He also contracted
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Commission, which was responsible for buying land for the national park. Dempster ran for governor in 1940, and lost in the primaries to
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382:, crowded into the St. James Episcopal Church for Dempster's funeral. He was buried next to his wife in Greenwood Cemetery.
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Ann
Bennett, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Old North Knoxville Historic District, August 9, 1991.
129:(September 16, 1887 – September 18, 1964) was an American businessman, inventor, and politician, active primarily in
200:. Dempster graduated from the Girls High School in Knoxville in 1906, having served as the school's class president.
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immigrant John Dempster and Irish immigrant Ann Doherty. John Dempster co-managed Scott, Dempster and Company, a
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and mayor of Knoxville, where he became known for his political battles with eccentric Knoxville businessman
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and Tyson Park. Dempster built several houses in Knoxville, some of which still stand in Fountain City and
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photographers to crop Dempster from favorable group shots, and Dempster organized a raid that caught
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In spite of these setbacks, Dempster and his brothers reorganized their remaining resources to form
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During the 1930s, while city manager, Dempster began to clash with Guy Smith, Jr., editor of the
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home (still standing at the corner of Broadway and Gibbs) was auctioned off to pay his debts.
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Walker's term as mayor proved tumultuous, and Dempster's allies managed to oust Walker in a
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Buildings constructed during Dempster's tenures as city manager and mayor include the
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498:(Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2005), pp. 73-82, 111-113, 122.
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heart attack on September 18, 1964. Over 1,000 mourners, among them US senators
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shipping company. A railroad strike in 1903 left him briefly stranded in a
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470:(Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976), pp. 519-521.
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537:"Fountain Citians Who Made a Difference – George R. Dempster"
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and other equipment for the US Navy. The company introduced the
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in recognition of his civil service shortly before his death.
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East Tennessee Historical Society, Lucile Deaderick (ed.),
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188:, the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad, and the
577:— collection of circa-1950s and 1960s photographs
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Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South
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Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee
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575:Classic Refuse Trucks – Dempster Brothers
176:Dempster was born in 1887, the ninth child of
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349:Dempster served as the campaign manager for
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402:. He also convinced the city to buy
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369:Dempster was named a delegate to the
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636:20th-century American businesspeople
398:, four public library branches, and
223:, and bickered with famed physician
616:American people of Scottish descent
371:1956 Democratic National Convention
355:Great Smoky Mountains National Park
146:region. Dempster also served as a
18:American businessman and politician
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626:20th-century American politicians
82:Businessman, inventor, politician
621:American people of Irish descent
211:project, excavating the canal's
631:20th-century American inventors
606:Mayors of Knoxville, Tennessee
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611:Businesspeople from Tennessee
120:John Dempster and Ann Doherty
110:Josephine Dempster (Epperson)
186:Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
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284:Tennessee Valley Authority
288:Atomic Energy Commission
270:, the company produced
112:Ann Dempster (Smallman)
100:Mildred Frances Seymour
137:, a now-commonly-used
535:Tumblin, Jim (2002).
298:Dempster, a lifelong
435:George Roby Dempster
392:Henley Street Bridge
131:Knoxville, Tennessee
127:George Roby Dempster
74:Knoxville, Tennessee
63:Knoxville, Tennessee
45:Knoxville, Tennessee
25:George Roby Dempster
416:Knights of Columbus
408:Old North Knoxville
276:Dempster Dumpmaster
543:on January 1, 2011
400:Bill Meyer Stadium
380:Herbert S. Walters
294:Knoxville politics
108:George S. Dempster
72:Greenwood Cemetery
56:September 18, 1964
41:September 16, 1887
311:Knoxville Journal
264:Dempster Brothers
225:William C. Gorgas
215:and Pedro Miguel
157:Knoxville Journal
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539:. Archived from
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253:Great Depression
207:operator on the
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323:illegal whiskey
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545:. Retrieved
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439:Find a Grave
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376:Al Gore, Sr.
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351:Henry Horton
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268:World War II
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209:Panama Canal
205:steam shovel
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182:gristmilling
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148:city manager
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58:(1964-09-18)
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601:1964 deaths
596:1887 births
547:October 13,
144:Appalachian
585:Categories
422:References
365:Later life
307:Republican
290:projects.
213:Miraflores
196:colony in
172:Early life
152:Cas Walker
91:Democratic
37:1887-09-16
309:-leaning
190:Ward Line
167:Biography
117:Parent(s)
396:viaducts
331:cronyism
300:Democrat
249:Kentucky
245:Virginia
178:Scottish
135:Dumpster
105:Children
319:Journal
315:Journal
241:Georgia
160:editor
386:Legacy
378:, and
247:, and
97:Spouse
217:locks
549:2023
286:and
198:Iowa
194:hobo
154:and
53:Died
31:Born
437:at
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35:(
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