Sources |
- [S104] Cocke County, Tennessee, and its People, Cocke County Heritage Book Committee, (Walsworth Publishing, 1992), 39, 97, 108, 187, 278, 294, 367.
- [S47] Sevier County, Tennessee and its Heritage, Sevier County Heritage Book Committee, (1994, Don Mills, Inc.), 306.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 13 Aug 2006.
"Tis a Fact" returns
By: DAVID POPIEL
08-13-2006
Long-time readers of the Newport Plain Talk will remember one of the most popular columns for the early 1990s, and that feature column will return to the newspaper on Sundays. Tis A Fact first appeared in early 1991 written by Roy D. Brown, who is known throughout the county for his work as a contractor, writer, music fan and promoter, and veteran Shriner. Retired for more than a decade, Brown, 80, is currently finishing two books that he hopes to see in print sometime in 2007, and another based on his Tis A Fact columns. The columns span a broad range of interests, and eras. They present information of general interest and appeared in the Plain Talk for several years. He began the columns at the request of the late Plain Talk Co-Publisher Nancy Petrey. These continued until 1995. Many new and current readers will welcome these unusual columns written by a man of keen wit and intellect-a one-time Houston Valley resident who was born on Green Corner amid the splendor the Great Smoky Mountains. Brown is a combat veteran of WWI. He worked as an agriculture teacher and apiary inspector for Tenn. Then he founded Bubbling Springs Trout Farm, which was taken by the government during forestland designation. He is capturing the history, culture, dialect and stories from his early years in a book he calls "Snowbird." Brown is working with the Plain Talk to publish this novel in 2007 along with another collection of short stories. During his six decades of active work his career have included commercial construction and county courthouse renovation, property management, and furniture manufacturing with Sterling Industries. For the past 40 years he has spent considerable time writing about the people and mountain culture, which he knows best. However, the majority of his writing has never been published. He lives with his wife, the former Viola Ford, off Roy Road, Cosby. They have four daughters: Thelma Ogle, and triplets: Love, Hope, and Joy; eight grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 10 Oct 2007.
"An old hillbilly and proud of it"
By: Caleb Abramson
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
10-10-2007
NEWPORT-Roy D. Brown, local writer and laureate of Southern Appalachian culture, was the guest-speaker at Tuesday's Newport Kiwanis meeting. Brown was the guest of President Elect Daisy Crowder.
"I'm honored Daisy Crowder invited me here to tell you all some tall tales" said Brown who gained local renown for his "Tis' a fact" column in past Newport Plain Talk issues. "I'm very proud to be a Cocke Countian and feel everyone from here, by birth or immigration, should be too. We just require that you are proud of it."
Brown mentioned, "I just found out that in 1915 Kiwanis went international." Brown told the group he researched the word "Kiwanis" before coming to the weekly luncheon and found several interesting definitions of the word. One in particular said Kiwanis means, "make yourselves known." Brown continued, "I assure you, the Newport Kiwanis Club has made itself known by several of the members here today."
Brown recounted several humorous events in his writing career, spanning more than 60 years. One included his first meeting with Newport Plain Talk's Editor and Co-Publisher David Popiel. "He wanted to take a picture of me with my hat off, so he lined me up against the brick wall outside the 'Plain Talk and snapped the shot. Later, we realized it just wasn't me without my hat, so we retook the picture with it on. He was a gofer at the time, but look what he is now...Dave has done a wonderful job and is a wonderful man."
When asked where he is from, Brown replies, "Green Corner." "This mountain community spoke it own language; The Great Smoky Mountain version of the Appalachian dialect of the English language," said Brown. "Tiz or Tis, as in "Tis' a fact," was a word that asked questions, stated facts...this word meant so many things...I didn't know any better...I was raised to it."
After 255 articles, Brown took a leave of absence to work on a novel. "I've worked for 10 years on this novel and David Popiel noticed some of my old articles and wanted to run them again and put them into a book. The 'Plain Talk will do the printing and Willie Green will do the binding."
When asked why he writes, Brown stated, "I'm not a great writer; in 70 years of writing I've earned $50. I wrote for the Smith Meat Packing Co. once when I was 11 and received $10 for it. Thirty years later, I wrote a piece for Southern Living and they paid me $40. I feel I owe something back to the people of Cocke County." Brown concluded his speech by saying, "Thank you for inviting me...you're a wonderful organization."
