A family woven into Greenbrier
The Suter name runs through the gym, the playing fields and the town’s own recollections. For Jim Sorrells, this history includes his grandfather Earl. For Greenbrier, it includes athletes, a longtime coach and a former mayor whose memories reach back to the old distillery.
The Hall of Fame provides five starting points: Jimmy, Earl and Joe Suter, Lucy Suter Garrett, and Ann Suter Casteel. Their stories connect several sports and generations.
Recovered: Earl, Mary and Jimmy in 1948
A photograph dated 1948 names Earl Suter, Mary Suter and Jimmy Suter in its printed caption. An earlier school photograph, dated 1923, names Helen Suter Shannon and Ed Suter. Both photographs now join this family history with their original captions.
Follow the Suter names
| Person | Hall class | A path to follow |
|---|---|---|
| Earl Suter | 2006 | The 1944–47 basketball run and the return of football. |
| Jimmy Suter | 2005 | A Greenbrier player who returned to coach, then continued at Springfield. |
| Joe Suter | 2008 | Basketball and football, followed by a wider baseball story. |
| Lucy Suter Garrett | 2005 | Girls basketball, Nashville Business College and county schools service. |
| Ann Suter Casteel | 2008 | A scoring standout whose basketball path also reached Nashville Business College. |
Jimmy’s influence reached beyond his teams
A new connection survives in the Spring 2008 issue of TSSAA News. In his “Looseball!” column, Gene Beck named Jimmy Suter alongside Beck’s father and Boyce Smith among the people who brought him into athletics. That is firsthand testimony to Jimmy’s influence beyond a win-loss record.
Springfield High’s official Hall of Fame page places Jimmy in its 2022 class. The 2020 beside his name is labeled “Year Nominated.” Greenbrier had inducted him in 2005.
TSSAA News, Spring 2008, p. 24 · Springfield’s official Hall list
Joe’s baseball trail
The Hall describes Joe as an unbeaten high-school pitcher and later identifies two Larry Gilbert League teams: Nashville Sporting Goods and Coca-Cola. It reports an overall 68–8 record and two no-hitters.
Those numbers deserve preservation, but their exact span still needs contemporary game coverage. They are not being labeled a Greenbrier-only, college or professional record.
Lucy and Ann: two Nashville basketball paths
Ann’s profile and two captioned school photographs
Lucy’s Hall biography describes five years as a Greenbrier basketball starter beginning in eighth grade, followed by three years playing for Nashville Business College. It also records 30 years as a secretary and bookkeeper with the Robertson County Board of Education.
Ann, a 1950 graduate, is credited with a 39-point game and a run of 50 consecutive free throws. Her biography follows her to Nashville Business College before a knee injury ended her basketball career. Dates and opponents for those scoring marks remain to be recovered.
The shared destination opens another chapter in Greenbrier women’s basketball. Original team rosters and game reports can establish the seasons and playing details.
Before the gym: J. H. and Frances
The Village Green identifies Earl, Jimmy, Turner, Joe and Lucy among the children of J. H. and Frances Suter. Its family list connects Earl with Mary Hagewood. Ann’s exact place in this family tree has not been established from the sources used here.
J. H. Suter’s own recollections provide the texture of an earlier Greenbrier: maintaining the road toward Springfield with a wagon and horse, helping build the Old Hickory plant during World War I and cooking barbecue for the Fourth of July picnic for 20 years.
A separate account remembers him watching men measure the town boundaries with a chain. The former mayor was both a participant in town life and a witness to its changes. Volume II’s mayoral list dates his term to 1948–1952 (printed p. 157; combined PDF p. 314).
The book reproduces a report of J. H. and Frances’s 70th wedding anniversary on June 3, 1982. It supplies a precise newspaper lead: The Times, Springfield, June 10, 1982, page 5-B. At that time the couple had nine children, 25 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.
The family line reaches back to Zurich
J. H. Suter names his parents in his own recollection: James Addison “Add” Suter and Elizabeth Bollinger. Hattie Clinard Jones’s family account identifies Elizabeth, also called Lizzie, as a daughter of Henry Bollinger and Jennie Dorris.
