(c)2009 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL

Among those who might serve you at T&E Paint and Supplies are, from left, the owner,
Mark Atchley; Carl Massingill, a new employee; and paint technician Freddy Campbell.
Not shown is long-time employee Jaynie Valentine.

Sunshine streamed through our hometown in between early-fall showers but with the likelihood of cooler October mornings, such as greeted the Parrottsville festival Saturday morning.

Last week we were talking about Renner Trucking with owner/founder J.E. Renner, and I want to finish up that visit before moving on to my next stop just west of Newport.

Renner Trucking expanded to its present location off Jasmine Drive, across from Freeman's Furniture at Highway 25E, when he bought the property from trucker Tommy Morrow about 1995. Although Morrow had continued driving until 2008, became ill that winter, and died in 2009, Renner had quit driving in 1990. Before that it was common for him to log 150,000 to 200,000 miles every year, many long hauls across the country. He never had a major accident. The business remained good until the era of $3-$5 per gal. diesel. "Fuel prices killed the trucking industry," he lamented. At one time the company utilized 50 trucks. It has only been in the past few weeks that freight volume has increased. He operates about 30 trucks and gets the help of long-time friend and former deputy Bill Emmons, known by friends as "Wild Bill." Of the trucks, J.E.'s son, Jason, owns 10 leased to Renner Trucking. Some of the remainder are owner-operated and J.E. owns 18. The challenge has been to keep the trucks running and rolling, especially during the past eight years.

J.E.'s first wife was the former Marlene Shelton and they have two children: Mitzi Lane, a school teacher married to Rick Lane; and Randy, who is not married, a night watchman for the trucking company. Today. J.E. lives at Forrest Hills with his wife, the former Aileen Smith, who works in the office. They have a son, Jason Renner, who is married to the former Veronica Beason; and daughter, Christy Parks.

It is obvious that he is proud of the family business and will probably only leave on the last truck out. "I've had people who want to buy me out. I'm not going to retire. It's my life." He made a lot less as a deputy, and at $500 per month was the first of the salary paid deputies, when fee-grabbing disappeared. I suspect he makes a lot more money today, but he doesn't brag about it. He's the same old good-hearted man I got to know 35 years ago.

I learned a little about trucking, such as how he gets business. There are marketplaces that post both loads that need to be moved and trucking companies available. Several of the women of the seven office staff make calls to gain haul jobs. He relies heavily on four mechanics and has about 18 drivers. Not all the business posted is worth his bid. "It cost me $1.20 per mile to operate" so he seeks to make more than this when bidding for a load of freight. It is also a fulltime chore dealing with government regulations. Today, truckers are only allowed to be with a truck 14 hours, driving it no more than 11 hours in a 24-hour period.

One of the things I suspected about J.E., who has no hobbies and doesn't do much fishing, is that he uses his time to help and support other people, especially with charitable work. At a visit to the garage, I bumped into shop foreman Brady Barber, who confirmed this. While munching on a sandwich during lunch, He said, "He lives the Christian life. He's constantly helping people. He gives good advice and is a wise and benevolent man."

In plain talk, the long roads, slow hours, and heavy traffic have taught him to always be alert and focused. That's made good sense for his business and life too.

Unless you specifically need this business's product, chances are you have never been in the non-descript block building several miles west of the Plain Talk off Knoxville Highway. I however, a tinkerer around vehicles, have been in T&E Paint and Supplies Inc. but really didn't know much about the current management and ownership. After breaking a mirror, I heard it might be the place to look, and it sure was with owner mark Atchley's help. I've been by a couple of times and thought you might be interested in knowing more about these folks. The business, under current owners, has been around for about 19 years, celebrating its 20th in 2010, and is located next to the popular Furniture Palace. Paint technician Freddy Campbell helped me with a color match and showed me a small unit that can custom mix almost any color, putting it into a spray can. I'll describe this in a minute.

