| Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 192.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 24 Jun 2011.
Just Plain Talk: Kittens fall from sky land in lap of good folks
Kittens fall from sky land in lap of good folks
Little Walter survived a couple of harrowing experiences and put more fur and fat on his belly
thanks to the good folks at the Tim & Jan Pack home near Newport City Park. Holding their
new pets are Jordan Pack and Candice Kohnke. Behind them is the tree that both Walter, at
left, and Vera fell out of in April.
Author: David Popiel
The dry spell broke with more storms and plenty of rain even catching some cut hay down in fields about our hometown, now easing into a cooler end of month with all eyes to the threatening skies.
A fierce electrical storm with tremendous rain moved in suddenly waking most of us about 5 a.m. and the rain sounded like a river pouring into a deep gorge. Friday morning I made many photos of high water stretching along Knoxville Hwy. covering the fairgrounds. Then I drove over to Highway 73 past the Russian Grill and got photos near Caney Road, chatting with Charlie Jones, who used to be married to our late employee Kathy Dyer Jones, and also met Mike Goodrich standing in his watery yard. The sun reappeared about 10 a.m., and I got a surprise visit at our office from the wife of our late former sports editor Timothy Graham. I will share Glenda Graham's thoughts soon.
Before talking with you as I promised about Little Walter's eventful fall and how Dan & Mary Salisbury drive about Newport in their 1960 Volvo, here's someone I saw this week. Wednesday morning after the mini-storm that struck the county Tuesday night, I dodged a few limbs and leaves, eventually heading to Cocke County Wholesale, as I remembered this business owner Roger Wayne Stokely was in the process of getting his EBT. This is the state/federal certification that allows businesses to accept "food stamps," which is a strange term today as the government program is conducted with electronic card swipes. Roger and his Dad, Roger, or "Big Roger" were chilling out. The good news is Cocke County Wholesale can now accept EBT cards. While talking with the elder Stokely, a long-time friend, I asked how his wife, Christine, was doing, and he updated me on her serious health problems. During February her kidneys quit working and she eventually lost one. The other is functioning fine now and she is doing better but had to stop working her job of 20-plus years at Cracker Barrel in Pigeon Forge. Dad Stokely was also one of those caught in the big storm as he was traveling through Knoxville Tuesday night and saw a lot of the damage caused by the high winds. News reports are that more than 120,000 KUB customers were without power.
The Tale of Little Walter
Here's a tale, or a couple of tales, that ended well thanks to a Rich Road family with a heart for felines and kittens with a few lives. The tale starts at the home of Tim and Jan Pack, who live near Newport City Park, with son, Jordan. They weathered the late-April tornado and storms and days later happened to be out front near their twin maple trees. "We didn't know they were up there until Walter fell out," said Jordan, referring to one of two new pets, "Little Walter." The family was doing yard work and noticed a lump of light orange buff fur in the grass. The male kitten still had its eyes closed, weighed only a few ounces and needed the Packs' gentle care. This is when they noticed that a feral female had a nest of kittens in the tree, about 15 feet off the ground. When visiting with Jordan and his girlfriend, Candice Kohnke, on and early June Thursday morning, I got a chance to meet not only Little Walter, but his sister, Vera. Knowing what a soft heart Jan has I knew the family didn't have the nerve to just put the kittens out. Tim was also concerned about the three other kittens after Vera fell out of the tree and the mother wouldn't take her back. Tim used a container on its side with a fluffy towel inside for a home where he placed the three. Mommy cat wouldn't have any of the hospitality and took her kittens to a next-door neighbor to live. Candice and Jordan took turns bottle feeding the kittens, but they were not sure during the early days the little ones would live. Dr. Mike Copenhaver and staff at Appalachian Veterinary Hospital took over the kittens' care. They are high-energy normal kittens weighing over a pound each. I learned that Jordan is studying pre-veterinary medicine at Walters State Community College. Girlfriend Candice lives at Parrottsville with her mother, Alicia Kohnke. How did folks with such a strange name end up in Newport? The grandfather, Allen Costner, was living in Florida and wanted Alicia and Candice to move back with other family members. So everybody involved has had a happy ending. Of course you know Jan as Jefferson-Cocke County Utility District voice of customer service and Tim, as a city firefighter.
Volvo Trip: Sweden to Newport
During later spring I got a call from Dennis Edmonds at Performance Muffler with an idea on an interesting story. He had just finished custom exhaust work on a 1960 Volvo and John Clark next door at Clark's Upholstery was doing the white leather interior, and ultimately restored the entire interior. It was at the trim shop where I met Dan and Mary Salisbury in late April, before the tornado. They live off Cliffwood Drive, having moved to Newport in 2005. They are natives of Watertown, New York, which is about 70 miles north of Syracuse where it's probably still frosting. How did the retirees end up in Newport? Before Dan became disabled from a pulmonary disorder, he and Mary loved to ride their Honda Gold Wing cycles and would visit Dollywood, their longest ride. On one trip they drove through Cocke County and ate at a local restaurant. They were so impressed with the people and surroundings the Salisburys immediately knew they had found a retirement haven. It was also fortunate that they bought the former Karen Miller home with many good neighbors such as Cobb Proffitt, Larry Pace, Jason Sisk, Mary Sane and others you know. Before moving to Newport, the Salisburys had lived at Lake Placid, Florida, not far from Sebring. After five winters they were fed up with the heat.