A second account, signed by Lena Justice, gives the earlier generation more detail. It names John Henry Bollinger, born in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 8, 1841, and his wife Virginia Dorris. The following page remembers Virginia as “Aunt Jennie.” Lena describes John Henry as a miller and night watchman at Nelson’s Distillery.
| Generation relative to Earl | People | Source in Volume I |
|---|---|---|
| Great-grandparents | John Henry Bollinger and Virginia “Jennie” Dorris | Family accounts, printed p. 75 and combined PDF pp. 90–91 |
| Grandparents | James Addison “Add” Suter and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bollinger | Family list, p. 75; J. H.’s own recollection, p. 82 |
| Parents | James Henry Suter Sr. and Frances Choate | Family list, p. 75; anniversary account, p. 111 |
| Earl’s generation | Helen, Edward, Lucy, Nelle, Turner, William, Earl, Joe and Jimmy | Nine children named on p. 75; also listed in the parents’ transcribed obituaries |
The table follows the book’s accounts. The original scans were checked for names and relationships; independent vital records can further test the earlier generations.
A specific courthouse trail
Lena Justice’s account says John Henry applied for citizenship in Nashville in September 1887 and became a citizen there on July 2, 1891. Those dates provide a precise next search. The original application and naturalization record have not yet been recovered. Nashville Metro Archives’ finding aid identifies a concrete place to check: Davidson County Court Loose Records Addition, Box 7, folders 13–33, “Naturalizations, A–Z”. This is an archive lead, not a confirmed Bollinger record.
The book also records J. H. Suter’s retirement from DuPont at Old Hickory in 1957. A transcribed 1984 obituary identifies his work as plant foreman and independently names Addison and Elizabeth Bollinger Suter as his parents.
The Village Green, Volume I, combined PDF pp. 90–91 and printed p. 111 (PDF p. 112); TNGenWeb obituary transcriptions: James Suter and Frances Choate Suter. The dates heading those transcriptions have not been treated as verified death dates.
Keeping Greenbrier’s memories alive
Libbie Suter wrote the book’s account of “Greenbrier’s Yesterday,” the volunteer fire department event begun in fall 1984. Her recollections name Gary and Libbie running the country store, Gary arranging entertainment and making rope, Ricky and The Midnight Blue performing, Urbie quilting, and Ed displaying twists of tobacco.
The family album now includes the accompanying photographs and a page-by-page guide to those contributions. Libbie’s account spans several years; the photographs themselves are undated.
The next pieces to recover
- Contemporary 1945–47 tournament reports, especially Earl’s senior All-Unit selection.
- The original 1946–47 yearbooks and team photographs with complete captions.
- Jimmy’s college, exact Springfield coaching assignments and retirement coverage.
- Joe’s Larry Gilbert League seasons and the two no-hitters.
- Lucy’s and Ann’s Nashville Business College rosters and game reports.
- The June 10, 1982 anniversary article and the occasion and location of the 1948 group photograph.
- John Henry Bollinger’s September 1887 citizenship application and July 2, 1891 naturalization record.
- Volume II’s missing printed pp. 244–276, including the Charles R. Suter section listed on p. 270 in its contents. The supplied scan jumps from p. 243 to p. 277.
Sources and photographs
- Greenbrier Athletic Hall of Fame inductee list and the five individual profiles linked above.
- The Village Green, Volume I: printed p. 75 (PDF p. 76), family list; pp. 82–83 (PDF pp. 83–84), J. H.’s recollections; p. 111 (PDF p. 112), anniversary article and citation. The Bollinger family account, combined PDF pp. 90–91, signed by Lena Justice, supplies the earlier lineage and citizenship dates. Volume II: printed p. 122 (PDF p. 279), town-boundary recollection; pp. 280–281 (PDF pp. 406–407), basketball; p. 18 (PDF p. 173), 1923 school photograph; p. 48 (PDF p. 205), 1948 group photograph; p. 157 (PDF p. 314), mayoral terms; pp. 165–174 (PDF pp. 322–331), Libbie Suter’s community account and photographs.
- Gene Beck, “Looseball!”, TSSAA News, Spring 2008, printed p. 24 — original page inspected.
- Springfield High School Athletic Hall of Fame — class and nomination-year headings.
- Jim Sorrells, October 6, 2026 — Earl identified as his grandfather.
Remember these Bobcats?
A team photograph, a newspaper clipping or a memory can help preserve the people behind these seasons.