| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 167.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 16 Jun 2009.
You will find Sherry at work most every day
Sherry's Market is named after Sherry Winter, who is usually at the Cosby Highway
grocery most days. Her husband, James Winter, is semi-retired due to health reasons.
Author: David Popiel
Sundays are leading off some important events this month in our hometown with today, Flag Day, and next week, Father's Day and then beginning of summer, already showing its hot, biting teeth.
On a recent visit to Sherry's Market off Cosby Highway,where the visiting Mayfield giant cow got shot with paint balls, a key person was not at work. I chatted with James Winter but neglected to talk with Sherry Winter, the store's namesake. During late April, I revisited to talk about how she got involved in the business. Sherry was a Gibson, who was raised in Newport, and I found out she is a cousin to the late Irene Gibson. I made her photo a few times with Conway Twitty because she was his Newport fan club. The last time we met with Twitty was at what is now Bella's Country Kitchen off Knoxville Highway. Sherry married James in Nov. 1984 and they have one daughter, Leann Gooderham. Her real estate business is located next to the market. Her son is Brandon Massey, who married Megan McKay. That makes Sherry a great grandmother with the birth of Ethan Massey. Some of you will have known Sherry's mother, the former Annette O'Neil who married Robert Gibson of Bybee.There was also a sister, Bobbie Jean Phillips, who at age 36 died. Robert farmed and also trained horses when living in Knoxville.
I asked Sherry how she got interested in business, particular food and grocery sales. As a teenager, she went to work for Beetle Strange, who you recall operated Beetle's Broasted Chicken off Morristown Hwy.Sherry worked as a waitress there and also in Gatlinburg. Then she joined Vernco for four years as an assembler alongside Etrula Black and Delores Moore, some of the co-workers she recalls in the 1970s. After marriage, James and Sherry operated J&S Sales located in the small center that houses the Beauty Shop. At that time, WNPC Radio had its broadcast offices in the center. The Winters sold ceramics and electronics for cars and after two years sold the business. For some years she worked at Laurel Springs resort and James took to the flea market circuit. About this time, Beatrice Lindsey still owned Terry's Market, named after her son. They agreed to lease the store to the Winters in June 1985 for five years during which time Beatrice died. Sherry and James continued the lease from 1990-95 and Terry died. Those who shopped at Terry's remember he was confined to a wheelchair, but was always friendly and helpful. I understand he was in a car crash on the Cosby Hwy. on a narrow bridge not far from Lower English Creek. That bridge has since been widened. The Cody family, including Jack Cody, owned the store and ultimately sold it to the Winters. Their biggest problem over the years has been flooding caused by Cosby Creek. Sherry recalls sitting on the counter watching floodwaters run through the store. It must have been the year it also flooded their neighbors, Bill and Gayla Ewing at Pioneer Woods. Despite the weather and this year's slow economy, she has loved meeting and greeting customers and likes to know what's going on with them and their families. She is helped by Daveeta "Tootsie" Jacobson, who was at work that morning. She is a daughter to Homer Fine. James is an afternoon man working part-time because of his health. Sherry says that "God's help makes life easy." She closes the store on Sundays and relaxes at her McGaha Chapel home. On June 9, she turned 60 and still enjoys visiting flea markets seeking out horror books. Her home contains thousands of these. "I'd like to work until 65" and then retire. But, who would carry on the tradition?
I learned of an interesting scam recently related to a Plain Talk classified ad offering four female fawn pug pups for sale. It seems that Jerry Showman, of Newport, was the target and he explained to me what happened after running his adv., which got his pups sold. A caller claimed to want to buy the pups and was sending a check for $2,000. They told Jerry that when he got their check for him to please send them a check to cover the shipping fee. He did not because the $2,000 check was worthless and he would have been sending his good check to the scammer.
A lot of interesting people show up at the Newport Kiwanis Club and such was the case recently when Brian Cagle spoke on hunting education classes. You've seen these mentioned in the Plain Talk for youth who need to learn gun safety. Brian is involved in such education programs as an outdoorsman who manages Pioneer Credit. That's where Libby Strange also works. He's been doing this for 21 years. Brian lives in Newport and enjoys hunting, fishing, ATVs, and motorcycles, too. For 10 years he has been a Tenn. Wildlife Resource Agency certified hunter education instructor. Some of you outdoors men are familiar with Ducks Unlimited. He is Smoky Mountain area chairman and earned an excellence in leadership award this year. He is also a fellow Kiwanian in Sevierville and was voted Kiwanian of the year twice.
In plain talk, most every business has it sleaders and Newport seems to have many that can take the heat and stay cool, too.
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1949 - (75 years)
, d. 27 Jan 2014 (Age 93 years)