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- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 21 Oct 2004.
Butler receives Clerk of the Year award
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 11 Dec 2005.
Just Plain Talk
By: David Popiel
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
12-11-2005
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Cold days and wet days, the faces along the byways in our hometown are already reflecting the lights and joy of the Christmas holidays.
Those among you who have read Just Plain Talk for more than three years know we seldom start anywhere or end anywhere-like a long, well-traveled road and so it was that one took me to O’Dell Hollow.
It was a sunny but cold Friday morning traveling along Hwy. 25E, wondering what the terrain was like there. Years ago, Circulation Manager Pat Helms and I delivered your newspapers over the hills on a snowy winter day. There was a stunning Nandina bush covered in red berries that made a great photo-red, white and green-the colors of December.
And so it was that Della McNabb had on a red sweater when she greeted me. Actually, “Whiskers,” a black & white cat, came up first. She named him that “because there will be no Boots in the house.” The modest gray frame home, trimmed in blue, has been the McNabb home and family gathering place since 1948-and sad to say it was my first visit. Yet, we all have known her and the family for as long as there have been red berries. The late Connie McNabb and Della moved into the house they built not far from where she was raised-the daughter of Walter Murr and Mary (O’Dell) Murr, who you know as former sheriff Tom O’Dell’s sister. Della, Tom, Mayme Cobb all think of each other as brothers and sisters. Walter and Mary had eight children, including Charles, Dora Lee Greer, Fred, Bill (my friend, the pastor), Edna Wilson, Mary Ellen Strange, and the late Frances Marshall.
Let me back up a bit and explain why I decided to visit Della. It was her famous pumpkin roll that filled a hollow in my stomach earlier in the week. So, I wanted to thank her in person and let you know more about the family. She was 16 when she married Connie McNabb, a West End Newport boy, in Jan. That was 1942, and had it not been for his poor eyesight he would have gone into the war. Old timers may remember the Green Meadow School not far off Morristown Highway. It was during a pie supper that Dora’s friend, W. L. Allen, introduced Della to Connie at the school. Although I can’t recall ever meeting him, I knew his brother, Everett McNabb, well because he was a police officer for years-featured by us after being held for almost two years as a prisoner during the Korean War. Connie came from a big family-11 children of which four still live: Everett, Keith, Stanley “Shag,” and Jenny McMahan.
Della and Connie built a good life also raising eight children-easy to remember because all their names start with “J.” Jerry, a farmer in Mohawk, is the oldest and is recovering from a bad back. Judy is married to Ray Wiley, pastor of Dutch Bottoms Church. Of course, my friend Janice Butler, is our county clerk. Jackye Hill is married to Robert and lives in Knoxville. She still works for the state Dept. of Transportation. I began work at the Plain Talk when her former husband, Larry Aldridge, was news editor in 1973. Jane is married to Harry Pullum, and works in the office of UT President Dr. Peterson. Jenny is married to Clyde Gray and works at the Cracker Barrel. I’ve known Jimmy McNabb ever since he worked with the county school’s transportation dept. and is our able superintendent. I did not know the late son, Jeff McNabb. “I’ve been truly blessed,” said Della, as we talked about how lucky she has been to have so many wonderful children and family members-including 11 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. Her Christmas tree carries ornaments with their photos. She showed me an old photo of Connie getting a 20-year service award at Wood Products where he worked for more than 40 years. Unfortunately, he developed skin cancer and died in 1985 at age 63.
During the years, Della has been featured as Plain Talk Cook of the Week and she is an excellent one. The family enjoyed many recent birthday meals because three children celebrated in Oct.-Jerry, the 12th; Jackye, 27th; and Jane, the 7th. Incidentally, Jackye was born on the same day as Della’s grandmother, Rillie O’Dell, and both carry her name today.
The real story I wanted to know is where that pumpkin roll recipe came from. Yes, it was sort of secret. When Don Boley was clerk, such a treat showed up in the office thanks to Emma Boley. Jan got a taste, telling Mom about it. Della got the recipe from Emma, changing the proportions of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Part of Della’ s recipe calls for rolling the pumpkin layer and cream cheese on a clean towel-a relative chuckled about the need to remind folks to use a clean towel. If you ever visited an Eastern Star function, especially when food was present, you’ve probably enjoyed some of Della’s cooking and desserts, such as Mayme Cobb’s “Impossible Pumpkin Pie.” Some of the treats got in the mouths of famous folks like former US Secretary of State Howard Baker, who munched on her pecan dream cookies years gone by.
