(c)2009 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL

Freddy Campbell gets ready to place a paint can with mixed paint in lid on top into a
machine that will force the paint from the top lid into the can below it.

Geese and ducks waddled through rising puddles as rain brought in descending temperatures last week in our hometown, wondering what happened to dry fall days and ripening corn fields.

We were talking last week with the folks at T&E Paint & Supplies off Knoxville Highway west of town and I'll continue that visit but add some in between news of the scene. On Wednesday I was in search of Leon Bryant, Newport Housing Authority executive director, and found him at the new administration center. It is finished, looks awesome, and should be serving residents this week. The door was locked but a friendly woma`11n who looked familiar to me came up and let me in. It was three-legged-dog Boomer's "Mom," Debbie Eslinger. You recall we talked about Eugene and his wife, Debbie, and their pet bulldog. I also got to meet Felicia Stokely, who works with people needing housing. She is the niece of Kenneth Stokely, whose late wife, Judy Mae, worked at the Plain Talk. Felicia's Dad, Fred, is a brother to Kenneth and was with the old Chemetron plant.

If you have an appetite, there are two new restaurants available in town. Geraldine and Gary Ridens opened Brandywine Creek Frontier Restaurant at the old Midnight Rodeo in Sept. for lunch and supper. Also, I tried the pulled pork barbecue at the Blue Smoke Barbecue near Lowe's. Mark Robinson and Buddy Hartsell where there too. To round-our the news businesses I've heard about, you will see Economy TV Sales & Service advertising in the Plain Talk's TV Week magazine. Edwin and Diane Cameron opened this business after moving here from South Carolina. Perhaps you will hear more about them soon.

T&E Paint 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 Atchley 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, Mark's 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 re-enactors; 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' Broadway 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 paint 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 Masingale, 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.

In plain talk, from belly to beautiful cars, needs are met by local business owners mindful of friends and family.