Later in June, I drove to their home to see the finished Volvo, and it is unique being one of only 36,000 manufactured in Sweden. The first person I met was not a person but "Olde English Bull Dogge" Sophie. She is quite rare and was acquired by Dan and Mary from North Carolina eight years ago. Their son, Danny Salisbury II, who is in Special Forces has a boxer. Good folks have good dogs. In his Army career, Danny has had four tours overseas, is stationed at Ft. Bragg, holds a degree in English and speaks Chinese. There is a daughter, Amy Campbell, who lives at Fayetteville, NC.
Mary told me a little about her upbringing in New York state where her father was a sign painter. Dan was 19 when he married Mary, 14, in 1967. He had been in the Army from 1962 until '64 enlisting after high school and serving in the 479th Engineering Battalion. They perform the critical task of moving troops over water and one way he learned was driving an amphibious craft called a "Duck" on Lake Ontario. He also developed an interest in boxing, which he used to train boys and young men while he worked in construction. Dan's career until retirement in 1999 was with the NY Department of Transportation as a bridge inspector and equipment coordinator. Mary worked as a loan officer in banking until 1988 then joined the DOT until 2001.
They Liked to travel the 800 miles on I-81 from Watertown to White Pine and have traded motorcycle club activities for car clubs. They managed the NY Honda Gold Wings Club and now are involved in the Hamblen County car club. "Ontario was the only other place we found people so friendly as in Newport," they said.
I asked Dan about his interest in boxing and he explained that son Danny was a small fellow who wanted to learn to box. From this, Dan founded the Watertown Boxing Club and operated it from 1978 until the mid-1980s, and proud to see a club member become the 1984 NY State Golden Gloves champion. The Salisburys often paid club expenses out of their own pockets to provide a wholesome environment for the kids they loved so the kids would have something to do. To get an idea of costs, a pair of Tough Wear competition gloves cost about $250. In July 2007 they returned to the club and were honored for this dedication and service.
You probably are interested in how Dan found this beat-up black Volvo and its journey to restoration with the help of several Cocke County experts. He traced the vehicle's history to 1959 in Sweden. It was shipped to the US in 1960 and was owned by several folks in NY. The car had 92,853 miles on the odometer when it first went into storage in 1970 and stayed there until 1996. Dam bought the car in 1995. He became interested in Volvos, derived from the Latin word meaning 'to roll,' while watching racing on timed courses. Then a college friend owned one so Dan "fell in love with the Volvo." He first saw the very car he owns in 1965 but did not buy it. He did manage over the next 40 years to own about 47 different vehicles. When Dan retired he linked up with the dealer who had the car but had to promise never to take it to a junkyard before he could buy it. From there the car went into Dan's storage for 10 more years and that takes it to their move to Newport. His first fortune was to meet Albert Shepherd a master car restorer who also works with John Clark. Albert told Dan "I don'tr work on foreign cars" but when he saw the Volvo and some similarity to 1940 model American cars with the humped back and bulging front fenders, he agreed to take on the project. Albert started in 2006 and finished in late 2010. He took the body off, built a frame out of steel from scratch and the entire frontend, suspension, fuel system and drive-train. Before the frame and body were complete, Dan also made friends with Stanley Allison of St. Tide Road and former Ford dealership service manager. Stanley has a solid reputation as an engine builder for racing cars and street rods. He had just completed a late-model 351 cubic inch Ford engine. The motor was mated to Ford C-4 automatic transmission and S-10 Chevrolet rear-end.. This was chosen because of the type of wheels Albert and Dan waned to use. Dennis built and installed the exhaust system including dual Flowmaster mufflers before it all went to Clark for finishing. "Everybody who worked on it is in Cocke County. They are the best I've ever seen in each of the categories," said Dan.
The Ford engine had been built for another customer who later decided not to take delivery. Dan showed up and bought the 351M and immediately asked he 80-plus year old Stanley if it had enough horsepower. Stanley smiled and patted Dan on the back. "Don't worry sonny, you'll like it." The 350 horsepower deep rumbling powerplant is plenty of power. Albert installed the engine and also put the final Spanish red paint job on. The car was an early Christmas present but without its final vanilla white interior. Clark did the trunk, seats-rolled and pleated leather, carpet, door panels, headliner and trim. Dan said he also is pleased with the wide street tred tires he bought from Westgate Tire.
When mid-spring arrived, the Salisburys took it out for the first time and to a show in Dandridge. Another important touch to give it a distinct look was added by master window tinter Steve Miller, who was aided by his son, Eston, at the Newport business. After 35 years in storage the 1960 Volvo has a new life and many miles of road to travel. Dan also owns a 1981 El Camino Conquista. This car is at Albert's shop now.
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