John Hood became a member of the Tennessee Legislature in 1997. Republican Joe Carr won the seat for the 48th District in the recent election after Hood decided not to run for reelection. Hood sat down with The Murfreesboro Pulse to reflect on his time in the state house as well as growing up in Murfreesboro.

John Hood is a six-term state representative, a family man, a life-long supporter of Middle Tennessee State University and a native son of Rutherford county. He was born here 77 years ago and other than his two years in the army, he has been a lifelong resident.

Hood decided not to run for a seventh term as a Democratic representative of Tennessee’s 48th District.

’Twelve years is enough, I tremendously enjoyed my time in the legislature and I feel honored to have been elected to six terms, but it’s time to move on and let someone else give it a try.’

He says he has no future political plans; instead he has accepted a position at MTSU and plans to concentrate his efforts there. According to Mr. Hood, MTSU has a great need for a new science building and through his efforts as a representative and university staff member, the governor and his staff are aware of the need. He continues to work to make this a reality.

Hood was born in Rutherford County to Emil and Christine Hood. He attended Crithalow Elementary, Central High School and graduated from MTSU with a masters in education and undergraduate degree in social sciences. After his two years in the military, he worked for a decade at MTSU, first as director of development and then as assistant to the president. After leaving MTSU, he worked 10 years in local radio at both WMTS and WGNS, where, by his own accounts, he did a little bit of everything, but his favorite memory of his radio years was doing the news.

’When I was in radio, I got to cover the visit of General Douglas Macarthur,’ Hood said. ’His wife, Jean Marie Faircloth, was from Murfreesboro and on April 30, 1950, they came home for a visit. I covered the luncheon and ceremony for them at MTSU.’

Hood went to work at Samsonite when it first opened in 1960 and spent five years there as a personnel director. Samsonite was a huge boon to the area when it opened, as there were few job opportunities at the time. They had over 5,000 job applications.

After his time at Samsonite, Hood worked 20 years at Suntrust Bank where he served as vice president of marketing. Since his retirement from the legislature, he is currently enjoying his return to MTSU and endeavors, as he did in the legislature, to improve our education system. With the exception of his two years in the army, Hood has enjoyed his entire work history right here in Rutherford county.

He said he has fond memories of growing up in Murfreesboro. The population in 1940 was 7,900 people.

’It was a smaller, closer knit community. On Saturday night, people would come up to the public square to socialize. At that time there were several drugstores on the square and they had soda fountains, sandwiches and best of all to any kid, ice cream. There were also several eateries, such as City Caf’, Broadway Caf’ and The Red Rose Dairy,’ but his favorite restaurant was located at 853 N. Church and the cook was his mom.

’We didn’t eat out as much in those days,’ he said.

Murfreesboro still had its share of excitement in those days though, including U.S army training during World War II.

’I remember growing up, the American armed forces held maneuvers here. The terrain was very much like the terrain they would be fighting on in Europe . . . It was commonplace to wake up at night to the sound of gunfire and see the red and blue forces having a training battle on the front lawn.

’A friend and I used to collect insignias. We would talk the soldiers into giving us the patches off their shoulders. One major gave me an oak leaf cluster for my collection. Years later when the family would go to cut a Christmas tree, we would still find fox holes that they dug during maneuvers.’

Hood talks of the change World War II brought to the area.

’The war gave a lot of people the opportunity to see the world and when they returned, they ran for office and sparked growth to the area.’

Hood first entered politics on the heels of a legal ruling that changed the county commission.

’1966 saw a lawsuit that changed the county government. At the time, the commission had 54 members, 4 represented Murfreesboro, 50 represented the county.’ Hood ran for and won a spot on the new commission, where he served for 10 years. Then, after the retirement of the late John Bragg, he ran for state representative.

’When John Bragg decided not to run, he asked me if I was interested.’ Mr Hood was interested; he ran for, won and was reelected six times as a Tennessee State Representative.

It is indeed rare that a person gives so much back to the community in which he grew up. Hood has been a big part of the development and proponent of the growth this area has seen. ’The growth of Murfreesboro is phenomenal,’ he said. He does miss the small community of his youth but has no regrets on the growth. He feels that the area has prospered and is still a great community.

’This is such a giving community and I just see it getting better,’ Hood concluded.