| Sources |
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 2 Jul 1999.
Hubert Lonzo Eledge obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 12 Jan 2014.
Upland Chronicles: Eunice Eledge left her mark at Dollywood
Dolly Parton, Eunice Eledge and Hubert Eledge at a profit-sharing event in 1986.
Eunice Eledge at a Dollywood Foundation program.
The first administration building at Goldrush Junction replaced a trailer used as an office.
When Rebel Railroad opened in 1961, the two brothers from North Carolina who developed and owned the attraction could have not imagined it would one day be among the most visited amusement parks in the world. Neither did Eunice Eledge when she started working there in 1970. She was hired by John Fox to serve as his office manager when Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns, purchased the attraction and changed the name to Goldrush Junction.
The path that eventually led Eunice to a career culminating at Dollywood began in Freeborn, Ky., where she was born on Oct. 9, 1927. Her family later moved to Grundy, Va., where Eunice graduated from high school in 1945. The following year she married Elza Lewis, and the young couple soon moved to Knoxville. One of Eunice’s aunts lived in Knoxville, and the newlyweds thought it would be easier for Elza to find a good job in a bigger city.
About a decade later, Eunice and Elza separated, and she was left a single mother with four children, Amy, Charles, Debbie, and Marti, ranging from infancy to 9. In order to provide her family, Eunice went to work on the graveyard shift in the obstetrics department at East Tennessee Baptist Hospital. She worked there for 19 months and considered taking classes to become a LPN. However, fate intervened, and she got a job making more money in the office at Riches Department Store.
She started out as secretary to the comptroller but was soon asked to attend classes to learn Cobol, a language for writing provably-sound compiler optimizations.
Eunice met Hubert Eledge, a farmer who worked at Bush Brothers, when she drove her aunt to Sevierville to visit his wife who was very ill at the time. Hubert’s wife died a few months later, and they began dating. Eunice and Hubert married on Aug. 20, 1967, and she and her younger children moved to Sevierville to live on his farm.
She commuted to Knoxville until Riches sold out to Millers, and the new owners decided to downsize the computer operation. Eunice volunteered to resign since she was interested in finding a job closer to her home. Responding to a newspaper ad, she interviewed for a position as office manager at Goldrush Junction. The interview with John Fox took place at Rawlings Furniture Store in the showroom window. She began her duties on Jan. 1, 1970, in a small trailer that was used as an office.
Goldrush Junction soon built a new office and hired a receptionist. Interestingly, a maintenance worker walked into Eunice’s office one day with a small bundle wrapped in a blanket and laid it on her desk. Eunice was startled when she uncovered an abandoned bear cub.
She placed the frightened cub in a box and took it home, stopping en route at Stewart’s Drug Store to purchase a feeding bottle and baby formula. Eunice’s family, friends, and co-workers pampered the cub. They named her Pocahontas, but the frisky little bear was always called Pokey. For several months, Eunice transported the bear between work and her house, where Pokey slept in the bathtub.
After Pokey was about four months old, she resided full time at Goldrush Junction and spent the night in a playpen. When the park was open, Pokey was escorted to the gazebo where she entertained visitors until the day came that the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency intervened. They removed the bear and released her into the wild.
In 1977, Goldrush Junction was sold to Jack and Pete Herschend, of Herschend Enterprises, and renamed Silver Dollar City Tennessee. The brothers were looking to build on the success of their original Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo.
They poured more than a million dollars into the park right away, bringing in more craftsmen as well as adding more rides and attractions. Eunice was promoted to director of finance, becoming the first female in a management position with Silver Dollar City in Tennessee or Missouri. She was delighted the first time attendance records in Tennessee topped those in Branson.
Under the Herschends’ direction and commitment, attendance grew steadily through the early 1980s, attracting the attention of Sevier County’s most famous native, Dolly Parton. In 1986, Parton partnered with the Herschends, and together they reopened the park as Dollywood. With Dolly Parton as the face of the park, attendance soared in the first year under the new name. Since becoming Dollywood, the park has more than doubled in size and received more than $110 million toward new attractions.
Eunice remained on the staff and was in the forefront of the transformation from Silver Dollar City to Dollywood. She retired as finance director but remained at Dollywood to work on other projects.
She facilitated innovative new programs such as the Dollywood Foundation and the formation of the Dolly Parton Scholarship program, the forerunner of the Imagination Library. Eunice was also responsible for increasing the Dolly Parton Fan Club from several hundred to over 6,000, and contributing to the success of the popular evening concert series at Dollywood featuring celebrity guests.
When Eunice finally retired for good, Dolly sent her an arrangement of flowers in one of her own shoes. The red high-heel pump was mounted on a board that included a brass plaque reading:
Eunice,
One could never fill your shoes,So I will fill one of mine.
Dolly
4-25-93
Now 86, Eunice resides in Sevierville and remembers fondly her association with Goldrush Junction, Silver Dollar City and Dollywood, particularly her relationship with Dolly Parton, whom she calls a wonderful lady and a good friend.
Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you would like to submit a column or have comments, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411, or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161, or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S112] Census, 1930.
Name: Eunice Stiltner
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Year: 1930
Event Place: Freeburn and Majestic, Pike, Kentucky, United States
District: 0028
Gender: Female
Age: 2
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Race (Original): White
Relationship to Head of Household: Daughter
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Daughter
Birth Year (Estimated): 1928
Birthplace: Kentucky
Immigration Year:
Father's Birthplace: Virginia
Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky
Sheet Number and Letter: 1A
Household ID: 11
Line Number: 98
Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Affiliate Publication Number: T626
Affiliate Film Number: 775
GS Film number: 2340510
Digital Folder Number: 004584859
Image Number: 01115
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head Charles Stiltner M 33 Virginia
Wife Louise Stiltner F 31 Kentucky
Daughter Eunice Stiltner F 2 Kentucky
Adopted daughter Sadie B Stiltner F 3 West Virginia
Son William Stiltner M 1 West Virginia
Head Jessee Horton M 25 North Carolina
Wife Viola Horton F 17 North Carolina
Daughter Virgina Horton F 0 Kentucky
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 5 Jan 2016.
