Lookout Valley History - Chapter Seven

Due to the natural landscape and the number of sports minded people in Lookout Valley , recreation is very plentiful. In the early 1900s the Pan Gap Lake Club was established for the members of the fire and police departments of Hamilton County . However, due to the high up-keep of the area, was it being expensive, and too tedious, the property was given to the Lookout Valley Lions Club in the early 1950s. Pan Gap was a great place for fishing, hunting; it had a dance hall, snack bar, and was a great place for swimming. By the early-1980s Pan Gap Lake was closed to the public. Recently, an organization has been working to restore Pan Gap Lake and reopening it as a private club with a sixty dollar annual membership to help make the club successful.

Lookout Valley is also the home of a Recreation Center and Softball Fields. The center is maintained by a board of officers that are elected every year. Every year about, about two hundred boys and girls have dreams of making the winning hit or catching a pop fly in the World Series to win the game.

The John A. Patten Arts and Recreation Center is used for many recreation facilities including a baseball/softball field, a gym, game room, and a weight room.

With Lookout Valley surrounded by Lookout, Raccoon, Elder Mountains and many hills, the hunting in the area is very plentiful. One of my earliest memories as a child is playing outside and hearing the sound of gun shots from the mountains that surround Lookout Valley during hunting season. To the East Lookout Valley boarder is the Tennessee River , and Lookout Valley has many natural lakes for swimming, boating, and fishing.

For those who like golf there is the Black Creek Golf Course, which is very similar to the Honors Golf Course is one of the most exclusive courses in the state of Tennessee, and one of the most challenging golf courses in the United States.

In 1978, the Chattanooga Nature Center an organization at the end of Garden Road was established. This organization would help with rescue and education of wildlife in the area. This organization will be later named the Chattanooga Nature Center . The Chattanooga Nature Center focuses awareness on native flora and fauna by encouraging interaction between guests and the environment. Located in one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America , the Chattanooga Nature Center provides a tremendous opportunity for everyone to experience and connect with nature. Today, the Chattanooga Nature Center has many opportunities for people to see many environmental programs. They house one of very few Red Wolves habitations in the country, they have countless hiking trails for people to hike, and they are one of the first to contact for the rescue of a wild animal. In 2001, the Chattanooga Nature Center changed its name to the Tennessee Wildlife Center .

Lookout Valley is home of the Lookout Valley Middle/High School Yellow Jackets. The school has sport teams with members participating in football, baseball, basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, golf, cheerleading, and wrestling.

In 1978 and 1980, the high school baseball team won the Tennessee State Championship in Class A for baseball. The football team has taken part in the State Play-offs on four different occasions. The basketball team is always a contender for the district title. Joe Galloway, the Girls Basketball Coach, is one of the elite coaches in the county, and just in 2000 was honored by having the Lookout Valley Gymnasium named after him.

Tim Voiles, the baseball coach, at Notre Dame High School . While he attended high school he became the winner of Tennessee State Wrestling Championship on three different occasions in his high school career. The year in which he did not obtained the state championship he placed third.

Some of the other noteworthy sports figures that went to Lookout Valley High are: Harley Woody, who pitched in the 1977 state championship team and played for the Boston Red Sox; Larry Knight, who helped the Yellow Jackets win the 1980 state championship and played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox. Sadly, Larry Knight died in April 2002, he was a great, caring, and respected person in Lookout Valley and he had time for anyone. Jeremy Reed, a catcher for a the baseball team from 1995-1998 is ranked third on the all time homerun lists by a high school baseball player and drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1998. There are countless other former baseball players who played baseball in college and let’s not to forget the girls' like, Katie Galloway who played for the high school Girls’ Basketball team was a starter for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball team. Jennifer Reed the sister of Jeremy Reed is currently a starter for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Women’s Softball team. Also, Michelle Howard was selected as a member of Hamilton County ’s top fifty greatest softball players in 2001. Michelle graduated from Lookout Valley High School in 1992.

Along with the baseball team the girls’ softball team at Lookout Valley High School is very successful; from 1990-1992 the girls’ softball team placed second in Tennessee State Class A State Championship.

In 1994, a brand new baseball field was built for the school’s baseball team. This $12,000.00 baseball facility was donated by a private citizen. Today, the Janice Boydston Baseball Field is one of the best high school baseball fields with in the state of Tennessee . Also, the girls’ softball team has a state of the art field of their own located behind the elementary school.

Today, Lookout Valley has a eighteen hole championship golf course that is second to none and one of the Valley’s crown jewels. The gold course is surrounded by an upscale subdivision, Cummings Cove. In 2003 & 2004, Black Creek hosted a PGA event in which was a huge success and helped bring back the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Classic.

Cummings Cove has a hiking trail for some great walking; this would be ideal for people to walk off some unwanted pounds. Also, there are numerous hiking trails at the base of Lookout Mountain .

1977 State Champions

1980 State Champions