Former Sevierville mayor and longtime local attorney Charlie Johnson recalls Joe Carr and his wife, Mattie Mai (pronounced May) fondly. He began renting space for his law office from the couple in 1974 and soon married Glenda McCarter, a local girl who first introduced him to Carr’s Dry Goods in 1970 when the couple went to buy snow boots.

While Dolly had already headed to Nashville by the time Charlie Johnson arrived in Sevierville, his wife Glenda had grown up and graduated with the singer in 1964. Back then, Dolly was still performing locally on the Cas Walker Show. Glenda came from a large family of auctioneers. Back in the early 60s, two of her older brothers, Big Ed and Fred Doc, would pick Dolly up at five in the morning and all three would drive to Knoxville to be on the Cas Walker Show. Dolly would sing three or four songs on the show, the brothers would advertise their upcoming auctions, then all three would drive back to Sevierville in time to make the day’s first classes at Sevier County High School.

“Glenda and Dolly were good friends and had a good time together. I know they got caught for talking in school a lot because they both had a gift for gab,” Charlie jokes.

“Before Dolly made it big, there were a lot of naysayers who didn’t think she would make it. But my wife told me there was never any doubt in Dolly Parton’s mind that she was going to be a big star someday.”

Dolly stayed connected to her hometown and her people. In 2007, Dolly became an honorary Girl Scout. Her friend Glenda was then the executive chairman of the Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council and swore her in officially in front of 500 Girl Scouts from East Tennessee at Dollywood’s Celebrity Theater. Glenda wrote a script for the ceremony, but just before things began Dolly asked her if they could just wing it. Glenda said, “I can keep up with you if you can keep up with me!” Their off the cuff program and authentic interaction went great, but Charlie says Dolly noticed something that day that really helped him really appreciate who she was as a person. “After that program, Dolly told somebody that my wife didn’t look good – like she didn’t feel good. They said, ‘well, do you know she’s dying of cancer?’ And so, from that time on until she passed away, Dolly sent a bunch of flowers with a personal note to Glenda to our house every week. I can’t tell you how much that meant to my family. It was really a sincere, genuine gesture that she did.”

When Dolly was young, Carr Dry Goods Co. was owned and operated by Joe Carr, who moved to Sevierville in the 1940s with his family after serving in World War II. Joe ran the store on Court Ave. for 55 years and both his wife, Mattie Mai, and father, J. Frank Carr, were familiar faces at the store. Joe was characterized by his generosity and sense of humor – often feeding people in need at Newman’s Café and giving dimes or quarters to children. He would often greet store customers and passersby – even if they strolled by with bags from other stores. He would jokingly ask, “where’s your bag from?” or “what did you buy?”

Carr Dry Goods Co. was a prominent downtown shop that sold everything from work essentials to clothing and shoes. Known as “Your Friendly Store,” Carr’s was just one of several popular downtown dry goods purveyors which also included The Corner Store and Wade’s Department Store – located in the present-day Victoria Mall.

Before the building was Carr Dry Goods Co., it was the medical office of Dr. Z.D. Massey. Dr. Massey was a local physician whose beloved English Setter, Bertie, was known for delivering his daily bank deposit to the nearby Sevier County Bank. Traveling solo with the money pouch gripped in her teeth, Bertie would carry the money a half block to the bank, give it to the teller, and return the deposit receipt to Dr. Massey every day. Bertie also joined Dr. Massey when making house calls. A bronze statue of Bertie can be found in downtown Sevierville and makes for a fun look at the historic happenings within the community.