October 9, 1927 - January 5, 2016
Resided in Sevierville, TN
Eunice Stiltner Lewis Eledge, age 88, died peacefully on Tuesday, January 5, 2016.
A loving wife, mother, mother-in-law, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, Mrs. Eledge was born in Freeburn, KY on October 9, 1927 to Charlie and Louise Stiltner. She lived there until her family moved to Grundy, VA when she was in high school. She was a 1945 graduate of Grundy High School. Following her first marriage, she moved to Knoxville, Tennessee where she lived until 1967 when she remarried and moved to Sevierville, Tennessee.
Mrs. Eledge was a Christian who loved her church and serving her Lord. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Sevierville and a former member of Sims Chapel Baptist Church of Sevierville and Sevier Heights Baptist Church of Knoxville. She was baptized on May 1, 1960 at Sevier Heights along with her 3 oldest children. She was an active Sunday School teacher, VBS worker, and GA leader for many years. Mrs. Eledge was a true servant of God who loved helping others. She went on her first mission trip at the age of 75 to Guatemala!
This love of helping others shined not only with church service but through her various occupations and in her many volunteer community activities. Mrs. Eledge was a former employee of East Tennessee Baptist Hospital, and Rich's/Miller's Department Stores. She retired from Goldrush/Silver Dollar City/ Dollywood after approximately 30 years of service as Comptroller and Finance Director. She later retired from Dollywood as the first Director of the Dollywood Foundation.
Mrs. Eledge was involved in many volunteer community activities and committees. She will be sadly missed not only by her family but by the many friends and associates she met and worked with during her countless hours of volunteering. She was a member of DAVA – holding many local and state offices, The Pilot Club, GFWC Manthano Club, Alzheimer's Association of Sevier County, on the original board to start the first Boys and Girls Club in Sevier County, Sevier County United Way and a very active member of the Volunteers for Fort Sanders Sevier Hospital – now known as LeConte Medical Center.
Mrs. Eledge received many awards for her volunteerism but she was most proud of two awards she received. The rewards were not as important as her service and being sure that someone was helped by what she did. In 1996 she received the Dr. & Mrs. Robert A. Broady Sevier County Humanitarianism Award from the Rotary Club of Sevierville. In 1993 she was awarded a Citation of Merit from the faculty and Board of Trustees of Hiwassee College.
Traveling "When do we leave? I can be ready in a minute!", reading, and working jigsaw and crossword puzzles occupied her spare time. Her travels took her to many places, both within the United States and other countries. She traveled to multiple countries in Europe and in Asia, to Canada and to many of the Caribbean Islands. She also loved animals of all kinds including her grandpets who were always welcome in her home. Mrs. Eledge even took in an orphaned black bear cub affectionately named Pokey which she loved and helped raise for several years!
Mrs. Eledge was preceded in death by her Parents: Charlie and Louise Stiltner; Sister: Mervis Stiltner Matney; Husband and father of her 4 children: E.S. (Sonny) Lewis; Husband of 32 years: Hubert Eledge; Son-in-law: Jim Arnett.
She is survived by a family who will miss her greatly but who will carry on the legacy she instilled in each of them.
Her children: Amy Lewis Irwin and her husband Rod of Florida, Charles Lewis and his wife, Dianna of Farragut, Debbie Lewis Arnett of Knoxville and Marty Lewis Temple and her husband James of Sevierville.
Her grandchildren: Major William Arnett, MD and Sarah of Kansas, Dr. Charles (Chuck) Lewis, DVM of Iowa, Emily Arnett Wong and Allan of Maryland, Anna Lewis of Knoxville and Andrew Temple and Callie of Sevierville.
Her great-grandchildren: Audrey, Ada Scott, Allison, Mark and Merritt Arnett of Kansas and Dante, Paul and Micah Wong of Maryland.
Brother and sister-in-law, Regis and Mary Stiltner of Bristol and Sisters-in-law Mable Eledge Bailey of Florida and Ruby Eledge Smith of Sevierville; daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Goforth of Knoxville.
Also survived by several nieces and nephews and a host of friends and loved ones including special friends Dot Davis (a friend for over 57 years!), Marie Temple, Ellen Wilhoit, Barbara Joines, and Debbie Poole.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the LeConte Medical Center Volunteers Scholarship Fund % Mary Bundren, 742 Middle Creek Road Sevierville, TN 37862 or to the King Family Library, 408 High Street Sevierville, TN 37862.
The family wishes to extend their deepest appreciation to the Staff and Physical Therapy Department of Sevierville Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and to Home Instead Senior Care, especially her dedicated caregivers Linda, Tammy, Shannon, and Shirley. Also to her doctors, Dr. James Stephen Alley, Jo Ann Bridges, PA, Dr. Joseph DeLeese, and Dr. Thomas Miller.
A celebration of life service for Mrs. Eledge will be held on Friday, January 8, 2016 at 7 PM in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home in Sevierville. The family will receive friends before the service from 4-6:30 PM. Friends and family will meet on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at 11 AM at Sims Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery for burial. Online condolences may be made at www.atchleyfuneralhome.com
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 156964630).
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