There are but a handful of women who were active in 1971 when Della joined the Eastern Star-“A wonderful Christian organization.” These still active with her are Roella Holt, Ella Pervis, Mary Nell Douglas, Wilma Shropshire and Martha Jane Newman. (If we forgot your name, blame me because I put Della on the spot asking for some names quickly.)
Outside of her family, Della’s joy is her church, Ray’s Chapel, and the church family. One man is still alive who helped build the church in 1928-Haskell Stuart, who was a co-worker at Wood Products with Connie and my old friend, Dizzy Dean Hill. Della has spent about 70 years at the church, teaching most of those years. At age 15 she was asked to teach the children’s “card class” by then pastor Hubert Inman. If you ever wondered how the church got its name, Della explained. Folks like J.B. O’Dell, who helped build it, asked Flint Ray for some free lumber from his mill and promised to name the church after him. She has learned and practices her favorite Bible chapter well: I Corinthians chapter 13. Its theme is also reflected among the photos and statues of angels in her “memory corner.”
The family remains close, some children still in the hollow close enough for Whiskers to find: Jimmy, Janice, and Judy-just down the road. Dora Lee’s Nandina is still green.
In plain talk, sometimes the real gold in the bank is all those memories we make and bake by keeping the good friendship of folks like Della McNabb.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 14 May 2006.
... Like many of you, mother is no longer here-Mom died 20 years ago. But some good news about a beloved Mom is that Della (Murr) McNabb is doing much better after surgery weeks ago. Her daughter, Judy Wiley, told me she had a relapse but pulled out of it and looked forward to her 80th birthday celebration today, May 14, at West End Baptist Church. I will be visiting with her and other children: Jerry, Janice Butler, Jimmy, Jackye Hill, Jane Pullum and Jenny Gray. ...
Just Plain Talk
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 8 Feb 2013.
Author: David Popiel
With daytime temperatures in the mid-50s about our hometown it is easy to believe we could be outside planting peas on Valentine's Day, as was the way of our parents and theirs too.
At the risk of repeating myself, and so what, I repeat myself. Did I tell you about Della McNabb's missing pet dog? The story came to me through her daughter, Cocke County Clerk Janice Butler. Otis is a Newport Animal Shelter dog whose photo appeared with other pets up for adoption. When Della saw the photo in the Plain Talk she said, "He just jumped out at me." I met the little fellow when she and another daughter, Jenny Gray, were breaking green beans at Della's home last summer. Later that summer, the Jack Russell-mix disappeared and had wandered over to Douglas Lake. Somehow Otis got a cut the length of his back, when he was found by a Good Samaritan who took the dog to the animal shelter. Because he had an embedded microchip placed by the animal shelter, they were able to contact the owner, and Otis is back home where the cookin' is mighty fine. County Transportation Supervisor Jimmy McNabb helped his mother out by going to pick up the wayward Otis. Della explained that she got Otis about four years ago because "the squirrels were taking over." Otis put a stop to that.
...
Just Plain Talk: Good Samaritan helped Otis find his way back home
- [S112] Census, 1940.
name: Della Murr
titles & terms:
event: Census
event year: 1940
event place: Civil District 4, Cocke, Tennessee, United States
gender: Female
age: 14
marital status: Single
race (original):
race (standardized): White
relationship to head of household (original):
relationship to head of household (standardized): Daughter
birthplace: Tennessee
estimated birth year: 1926
residence in 1935: Rural, Cocke, Tennessee
enumeration district number: 15-8
family number: 38
sheet number and letter: 3A
line number: 33
nara publication number: T627
nara roll number: 3881
digital folder number: 005461287
image number: 00213
Household Gender Age Birthplace
head Walter Murr M 35 Tennessee
wife Mary Murr F 35 Tennessee
son Charles Murr M 16 Tennessee
daughter Della Murr F 14 Tennessee
daughter Dora Lee Murr F 12 Tennessee
son Fred Murr M 10 Tennessee
son William Murr M 6 Tennessee
daughter Edna Murr F 3 Tennessee
daughter Frances Murr F 0 Tennessee
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Walter Murr
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 20 May 1923
Event Place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
Spouse's Name: Mary O'Dell
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