Before the group was adjourned, Kiwanian and Newport Plain Talk Editor and Co-publisher David Popiel, said Brown is "A man who spent 40-50 years on a novel. We made copies of his work and if Roy did nothing else in his lifetime he will have offered the community and world a factual-type novel." According to Popiel, the novel will hopefully be published next year and "Reminds you of works done by Truman Capote."
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 7 Dec 2008.
A WW II sniper left a mark and story
Author: David Popiel
Cold weather has been brooding above our hills and hometown this past week and our Christmas parade got rained on but the recession apparently has not slowed down the traffic. Saturday, gasoline prices fell below $1.50 per gallon.
Over the past many months I have been working with Roy D. Brown of Cosby to prepare his novel, "Snowbird," for publication. You recall that he has worked on it for more than 40 years and we have it typed and ready to be accompanied by illustrations to be done by his daughter, Thelma Ogle. She is recovering from some jaw surgery. There is so much information and stories that it will probably end up being a two-volume series, maybe even three. And when I was visiting Roy, he was continuing to write more chapters. He told me a most interesting and true incident that involved him, his father, Charlie E. Brown, and Charles S. Runnion Sr. It was a sad tale of a pair of white plow horses that Runnion had obtained through Duncan & Greer Hardware. I won't spoil the story by retelling it. You will just have to wait for the book. Roy hauled out a small black cast iron pot that also carries many stories. Created in an Asheville foundry, his great great grandfather, a Cherokee, picked it up on the Trail of Tears and carried it to Oklahoma. It was returned to Cherokee, NC, and eventually came down through Roy's mother, Ruth Price, from her mother, Nancy E. Price, who married Andrew Johnson Price.
Yet, as we talked about the past he told me, incidentally, of a World War II experience. I asked if he had ever written it for his popular "Tis A Fact" Plain Talk columns or included it in his pending book. I was surprised to hear that it has never been in print. Of course, we are both older and our memories faded. Here's how we got around to the story. First I ate some of Viola's cornbread and apple pie. If you have seen Roy lately, you know he eats well. Vie is like me, thinner. They asked about our former sales rep. Donna Jenkins. I said she had retired to be a Mom. Roy said he understood that her husband, James Smith, has an interesting job working on river and lake barges. Then I mentioned that Vaughn Moore had told me the French Broad River was at its lowest flow and levels since the 1890s. Roy said it didn't surprise him because the creek at the end of Roy Road was as low as it was when he and Viola moved to the farm in 1966. They had purchased 40 acres of land across from Cosby High School from Roy and Beulah Harrison. He was the register of deeds before Paul Lee. The land gave Roy an opportunity to build many houses, as the nation pushed home ownership on its 200th anniversary in 1976. The Harrison house was still standing so the Browns moved in. Roy was a collector of books, guns, and other interesting things. Unfortunately a fire in the 1970s destroyed many valuable personal items. Then Roy mentioned the Japanese rifle that was burned. He showed me a Plain Talk clipping dated Jan. 3, 1977. I was news editor. There were a rash of fires in the county, including an arson blaze at the Williams Oil Co. There were photos I made after the fire. The gun story got my interest, and I asked what was important about it. Of course, today, Dec. 7, is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941. "It was a Japanese sniper rifle." More precisely, it was a rifle that a sniper shot at Roy and his fellow soldiers during WW II. And here is that never printed story he told me. It was a Winchester Model 52, .22 caliber. Yes, an American made gun. The Japanese had acquired these before the start of the war. They liked the 11-pound weight, similar to their rifles. The sniper's gun was equipped with a scope, silencer, and cartridges using smokeless black powder. It was early 1945, Roy had shipped into the Philippines with the 112th and 164th Infantry. A point of interest was the native island people, of New Caledonia, teamed up with the American infantry. "They were wonderful fighters in the jungle," he said. They had ethics though. They could not shoot the Japanese in the back so if they happened on the enemy from the rear, they made whistling sounds so the enemy turned around and got shot in the front. The US Army division moved about the islands eventually making it to Cebu Island. The infantry moved through the jungle quickly but the Japanese closed in around them, and made strategic use of snipers. Normally, Roy carried a 30 cal. machine gun and pistol during island fighting until he got to Cebu. His unit came under heavy sniper fire. Several men were killed or wounded and no one could figure out where the sniper or snipers were hiding. "We dug in." Roy, whose training rated him an expert sharpshooter, manned a 30 cal. water-cooled Browning machine gun on tripod. The sniper must have been a few hundred yards away picking off the US and island troops. "It was just before dark. They asked me to keep my eyes open." Then he noticed some leaves moving in a red mahogany tree on that dead still afternoon. You could not hear the shots and there was no smoke. But the small bullets' ruffled the air and leaves. "I told the captain about this." The captain ordered Roy to fire a machine gun burst, which he did and the sniper fell dead snagged in the large tree. Some of the soldiers went to investigate and retrieved his gun leaving the sniper in the tree. The officer gave the Winchester to Roy, who mailed it home, minus the scope and silencer. He regretted that the weapon was lost in the Harrison home fire. It had become a favorite squirrel hunting gun after he outfitted it with a larger magazine for the .22 caliber long-rifle cartridges. It was the gun shooting a bullet that had barely grazed him. On a revisit this past Friday, he showed me an 1875 Winchester breechloader, 38/40 caliber that still can be fired. The lever-action gun was that of his grandfather, A.J. Price who handed it down along with some most interesting stories you will only read in "Snowbird."