The business specializes in the needs of auto paint and body shops so there is no need to put on a fancy store face. Dr. Steve Smith, who may have acquired it from the former operators, owns the building. The business used to be T&R Paint. Those who need the supplies, everything from sandpaper, to paint and solvents, to a zillion types of fasteners find it here. Mark probably did not intend to get into this business years ago. He lives at Strawberry Plains with his wife, Kim, and he drove tandem wheel trucks for many years. After finishing Carter County High School, he eventually drove for White Foods around the Knoxville area to Newport. How did he end up with a Newport business? Mark explains that his father-in law, Bill Morgan, was a paint supply representative, and traveled a lot too. They bought the business so they could both get off the road and took over from Roger Pleasant, of Greeneville, in August 1990. The business name comes from Tara, his sister-in-law, and his daughter, Elizabeth. While I was browsing in between customers, I glanced at one of the metal ceiling support poles covered with clippings and photos. A few were familiar. I had made some of the photos that appeared in the Plain Talk of years ago. I did not shoot the one of Civil War reenactors; Confederates, getting ready to lynch Union soldier, Danny Buckner. There was a 2002 photo of Arthur Styles and fellow cyclist Charlie Kimberlin on chrome and yellow custom Harleys-a photo I made at the Styles' body shop next to the Plain Talk. Elizabeth Atchley was featured in a photo as Homecoming Queen for Rush Strong. She is 18 and attends Walters State Community College. The Atchleys have another daughter, Darby, who is an eighth grader. Mark said his parents were Mayford and Barbara Atchley, of Knoxville.

Freddy Campbell is a familiar face to many of you and has been doing paint and bodywork in the Carson Springs community for more years than most are old. He showed me the SEM Custom Fill machine for spray paint cans. You don't have to be a male to figure out how to get touchup paint. You women can drive on over and let Mark get the paint code off your car. He will find the hidden code and go to his computer to locate the color and its components. My color required eight components. The cans come pre-filled with propellant. They said that 90 percent of vehicle paint could be matched perfectly, in just a few minutes. Carl Massengil, a new employee since May, took the formula and blended the types and small amounts of paint in what ends up to be the plastic top for the can leaving a residue in it to remind you of the can's color content. Over the years past, they used a hand-pumper to fill cans but it is all automatic now thanks to the new technology purchased a couple months ago. So, presto the paint is in the spray can and Freddy can give you a few tips to touch up that door or bumper you just dented. One of the key employees and veterans is Jaynie Valentine. I discovered she is a sister to William Lancaster, who you've heard about last year in my column as the custom iron man and welder. She's been at T&E for 12 years.

I got interested in Freddy and found out he had been lured into the fascinating world of auto body and paint by a real pro, Ronnie Clevenger. His shop was near Campbell's home off Clevenger Cut-Off. Freddy's Dad was also Freddy, who retired from Magnavox and his Mom is the late Nancy Campbell, formerly of Michigan. Freddy's grandparents, Theodore and Beulah Campbell, lived in a rock house next to another familiar paint and body man, Gary Denton, who painted my Ford truck blue years ago. Freddy has two brothers and a sister. Eddie Campbell used to work for Swinton Crider. Kim McGaha lives in Parrottsville. Brother Dwayne works in Morristown for a manufacturer of food packaging. Freddy left home and married Kathy Grice and they have a son, Matthew, 24, who works at Eastman Chemicals in Kingsport. When Kathy popped into the store last week, I instantly recognized her as an employee of National Bank of Tennessee. Although Freddy has been working with T&E Paint, "on and off for five years," he does all types of vehicle painting and body repairs at their home where he has a small garage off Upper Rhinehart Road. Many years ago, as a young man he helped L.D. Ottinger and Jack Hill with vehicles for show and racing. I asked if he had gone to technical school to learn the trade but he picked it all up on his own, and at 52 loves the work and challenges of repairing your favorite car or truck that just got slammed. He also has been involved in Relay for Life fund raising, and enjoys collectible cards.