Sources |
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Mountain Press, 30 Jun 2000.
Bernice Cook Roberts Obituary
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 28 Jan 1998.
Mintha Millie Trentham Cook obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 13 Nov 2005.
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During such a warm Wednesday¡Vit was almost 80 degrees¡Vthe outdoors called me to drive around and see if anything was happening worth reporting to you. The last stands of brilliant fall orange, yellow, and red leaves kept begging for a photo so I did shoot a maple tree along Buckingham Drive. Ralph Valentine had called earlier to say his Christmas decorations were up¡Vsuch a highly motivated fellow deserved a visit. His neighborhood is neat but what really set off his yard was a 30-foot tall Norway spruce. Ralph explained that his father, Roy Valentine, had planted the five-foot tall tree in 1972. Many of you know that Roy was an older brother to Vic Valentine, of Valentine nurseries. Ralph also celebrated a birthday. He was 70 on Nov. 12 and stays active mowing and putting up a zillion Christmas decorations he got from his mother, Altha. It is hard to believe that Ralph is a 1954 Cosby School grad. Some of you work with his wife, Shelby, who is an attendance coordinator at Newport Grammar School where she has served for 34 years. They have three grown children: Lisa, who works at Newport Utilities; Bryan, with International Paper; and Cindy, a respiratory therapist.
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- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 19 Dec 2008.
Spectacular night lights in Indian Hills
(c)2008 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL Ralph Valentine stands amid thousands of lights at his Buckingham Drive home in Indian Hills. He has added new lights and Christmas music to the display, but don't wait too long to visit.
Author: David Popiel
On rainy nights one particular house off Buckingham may go unnoticed, but on clear nights visitors are impressed with the spectacular Christmas lights.
Ralph and Shelby Valentine have been decorating their entire house and most of their lawn with lights for about five years to the delight of neighbors and motorists who are familiar with the display.
This year, Ralph Valentine, who has been retired several years as a Newport businessman, has added some new twists to his lights and creation. Music playing Christmas songs keeps many strands of lights echoing the harmony.
When the nights are too damp, he does not turn on the lights because of more than 60 power cord connections that could cause electrical shorts and danger.
But when the nights are drier, especially clear and cold, the illumination by more than 75,000 lights in a rainbow of colors is almost hypnotizing. Valentine said that many people make repeat visits.
Highlights include a holly tree that has about 2,000 lights, dozens of lighted lawn figures, shrubbery and house swathed in lights. At times you may see Valentine on the lawn greeting folks who drive by the 308 Buckingham Drive.
The decoration spirit resided in his mother, Altha Valentine, who died in May 2004. So he was determined to honor and memorialize her with the annual lighting display. She lived off Princeton Lane, and many of her lights are now part of Ralph Valentine's decorations.
The hundreds of people, especially children, who arrive to see the lights are all the payment he needs to get great satisfaction, he said.
His electric bill for the period of time the lights are in service adds about $90 to his utility bill, but as he said, "Who cares."
The real work is unpacking the boxes and putting up the lights, which started the first week in October and was completed by Thanksgiving. Valentine turned on the lights the Friday after Thanksgiving and will keep them on most nights until several days after Christmas.
It takes less than a week to remove all the lights and lawn figures and carefully pack these away for next season. He fully expects to do this holiday job as long as he is able.
The Valentine family gathers at the home for Christmas and will celebrate early the expected birth of a great grandchild. The Valentine children are Lisa Shelton married to Jackie Shelton; Cindy Owen, married to Steve Owen; and Bryan Valentine. The grandchildren are Mindy (Shelton) Seagle, Morgan Payne, Breanne and Bryson Valentine, Ashley and Stephanie Owen.
Mindy is expecting her child to be born in late April, and Ralph, who is a cigar smoker, is anxious to light up and rejoice the birth.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 21 Dec 2012.
Shimmering lights at Christmas reflect spirit of life and joy
(c)2012 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL
The giant Mickey Mouse blowup is a favorite for Children who like to visit the Valentines. For Ralph his hours of work decorating his lawn is all about delighting hundreds of children, and parents can enjoy the scene too. Ralph Valentine has been expanding the Christmas decorations since he started it all nine years ago.
Author: David Popiel
It was the week before Christmas and heavy rain kept folks in our hometown inside, but weather didn't diminish the last full week of shopping and celebration.
Before sharing a story of hope and healing at Christmas time, I want to finish our chat with Elza Painter, at least for now. You have also been reading here about our friend Lenny Zmich and his ordeal with pancreatic cancer. He will be seeking medical advice and treatment at Vanderbilt University Hospital and continues to have a difficult time with the cancer. One of my readers, Mary Greene, told me of a man who had his pancreas removed as a treatment for cancer. That was six years ago and he is still alive and working in Pigeon Forge. I hope to meet him soon.
Elza's first photo studio was along McMahan Ave. in Newport so if he stepped outside he could see Seehorn Hardware, a shoe shop, and the Firestone store on the corner. "I had the upstairs studio" and he sold Hallmark cards and cameras on the first floor. Fred Hardy was a business neighbor, Hardy Insurance. The Men's Den was a ladies clothing shop on the corner. Other shops included a bakery, shoes, Suggs Jewelry. Add to these Huffman's Five & Dime, Stokely-Shults Drug Store, McNabb's and it was a busy place in the early 1960s.
