Lady Vols museum or garage? Retired school teachers have it all

Knoxville

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The garage at the home of Susan Whitlow and Jean Lusardi houses more than two cars.

The garage at the home of Susan Whitlow and Jean Lusardi features Pat Summitt memorabilia in addition to the other Lady Vols items they have collected throughout the years. Some of the items they own include their playoff tickets, T-shirts, newspaper photos and even a scarecrow from Summitt's home.

The walls are adorned with newspaper headlines and photos along with other Tennessee Lady Vols memorabilia, chronicling the basketball team’s achievements since the retired school teachers moved there in 2001.

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“It’s the kind of thing you’d almost expect to see in a museum or a hall of fame,” said Mollie DeLozier, who’s a friend of Whitlow and Lusardi. “I don’t think it’s the amount of stuff. It’s the number of years, the history I guess, that’s the most impactful, the history that’s on those walls.”

The walls have served as a touchstone of sorts for the cause they have shared with Raubyn Branton and her sister, Donna. The five women worked tirelessly during the past three years, lobbying UT to reverse its 2014 decision and restore the Lady Vols name and logo to all women’s sports. The university responded to the public pressure last month and announced a restoration plan.

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“I approached the Lady Vol collage on their garage wall, stopped, stared and thought to myself, ‘This is the good. This is the good in all of this. This is the Lady Vol journey,' ” Raubyn Branton said, recalling her first garage/museum visit. “This is why we’re doing what we are doing.”