[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 129 (Sunday, October 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MRS. CATHERINE CARTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 2004

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a longtime 
friend of mine, a great Tennessean and an outstanding American, Mrs. 
Catherine Carter.
  At the age of 85, Mrs. Carter still puts in a full day's work six 
days a week at Grandma's Store in Mansfield, Tenn. Her father, Willie 
Thompson, built the store in 1935 and, with his wife Euna's help, ran 
the store until his death in 1969. Mrs. Carter has managed the store 
since her son Rex bought it and fixed it up for her in 1979.
  Mrs. Carter is a lifelong resident of Mansfield. In fact, she grew up 
in the house next door to the store. She now lives down the road from 
the store.
  Mrs. Carter remembers when Mansfield was a busy place. When she was a 
little girl, the town had a telegraph office, a railroad depot, a 
cotton gin and a potato house, where they stored potatoes until they 
were ready to be shipped. Mrs. Carter and her mother rode the train to 
Bruceton and to Paris.
  These days things are pretty quiet, but Mrs. Carter still opens the 
store between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m. six days a week and stay open until 
6:30 p.m. She sells everything from hunting supplies to household 
items. She also offers barbecue, bologna, ham and turkey sandwiches, as 
well as hamburgers. Patrons can wash down their food with ice cold 
Coca-Cola or Frostie root beers out of an old-fashioned metal cooler 
with sliding doors on top.
  Mrs. Carter is an institution in Mansfield, and her service to her 
regulars as well as passersby and newcomers is to be applauded. What an 
inspiration she is to us all.

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