Women’s Suffrage Museum is life’s work of Wanda Sobieski
When you have just raised $2 million to buy a building on Gay Street, why not go for two? For another $2.9 million, the Women’s Suffrage Museum will have two adjacent buildings. And retired attorney Wanda Sobieski has already found $500,000. Just $2.4 million to go.
In an event at the site on November 6, 2025, Sobieski announced that the Suffrage Coalition has successfully raised $2 million and purchased 706 South Gay Street, the future home of the Women’s Suffrage Museum, slated to open in 2028.
Then Knoxville developer Tim Hill, co-founder and president of Hatcher-Hill Properties LLC announced a $500,000 donation to help expand the museum’s footprint to include the adjacent 708 South Gay Street building. Hatcher-Hill’s donation kicks off a new $2.9 million fundraising campaign to secure and restore the additional property, doubling the museum’s size to over 20,000 square feet.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon called it “an important milestone for our city and the nation.”
Details and an exciting graphic are here.
“Today marks the culmination of more than 30 years of passion, perseverance and purpose,” said Sobieski. “The Women’s Suffrage Museum will be a tangible, enduring tribute, a place where the legacy of the courageous women who fought for the right to vote is preserved, interpreted and taught for generations to come.”
Former Mayor Madeline Rogero, a key advocate, said, “From the earliest days of this project, I have believed deeply in the importance of telling this story right here in Knoxville, where the spirit of progress has always run strong. This gift represents the best of who we are as a community, people who honor our past while investing in our shared future.”
In Memoriam: Three with ties to the legal community
Kenneth Hall
Kenneth Elliot Hall, of Knoxville, passed away on November 3, 2025, at age 85.
A diver, he transferred to UT from Texas Tech. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. After graduation, he coached diving alongside Ray Buzzard while practicing law with the firm Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis.
He leaves his wife of 66 years, Janie, and their children. The full obituary is here.
A memorial service was held on November 8 in Barron Hall at Sequoyah Presbyterian Church.
Carolyn Susano
Carolyn King Susano, 88, wife of the late Judge Charles D. Susano Jr. and mother of Circuit Court Clerk Charlie Susano, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on November 1, 2025.
Her family moved to Knoxville in 1946 and she graduated from East High School in 1955. Over the years she worked in antiques and through charitable endeavors including the Ladies of Charity, Volunteer Ministry Center and the InterFaith Health Center.
Visitation will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, November 21, at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 711 S. Northshore Dr., Knoxville, immediately followed by a celebration of life mass at 10 a.m. The full obituary is here.
Winnie Effler
Winnie E. Cox Effler, mother of Jared Effler, district attorney for the 8th Judicial Circuit, passed away on November 6, 2025, at age 79. She was a resident of Maynardville and a member of Milan Baptist Church.
She is survived by her husband of 58 years, John Effler, and their children. The full obituary is here.
The family received friends at Trinity Funeral Home, 228 Main Street, Maynardville, on Saturday, November 8, 2025. A private graveside service and burial followed at Effler Family Cemetery with nephew Timothy Cox officiating.
Blotter: Vandalism at Farragut High School
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Crimes Unit is seeking information regarding a felony vandalism that resulted in several thousand dollars in damage to the campus of Farragut High School. The website has not been updated with results of the investigation as of November 9, 2025.
On September 30, 2025, between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, six unknown white male suspects entered onto the campus and spray-painted multiple facilities, signs and roadways surrounding the football complex.
The suspects all wore masks that covered their faces. This vandalism occurred three days prior to the Hardin Valley Academy versus Farragut football game, and the initials HVA were spray-painted in numerous locations around the campus. The Sheriff’s Office is seeking anonymous tips. Just text keyword KCSOTIP to 847411, add a space, then type in your tip and hit “send.”
Notes & Quotes
Dan Stidham, Memphis attorney who broke a 30-year silence to co-write A Harvest of Innocence: The Untold Story of the West Memphis Three, will speak at the LMU Duncan School of Law on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. in the school’s courtroom. Then a young lawyer, Stidham represented one of the three defendants – all of whom were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms; one to death row. Stidham later helped exonerate the three innocent men.
Larry Waters, we won’t guess his age, but he’s been the county executive/ mayor of Sevier County since 1978 – near 50 years – put together the deal that kept the Smoky Mountains National Park open during the shutdown. Just don’t mess with Larry Waters.
Quote: November 9 is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when German Nazis coordinated a nationwide attack on Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. More than 1,000 synagogues were burned or destroyed. Rioters looted about 7,500 Jewish businesses and vandalized Jewish hospitals, homes, schools and cemeteries. Before that night, the Nazis had killed people secretly and individually. After Kristallnacht, the Nazis felt free to persecute the Jews openly, because they knew no one would stop them. – Garrison Keillor, The Writer’s Almanac.
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