In plain Talk, some things that are hard won can be just as easily lost through no fault of our own.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 20 Aug 2011.
August heat weakens as Summer days wind down
The late Roy D. Brown and late Viola Brown.
Author: David Popiel
Light fogs have appeared in August but no blanketing ones worth counting to predict winter snows that our hometown might be facing, as we move towards the end of the last full month of summer.
Before returning to the back roads of Del Rio and the shadow of Round Mountain, I must talk about a fire that marked, in my mind, the end of an era for a Cocke County couple well known to you all. For Roy D. Brown wrote the popular column "Tis A Fact" for many years and we sell the book of this late gentleman. I will always remember the hospitality and times of Roy and his wife, the former Viola Ford, who never tired of offering me something to eat or drink during visits. These began in the 1970s and continued until death in recent years. And so, it was sad to drive along Roy Road not far from the Cosby school or Carver's apple orchard and see only a few bricks still standing after a fire more than a week ago. We all have it in mind that we will always get to see a person or place again but time has determined this not to be true. The fire is symbolic in many ways of the start and finish of their lives across the road from Cosby Creek. The garden is fallow now but years past it was always lush with corn, okra, tomatoes, cabbage and assorted other vegetables and I left with a bag full during harvest times. Roy and Viola were kind and generous neighbors and both contributed much to our community. Many of the stories I wrote about Roy usually focused a major construction project he had undertaken whether building apartments, facilities at Camp Carson, or doing renovation work on county buildings. It was only in the very last years of his life that he revealed to me the novel "Snowbird" that he had been working on for more than 40 years. It was hundreds of pages divided into chapters each in separate manila folders in an old metal filing cabinet. When I saw this, my first comment was that he needed to immediately protect it from loss such as a fire. He agreed and gave me the manuscript. Over more than a year and several typesetters it was copied so that now there are multiple copies of this treasure in different locations and even a digital copy on and off computers. When I saw what was left of the Brown home in mid August, I was glad we had done that.
Like many families, the Browns did not have one home that remained such their entire lifetime. The former house on the same location burned during January of 1972 (or 1973). It had served as their home since about 1968. Daughter Thelma Ogle recalled that neighbors Frank and Hazel Davis were passing by at night and saw the fire at the home those 40 years past. Perhaps they saved the lives of Roy and Viola and certainly his novel, which could have been started about that time. Friends and neighbors managed to remove many items and furniture from the home before it was destroyed. A large bow front glass cabinet full of Viola's china made it out of the house but got dropped with most all the china damaged. Even during this dark time, Roy's strong spirit showed when they surveyed damage the next day and found a freezer packed full of cooked steaks. They had just had a beef butchered and packaged. And, he asked if anyone want a steak dinner. Roy got busy and built their new home created by a unique mind and the craftsmanship of sure, talented hands. I always marveled at the wormy chestnut paneling and walnut finish work. My desire someday is to see his lifetime work "Snowbird" published for all to read and learn of the Green Corner mountain world that has largely disappeared. I present a small portion from the opening chapter "Nancy" to show his writing ability and to encourage the family to move ahead with the publication.
"In the shade of the spreading limbs of a giant yellow poplar the ageless Old Cherokee relaxed almost motionless in a comfortable cross-legged position on the chopping block. He slowly and silently puffed a stinking soapstone pipe he had crafted from the rare pinkish soapstone found in very few deposits throughout the Great Smoky Mountains. He had smoked the old pipe and others before it, so long that one of his front teeth had worn away until there was a gap between the adjacent teeth perfectly fitting the contours of the sourwood sprout pipe stem.
