The Great Depression Years, 1930 - 1942
Five years before Kyle was born, the collapse of the stock market began a decade-long period of economic hardships in America known as the Great Depression. The unemployment rate for much of the 1930s reached above 25% across the U.S., as millions were forced out of their homes and into makeshift shanty towns dubbed "Hoovervilles." The hard times and bread lines continued into the early 1940s when the outbreak of World War II and new policies instituted by President Franklin Roosevelt helped stimulate job growth and turn the economic tide.

Tennessee in 1934
Located at the foot of the Appalachians in the southeast region of the United States, Tennessee was widely seen as the epicenter for American folk, country, and blues music during much of the early 20th century. Cities like Nashville and Memphis weren't just producing musicians, though. They were also growing cities with major manufacturing industries, helping Tennessee's population grow from 2 million to 3.2 million between 1900 and 1950.

Kyle's Childhood
As the 20th century wore on, American society placed increasing emphasis on the importance of play and recreation in a child's life. Although some toys were still homemade, the majority were manufactured on a large scale and sold in specialty shops. Kyle's young relatives and neighbors enjoyed playing with toys ranging from dolls and toy planes to card and board games. The Lionel Train, Crayola Crayons, and Lincoln Logs were also popular. Bicycles were becoming increasingly marketed to kids, as well, with companies like Schwinn turning out thousands of new bikes each year. Many children rode their new Schwinns around one of the many parks and playgrounds springing up throughout Kyle's region of Tennessee. Tennessee parents often signed their children up for various social clubs. The Tomato Club for girls and the Corn Club for boys taught children about agriculture as well as social responsibility. The Knights of King Arthur's Court and the Campfire Girls taught about social well-being and self-improvement. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America were also extremely popular among Kyle's young neighbors.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park established in 1940
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 2, 1940, when Kyle was 5. The park was considered the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi River, with the area reaching over 500,000 acres. The land included waterfalls, mountain streams, highland meadows, massive mountains, old-growth forest, and an incredibly diverse ecosystem. The beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains still attracts visitors from all over, making the park a useful and necessary economic resource for the state.

Holiday Traditions 
In addition to the traditional and nationally recognized holidays celebrated by most Americans, including the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and New Year's, many people in Kyle's town also recognized the holy days of their religion as well as some specific regional holidays. Tennessee is one of only twelve states, for example, which celebrates Good Friday as a state holiday, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death. Confederate Memorial Day, also known as Confederate Decoration Day, was a holiday unique to the region, honoring those who died fighting in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Halloween grew in popularity during these years, with costumes and corn mazes becoming traditions. Thanksgiving ingrained itself in more of the culture as well, as turkey dinners and football games marked the beginning of the holiday season. The arrival of more people from different faiths also put a greater focus on Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. For many Tennesseans, the biggest holiday of the year was Christmas. Like numerous other Americans, they enjoyed decorating Christmas trees, buying presents for their loved ones, and spending quality time with their families. Some Tennesseans chopped down cedar trees to serve as the family Christmas tree. More Christmas-related merchandising, including cartoons, films, and iconic Coca-Cola advertisements, helped create what would become the popular 20th-century perception of Santa Claus and his reindeer, among other holiday characters.

Religion
The religious revival that took place towards the end of the 1800s carried over into the next century. In 1906, a religious census reported that church membership had increased by 150 percent since previous years. Due to the heavy influence of fundamentalist Protestant groups who believed in the word-for-word accuracy of the Bible, Tennessee was recognized as part of the so-called "Bible Belt" in the southern U.S. In both cities and rural areas, new houses of worship were being built on a regular basis, including some of the region's growing minority faiths, such as the immigrant Jewish population. To increase attendance, modern methods of promoting religion during Kyle's time included church advertisements on billboards, lighted signs in front of church buildings, and advertisements in weekly papers. New Christian denominations appeared, including the Church of the Nazarene, which originated in Tennessee; as well as the Church of God, which began along eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Many of the newer religions at this time were still extremely opposed to drinking alcohol and using tobacco.

