| Sources |
- [S76] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume III, 1974-1986, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 18 Nov 1985.
Beulah Trentham McCarter obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 21 Mar 2005.
McCarter gets Rotary service award
By: J.J. KINDRED
Staff Writer March 21, 2005
PIGEON FORGE - City Commissioner English McCarter was honored Tuesday evening with the J. Pritchard Barnes Award during the annual banquet of the same name with the Pigeon Forge Rotary Club, held at the Holiday Inn on the Parkway.
City Manager Earlene Teaster, who has won the Barnes Award herself in the past, presented the award to McCarter. Mayor Ralph Chance and City Commissioners Bill Maples and Joyce Brackins also spoke about how deserving McCarter is of the award.
"It was a great honor," said McCarter. "I enjoyed being presented with the award by the commissioners. I've served with them for over 18 years.
"I was aware I was going to get the award, but it still was a big surprise to me," McCarter continued. "They invited me to come down to the banquet, along with my wife and all my family."
In 1979, the Rotary Club honored Barnes for his service to the community and to Rotary. He was presented with the first distinguished community service award, and the club voted to designate the award each year in honor of Barnes.
McCarter has been a commissioner for 36 years and has also served as mayor and vice mayor and had terms on the Pigeon Forge Planning Commission.
He is the chairman of the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg Airport Authority and an active member of the Pigeon Forge Lions Club, Pigeon Forge Baptist Church, Sevier County Anglers Club and Gatlinburg Elks Lodge.
McCarter was also recognized with the Paul Harris Fellowship, the highest honor in Rotary. A donation in his name was given to the Rotary Foundation, which will be used in the worldwide initiatives of Rotary International.
In serving the City of Pigeon Forge for so many years, McCarter said it has made his experience in Pigeon Forge worth while.
"We've got a good commission, and we all get along good," said McCarter. "I've enjoyed it the last few years. We've got a good city manager in Earlene Teaster. She has brought Pigeon Forge ahead. I give her a lot of credit for the way the city has grown."
Also during the banquet, Laurie Taylor, director of sales and marketing for the Country Tonite Theatre, was named Rotarian of the Year for her dedication and service, and local musician Tim Kellar received an appreciation of service award.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Mountain Press, 29 Mar 2000.
Jessie M. Marshall obituary.
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 26 May 2005.
Parkway's completion highlight of English McCarter's political career
By: J.J. Kindred
Staff Writer May 26, 2005
Former commissioner reflects on 36 years of service
PIGEON FORGE - As a former mayor, vice mayor, assistant police chief, fire chief and city commissioner, English McCarter has seen a lot of things in Pigeon Forge come and go.
After 36 years in city politics, McCarter will now watch the progress and changes from the comfort of his own home.
McCarter, 81, decided not to seek re-election this year. He sat with the City Commission for the last time during the May 9 meeting.
As he and his wife of 55 years, Evelyn, talked from the same home on Old Mill Street in which they have lived for 50 years, McCarter said his proudest moments in city politics came when the Parkway came into existence, along with traffic lights and the building of sidewalks.
"The growth we've had means a lot," said McCarter. "When I came on the commission in 1969, we were getting a sewer system. I liked to see that.
"(Tourism) is the main drawing card," he said. "You have all your rides and such, but some of them I don't approve of much."
McCarter has lived his entire life in Sevier County. He served in the military during World War II. He said he ran for city commissioner while he was the fire chief.
He was instrumental in the incorporation of Pigeon Forge, which he said was approved by seven votes in a referendum, and also helped bring the first police car into the city while serving on the force.
McCarter said what he will miss most about serving is working with fellow city officials, including Mayor Ralph Chance, City Manager Earlene Teaster, commissioner Howard Sexton and long-time commissioner and vice mayor Bill Maples.
"They're number one people," said McCarter. "Bill had been there for 20 years, and Joyce came on board after her husband (Woody Brackins) passed away.
"Earlene has been a good city manager," McCarter said. "I was the mayor when we put her in. When we let the other (city manager) go, we started hunting for a city manager. I went to see Earlene when she was the city recorder and I asked her if she was interested.
"I told her she would be white- and gray-headed in a year," he laughed.
McCarter said the other commissioners were saddened when he decided not to run for reelection.
"Their feelings were hurt, but they understood because I couldn't hear very well," said McCarter. "I talked it over with my family and decided I wouldn't run."
McCarter said he hopes the city will continue to prosper.
"This city started growing in 1978," said McCarter. "When the World's Fair came to Knoxville, that's when (the city) really started to grow."
McCarter said his advice to the new commissioners is to enforce more of the city's ordinances.
"They need to enforce their ordinances on the account of when people are building," said McCarter. "They need to enforce the building codes when getting better restaurants and businesses up to date."
