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SPEARS BROS. BLOCK COMPANY
 HASSELL SPEARS Hassell Spears began his racing career in the 50's at the local track. Other tracks he raced in the area included Columbia (located just across the river where Northway Shopping Center is now located) Leoma, Florence AL and several tracks around Nashville, including the 1 mile dirt track where Nashville "Fairground" Speedway is now located. The first car was a 1934 Chevrolet coupe. The chassis was originally built around a 3/4 ton Chevy pickup. The engine was a 302 cubic inch GMC engine from a 470 series truck, therefore the number "470". Sponsor shown on the car was "Spears Bros (Brothers) Block Co." Hassell and his brother Hershel owned and operated the company that made concrete blocks and sold building materials. Since the car he began racing in the 60's looked basically the same, the sponsor on the door defines the decade: Spears Bros Block Co. = 1950's and Hassell Spears Dozer Work or just Hassell Spears on the door = 1960's.  
The picture below was made at the Fairground speedway in Nashville (about 1953-54). The track was a one mile flat track that was previously used as a horse racing track. This race was during the State Fair (notice the rides in the infield area). Safety was not a priority during this time, notice that the cars were parked on the side of the racing surface. Those not racing were backed up against the fence on the front straight. 470 is laying on its side after flipping approximately 5 times after being forced into the parked vehicles next to the fence. The left front tire caught the front bumper of a wrecker causing the car to flip end over end. The hood came through the windshield and the corner went under the helmet and Hassell had to have 20 stitched in his forehead and scalp. If you can see the fence in the back ground, it was a wooden fence made for the horse racing track. In 1956, Frank Reed (Murfreesboro TN) was killed during a wreck when a 2x4 came through the car and the driver.
 
The above article was believed to have been in one of the Nashville newspapers (Tennessean or Banner). It incorrectly listed "Herschel Spears" instead of "Hassell Spears". Herschel & Hassell were brothers - The SPEARS BROS. as painted on the door. The article mentioned that he received a slight cut on the head. It is my understanding from what I have heard, he had approximately 20 stitched in his forehead where the corner of the hood went under the bib of his helmet. If you look at the picture closely, the grill and hood assembly is pushed back to the left of the car and the corner of the hood is inside the car. The abpve information supplied by Danny Spears and Gerald Johns. HON. PAUL L. SPEARS  He was an educator and minister by trade. He also served honorably in the United States Army. He served Church of Christ congregations throughout the mid-south. Some of the congregations where he worked full time included:
Upon return to Hohenwald in the 1960's he would serve as a teacher in the local schools. In 1970 he made his first bid for public elected office. He would narrowly defeat his lifelong friend Kenneth Turnbow for the position of Lewis County Court Clerk. Paul would serve as County Court Clerk for sixteen years. In 1986 he was elected as the county's chief executive officer - County Executive. He would serve one term before retiring in 1990. During his political career he served on many political action committees and public services organizations. Some of the organizations in which he was involved included: South Central Tennessee Human Resource Agency Board of Directors, South Central Tennessee Tourism Board of Directors, Hohenwald Lions Club, Lewis County Jaycees, Lewis County Chamber of Commerce, American Legion Post 127, and Lewis County Democratic Party. He returned to politics in 2002 to serve one term as Lewis County Commissioner for the 8th District. He would retire again in 2006 as his health was begining to deteriorate. Paul passed away on May 10, 2010, in Franklin, Tennessee. His visititation and funeral service was attend by a who's who of Lewis County and Tennessee state politics. A fitting tribute and final farewell was given by the Lewis County Sheriff's Department and Hohenwald Police Department who led a nearly two mile long procession through town to his final resting spot. He would be buried next to his mother in the Lomax Crossroads Cemetery. A family plot next to the Lomax Church of Christ that his grandfather T.M. Lawson helped established and where he as a young man was baptized.
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Stories From the Past |