Sun Studio - 1950
When Kyle was 15, record producer Sam Phillips opened up the Memphis Recording Service—later called "Sun Studio"—in Memphis, Tennessee. At Phillips's studio, Jackie Brenton and Ike Turner recorded a song called "Rocket 88," featuring a heavy backbeat and a unique, energized sound that became extremely popular. Sun Studio was eventually known by many as the "Birthplace of Rock and Roll," gaining further popularity as the place where Elvis Presley started his career. Although Presley left Sun Studio after 18 months, the recording booth was not left without talent; Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Warren Smith, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, and many other stars all recorded some of their best-known tunes here. Sun Studio had brought a mixture of blues, country, folk, and rock music together, producing iconic sounds that helped Memphis gain ground on Nashville as a musically vibrant Tennessee city.

Entertainment
Entertainment during Kyle's lifetime was a huge, very profitable industry. Families sometimes took trips to places like Tennessee's Smoky Mountains, but many families increasingly found their amusements at home. Television became one of the dominant forms of entertainment in the mid 20th century, as popular shows like I Love Lucy, The Tonight Show, and The Twilight Zone helped set the standard for the sitcoms, talk shows, and dramas of the next few decades. Up until the 1980s, there were only a handful of TV channels in every town and no way to record shows, so millions of Americans were often sharing the same viewing experience at the same time. Movies remained popular, too, although the ways they were viewed changed, from the drive-in theaters and small, local cinemas of the 1950s to the national multiJohnny Carson on the Tonight Show plexes of later years. Sports fans often supported college football and basketball teams from schools like the University of Tennessee or Memphis State (now the University of Memphis), while many also threw their allegiance to nearby pro teams in baseball and other sports (Tennessee got its first NFL football team when the Oilers moved to Nashville and became the Titans in the 1990s).

Music, of course, was an essential part of entertainment in Tennessee, a state known for its country music, blues, rock and roll, bluegrass, gospel, and more. Memphis was famously home to Sun Records (Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash), and Nashville became a center for country music, with venues like the historic Grand Ole Opry earning the town nicknames like "Music City" and "Songwriting Capital of the World." Kyle's friends and neighbors could buy their favorite artists' music to listen to at home on vinyl records, with cassette tapes and compact discs offering new options for on-the-go listening in the '80s and '90s. Popular culture and entertainment increasingly reflected the values of youth, as young people became the target audience of the entertainment industry. These changes only accelerated with the arrival of the internet in the 1990s, which revolutionized entertainment by putting almost anything a person wanted just a click away.

Medicine
During Kyle's lifetime, medical care in Tennessee had advanced enough to keep most of the population relatively happy and healthy. While heart disease, cancer, and diabetes still posed a threat, many of the deadliest infectious diseases were now preventable or virtually eradicated. From cold medicine to chemotherapy, numerous treatments became available to address a variety of illnesses. Doctors, surgeons, and nurses were trained and worked in technologically advanced facilities, such as the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and the Vanderbilt Medical School. The greater availability of hospitals such as Memphis City Hospital, Knoxville General Hospital, Chattanooga's Baroness Erlanger Hospital, and Nashville's City Hospital provided Kyle's family with accessible healthcare. In 1968, Tennessee also became home to the Hospital Corporation of America, which brought more hospitals to Tennessee and the rest of the country. During the same period, the growing pharmaceutical industry became a multi-billion-dollar market, as drug manufacturers developed medications for everything from high blood pressure to depression. Mental healthcare gained greater attention during Kyle's lifetime after the passing of the National Mental Health Act in 1949, which brought greater resources and research into the causes and treatments of mental illness.

Vietnam War, 1955 - 1975
When Kyle was 20 years old, the United States elected to take military action against Communists in North Vietnam and instituted a national draft to enlist the necessary troops. Thousands of young men from Kyle's community and all over the country were required to fight in the conflict which raged from the '60s into the '70s. This first televised war soon inspired massive protests as millions of Americans—including loved ones of fallen soldiers and those opposed to the draft— demanded an end to the Vietnam campaign. Fear and outrage, as well as growing conflicts between young protestors and Americans supporting the government, created one of the most tumultuous times in the U.S. since the Civil War 100 years earlier.