He hopes the city will "keep building as long as Earlene is there. Traffic is still a problem, but you got to have traffic if you have tourists."
McCarter said that he wanted to be remembered for one simple thing.
"I did my best," he said.
Newly elected commissioners Kevin McClure and Howard W. Reagan, along with incumbent commissioner Joyce Brackins, were sworn in during Monday's city commission meeting, with McClure and Reagan also making their commission debuts.
jkindred@themountainpress.com
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 17 Jul 2010.
English McCarter
September 15, 1923 - July 17, 2010
Birthplace: Sevier County, Tennessee
Resided In: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee USA
Visitation: July 20, 2010
Service: July 20, 2010
Cemetery: Shiloh Cemetery, Pigeon Forge
English McCarter, age 86, of Pigeon Forge passed away Saturday, July 17, 2010. He was a member of Pigeon Forge First Baptist Church. Mr. McCarter was a World War II veteran serving his country in Luxemburg, France, Belgium, and near Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge campaign, a member of Pigeon Forge Lions Club, Gatlinburg Elk Club, and the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport Authority. He was the Assistant Fire Chief and the Police Chief of Pigeon Forge before it was incorporated. Mr. McCarter was a Pigeon Forge City Commissioner for 36 years. During his tenure, he was Vice Mayor and also served as the Mayor. He loved to fish with his family, friends, and also in bass tournaments. He was a member of the Sevier County Bass Anglers Club. Mr. McCarter was an electrician and owned McCarter Electric Company. He was preceded in death by his parents William Harrison & Pearlie Stinnett McCarter, brother William (Bill), and sisters, (infant) Betty McCarter, Gertrude (Lloyd) Bradley, Elizabeth (C.L.) Sutton, Nina Myers and step-mother Beulah Trentham McCarter
Survivors:
His wife of 62 years: Evelyn Jean Myers McCarter
Daughters and sons-in-law: Patricia M. and Steve Fugate of Maryville and Nancy M. and Dennis Murray of Sevierville.
Sons and daughters-in-law: Joseph M. and Lisa H. McCarter and James E. and Devone McCarter of Sevierville.
Grandchildren: Stephanie F. and Kirby Teague of Chesapeake, VA; Mark H. and Lauren Fugate of Maryville; Caroline M. and Randy French of Mt. Juliet; Brooke M. and Nathan Dunn of Sevierville; Bryan and Anna McCarter of Morristown; Jason and Allison McCarter of Knoxville; and Ashley McCarter of Sevierville.
Great-grandchildren: Emily and Addison French, Calvin and Anna Teague and Haleigh Dunn. Brother: Pershing McCarter
Sister: Mary McCarter
Brother-in-law: Pete Myers
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, P O Box 15010, Knoxville, TN 37901
Funeral service 7 PM Tuesday in the West Chapel of Atchley Funeral Home with Steve Fugate and Larry Ogle officiating. Graveside service and interment 10 AM Wednesday in Shiloh Cemetery with Rev. W.W. Cope officiating. The family will receive friends 4-6:45 PM Tuesday at Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville. (www.atchleyfuneralhome.com)
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 17 Jul 2010.
Pigeon Forge loses pioneer civic leader; English McCarter dies at 86
By STAN VOIT
If ever a man represented all that is good and noble about Pigeon Forge, it’s English McCarter.
He was a Battle of the Bulge veteran. He was instrumental in the city incorporating in 1961. He was assistant fire chief and police chief. He served on the City Commission for 36 years — longer than anybody.
McCarter, who died Saturday at 86, was a beloved figure and community leader.
“You could always rely on English to shoot straight with you,” County Mayor Larry Waters said. “Whatever he told you was the absolute truth.”
Officials in the second generation of city leaders, represented in part by Mayor Keith Whaley and Vice Mayor Kevin McClure, remember McCarter for his guidance when they took office and his companionship as they were growing up in the city.
“From the time I was a kid and beyond, English certainly meant a lot to us,” Whaley said. “It’s hard to measure what he meant to me and to the city. We looked up to him.”
Whaley’s fondest memories are of annual fishing trips he took with McCarter and former city commissioner Bill Maples to Tellico, and the fun and advice during those trips.
“He was always so willing to share with us young guys what it took to be a leader of the city,” Whaley said.
Joe McCarter, one of English McCarter’s four children, remembers his dad as always busy, a bit stern but never loud with the kids, and a hard worker whose passion was fishing.
“That’s what he loved to do,” Joe McCarter said Saturday. “He was a great dad and a good man.”
McCarter grew up in the Banner community of Sevier County. After his service with the Army in World War II, he returned to his hometown to run local movie theaters before learning the electrical trade and opening McCarter Electric.
Joe McCarter said his dad’s health began to fail right around the time he decided not to seek another term on the City Commission in 2007. He entered the Sevier County Health Care Center in August 2009.
