| Sources |
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 10 Oct 2008.
Fred Ronald "Ronnie" Ottinger obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 20 Jan 2012.
Just Plain Talk: News from 43 years ago resurfaces in April storm
News from 43 years ago resurfaces in April storm
Stan and Tammy Southerland love their Munsey log home off Kenyon Road. The cabin kit construction began in 2005 by Tammy's late husband, Fred Ottinger, with help from Tim Munsey. It was during late construction in 2008 that Fred fell from the roof and died.
Author: David Popiel
The mid-January cold snap had little teeth and less tenacity, leaving our hometown warmer by week's end, and the long-range forecast calling for above normal temperatures through March.
It seems more folks are out on the roads, maybe that is why gas perked up to $3.25 per gallon, and out visiting local restaurants. With a beef soup stop at the Farm Market I saw quite a few folks you know including the rowdy bunch of L.D. Ottinger, Robert Overholt and others. Don Ball introduced me to one of his brothers I had not met. Harold Ball is back in Newport after a sojourn of decades preaching in the Carolinas. He is pastor of the new Memorial Baptist Church at the Newport Presbyterian Church. A bit of news that did not make the Plain Talk concerns a local woman who won a 52-inch HD TV. We were not able to get a photo of the good luck Friday 13th presentation to Debbie Wilson of Edwina. Secure Winners presented the gift and also gave $1,000 to Toys for Tots.
Misplaced off-trail but safe
We have a short distance to finish on our hike with Ronnie McGaha and friends. So let's do it. Last week he detailed the sometimes difficult forgotten trails that he and friends find and walk. Ronnie praised Charlie Seehorn and George Grooms for remaining calm last spring on a difficult hike. He said, "They are real pros." For those who don't know, Charlie has been a long distance runner of marathon endurance level for years and George has climbed some of the highest mountains in the US and world, including Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa, at 19,000 feet. "I have to compliment them on their strong attitude and abilities. They remained rock calm in difficult and uncertain situations." About 4:30 a.m. they stopped and rested and then tried to move ahead in an unknown direction in the dense darkness and brush. Seeing it was rather futile they stopped until daybreak. Ronnie said he does not use GPS devices but rather chooses compass and topographic (topo) maps. At dawn, "we could see, use our compasses and found the maintained trail in an hour. All's well that ends well!" His work life has always been as a public servant and it has always been enjoyable work. His two former marriages also produced several great children. Ronnie's first marriage with Sharon, they had two: Marlow McGaha, who lives in Florida, and Grant McGaha, an employee of Lisega in Sevierville. Ronnie and Carlene had one child, Katie McGaha, who is a sophomore at Middle Tennessee State University. She is an avid dance company member through MTSU. I hope you enjoyed hiking the AT trail with Ronnie, Glenn Lane, and others who hike for fun. A few other names given to me of ardent hikers include Jim and Barbara Davis, Judy Nease, Jesse and Vickie Sauceman.
News from the chicken coop
Late last fall a woman walked into our office carrying an unusual item, but I recognized it immediately from our long-past printing days. You may know Tammy Southerland, who lives off Kenyon Road in the Long Creek community. Her late husband was Fred Ottinger, who suffered a fall and died about three years ago. He was the son of Fred "Dit" and Eva "Peanut" Ottinger. Tammy and Fred were building onto their log home, when he fell off a ladder and died in Sept. 2008. Fred and Tammy had been married about 27 years. He also was a past candidate for property assessor in Greene Co. She carried an aluminum printing plate from the August 28, 1967 Newport Plain Talk to our office, and you saw the photo last week. The particular pages were Social News that we later headlined as lifestyles whether done by Nancy Petrey, Shirley Elliott, or Nancy O'Neil in past decades. I was not working at the Plain Talk in the 1960s, yet the wide plates used then continued into the 1970s. These paper webs were about 34 inches wide compared to the current standard printing plate for webs of about 25 inches wide with two pages side by side.
I asked Tammy, who is a member of the Mercer family, how she came to have the crumpled metal plate. It was siding on an old chicken house.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 27 Jan 2012.