Military
In the wake of two world wars, a permanent army of full-time servicemen became the new norm during Kyle's life, as the United States was now considered the world's foremost military power, with the Soviet Union, regarded as its central threat for much of the 20th century. During peacetime, many young Tennesseans still lived up to their state's reputation as the "Volunteer State," joining the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines, with the goal of protecting their homes and families. The average age of volunteers was 19, but many managed to make careers out of their service. Throughout the Korean and Vietnam Wars, however, the draft was also instituted to increase the number of soldiers in combat. This proved an increasingly controversial issue, and the draft was done away with after Vietnam. Women played an increasingly essential role in the military during these years, as well. Numerous women joined various branches of the Armed Forces and eventually found themselves in active combat by the end of the 20th century. Others helped with behind-the-scenes tasks. Military bases throughout the state provided jobs to many Tennesseans. Arnold Air Force Base, located in the southeastern portion of the state, served as one of the nation's primary centers for testing engines and training pilots. Eventually, the airfield at the base would be replaced in favor of state-of-the-art flight simulation facilities. Army Parachuters, including the famous "Screaming Eagles," were also trained in Tennessee at Fort Campbell, located along the Tennessee-Kentucky border. As much of the focus of the U.S. military moved toward peacekeeping missions and nation-building, advanced weaponry largely reduced the amount of face to face combat compared with the WWII era. The threat of nuclear attack, however, particularly during the Cold War with Russia, was a source of constant concern for people in Kyle's community and around the world. Even when the Soviet Union eventually collapsed in the late 1980s, growing conflicts in the Middle East led to increased funding for the U.S. Military heading into the 21st century.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
The Cold War spanned the period between 1947 and 1991 when tension plagued the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States. When Kyle was in his 20s, U.S. intelligence services discovered that the Soviet Union was sending nuclear weapons to Cuba. Many Americans were frightened because it allowed the Soviets to have nuclear weapons close enough to easily strike United States soil. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade that stopped Soviet ships from delivering nuclear weapons to Cuba. For 13 days, Kyle and the world watched Soviet ships draw closer to the blockade. During this time, both adults and children in the United States were learning about the possibility of a nuclear attack, as well as techniques like "duck and cover" to save oneself in the event of a bombing (though it is now understood that many of these techniques would not have worked). After 13 long, tense days, the standoff ended after peace talks between the United States and the Soviet Union, where the USSR agreed to dismantle their weapons already held in Cuba. Americans and people across the globe breathed a sigh of relief as the potential disaster was thwarted.

The Typical Household
For many of Kyle's neighbors, new technology and affordable home furnishings made life much more comfortable than it had been just decades earlier. Some members of Kyle's community lived in apartments or condominiums. Other middle and lower-class families lived in modest one or two-story homes containing two to four bedrooms. Children often had their own rooms, and those who had to share a room usually slept in their own beds rather than sharing a single bed with their siblings. Cape Cod Revival, Tudor Revival, English Cottage, and Colonial Revival remained popular architectural styles. Many of Kyle's rural and suburban relatives lived in ranch-style homes, characterized by an open, rectangular floor plan, a roof with a side gable, and a frame covered in wood, brick, or stone. Especially popular from the 1950s through the 1970s, these homes were known for minimal exterior and interior decorations. Beginning in the 1950s, a new array of appliances changed the daily routines of Kyle's relatives and neighbors. Microwaves allowed food to be cooked or reheated with ease, and indoor plumbing and electricity became nearly universal. Heating and air conditioning also became more efficient, allowing Kyle's family to live year-round in climate-controlled comfort.

JFK Assassination - 1963
November 22nd, 1963, marked one of the darkest hours in American history, as President John F. Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullet while riding in a motorcade with his wife in Dallas, Texas. The tragedy stunned the entire nation and brought life to a standstill in 28-year-old Kyle's community. Millions were glued to their televisions as news of the President's death, followed by the arrest of suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald, dominated the airwaves. The events became even more surreal when Oswald himself was murdered on live television two days later by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby. For many Americans who'd gravitated toward Kennedy as a beacon of hope, the aftermath of his death brought about not just sadness, but fear and dread about the vulnerability of the country as a whole.