“He was certainly an example of what a public servant should be,“ Waters said. “He always had the best interests of the city and county at heart. He was always willing to work with anyone to better the city and county.”
Whaley noted that English McCarter was there at the incorporation of Pigeon Forge. Joe McCarter recalls that the city incorporated in part to keep out a proposed airport. His dad took a leading role in incorporation and then was elected to the City Commission eight years later.
“There is no doubt about it,” City Manager Earlene Teaster said, “you knew where his loyalty was. It was with the city.”
Teaster said McCarter supported such advances as the city’s first wastewater treatment plant, a modern lighting system for the Parkway medium and major road projects. He knew and appreciated the value of tourism and always backed projects and spending to promote that, she said.
“English was always very supportive of me as well as all the city employees,” Teaster said. “He believed in what we were doing. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and I learned a lot from him.”
svoit@themountainpress.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 20 Jul 2010.
Friends gather to remember PF leader; English McCarter died Saturday at age 86
By DEREK HODGES
SEVIERVILLE — Huge sprays of flowers from local officials, the folks at Dollywood and even the country superstar who gave the theme park its name filled a room at Atchley Funeral Home Tuesday evening as friends and family gathered to remember one of the fathers of Pigeon Forge.
English McCarter passed away over the weekend after 86 years of life and almost as many serving the city. As people came together for memorial services for the man who helped lead the charge to incorporate Pigeon Forge in 1961, then served in various city offices until failing health forced him out of a City Commission post just a few years ago.
Through the more than 40 years he was working for the city itself, McCarter built up a remarkable reputation for service that was the talk of the crowd Tuesday evening.
“You could always call on English. He was always available to help,” remembered Dan Conner, who served as the first city manager of Pigeon Forge. “He was really good for the city and was a great leader for the commission. He helped the city grow so much.”
McCarter and Conner first met in the early 1950s, with an instant friendship sparked between the two men who shared so much in common Conner joked he has often been called, “English,” by confused people. The two men were practically inseparable as they worked together at the city through Conner’s turn at the helm and McCarter’s leadership in both the police and fire departments. Later, they were both charter members of the Pigeon Forge Lions Club and took regular fishing trips throughout East Tennessee.
“He’s been an awful good friend,” Conner said. “We were very good friends for many years. He was just a good man.”
That experience of hitting local lakes and rivers with McCarter seemed to be a common one among many of those who called the man, “friend,” as they came through the receiving line at the visitation that preceded the memorial services. Ted Miller, who oversaw Silver Dollar City before moving into the role of business manager for Dolly Parton when she bought the theme park, said he recalls many times heading to Tellico Lake with McCarter.
“He was a friend, a fishing buddy and was on the commission when I first came to Pigeon Forge,” Miller said. “He was very instrumental as a councilman in keeping tourism growing in the city. He was also one of the greatest supporters of Silver Dollar City and Dollywood ever to serve the city.”
Reinforcing that point were the flowers bearing cards from Parton and the theme park. Miller also pointed out Parton visited McCarter at home just this past spring, having heard the man she called, “Pee Wee,” because he reminded her of Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens, was ill.
Like Miller, Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin first came into contact with McCarter through business, but soon counted the man among his friends. The two met when Baldwin was working in plumbing, with McCarter having taken up the trade of an electrician after he left the U.S. Army a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge.
McCarter later supported Baldwin’s bid to come to work for the police department and worked closely with him as he moved into the role of chief, offering experience from his years as assistant chief during the department’s infancy.
“English was a quality individual,” Baldwin remembered. “He was always working for the people of Pigeon Forge. He was always working for what would help the city and help its citizens.”
Among those residents who reaped the rewards of McCarter’s years of work are Donald and Bonnie Denney, who came out to pay their respects Tuesday to a man they grew to be friends with through the Lions Club and membership in the same church.
“He’s the one who made Pigeon Forge what it is today,” Bonnie Denney said. “He was such a hard worker for the city. He was a servant; he and his wife Evelyn both.”
The couple remembered McCarter more as a friend, though. As the pictures telling the story of McCarter’s life, from Army corporal to electrician to city official to Lions Club president, flashed on a television screen nearby, they recalled a man who could spin a yarn that would enthrall any listener.
“He was a great storyteller and she loves stories,” Donald Denney said, motioning toward his wife.
“He was fascinating,” Bonnie Denney agreed. “You just wanted to sit down there and grasp everything he said.”
Like countless others in the crowded room, the Denneys remembered McCarter by that simple but high praise, “He was a good man.”
“He was always a gentleman. I don’t think I ever heard him say a bad word about anybody,” Donald Denney said. “He had high morals. Even though he wasn’t a very tall man, he was someone you could always look up to.”
dhodges@themountainpress.com
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