--*,1

:i"( .\ '
- ..."?

rl
i"_- : T',
ir ,l r. I
t' *ip {
t'
bar & t,
d"#*B
'; l'i f"" 1.1
.*
:'fl H+i= -i;.
{ {}=",
.ji&.- 8""-i,Es*
.5.r
i
t-.F- + It,:
r!fi.E # :
LHI.E-., t ?'r{-.
.r.-! r.)-arr-
-it .i.t ..
jr

i-::,u,.:#
"*'";e*Fi
.;
.5
i tk

Ir q:j
F

_.t

aa ..

{.

..,w

ffi
i 't!l

4"rynrF-'fl'

.-",*hi t
Front Cover: A sun-drenched, leaf covsrcd Rock Creck Road prcsents a nostalgic view on a
sunny autumn morning in 1989-
 About The Author
Curtis Coulter is a scventh generation native of Sale Creek,
Tennessee. He attended Sale Crbek High School, graduatinr in
1967 . He later attended Bryan Collegc in Dayton, TennesseE whcre
he received his bachelor's degree in 1970. In 19E4 he earned the
Master of Arts degrce in educational administration and
supcrvision from Tcnncsscc Tcchnological University in Cookcvillc.
Hc has tauqht at Salc Crcck sincc 1970 both in thc clcmcntarv
and secondary d'ivisions. Currcntly, hc tcachcs mathcmatics , '
computer and adult vocational courses at the school.
Curtis's obvious pride in his heritage and his educational
cre<lentials have inspired a keen interest in preserving local history,
particularly in the Sale Crcek and Coultcrville arcas. Through a
personal d-edication of his.own, he has spent countless houriand
money gathering information on prior gbnerations t'rf local citizcns
and lo_ng-forgolten structures and acquiring photographs hi<l<lcn
away for decades. He has now compiled informationbn the various
sutrjects and combined these into his second book.
In a commendable effort to bring back parts of our heritage, he
has been able to preserve a part of that heritage that would bC
complctely unavaihblc in ttie ncar furure.

Rexford C. Alexander
Copyright O 1990 by Curtis N. Coultcr

Printed in the United States of America

Dedicated to Alice, Ben, Andy, ancl Allison'
 Introduction
I do not know why so many people are interested in things of the past, old pictures and the like. It has
always fascinated me to hear old people tell about their experiences when they were young. The peach
bu-siness, the Welsh people, the codl mines, the depression - i,ll of these topics hive inteiested me, but the
thing-that most interbstdd me was how the people'lived. I wanted to know'what their thoughts were, what
they did for entertqinment, how did they feel about their iobs, what was their family lives like, what did their
houses look like. These are the_things tlat have brought about my interest in writing about the people of
Sale Creek and the town itself. It is my fceling that thcre are many wondcrful thingslo be told aboui Salc
Creek, things which everyone should know. Many of the stories in ihis book are coilrical. Some of them are
se^ri-ous_and gayle a few even sad. However, they are all true, as far as I know, with the possible exceptions
of the Pitty Pat Hollow tales.
Many people might ask, "Why tlo pgople have to dwell on the past? Things aro so much better roday."
- is
It .
true that we have more material wealth today, medical care is much better, food is better,
transportation is better, there is more leisure time, and our homes are more comfortable. These are all very
good, and I would not trade these for anything that went on one hundred years ago. However, the thing-s
that have not improved over the last fifty years and the very things that should have are the moral and soci-al
values that people used to have.
.-!IV grandparenl.s and parenls have teld me of how they gathered as a group and went places at night,
walking mind you, in the total darkness. The companionship of others was very iinportant and was a noriral
part of life then. People did not lock their doors. They did not have to lock them. There was much more
resp€ct for private property. Sure, there were thieves then iust as there are today, but society took a much
harder attitude loward thcm and punishment was morc scvcre for offcnders.
Thc good of the group was still important to those people. Words like "we" and ']ou" were used more
than "I". "Me first" was not known. How many times have I heard about how women in the community left
their own families for several days at a time to go to the home of a sick neighbor and minister to iheir
P-hysicat nee$s_._ And they_did it without any thought of payment. They did it because they were concerned
about their fellow man. Every pcrson was a part of ths whole group, and when one pari was hurting, the
wholc was hurting. This attitudc docs not prcvail today.
So when I am asked why I enjoy studying about the past and writing about it, I would have to answer
thal I am writing about a ryay of liie-that [wi5h still existed today. Sincc i-t cannot, inen I would like to pass
on to others some stories about what life was like when it did exist.
 Table of Contents
Chapter 1: How Sale Creek Got lts Name.... .... 1
Chapter 2; The Welsh Mining Adventure.......-.. ............ z
Chapter 3: Sale Creek's Small Businesses......--.. ...--......- 7
Chapter 4: Camping On The OId Sale Creek... .........-.... 17
Chapter 5: The Schools At Sale Creek.... .........- 31
Chapter 6: A Very Special Place....- ...-. 37
Chapter 7: Going Up The Hollow. ....... 39
Chapter 8: John A. Murrell's Hidden Gold-.... ..-.-......... 4I
Chapter 9: Tales Of Pitty Pat Ho11er.......... ----... 43
Chapter 10: Black oak Ridge Has Big old woolly Boogers, Too!..-...... 50
Chapter 11: That Old Post Office Crowd... ....... 53
Chapter 12: Frank McDonald's Flandcar -......... 60
Chapter 13: The Deliverance of Bob Martin.. -- 62
Chapter 14: Clarence Edmonds's Birthd.y........ --.......-.. 64
Chapter 15: A Dynamite Of A Serenade....... ....66
chapter 16: Rock rhrowing, Hooty owls, And Road rales..... ....-......--. 67
Chapter 17: Watch The Clothesline, Donnie!....... -------.-73
Chapter 18: I'lI Be Fixin' Grover's Wagon........... -.........75
Chapter 19: Humor In A Church Pew.... ...--......79
Chapter 20: What's In A Name, Anyway?-........ .........-... g3
Chapter 21: Heroes Wearing Overalls........ ...... g5
Appendix-.....-... ..--- gz