| Sources |
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 24 May 1992.
Arthur Glenn Huskey obituary
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 15 Apr 1960.
John Harrison Dodgen obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 19 Sep 2010.
Red's Cafe was a fixture in downtown Sevierville
By Carroll McMahan
Paul Clevenger, nicknamed Red because of his red hair, had moved from Newport - where he had grown up -to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. By the age of 27 he had saved enough money to buy the Rainbow Inn, a combination restaurant and dance on Chapman Highway, just a few miles north of Sevierville.
In 1939, while in Gatlinburg attending Old Timers Day, he spotted a 14-year-old girl named Lois Huskey square dancing. He asked Lois, along with several other girls, to dance at the Rainbow Inn since he seemed to always have a shortage of female partners.
Despite the age difference, Red and Lois were married later the same year.
Because Red had a wife and daughter Helen to support, he sold his business and went to work at Alcoa before being drafted into the Army. He entered the service during WWII and received the Purple Heart after being wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. A second daughter, Joan, was born while he was stationed overseas.
Upon return, Red tried his hand at a restaurant in Newport. Having the commute was difficult since his growing family lived in Sevierville.
In 1946, Red built an eating establishment on a small piece of property leased from Bon Hicks Sr. on Bruce Street in down-town Sevierville. Red’s Cafe was located between Cash Hardware and Bat Gibson’s Barber Shop. The menu offered a variety of short-order items, but it was Red’s hamburgers that made the place famous.
Lois and her children have literally had hundreds of people tell them how much they enjoyed Red's hamburgers. Five additional children - Marie, Connie, Paul, Tina and Teresa - eventually came along. Lois and Red both worked in the cafe and so did some of their seven children as they became old enough. The business became so large additional employees were needed outside the family. Louise Christopher was a loyal cook for 18 years.
When a family would come into the cafe and order a hamburger cut in half for the children, the good-hearted Red would look at the children and comment that they looked like they could eat a whole hamburger themselves and throw in an extra hamburger on the house.
Red's kind heart also extended to stray dogs. At any given time, several dogs taken in by Red could be seen lying around the café. According to Red, if the customers didn't like the animals, they could simply leave.
In the early days at the Bruce Street location, the hamburger Red used was ground fresh at Lewelling’s Market and fried in large cast iron skillets on a wood burning stove. The wood used was scrap hardwood from A J. King Lumber Co. The sodas were kept cold in an ice box with large blocks of ice from Frost Mill and Ice Co. The coffee was always fresh dripped and brewed in a large coffee maker that required gallons of boiling water to be poured over e JPG coffee.
One day, standing on an empty milk crate, Red accidentally poured some of the hot water over his chest while filling the coffee pot. His burns were severe enough to require a few days at Broady’s Hospital for him to recuperate.
Ventilation in the small cafe was a large 4-foot fan near the stove. Red loved to scare his employees by throwing an empty bread box into the big fan.
Cigarettes and burgers were 25 cents and sodas and Charlie’s fried pies were a nickel. Red never wrote down an order; he simply took the order and yelled to the kitchen. When the building was standing room only, he would lock the door until room could he made for others.
A jukebox was usually playing in the smoke-filled restaurant. Red always wore a long-sleeved white starched shirt, khaki pants, a long white apron and a Pet Milk paper hat. He loved to play practical jokes on his friends, many who were downtown businessmen.
The only time the cafe was open in e evening was on election night when the streets would be packed with people.
Red was notorious for suddenly posting a closed sign on the door and remaining closed for several days. When he reopened there would often be a long line waiting to buy a burger. This quirky behavior was repeated often over the years.
After several decades on Bruce Street, Red's Cafe relocated to Court Avenue, a half-block from the courthouse. The new location offered a more limited menu of cheeseburgers, hamburgers, bacon and egg sandwiches, egg sandwiches. Ironically, Red’s Cafe never served french fries.
His career started in the CCC operating the Sugarlands‘s camp canteen in 1937 and ended on Court Avenue in 1980. As he got older he became interested in flying airplanes and received his pilot's license in his mid `5os. He also node a bike frequently in his later years. He knew practically everyone in Sevierville and many throughout the county.
Lee Parton, Dolly's father, was a regular customer at Red's Cafe, and Red served Dolly many hamburgers in her younger days. Red’s Diner, located in the Jukebox Junction at Dollywood, is a lasting tribute to Red Clevenger and Red’s Café.
- 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, contact McMahan at 453-6411 or e-mail to cmcmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or email to ron@ronmderpmperlies.com.
- [S112] Census, 1930.
name: Paul Clevenger
event: Census
event date: 1930
event place: District 04, Cocke, Tennessee
gender: Male
age: 17
marital status: Single
race: White
birthplace: Tennessee
estimated birth year: 1913
immigration year:
relationship to head of household: Son
father's birthplace: Tennessee
mother's birthplace: Tennessee
enumeration district number: 0009
family number: 60
sheet number and letter: 3A
line number: 48
nara publication: T626, roll 2238
film number: 2341972
digital folder number: 4548152
image number: 00173
Household Gender Age Birthplace
head C C Clevenger M 48 Tennessee
wife Paralee Clevenger F 35 Tennessee
son Donald Clevenger M 18 Tennessee
son Paul Clevenger M 17 Tennessee
daughter Hulda Mae Clevenger F 11 Tennessee
daughter Clevenger F 7 Tennessee
Anna Clevenger F 5 Tennessee
- [S73] Rawlings Funeral Home, Book 2, 18 Dec 1980.
Clevenger, Paul Dec 30, 1912 Tn Dec 18, 1980
Father: Clevenger, Columbus
Mother: Holt, Florence
Sons: Paul Jr.
Daughters: Mrs. Bud Griffin [Helen], Mrs. Huley Bradley [Joan], Mrs. Bill Lindsey [Marie], Mrs. Mike King [Connie], Teresa
Cemetery: Mt Zion
Brothers: Donald
Sisters: Rina Roberts, Hulda Mae Gray, Diller Dodgen
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
groom's name: Columbus Clevenger
groom's birth date:
groom's birthplace:
groom's age:
bride's name: Florence Holt
bride's birth date:
bride's birthplace:
bride's age:
marriage date: 26 Dec 1909
marriage place: Cocke, Tennessee
groom's father's name:
groom's mother's name:
bride's father's name:
bride's mother's name:
groom's race:
groom's marital status:
groom's previous wife's name:
bride's race:
bride's marital status:
bride's previous husband's name:
indexing project (batch) number: I03651-6
system origin: Tennessee-EASy
source film number: 1928643
reference number: pg 134
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