The smoke blackened pipe bowl was liberally loaded with a plug cut from a well dried twist of the dark thick leaf tsolv (tobacco) he had grown along the edge of the approximately one-fourth acre garden plot extending from the round, one-room log cabin down to the edge of the small creek. The occasional cloud of stinking smoke issuing around the pipe stem discouraged the too friendly hoard of black gnats who were also seeking a shady shelter from the hot August Sun.
And so Roy begins telling of his family connection to the Cherokee Indians, the Dills of North Carolina, and the Price family of the Smokies.
We have been visiting with Bob and Betty Self of Del Rio. For more than 30 years, Bob has served as a director for Newport Federal Bank, starting when it was a savings & loan. How did he get involved with the local bank? "Clyde Driskill, Sr. came to the auto parts store and invited me to join the board," said Bob. Of course, Bob said that he didn't know anything much about banking but did respect Driskill and other board members such as former chairman Charles Rhyne, Jr. "I guess you know as many people in the county as anyone," Driskill told Bob, he repeated to me. His first assignment was to the loan committee and he has been active ever since, though he fully retired from business in 1998. "I was glad to get out" of the auto parts business, he said. Self's Auto Parts store ceased to exist and the inventory was sold to Barry Nease Sr. and Jim Williams, who were operating a popular auto parts store at the West End of Newport. He and Betty live on a farm not far from Highway 107. Just turn left at the end of the road and travel towards Round Mountain until you see Poplar Cove Way. Today, especially with all the rain, Bob spends a lot of time mowing more than two acres and enjoys the quiet and shadow of the mountains.
- [S124] Brown Funeral Home, Newport, Tennessee, (http://www.newportfunerals.com), 26 Oct 2010.
Roy D. Brown, for years considered the “Patriarch of Cosby,” passed away peacefully at his home in Cosby on Tuesday morning, October 26, 2010, with his family by his side following a courageous battle with lung cancer.
A resident of Cocke County his entire life, he was born May 31, 1926 in the Green Corner community, just outside the boundaries of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to Charles Emmitt and Rutha (Price) Brown.
Roy D. was the oldest of a family and had two brothers, Lee Roe and Ray Walter, both deceased, and five sisters; Edith Areba Ball, deceased; Betty Lelah Roberts, Ruby Jean Mills, Beulah Mae Bowers, and Dorothy Elizabeth Roberts.
Roy D. attended Cocke County High School before he was drafted into the Army. His military service included training at Ft. McClellan, Arkansas, before he was shipped to the Philippines during the later stages of World War II.
He was assigned to the 164th Infantry of the Americial Division and saw action on Leyte, Cebu, Nigros, and Mindonao. He was staged on islands south of Japan as part of a third wave of a planned invasion as the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.
After the war, he spent time as part of the Japanese rebuilding effort. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge, Asistic Pacific Theater ribbon, Victory Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, Bronze Battle Stars, three Overseas Bars, Army of Japan Occupation Medal, The Good Conduct Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation. Shortly after returning home, he married Viola Ford, daughter of Robert L. and Cara (Holt) Ford, of Grassy Fork with the Rev. Roe Ford performing the ceremony on October 8, 1948.
The couple soon purchased a farm near Houston Valley, where he built his first home and they reared their four daughters until they were in their mid-teens. He labored with a beef herd, a campground, and Cocke County’s first trout farm, Bubbling Springs. The National Forest Service bought his farm in 1963, and the Brown family moved to Cosby into what would become their permanent residence.
Roy’s lifetime labor included working for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, teaching apiary skills, farming, and woodworking, but mostly as a self-employed general contractor. He oversaw the construction of many notable buildings throughout East Tennessee.
He was proud of his contributions as a mason for almost 60 years. He served as Past Master of Newport Lodge #234. He was a 32nd KCCH Scottish Rite Mason, a life member of the Royal order of Scotland, a Shriner, Past Chaplain of Kerbela Temple, past coordinator of Cocke County Crippled Children, and served as Worshipful Master in the Masonic funerals of brother Masons for over 25 years. For many years he enjoyed entertaining children as a clown in the Cocke County Clown Corps, a project that reflected his love of children.