Civil Rights Act, 1964
Throughout Kyle's life, and after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans were forced to confront the realities of racial discrimination. In the years and months leading up to the passage of the act, race-based inequality garnered massive media attention with sit-ins and violent riots unleashed all across America. In response to the call for legal action, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed all racial discrimination in employment, education, and all public places. Though racial tension and violent clashes continued in the towns and cities around Kyle, the Civil Rights Act started to push Americans to act fairly and responsibly towards each other.

Transportation gives people mobility 
During the course of Kyle's life, automotive travel continued to evolve and solidify itself as the primary mode of transport for much of the population. By the 1950s, Tennessee had largely moved from transporting goods by train to using trucks. Cars for personal use became more widespread and more cost-effective as designs transitioned from large gas-guzzlers to smaller, gas efficient vehicles during the energy crisis of the 1970s.

Beginning in the 1950s, the national government began constructing an elaborate new freeway system across the nation. These new roads took travelers through less populated areas rather than through the centers of towns, making travel quicker and less congested, but also decreasing traffic to businesses in many small Tennessee towns that had relied on visitors to survive. While many towns suffered, as a result, other suburban communities on convenient interstate routes thrived as city workers began moving their families to quieter neighborhoods. While land travel was becoming increasingly accessible, air travel also became more affordable The late 1970s and early 1980s marked the beginning of more compact cars, like this Corolla to the average American, as a trip across the country or the Atlantic could suddenly be achieved in a matter of hours. In the cabins of most jetliners, it was quite common for passengers to smoke cigarettes during Kyle's life; the practice wasn't banned until the 1990s. Many of the railroads in Tennessee continued to run and were primarily used to transport goods from place to place. The state's rivers, including the Tennessee, Mississippi, and Cumberland, remained key arteries for transport ships, as well.

Martin Luther King Assassination - 1968
April 4th, 1968, was a dark day for Tennessee and the rest of the nation. Early that morning, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of his hotel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The bullet went through his jaw and severed his spinal cord, and King was pronounced dead immediately upon arrival at a Memphis hospital. James Earl Ray, an escaped convict and outspoken racist, was later convicted of the murder. Kyle was 33 at the time of King's death, and shock spread throughout his community and the rest of the country. Many mourned the loss of the powerful Civil Rights leader and worried about what his death would mean for the future of the movement. Fortunately, King's empowering speeches, encouragement of non-violent protests, and dream of racial equality would influence Americans for generations to come.

Woodstock defines a generation - 1969
In 1969, when Kyle was 34, the hippie movement was a growing force among young people in the United States, with many in Kyle's community identifying with the movement's opposition to the Vietnam War, promotion of "free love," and experimentation with cannabis, LSD, and other drugs. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair— held that summer on a mud-covered farm in upstate New York— promoted these same ideals, attracting an estimated 500,000 attendees and major performers like Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, and the Grateful Dead. Lasting three days, the peaceful but drug-filled and disorganized event came to represent much of what people both appreciated and disliked about the hippies. It also may have helped introduce Kyle and others to some of the era's most influential songwriters and musicians.

Moon Landing - 1969
On July 21, 1969, when Kyle was 34 years old, millions of television viewers from around the world saw American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take mankind's first steps on the moon. Cheering at this historical achievement, the world listened in awe as Armstrong delivered his famous quote, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Beyond the sense of wonder, Kyle—as an American—likely felt some pride on this day, as the U.S. had beaten its fierce Soviet rivals in the race to the moon.

Communication
Kyle lived during a time when advances in communication were bringing communities together like never before. Telephones had evolved from cumbersome rotary dials and human operators to push-button connections and long distance capabilities. By the '80s and '90s, phones became mobile, allowing people immediate access to each other in the car or other locations outside the home and office. For mass communication, the radio became a popular feature in cars, and television was now the centerpiece of most homes, giving people a live and immediate way to see breaking news unfold. The growing sophistication of communication technology in the late 20th century saw personal home computers gradually replace typewriters. Teletype and facsimile (FAX) machines were often used for business communication, and photocopiers made printing easier and more affordable than ever. By the 1990s, the Internet opened up the potential for instant communication to and from all corners of the globe, with e-mail and the world wide web. Many people, however, still relied on local newspapers as their best resources for critical information about their community, and local libraries were still vital to society, as well. Tennesseans read papers like the Daily News in Memphis, The Tennessean in Nashville, The Knoxville News Sentinel, and many more. In verbal communication, most Tennesseans would speak with a Southern drawl, although accents varied across the state, and were clearly distinguishable, among locals, from other regions of the South.

