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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 2 Sep 2012.
Upland Chronicles: Ollie Wauford was a colorful character in Sevierville's past
By CARROLL McMAHAN
Sometime in the 1930s, although no one seems to remember the exact year, Ollie Wauford arrived in Sevierville with a carnival show. When the carnival pulled up stakes and left town, Ollie remained in Sevierville where he lived for the rest of his life.
Born on Lawrenceburg, Ky., on Oct. 26, 1900, James Ollie Wauford was working in a cotton mill in Cordele, Ga., around 1928 when he decided to try the carnival life. For the next several years, he traveled around the country from one small town to another.
The reason Ollie chose to stay in Sevierville depended on when he was asked or who asked him. The same was true with the spelling of his last name, which was alternately spelled Wofford, Walford or Wauford. He picked up odd jobs wherever he could in order to live in his adopted town.
Ollie liked to hang out in downtown Sevierville. He enjoyed the fellowship of the knife-swapping crowd who often gathered on the courthouse lawn and loved to mingle with those discussing politics around election time as well.
He became acquainted with John and Alf Newman while they operated a taxi cab business. When the brothers opened a café on Bruce Street, Ollie became a regular customer and the recipient of many free meals.
Ollie held a wide variety of jobs ranging from a porter for the Smoky Mountain Transit Co. to a hardware store employee.
He worked for Dr. Otha H. Yarberry in the days of house calls and sometimes assisted the physician on trips to rural areas of the county. When Dr. Yarberry opened a hospital on Cedar Street, Ollie worked there for room and board. He was the night watchman and all around handyman at the hospital.
Ollie was the bell ringer at the First United Methodist Church for many years and became a loyal member of the men’s Sunday school class there.
Although his salty language was offensive to some people and he was often the butt of practical jokes, Ollie was respected for his honesty. He once took a deposit to the bank for a local businessman and when he returned there was a $10 shortage. Ollie felt so bad that he borrowed the money to make up the shortage. Later the bank realized that it had made a mistake and quickly notified the merchant.
Although not in an official capacity, he volunteered for years to direct traffic at the Sevier County Fair and at high school football games. Thanks to his friends, he was dressed appropriately in attire similar to a policeman’s uniform, and sported a badge. It was his favorite garb.
Above all else, Ollie enjoyed discussing politics. Whether it was his personal convictions or his survival instinct, he proudly professed his allegiance to the Republican Party at every opportunity. In a county known to be a Republican bastion, he freely and indiscriminately cussed Democrats.
Unintentionally, Ollie became a bonafide politician in his own right when a petition began circulating to obtain the signatures necessary to qualify him to run for mayor of Sevierville. Insisting that he was the people’s choice because so many registered voters had signed the petition, Ollie was convinced to throw his hat in the ring. His “supporters” wrote press releases and scheduled rallies.
Ollie would repeat his campaign promises to anyone who would listen. Thanks to his hoaxer friends, wherever he spoke, which was sometimes out of the jurisdiction of Sevierville, a sizable crowd would be present.
He promised to lower taxes 1 percent, install streetcars and to kick all the Democrats from the state Capitol.
Perhaps the most memorable event of Ollie’s impromptu campaign occurred outside the courthouse on a sunny spring afternoon. His backers had enticed a large crowd to hear the candidate for mayor and have some fun at Ollie’s expense.
The size of the crowd obviously gave Ollie confidence when he stepped up on the platform to deliver his remarks. Just as Ollie boasted, “Ladies and gentlemen, I told you there’s always sunshine when old Ollie’s around,” a bucket of cold water was dashed squarely on top of Ollie’s head from a second-story courthouse window.
The crowd roared as the humiliated candidate looked upwards pumping his fist and cussing vigorously. Never a serious threat, poor Ollie was soundly defeated on Election Day.
In the 1974 race for county judge, early returns indicated that incumbent Judge Ray L. Reagan might lose to Eugene Huskey, a successful high school principal and basketball coach from Pittman Center.
Ollie sat, stunned, in Judge Reagan’s office fearing the worst and feeling partially responsible. A few weeks earlier, a prankster had placed a whiskey bottle and a couple of beer cans beside Ollie while he was napping in the judge’s office and summoned a photographer.
Ollie was surprised when he entered Newman’s Café a few days later to see Alf Newman holding up the picture. “It looks like they’ve ruined you and Judge Reagan,” declared Newman, while an irate Ollie protested by cussing and stomping his feet.
However the gloom turned to jubilation for Ollie as the votes in the Seymour precincts were tallied and his dear friend Judge Reagan eked out a close victory.
Newman recalls the time Gordon Parrot gave him some hot peppers but warned him that they might be too hot to serve in his restaurant. The next time Ollie came into eat Alf asked him if he would like some chili with some extremely hot pepper from Gordon Parrott’s garden.
“I like hot stuff,” responded Ollie, “Nothin’ is too hot for me, I’ll eat it.” Alf watched as Ollie consumed the chili while large beads of sweat popped out and trickled down his chin. Ollie departed without commenting on the chili.
The next day Ollie returned to the café. “Would you like some chili today, Ollie?” asked Alf. Ollie quickly retorted, “Not if it’s got any of Parrott’s damn hot pepper in it.”
He was once married to Virgie Lafollette and they had a daughter named Doris, but the marriage was short lived. He also had siblings in other states with who he was in contact from time to time.
Ollie Wauford passed away on July 14, 1975. His final requests were granted, thanks to his friends who raised the money to pay a portion of his burial expenses. Following a service at the First United Methodist Church, he was laid to rest in the Walnut Grove Cemetery.
— Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce. The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or email to cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S76] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume III, 1974-1986, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 14 Jul 1976.
Walford, James Ollie 75 div b. 10-26-00 KY d. 7-14-76 SCH res Joy St Sev Walnut Grove Cem Survivors: 1 dau Doris Gibson R3 Sev 1 g-son Ricky Gibson mem 1st United Methodist Ch.
- [S131] Divorce Record.
Name Date of Death / Age County of Death County / State of Residence Marital Status Gender Race File #
WALFORD JAMES O 07-14-1976 / 75 SEVIER SEVIER / TN DIVORCED M WHITE 22649
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 191.
Ollie Walford 1900 1976
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