| Sources |
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 6 May 2011.
Take a break from storm cleanup and eat a cake
(c)2011 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL
William McGaha and his mother, Pam Barwick, are kept busy through the week baking, cleaning, and selling cakes at their new bakery downtown, For Heavens Cake. At left is Tonya McGaha's new creation, chocolate cheesecake, and center are a variety of cupcakes.
Author: David Popiel
May brought in quieter, cooler days ideal for the tornado cleanup effort last week in our hometown, with a surprise light frost on Thursday morning but warming up for mothers on Sunday.
Most of the talk and news here in Newport suddenly shifted to the storm and its remnant damage despite world news of the killing of Osama bin Laden on Monday night. Yes, a few folks were still without power on Tuesday, which I discovered when looking for William McGaha at For Heavens Cake bakery. You recall the photo I shot of the tangled mess of downed trees behind the two-story green block building. Brad's Lawn Service truck was parked out front loaded with cut-up wood. (Tonya McGaha, wife of William McGaha, the chief baker, said when she returned to the shop there were two business cards from tree trimmers in her mailbox.) Later I met Brad Cox, who was still cutting and hauling wood on Friday. I learned from William that he and Tonya had to cancel a lot of orders because of no electric power but prepared must-have wedding cakes at their home. Across the street at Smith's repair, Dean Smith confirmed it has been a busy time, as he and co-workers have given the priority to chain saw sharpening and repairs. His building did sustain damage as the high winds forced rain in horizontally, damaging electronics and computers in the back. He is still discovering dampness on some parts in the rear of the warehouse. "We just skated through it compared with some of the other folks," said Dean.
I've been on the sweet trail again, perhaps being invigorated by the mid-30s temperatures middle of last week. I heard it was 33 degrees on Chestnut Mountain. It wasn't until a week after the tornado twisted through Newport that all power was back on and folks were baking again at For Heavens Cake bakery off East Broadway. You recall that I showed a photo of the tree destruction on the hillside behind the rental building just across from Overholt's Hardware. We have been working with the new business operators to help them get the word out about its variety of sweets, and you can now see For Heavens Cake on cockecountymarketplace.com, after a visit from our Online coordinator Lora Costner. She is a former Wallace Hardware employee who joined us this spring. The business opened earlier this year, and it must be right because, except for the tornado visit, things have been working out right.
I learned more about the folks at the bakery and William's mother, Pam Benson Barwick. It didn't take long for me to find out that Pam's relative, the late Clyde Shropshire, was a fellow I wrote about and photographed back in the 1970s, when he sold vegetables in his stand at the courthouse lawn. This caused some controversy, and he was asked to leave. I don't blame then sheriff Tom O'Dell, it was a time of change for how the courthouse lawn was to be used. You recall, and I saw, the sheriff shoot a snake brought by a snake handler. Even these religious services were asked to move along with their copperheads.
The aroma of cake in the oven returned by week's end as I got to sit down and talk to Tonya, whose family name is Player and she is from Fayetteville NC. As a child, her family moved to Cocke County. Her parents, Ed and Doris Player and sisters, Patricia and Ashley. How did the end up here? About 16 years ago, Tonya's grandmother, the late Patricia Thompson, happened to be driving through Newport and was stopped in traffic because of a parade. She got extra time to look about and decided to return to live. The family bought land off Fowler's Grove Road where Tonya grew up, graduating from Cocke County High School in 1998. It must have been meant to be for her to meet William, who was working at the E-Z Rental store in 2001 when Tonya went to rent and started dating him. They were later married and now share four children between them. He has two children by his first wife: Jordan, 12, and Caitlin McGaha, 10; and she has a daughter, Dylan Player. Their new son is three-year-old Noah. "It's the Brady Bunch," she said.
Be assured, she is a busy Mom also working fulltime as a forklift driver at the Colgate plant in Morristown. A couple of things happened that eventually got them into business. She had visited a Hobby Lobby and saw baking supplies. William, whom I will talk more about soon, was laid off from TRW in 2008 when the national economy started crashing. He became the house Mom and spent more time in the kitchen, experimenting and seeing how the children responded to his cooking. It was Tonya's idea to start a home bakery. This began by asking for free orders for birthday and wedding cakes. Their friend, Jennifer at Gatlinburg, introduced the McGahas to Almost Heaven, which sells wedding cakes. William and Tonya had already selected For Heavens Cake as their business name so it was coincidental that Almost Heaven played a role in giving them their first major money business.
Another thing that was "right" happened when they drove on East Broadway during winter-a route they rarely ever take-and saw the empty green building with a "For Rent" sign. They rented it and opened in early January. Soon after, a highly experienced baker, Michelle Henderson, who had been with Food City for about six years, joined them in the kitchen.
Just Plain Talk: Take a break from storm cleanup and eat a cake
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 13 May 2011.
Just Plain Talk: Tip's geese survived the storms but not a stealthy thief
Tip Brown points to the last nesting place where his pet goose Lucky was sitting on eight eggs
when she and the eggs disappeared. He does not believe a ferocious animal or snake got
them but a human thief. See photos in newportplaintalk.com Photo Gallery
Published: 11:49 PM, 05/13/2011 Last updated: 11:50 PM, 05/13/2011
Author: David Popiel
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
Browning leaves and limbs torn asunder by the late-April tornado remain along some roadsides and yards as the recovery effort continues in our hometown, looking for a break from heat and high winds.
It always amazes me what things people will steal and what they will throw away, sometimes the same items. You read the records page in the Plain Talk but you probably did not know about the theft that happened some days ago near Tip Brown's casket sales business located behind City Hall along the lazy Pigeon River banks. Early last week, I met with Tip, who revealed to me the theft of a female goose named Lucky. He really calls her "Double Lucky" because she survived an ordeal at her hatching and then was stolen last year. However, Newport Police Chief Maurice Shults launched a full investigation and was able to get information from a person fishing at the river where this woman saw Lucky being taken. She got the tag number and the Chief was able to retrieve Lucky, said Tip.