Watergate Scandal, 1972 - 1974
When he was a 37-year-old, Kyle lived through one of the biggest presidential scandals in U.S. history: Watergate. In 1972, President Richard Nixon was tied to a crime where former CIA and FBI agents broke into the Democratic Party offices, listened to phone calls, and stole private papers. Instead of facing impeachment, President Nixon resigned from office in 1974 and Gerald Ford became president. Seeing this corruption in their highest elected official, many Americans around Kyle had a hard time regaining confidence in their government.

National Politics
The late 20th century was politically defined, domestically, by major movements in civil and women's rights. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act prohibited employers from discriminating against employees based on their gender, and more professional and educational opportunities became open to Kyle's female relatives. With radio and television giving people in Kyle's community instant access to breaking news from Washington, D.C. and around the world, activism became more widespread. Some of Kyle's neighbors participated in Freedom Rides, taking buses into the south to protest segregation. Others were involved in sit-ins, nonviolent demonstrations where protesters would refuse to leave the lunch counter at segregated restaurants. Many of these efforts resulted in new legislation that improved voting rights and equal treatment under the law for African Americans and other minorities. In the 1950s and 1960s, protesters also took to the streets in opposition to the military draft and the Vietnam War, leading to the removal of the draft in the 1970s. American politics was controlled by a two-party system, but as the 20th century carried forward, the Democratic Party's power in the Southern states faded, as conservative Republican leaders began winning more in Tennessee and the rural Midwest and Southeast, while Democrats held huge advantages in the Northeast, West Coast, and in most large urban areas of the country. For much of this era, the United States' "Cold War" with the Soviet Union was a leading political issue, as many feared the threat of nuclear war. The rise of Communism was also at the heart of America's involvement in Vietnam and various other conflicts up until the collapse of the USSR in the late 1980s. In 1971, a new constitutional amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, giving Kyle's younger relatives a greater voice in U.S. politics.

Commerce
During the latter part of the 20th century, many people around Kyle purchased the goods they needed at increasingly large department stores, such as JCPenney and Sears, with some national suppliers like Walmart becoming among the leading employers in the nation. One retail company that started in Tennessee was the Dollar General Store, which focused on selling low-end products at discount prices. The company soon spread throughout the state and country. Corporate America was growing quickly as new chain stores and fast food restaurants began to appear in cities and suburbs, alike. The people who lived on farms had dropped drastically, and in 1960 there were more Tennesseans living in cities than in the rural areas. Improvements in transportation and communication technology helped businesses compete on the world market, especially as the United States became a center for worldwide business. The average Tennessean still made many purchases with cash, but personal checks and credit cards were increasingly used for larger purchases by the late 20thc century. Federal income taxes and sales taxes also grew as the century progressed.

Elvis Presley - 1977
On the morning of August 16, 1977, when Kyle was 42, the world was shocked and saddened to learn that Elvis Presley, one of the 20th century's most significant musicians and cultural icons, had passed away at Graceland, his home in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42 years old. Once the heartthrob of millions of women everywhere, Elvis had been suffering from health problems due to his illicit drug use. His reliance on these substances and their unhealthy side effects ultimately led to his untimely death caused by heart failure. As the news spread throughout the state and across the country, millions of Elvis fans were devastated. The King of Rock was dead! Thousands of devoted fans even made the trip to Graceland to view the open casket and attend his funeral. Elvis left behind his legacy of gyrating hips, musical movies, and popular songs such as "Jailhouse Rock," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Love Me Tender," "Burning Love," and countless other number-one hits. His legacy continues to inspire artists, and thousands of people still travel from all over the world to visit his Graceland mansion each year.