An avid reader and writer of articles about Smoky Mountain history and culture, he will be remembered for his “Tis a Fact” articles which appeared weekly in the Newport Plain Talk for many years. Later he collected many of his 225 “Tis a Fact” stories into a book. They included his recollections of humorous and truthful stories that taught lessons building on experiences of life and culture in the Smoky Mountains.
He enjoyed writing and putting his thoughts on paper. He often said he had a feeling of “giving back of myself” to the people and the land to which he had been born. He considered his writings a labor of love for the people and land we call Cocke County, TN. While Roy D. traveled and saw nearly all 50 states and a number of overseas nations, none enticed him to move from the land he loved. His ancestral roots ran deep into the soil of the Great Smoky Mountains.
His innate love for fishing, camping, and the outdoors of the mountains blended beautifully with his love of music and the culture and fellowship found in social gatherings in the mountain communities.
In his retirement, the love of his wife, his passion for working the soil in his garden, and the admiration of his family, including his children, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, carried him through to the end.
The family wishes to offer their gratitude to the staff at Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice for their excellent care of Roy D. throughout his illness and especially for the emotional and palliative care given by Sherri Uerkwitz, Saprina Coggins, Elena O’Bryon, Denise Ball and private caregivers Shelia Shelton and Carissa Teal.
Roy D. is survived by his wife Viola of the home and four daughters: Thelma Jean Ogle of Newport, Pallena Love Freshour, Pamela Hope Watts, and Patricia Joy Parton, all of Sevierville. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: James Eric Ogle, Hollie Watts Coston, Randall Tyler Freshour, Steven Anderson Watts, Jennifer Parton Cowart, Daniel Brent Freshour, Abby Ogle Provencal and Amanda Ogle Vandergriff, as well as thirteen great-grandchildren, and sons-in-law Charlie Ogle, Merle Parton, and Danny Freshour.
Masonic service will be held at 8:00 p.m. in the chapel of Brown Funeral Home on Thursday, October 28, 2010. Funeral service will follow with Dr. Frank Bell and Rev. Scott Gorrell officiating. The family will receive friends from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. prior to the service.
The family will meet at Brown Funeral Home on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. to go in procession to Union Cemetery for a 2:00 p.m. interment.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 29 Oct 2010.
Before another apple falls some memories of Roy D. Brown
This photo was made about 2008 of Roy D. Brown, of Cosby. He talked and I wrote about
three interesting items which he weaved into stories in his historical novel, "Snowbird."
These are a pre-Civil War iron pot, 1875 Winchester, and Nancy Price's family Bible.
Author: David Popiel
Mid-week's giant nation-sized storm left more rain than downed trees about our hometown and may have unsettled Halloween decorations. Yet the month ends with calm weather and sunshine for children seeking treats.
Before continuing with my observations at Carver's apple orchard and folks I saw, the unexpected death of a dear friend causes me to remember and share a few thoughts. It has been months since I last spoke with Roy D. Brown and assumed we would sit on his front porch this fall and talk about the harvest and his upcoming novel. Then we got word at the Plain Talk of his death, adding sadness in some ways to a stormy week, but ending in sunshine. You read the extensive obituary in the newspaper and Duay O'Neil's fine story. I can only add a few personal notes and these are worth putting in this rather permanent record. Perhaps it was in the mid 1970s as a reporter when Roy and I crossed paths. He would have been in his early 50s, vigorous and active in construction. One project I visited was a building for Camp Carson. Later he built homes, apartments, commercial buildings, and renovated the county courthouse. The years he submitted his regular Tis A Fact column brought us closer and my admiration for his writing and talents increased. It was my pleasure to aid him in his last years putting together his toil of at least 40 years writing the novel, "Snowbird." We took hundreds of his hand-typed pages and ultimately created a digital version suitable for easy editing and publication. His grandson, Eric Ogle, continues to plan future publication of this great work centered on life and times at Green Mountain. He was born May 31, 1926 and celebrated his 84th birthday at Houston Valley where he once lived. Among the things I enjoyed while visiting his home off Roy Road during the book work was wife Viola's good home cooking and his gardening. If there was a garden, I got loaded up with corn, tomatoes, okra and more. Chatting with daughter Thelma Ogle Thursday afternoon, she said that in early spring Roy planted one of his best and biggest gardens. Maybe he secretly knew it was going to be his last chance to work the soil and enjoy all those vegetables, which he generously shared. Roy and I also shared an interest in woodworking and several years ago checked out his shop and wood shed. I went home with a few wormy chestnut boards and some picture frames he handmade out of the scarce Appalachian wood.