By 1960, John M. Jones Sr. of Greeneville had acquired the Newport Plain Talk & Tribune from Judge George Shepherd. The newspaper was located where Willie Green now operates Newport Office Supply. With Elza's photojournalism background it was a natural for him to start helping Arthur and Nancy Petrey, who tagged Elza with the nickname "Teddy Bear" and they built a life-long friendship. Elza had his first house built off Golf Course Road and he was the first on the block. There was one other house under construction in 1965, for Wilma Davies. By 1967 Elza had moved his business off East Broadway to the location I knew for 30 years on East Broadway. The grand opening of March 24 was announced in the Plain Talk. Irene Mills was the smiling receptionist and clerk, and she and Elza have been married for 35 years. Some of the other folks near their home on the block include: Kiwanian Lawrence Ammons, whom I saw at Farm Market last week with friends from Newport Federal Bank; and Carolyn Helms, across the street and also a fellow Kiwanian.
Elza also explained how he first met the Petreys. They lived off Walnut at Clifton Heights where Jim Robinson was a neighbor. Just down from the Horace Burnett home the Painters lived in the Gregg house, practically behind the Petreys. They were neighbors and friends since the early 1960s. I discovered that Roe Parks was a contractor on Elza's projects. He found two lots where Diana's Beauty Salon is today and next to the Men's Den. Stokely's clothing owner bought one and Elza the other so they were able to build two business sites with a shared wall.
Elza and Maxine have two daughters who are grown with children. Tandy Jo Lyles is the oldest and lives in Waynesboro, S.C. where she is a dental hygienist. Jorja Lee Williamson is an RN at Southside, West Virginia and graduate of the University of Tenn, Knoxville. There is still a lot more interesting things to hear from Elza.
Take a journey of hope
As is his tradition for many years the Christmas lights went on at and around the Valentine home off Buckingham Drive in Indian Hills. But this year is different because Ralph Valentine is here to celebrate it again after the New Year 2012 began with news he had cancer. After the struggle and medical treatment then, at the end of the year, with Christmas Eve at the doorstep and a New Year, Ralph has discovered that blessings abound and the journey has changed the Valentine family's life. An emotional and most memorable event was the May Relay for Life sponsored by the American Cancer Society in Newport. Ralph's daughters placed a medallion around Dad's neck, donating another cancer survivor. "My family and I want to give back to others that are going through this or will in the future. My prayer is for special blessings to each of you." And in the true spirit of giving, a lesson that has been underlined this year, and because it is the season of giving to others, Ralph offers with his lights and ornaments these words: "God bless you all."
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com).
Medical pros key to recovery
We have been talking about how Ralph Valentine of Indian Hills overcame cancer after fighting it most of the year. Weeks ago, I came across Ralph out and about, and he looked slimmer and different so my question on how he was feeling prompted his explanation of how he survived cancer. Days later he brought in a four-page story entitled "Poppa's Journey" that details what he calls his ordeal with a "horrible disease." He invited me to share it with you. I think it most appropriate because we have been talking about Lenny Zmich's recent diagnoses of pancreatic cancer. He is now seeking other treatment, while Ralph endured chemo and feeding tubes in the early months of the year.
Most of us would not call suffering with a kidney infection good. But it looks to me that it was fortunate he went to Newport Medical Center on December 31, 2011 with such an ailment and was hospitalized. And further, he got a CT scan. Dr. Mike Hood brought the bad news that they found a mass about ping-pong ball size near his stomach.
Ralph and Shelby's daughters made doctors' appointments, one with gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Ellis, who performed a scope and biopsy after seeing a "sore" on his esophagus and believed it to be cancer. "This was such a devastating blow," Ralph writes in his story. And though the cancer was a "bad one," testing by oncologist Dr. Farooq Akbar revealed the cancer had only spread to one nearby lymph node. Ralph was relieved and also felt comforted by Dr. Akbar's strong faith in God and his immediate suggestion for Ralph and the family to pray. The plan was to do both chemotherapy and radiation, overlapping these. The treatment began with Dr. Anderson at the Morristown-Hamblen Hospital cancer center. By then it was late February and radiation treatment involved five days per week for six weeks.
Just Plain Talk: Sawyer Hollow a highlight during holiday traveling
- [S112] Census, 1940.
name: Ralph Valentine
titles & terms:
event: Census
event year: 1940
event place: Civil District 9, Cocke, Tennessee, United States
gender: Male
age: 4
marital status: Single
race (original):
race (standardized): White
relationship to head of household (original):
relationship to head of household (standardized): Son
birthplace: Tennessee
estimated birth year: 1936
residence in 1935:
enumeration district number: 15-19
family number: 116
sheet number and letter: 7B
line number: 50
nara publication number: T627
nara roll number: 3881
digital folder number: 005461287
image number: 00587
Household Gender Age Birthplace
head Roy Valentine M 32 Tennessee
wife Altha Valentine F 21 Tennessee
son Ralph Valentine M 4 Tennessee
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
name: Roy Valentine
titles & terms:
event: Marriage
event date: 28 Nov 1932
event place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
age:
estimated birth year:
father:
father's titles & terms:
mother:
mother's titles & terms:
spouse: Altha Baxter
spouse's titles & terms:
spouse's age:
spouse's estimated birth year:
spouse's father:
spouse's father's titles & terms:
spouse's mother:
spouse's mother's titles & terms:
reference number: 284
film number: 1928649
digital folder number: 004485964
image number: 00212
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
name: Ralph Valentine
titles & terms:
event: Marriage
event date: 13 Apr 1957
event place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
age: 21
estimated birth year: 1936
father:
father's titles & terms:
mother:
mother's titles & terms:
spouse: Shelby Jean Cook
spouse's titles & terms:
spouse's age: 21
spouse's estimated birth year: 1936
spouse's father:
spouse's father's titles & terms:
spouse's mother:
spouse's mother's titles & terms:
reference number:
film number: 1669920
digital folder number: 004485981
image number: 01248
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