Just Plain Talk: Damp End of month days best spent on the couch
Lounging on a living room couch with Tammy Southerland are two of her favorite house pets: Lola, a gray terrier mix, and Bonnie, the tornado survivor cat. Tammy and husband Stan from Greene County love their Cocke County home.
Author: David Popiel
January is close to ending and being one of the warmest January months many can recall, but the rain around our hometown has kept many of you indoors and caused postponement of chores.
Weather has a way of changing things and by its nature is so changeable and brings us surprises, such as that when the April 2011 tornadoes bounced through Cocke and Greene counties. You saw in Just Plain Talk the photo of an aluminum printing plate that was found at a destroyed chicken house. We have been visiting with Stan and Tammy Southerland, who live in a log home off Kenyon Road. Before we continue our chat, let me share some other conversations. During a quick stop at Hardees for a milkshake, I saw John Francis with a couple of other folks. He is retired from his produce delivery business and with him were Mary Nell Moss and her brother, Billy Joe Moss, of White Pine. They are part of a larger group that hangs out weekly. I plan to revisit and tell you more about these folks. John told me on the day I stopped in, January 24, he celebrated his 76th birthday. Earlier I had been at the Newport Kiwanis Club meeting. My guests were businessman Gary Ridens and Betty McMillan, our advertising manager. I asked Gary how Brandywine restaurant had been doing. He and Geraldine Ridens operate it along with Midnight Rodeo and also have rental properties, one cabin damaged when a tree fell on it. "Steaks are 30 percent higher," he said, yet restaurants cannot raise prices. "Our customers can't stand it." He said both pork and beef had increased the most, and if you have neighbors who raise cattle you can find out they are receiving prices above $1.50 per pound this year. Brandywine has been open now three years and features steaks. Most restaurants' prices range from $12 to $20 for various steak cuts. "The wholesale price for ribeyes is $5.60 per pound."
Paper brings good, bad news
The late April 2011 tornado destroyed the 180-feet-long house; hopefully not the chickens and roosters, in the Graystone community of Greene County. This was at the home of her parents, Paul and Pat (Hopson) Mercer. Two weeks ago I called and talked with Pat for more information and family connections. When the family was cleaning up after the April calamity, they found some of the printing plates like the one shown recently in Just Plain Talk, and it is still readable. Printing ink is retained on the aluminum plates that have a chemical-coated surface, and, when exposed to light and developed, changes the thickness and thinness just like film. Do you remember camera film? I have not seen rolls of film in many years, but retired photographer Elza Painter and I could tell many a story about Plain Talk film and prints. Tammy guesses that it was her uncle Albert Mercer, who tacked the thin plates to the wood to keep out the cold so the chickens wouldn't freeze during winter. I don't think the birds knew how to read, and if so, would get tired of the same old society news day after day. One short story from Aug. 28, 1967 caught my eye: "Gorrell Injured When Dragged By Automobile." James Gorrell, of Wilson Street, had parked at Courtesy Rambler where he worked. The car began to roll and he reached to pull the emergency brake and was dragged until the car hit a tree. Gorrell suffered cuts and bruises.
Now, lets return to Kenyon Road. While Tammy chatted with me, I learned more about the family and also how fortunate she has been of late. Although disabled with vascular disease, Tammy is recovering from a melanoma, a most dangerous skin cancer that was discovered on her back. She is married to Stan Southerland of Greene Co. where he works for the county highway department and has for 10 years. You and I know a few Southerlands, such as State Senator Steve Southerland, who represents Hamblen and Cocke, and perhaps you know Richard Southerland, who has worked in recent years with our sister newspaper, The Greeneville Sun, as an advertising representative. Before that Richard worked with our friends at K-VA-T (Food City) and he is now semi-retired. Tammy was born in Greene Co. and met Fred Ottinger, of Cocke County, at South Greene High School. As to the cancer, she was treated in 2009 and is doing well now thanks to good treatment and early detection. But she still worries and trusts in God. She bakes a marvelous caramel pie, writes poetry, sings at church, and loves her dogs and cat.
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