| Sources |
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 1 Nov 2006.
Betty J. Dunn Williamson obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 1 Apr 2007.
Everybody has a hounddog
(c)2007 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL Rick Williamson was busy as sales manager at Great Rustic Furniture off Hwy. 411 in Sevierville, when I bumped into him days ago.
By: DAVID POPIEL
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
04-01-2007
If things slowed down in mid March you could not tell it judging by the traffic, construction, and changes happening every day in our hometown. So much for the quiet lamb ending for the month. It is good to be able to talk to folks and find out things you didn't know and such it was last week as we prepared to honor Ralph Blackman Jr. with a story today. He had been ill recently-unable to attend Kiwanis meetings. We planned to meet on Friday but he fell and hit his head, so I chatted with his son, Jeff Blackman. A few additional items not in the article include some folks who worked with him. Jim Holt was a foreman at Heywood Wakefield and then went on to Eastern Plating where he is expected to retire this spring. Another H-W employee was Everett Parks. Some of you H-W workers from the 60s and 70s will remember the assistant manager Andy Reed. I'm not sure if there are any other workers alive here who started with Ralph in 1957. Let me know if you are one. If recent morning's fast-food restaurant traffic is any indication, spring is like a red hound on the run. It has given me a reason to be outside more and driving, which explains how I ran into a former Cosby student now working in Sevier County. During the years, I've bumped into Rick Williamson, who at 52 looks dignified with gray hair and deserves it as a grandpa. Off Highway 411 just as you enter the straight stretch of Dolly Parton Parkway you have noticed the several large warehouses that house assorted businesses. One is called Great Rustic Furniture and must be one of the most unique furniture stores in the area. The owner, Bill Matern, was there and we talked about how he ended up in the mountains from Jacksonville, where he had been in the furniture business. He and wife, Barbara, must be good folks because they let two large lazy dogs visit the store and hang out inside-but not on the furniture. Bill said he first tried the western style popular in Florida, but found out that cabins, bears and wilderness mountains are the Smokies theme. Rick, one of my former Cosby High School Spanish language students, is sales manager at the Great Rustic cabin dˇcor warehouse and showroom. You may know Rick's Dad, Harold Williamson, who retired from Douglas Cherokee Economic Authority as a maintenance supervisor. He had to retire in 2000 to take care of Rick's Mom, Betty, who died last year. It seems to me that Williamsons always have big families. Rick is one of six children. Danny works as an electrician in Pigeon Forge where he lives. Sister Peggy is married to local state Trooper Mike Holt. Michael lives in St. Louis, Davie is the youngest living near his Dad, and Mitchell is deceased. One of the reason I had not seen Rick much over the years was that he has lived in just about every state in the south because of his work in sales and management, but he and wife, the former Judy Fain, now live at Mannings Chapel. You see her at Taco Bell where you may see me eating burritos. They have a son, Dakota. Rick and his first wife, Theresa, have two children: Ryan, and Shandy Justus. Last June Rick got tired of the manufactured housing sales business and joined Bill at the furniture warehouse where he is a dedicated worker and helping Bill take a look at Newport for a possible future store location. Tuesday morning was another warm and beautiful day in our hometown so I headed east on Broadway for a long overdue haircut. You know it's spring when the cabbage and broccoli plants have been set out for sale at Newport Hardware. Around the corner, it was quiet at Ken Hall's Barbershop-most unusual. Usually, there's always a lot of chatter. Charlie Benson came in wearing shorts and a Tennessee basketball T-shirt. He's an old friend and we began to chat about what's been keeping him busy. Most of you know that he has dedicated the past 20 years to working with the youth Tennessee Travelers basketball program-it's more than sports, it's scholarships. He also does some legal work in Johnson City area and is involved in a new education Website that he will tell us more about soon. When I returned to the Plain Talk, passing by the former location of Giles Auto Parts, you will see that the windows are tinted dark and the building front is purple with the large letters, CSC. Not knowing what had happened, I saw Brownie Lichlyter next door at James Furniture-by the way, his real name is Paul. At first he did not recognize me and asked who I was. It seems that I had forgotten he cannot see well any longer-has not been able to for the past five years and mostly recognizes people by their voices. He said that the folks with White's Monument, Terry White, are using the building for a Casket Supplies Center warehouse. While we talked, it reminded me that hours earlier, the Circuit Rider, Robert Harris had called to chat. Rev. Harris told me he still keeps in touch with the Lichlyters and a few other Newport folks. During the years, the Plain Talk has carried Rev. Harris's column. He is 83 and on Mar. 29 had lived in the same house off Bear Creek Road near Asheville for 75 years. Yet, he has close ties to Cocke County-as some of you who knew brothers Homer and Oren Harris know. Their father was Dave Harris, of Dutch Bottoms. Robert told me a few stories including when Dave had a pig in a small pen at his house. He was not only a good country doctor, school teacher, but a "comical fellow." It seems that the loggers were sneaking over and letting the pig out and Dave would just build the fence higher. After a time he shared his suspicions with the men: "I declare. I never knew a pig could jump a four-foot fence." Rev. Harris still hands out Gospel tracts at the NC Farmers Market and often brings one of his two Tenn. Walking Horses-a farther and son pair he has owned since 1990: SunDuster, the Dad; and SunDance. I asked him what the relationship between him and the gentle giant singing cowboy Homer Harris was. Robert's Dad was Brad-son of Jimmy Harris. Homer's Dad, Dave, was a brother to Jimmy. About 1890, Jimmy Harris went to work for Bradley Stokely to help build the original Stokely Brothers cannery in Newport. One day in early Aug., Jimmy went home to find he had a newborn son. He told Bradley Stokely who suggested the name, "Brad." Brad became an accomplished blacksmith toolmaker who never shod a horse and moved to Asheville about 1921. It seems that everywhere I drove last week, dogs were riding too and hanging out windows or helping their pals drive. A big brown hound looked at me through the window of his Nissan truck. Minutes later, at Appalachian Veterinary Hospital I saw Dr. Kurt Steele, who told me a dog story. When he and wife, Sacha, were recently out of town for her father's funeral, a large dog showed up at their home-under construction. Kurt was getting his new St. Bernard breed a check up, and told me it arrived out of nowhere and stayed, helping guard the property. The contractors named her "Mollie." In plain talk, sometimes a hug from the hound is as good as it gets in this life.
|
Search | Advanced Search
Abt 1955 - (~ 69 years)