Category: Interview

Collaborative Rod and Reel Purchase

Posted on by Ann Jackson

On the wall in Mom’s workshop hangs a rod and reel that has been around as long as I can remember. Recently, we were in her workshop when I said, “Your rod and reel need to be dusted.” Then she told me a story that I found to be hilarious.

A little family background: Mom was the third of four children, all born four years apart, and the only girl. She has told many tales about the ordeals she suffered through growing up as the only sister. Such episodes include her older brothers nailing bottle caps on trees and telling their friends that their little sister could outshoot any of them. They would bet money on that fact, then threaten Mom she had better outshoot the boys.

Mom’s Rod and Reel Story

Back in the late 1950s, my little brother, Thomas, was around age 11, and I was age 15. We wanted a fishing rod and reel. We did not have enough money to buy two. Mr. Weatherby, the owner of the local general store and our parents’ friend, said he would sell us one on a payment plan, and we could share it.

So, we went in together on weekly payments with the stipulation that we were not to tell our parents that he offered the payment plan. We decided on a burgundy South Bend reel and a green fiberglass rod.

Thomas did not read the paper that came with the rod and reel, but I, being an avid reader, did. The rod came with an offer for a free engraved metal end plate. I sent in the paperwork. Soon, I received a metal plate and attached it to the rod.

We went fishing together for several weeks before Thomas noticed my name – and my name only – on the end plate. When he did, he got very mad. We fought for several days over it. So, we decided I would pay him the other half of the cost, then the rod and reel would be all mine.

I used my school lunch and babysitting money to pay Thomas the other half. I don’t recall if I ever paid him all of it. But I still have the rod and reel! 

Gene Elliott

Posted on by Michael McCallie

Born in Soddy-Daisy in 1928, Gene Elliott has been a force within the Soddy-Daisy community for nearly a century. He ran the Soddy Feed Store for 20 years, was Mayor of Soddy-Daisy for 6 years, and served as  Commissioner for 12 years. Yet, to talk to him, you’d never know he was one of the most accomplished citizens in town—Gene is a gentle soul who exudes a kindness that belies the breadth of his achievements. “On my first day running the Soddy Feed Store, guess how much we made—64 cents!” Gene said when asked about starting his business.

Before opening the feed store, Gene served in the military, where he was trained in radar school. He was deployed to Turkey where he searched the airwaves for Russian missile transmissions. Of his time in Turkey, Gene said with a laugh, “I bet I’m the only person in Soddy-Daisy to swim in the Black Sea!”

After his time in the service, Gene returned to Tennessee and earned his Master’s of Education from Vanderbilt University and taught Chemistry and Physics in Soddy-Daisy for 6 years. “Teaching wasn’t for me,” Gene said, “I decided it was time for a change.”

When his time in the classroom ended, Gene opened the Soddy-Daisy Feed Store, which he ran for 25 years before his retirement. When asked about his interests away from his career, he said “well, my weaknesses are rabbit hunting, crow hunting, and the bottle collection.”

Since the 70’s, Gene has collected glass bottles. The majority of them were bottled by Coca-Cola, but Gene has bottles of all makes. One of the jewels of the collection is a bottle from the original Soddy Bottling Company. Of this bottle, Gene said “you probably don’t see many of these around any more.”

Since his retirement, Gene spends most of his time at home—on property that has been in his family for generations. “This land has been in my family for 200 years,” Gene said of his home, “and the original house that still stands is nearly 100 years old.”

Gene has two sons, Sam and Jeff, and was married to his wife, Ruth Davis, for 60 years before she passed. When asked why he was proud to be from Soddy-Daisy, Gene said “because I was born here, and I know everyone here—it’s a great place!”

Bill Haley

Posted on by Michael McCallie

Bill Haley has been retired since 2020, but just might be the busiest man in Soddy Daisy. Bill worked in the Advertising Art Department of the Chattanooga News-Free Press (now the Times-Free Press) before moving to the Tennessee Aquarium, where he served as the Education Outreach Coordinator for 28 years, taking animals on educational visits to schools within a 125-mile radius of the aquarium.

For most folks, a successful career and loving family would be enough to pass the time, but not for Bill Haley – Bill has a litany of self-professed “hobbies,” many of which he has avidly pursued since High School.

Painter, wildlife enthusiast, basket weaving, flower gardening,  antique glass insulator expert, hawk watcher, butterfly counter… These are just a few of Bill’s “hobbies.” “Before I was retired,” Bill says, “I could only do my hobbies on weekends, now I can really dig into them.” One of the hobbies Bill has dug into is tracking the migration patterns of hawks and counting the population of butterflies. Bill has a profound love for nature and the outdoors, and has spent nearly 350 hours this year “spotting” hawks and butterflies. “Climate change is real,” he says “ and some hawks no longer migrate as far south as Tennessee, so late-season numbers have become much lower.”

Bill’s “hobby” for spotting birds, and his knowledge of them, is the skill that landed him his job at the Tennessee Aquarium. In 1992, Bill was working in advertising at the paper when he received a call from Christine Bock (now Hunt), who had recently taken a job as Lead Horticulturist at the still un-opened Tennessee Aquarium. A bird had flown into the glass, and Christine wanted to know if Bill could help. “I was able to identify the little warbler, and from there they encouraged me to volunteer, and eventually I moved from the paper to the aquarium,” Bill said of the experience. Bill worked at the Tennessee Aquarium from the opening in 1992 until his retirement in 2020.

Perhaps Bill Haley’s most serious and long-standing “hobby” is his collection of antique, glass insulators. Glass insulators were used to prevent the loss of current in telephone and electric lines before being replaced with more modern materials in the 1960’s. Bill started collecting them in High School along the train tracks in Soddy Daisy. “It’s the history of them,” Bill said when asked about why he is fascinated with glass insulators, “the history and the fact that they are just beautiful glass objects.”

Bill is one of thousands of collectors of these insulators in the country and is the current President of the Dixie Jewels Insulator Club. The range of materials used and variations in the glass specimens is astounding. Bill’s collection includes insulators made from porcelain, glass and even wood, and many of the pieces have beautiful imperfections in the glass that become apparent when illuminated by a flashlight. “I could just look at this one all day,” Bill said of a particularly beautiful piece (see below).

There are few people in Soddy Daisy that are enjoying their retirement as much as Bill Haley. Nearly every day is spent working on one of his “hobbies,” or spending time with family. Bill now lives in home that has been in his family for generations with his wife Candy. Their daughter Mindy is the owner of Mindy B’s deli on Georgia Ave. in Chattanooga. “I stay busy,” Bill said when asked about what he’s been doing since his retirement.