You've always seen his middle initial "D" and I found out what it stands for but honored the family in not sharing it publicly. One thing that must be repeated is his love of music and square dancing. Many of you have attended square dances where he was the caller and did fantastic job as he did playing music. Thelma said he often used the events as fundraisers for worthy causes such as Shrine Crippled/Burned Children Hospitals.
Roy was physically a big man but also a diabetic in later years. He shared with me that he could not stick to a diet as both of us loved to snack too much. Chronic foot pain during summer led to a toe amputation and hospitalization. Then later in summer, Thelma noticed him coughing and struggling to breath. Dr. Diaz at Mercy's Baptist Hospital of Cocke County knew it to be a serious problem and sent him to Knoxville. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. Roy returned home for his last October days on this earth. Thelma said Roy seemed for some unknown reason to be holding on to his last hours the morning he died, Oct. 26. Was he waiting for the morning sun one last time? No, he was waiting for Viola to wake up, to the aroma of hot coffee, as he had done for months earlier, to hold her hand. Assisted, she went to his bedside, kissed his forehead. A tear came to his eye and he passed peacefully away. To me he was a most generous man and true gentleman and I never heard him say a harsh word to anyone or me. He was a true friend of the Plain Talk, and significant force for progress and good all about our hometown. I will always miss him, his broad easy smile, and his wide-brimmed gardening hat-Tis A Fact.
Returning to October visits to Carver's Orchards following Danny Ray Carver's summation of the apple crop, I also chatted with his wife, Irene Carver, and various employees. Irene and I talked about the tourist traffic, and she was glad to report more customers and lots of new faces. One of our company's publications, Best Read Guide, serves Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge tourism industry. Its manager Mike Smith told me the Smokies has benefited by a large number of tourists who used to visit the Gulf beaches but because of the oil leak came here. And more drivers are finding the backdoor route, said Irene, taking them through Cosby. And that's fine. These folks seemed to favor the crunchy and juicy Carousels. "We can't keep them on the floor." Most of the discussion Danny Ray and I had was about agriculture, the reality that not all seasons are good ones, and the problem of too much government regulation. Like his parents, the late Kyle and Marjorie (Fancher) Carver, he knows and reads the Bible. He mentioned a verse he had heard and read many times but didn't come to understand until recent years, when the Bible referred to starving to death in a land of plenty. At first it seems like a contradiction, he said, until you understand how government regulations can cause this. As for me, I pondered what happened to the famous fried apple pies that Danielle and others made in batches but had disappeared in the afternoon. Irene measures the daily output in pounds of flour-usually about 65 pounds. "Where are the apple pies?" I asked. "You're too late. Better come in the morning." Fortunately for me, Stacey's candy shop was packed to the ceiling with every variety of chocolate goodie that R&L Candy could make. I recommend something new, pumpkin fudge. Getting back to the heart of the business, apples, Danny Ray noted the August blistering heat caused lots of apples to fall off the trees. "It was still a decent crop. We were blessed with showers and the coolness of the mountains." Other orchards in flatter areas didn't fair as well. Last year's heavy rains had also deeply penetrated the red clay and provided extra moisture for the deep-rooted older trees. Carver's orchard is about 80 acres in trees where 150 varieties flourish so Danny Ray can proclaim no other orchard he knows of has so many, and old varieties too. Just a few years back he planted the Nuttering variety and is selling it this year. There was no need to ask if he has considered retirement. Like his father, who died too young from a rare form of rheumatoid arthritis, Danny Ray will probably take his final rest in a row of shady trees and let the grandchildren and their children pick the grove. He has not tired from apple pickin' time. Just give him some worn tennis shoes in the summer and boots for the winter. Yes, they work year-round. The harvest may be over but the restaurant remains busy. Plenty of fresh apple cider, fresh apples, apple butter, fried pies, and fritters await the hungry customers who never stop arriving. Irene's Williamson family works with other employees to make it a success. You will like the prices too for apples. They never seem to go too high, at $16-18 per bushel. "If you're going to help the community and children, hold prices down." That's Danny Ray's agr. marketing philosophy. I know the thousands of customers visiting and leaving must feel richer loaded down with bags, bushels or apples and assorted produce. The Carvers also provide employment with up to 30 working during prime picking time. The Carvers Orchards is a jewel and in my estimation a treasure both to be cherished and shared as it has been and will be for decades.
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