Kyle helps bring the Knoxville World's Fair - 1982
During Kyle's first term as Mayor, he helped lay the groundwork for The 1982 World's Fair. Knoxville had been looking for a way to bring more shoppers to the central business district, and W. Steward Evans, president of the Downtown Knoxville Association, came up with the idea of hosting a World's Fair. The event opened in May 1982 with the title "Energy Turns the World," and included 19 other participating nations. One of the highlights was the introduction of the Sunsphere, a new, space-age observation tower, and restaurant that would quickly become a local landmark. More than 11 million visitors, with many of Kyle's fellow Tennesseans among them, would flock to Knoxville for the festivities. However, some people living near Knoxville were skeptical of and unhappy about the event, especially when it did not bring quite the level of financial success that Tennessee had been expecting. Ultimately, very little downtown redevelopment occurred after the fair, and the fairgrounds simply remained a park. Meanwhile, the City of Knoxville found itself rewarded for its efforts with a great deal of debt.

Tennessee Bicentennial, 1996
The year 1996 marked 200 years since Tennessee had become a state. Kyle was 61 at the time of the Bicentennial, and to honor the momentous occasion, Tennessee 200 Inc. was created to develop local and traveling bicentennial programs that would bring the celebration throughout the entire state. The Spirit of Tennessee Bicentennial Train made stops across the state with an exhibit focusing on Tennessee's commercial and industrial development. The Bicentennial Arts and Entertainment Festival consisted of a month-long program celebrating the history of the state's orchestras, opera, theater, and ballet companies. People throughout Kyle's community had the opportunity to participate in community service during Volunteer 200 Day. The Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park was also established just north of the State Capitol to stand as a permanent monument to the bicentennial.

Kyle dies, 2015
Kyle died when he was 80 years old in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The late Knoxville Mayor Kyle Testerman's legacy can be found in numerous places across Knoxville, from the City County Building downtown to World's Fair Park to the tennis complex in Tyson Park that bears his name.

Elected mayor twice, Testerman planted seeds that have sprouted and flourished and continue bearing fruit to this day.

He was born on Dec. 27, 1934, in the depths of the Great Depression, and grew up in the shadow of the University of Tennessee in the Lake Avenue area.

He contracted polio as a youngster and turned to sports, especially tennis, as a means of rehabilitation. He played on the 1951 state championship basketball team at Knoxville High School his junior year. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a law degree from UT, where he also played basketball and tennis.

Testerman was elected to the Knoxville City Council in 1969 and two years later defeated incumbent Mayor Leonard Rogers. In his first term, Testerman supported a referendum that ushered in liquor by the drink in the city, battled with striking municipal garbage workers and laid the groundwork for the exposition that became the 1982 World's Fair - - a source of heated political controversy at the time. He lost his re-election bid to Randy Tyree in 1975.

Testerman made a comeback in 1983, defeating six opponents for a return to the mayor's office. During his second term, the city took the first steps toward reviving its moribund downtown. The Downtown Plan issued in 1987 led to the City County Building and TVA Twin Towers anchoring downtown, the beautification of Gay Street and the beginning of the renovation of Market Square. Redevelopment came slowly, but Knoxville now enjoys a vibrant downtown that other cities envy. Testerman did not seek re-election in 1987, paving the way for Victor Ashe to become mayor.

Testerman never lost his love of tennis. He co-founded the Knoxville Racquet Club and was a nationally ranked doubles player. The tennis courts at Tyson Park were christened the Kyle C. Testerman Tennis Complex in February. He was inducted into the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 for his basketball and tennis exploits.

He spent much of the later years of his life in the Carolinas, but he remained a true Knoxvillian, returning often and spending his final days in his hometown.

Historian Bruce Wheeler has written that Testerman's emphasis on the beginning of downtown restoration was "unquestionably his most lasting achievement."

Over the past three decades, subsequent mayors and numerous entrepreneurs have built on the vision developed during his second term to make Knoxville's center city once again the heart of the region.

Kyle Testerman was an accomplished athlete, successful businessman and able civic leader who has left an indelible mark on Knoxville