The rest of the story goes like this. A long-time resident goose named Molly hatched three goslings this spring. She took them to the river for the first time and Tip was able to make a photo about May 3. That was the last time he saw the days-old goslings because the three were also stolen. Lucky was sitting on a clutch of about eight eggs at the same time. She used a blue plastic barrel that Tip set up as a makeshift nursery. Tip shows a lot of concern and interest in the geese and ducks, feeding and watching out for them and it is a wonder he hasn't gotten the name of "Duckman." During a night after May 3rd, someone apparently drove behind this block two-story building, snatched the three goslings, took Lucky and her eight eggs and disappeared into the darkness. Tip was distraught the next morning and called me in hopes someone knows about this or has noticed that their neighbor has suddenly started a goose-breeding business. "They may end up at a flea market for sale." Fortunately the thief did not steal his favorite black and white Muscovy duck named Oreo. A Muscovy is distinguished by its red facial waddles and it does not quack. So much then for the saying, "If it quacks like a duck, it must be a duck." The eggs would have hatched out around May 14, but a friend told him that once the nest is disturbed the mother goose will no longer sit on her eggs. As I was leaving, looking across the rain-swollen river I saw buzzards in their favorite roosting spot at the river's edge. Was this an awful omen for the gooses' families? Tip pointed to a dark spot in the foliage and said it is where many baby buzzards have been raised and emerge to begin their new lives in Newport along the constantly flowing brown river. If you know anything about the thefts, contact Tip at 423-623-4244 or call the Newport Police.
Last week we left off chatting with Tonya and William McGaha at For Heavens Cake bakery across from Smith Repair shop, East Broadway. Be assured, Tonya is a busy Mom also working fulltime as a forklift driver at the Colgate plant in Morristown. A couple of things happened that eventually got them into business. She had visited a Hobby Lobby and saw baking supplies. William, whom I will talk more about soon, was laid off, when the national economy started crashing. He became the house Mom and spent more time in the kitchen, experimenting and seeing how the children responded to his cooking. It was Tonya's idea to start a home bakery. This began by asking for free orders for birthday and wedding cakes. Their friend, Jennifer at Gatlinburg, introduced the McGahas to Almost Heaven, which sells wedding cakes. William and Tonya had already selected For Heavens Cake as their business name so it was coincidental that Almost Heaven played a role in giving them their first major money business.
Another thing that was "right" happened when they drove on East Broadway during winter-a route they rarely ever take-and saw the empty green building with a "For Rent" sign. They rented it and opened in early January. Soon after, a highly experienced baker, Michelle Henderson, who had been with Food City for about six years, joined them in the kitchen.
Last week you saw the photo of William and his Mom, Pam Barwick, who was a Benson, as we visited and talked with the folks at For Heavens Cake, one of our newest cockecountymarketplace.com listings. There is something unique about her and the females, and I call it the Rule of 9s. Pam's mother was, Eula Mae Jenkins, whose father was Kenneth Fine. She was a Jenkins by family name, Clyde being her father and Mom was the former Rhoda Gray. All three of the women were one of nine children. Eula is also distinguished in that she had 24 grandchildren and 52 great grandchildren. Imagine if they all made a raid on the bakery. You probably know at least one of Pam's siblings: Tommy McGaha, Carl McGaha, Rhonda Green, Linda Valentine, Debbie Hall, Vickie Hall, and Terry McGaha. The McGaha name comes into the family tree because Eula's first husband was the late Roy McGaha. Her last husband was Ellis Jenkins. Most of the time you will find Pam at the bakery where she helps out, William, and his Tonya. They live near City Park. Pam's other children are Becky Williamson and John Benson. And, Pam has nine grandchildren. Most of her life has been working in house keeping in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. She did appear for a few years at one of my favorite eating places that no longer exists off Cosby Highway. Do you remember Ray and Betty Britt's The Sugar Shack? Pam worked there in the early 1990s but it had been in operation many years before that. At the time, Pam was living at Caney Creek and she remembers trying to go to and from work during the blizzard of April 1993. I know the Plain Talk was open and putting out a newspaper and assume that Ray and his staff were serving hot coffee and pancakes.
A young businessman, William McGaha, 31, graduated from Cosby High School in 1998 and began working, just as many of you did, for awhile at the former Falcon Products building furniture for restaurants. He joined TRW in Sevierville and was there until the national auto market started souring resulting in his lay off. This gave William plenty of time around the kitchen so he and Tonya learned cake decorating well. Pam said she made it a point to teach all her children how to cook, do their laundry and all the skills to live independently. As I said, they opened For Heavens Cake this year after a series of fortunate circumstances. Before this, they also learned an important bakery skill: preparing fondant, an extremely sweet final covering or shield that goes over a cake with icing. This protects it and gives it that professional bakery look. Fondant is mixed like dough with coloring added and then rolled out to about a quarter-inch thickness. It is then placed over the cake and finally decorated. "This was a make or break skill," said William. When you walk into the bakery you usually find an assortment of their cupcakes and in a small refrigerated display various cheesecakes, including their new one, chocolate cheesecake. Another thing they like to do is experiment with many flavors and now offer and bake in sat least 35 of these. They are fully recovered from the tornado damage and havoc, and many of the ripped roofs around town have been repaired. I asked William and Tonya what they see for the future of the business. "We'd like to own our own property and bakery, expand and explore new flavors," they said. You will find William and Pam most any Tuesday through Saturday enjoying their sweet business venture.
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