Bob Elmore’s hat finds a home!

Last November, I wrote a blog about Chattanooga’s all-time greatest promoter, Bob Elmore.  I expressed my frustrations with Chattanooga and Hamilton County leaders who had failed to act on my frequent requests to establish a lasting tribute to Bob.

Bob, I wrote, was widely known for his safari hat.  He wore it each week for decades on his TV show “Backyard Safari,” which served as a weekly guide to our scenic attractions.  As head of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bob put Chattanooga on the map in the pre-Internet era, using every means available to send tourists our way.  He was tremendously successful, and even in retirement was a tireless booster for our city, and for UTC sports.

After I spoke at his memorial service, his family was kind enough to give me his hat. We all agreed that the city or county would jump at the chance to give Bob an appropriate recognition for his legacy.  I envisioned his hat as part of a plaque that would be on display at the Riverpark, or the city’s Visitors Center, or somewhere downtown in the midst of our tourist-friendly attractions.

A few weeks after Bob’s death, I called around to a few government leaders, but evidently not the right ones.  I got a few promises, but nothing came of them.  I got busy with some other projects, and finally last November I realized I still had Bob’s safari hat in my possession, and no one was seeing it except me.

So after I wrote the story, a few government folks called or sent e-mails, and agreed that something needed to be done to honor Bob.  They called people who called people who were supposed to call me back.  When those people didn’t call me, I called them, and they didn’t return my calls.  Incredibly, a higher-up in the county told me that Bob was more of a city guy, so I should be dealing with the city.  This, despite Bob’s strong involvement in the development of the Riverpark, a Hamilton County operation.  So I called the city, and was passed off to someone who would call me back.  Need I say more?

One day, it dawned on me that I was barking up a very wrong tree.  Instead of dealing with a government in action, I was stuck with government inaction.  As I was eating lunch at Wally’s Restaurant on McCallie Avenue, I looked at the historic photos that adorn the walls, and realized Bob’s hat sure would look good up there.  I mentioned the idea to owner Gary Meadows, and he said, “Absolutely!”  I finally got the go-ahead to prepare a fitting tribute to Bob Elmore in a high-traffic, popular place.  Wally’s is in its 80th year, and is a perfect spot to celebrate Bob and his connection to our area.

My friends Gary Meadows and Alan Pressley with our tributes to Bob Elmore

On March 18, 2016, what would have been Bob’s 91st birthday, Gary greeted Alan Pressley and myself.  Alan is the kind gentleman who creates shadowboxes featuring local heroes and sports stars.  He has given them to ailing kids, retiring judges, and even accident victims who need something to brighten their day.  Alan, with the help of his friends Dr. Robin Smith and Bill Myrick, obtained the materials, and created a beautiful plaque featuring a photo of Bob, plus a glass-enclosed shadowbox with the safari hat.  During the next few days, it will be added to the gallery of historic photos at the entrance of Wally’s.  It will be seen by thousands of people each year.  Bob’s hat finally has a permanent home.

I’d like to thank everyone who played a part in making this possible.  I think Bob Elmore would be proud.

Here’s a story I wrote about him, just a few days before he passed away in 2010.  As you’ll see, he kept his sunny attitude and bright sense of humor to the very end.  He never was one to give up, and in my lengthy quest to find the proper home for his hat, I’m glad I didn’t either.

Chattanooga’s most tireless promoter knows his days are numbered. Doctors told Bob Elmore last week that it was time for hospice care, after confirming that cancer had spread throughout his body.
“Dying is a full time job,” he told me on the phone. “My pain is under control, and as far as I know I’m thinking straight, but just getting everything in order is wearing me out!”
At the age of 85, he survived the Great Depression and World War II, but says “the big C” is too much for him to overcome. He has lost forty pounds in the past few months, and says, “I don’t look like myself anymore.” His first battle with cancer was in 2003, with treatments continuing for a couple of years. He underwent additional surgery last April, but says, “just recently the cancer returned with a vengeance.”
His daughter Candie, and son-in-law Jeff Kisiah spent last week with Bob, taking time out from their duties in Charlotte, where Jeff is an associate pastor. Jeff told me that Bob’s mind is alert, and I found that to be true during our conversation, when we reminisced about his colorful life in Chattanooga.

RECALLING “BACKYARD SAFARI”
Earlier this year, Bob published his memoirs, “A Funny Thing Happened…On My Way to the National Cemetery,” and the book became an immediate hit, requiring a second printing. He dedicated it to his wife Bettye, who died in 2009. Bettye was the longtime owner and operator of the Backstage Playhouse (and a frequent stage performer), while Bob was the director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, making them one of the city’s best-known couples.
For twenty years, Bob was a familiar presence on television, hosting “Backyard Safari” on Sunday afternoons. Donning his trademark pith helmet, Bob invited local residents to enjoy “your own backyard,” pointing out local attractions both popular and obscure. He welcomed United States Senators, fishermen, historians and others in one of the longest-running local television shows of its era.
“The book has been a real blessing for me,” he said. “And I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer to get it out. It has brought back a lot of memories for people about that TV show. That’s probably what I’m best known for. It makes me feel so good to hear people say that I introduced them to their favorite fishing hole or scenic view.”

HE HELPED BUILD CHATTANOOGA
But Bob was more than just a tourism promoter. After returning home from his service in the Army Air Corps, he quickly became one of the city’s busiest young men. He immersed himself into civic life, helping establish the Jaycees and the Better Business Bureau. He also dabbled in politics, serving as campaign manager for Ralph Kelley in his successful mayoral drive in 1963. And he was one of the original advertising sales executives for Channel 3.
I was honored to serve as his “roast-master” upon his retirement in 1990 when his friends gathered for a huge send-off as he ended his career with the Convention and Visitors Bureau. During our recent phone conversation, he singled out that night as one of his favorite memories. “There’s nothing better than laughing with your friends,” he said. In the twenty years since that night, he says he’s been busier than ever. “I’ve tried to keep in shape, and until recently I managed to do that,” he said. From Senior Olympics softball, to his beloved Brainerd tennis league (the “Brainerd Tennis Nuts”), and his enthusiastic support for the UTC Lady Mocs, he has remained active in his hometown. He held regular gatherings of his Central High class of 1943, the Half-Century Club (made up of folks who have lived in the city for more than fifty years), and other “old-timers” groups.

Son-in-law Jeff Kisiah says, “He has loved this city tremendously, so much so, he has kindly abstained on our offer to bring him to Charlotte these past few years for more
comprehensive care.” Bob says, “I’ve tried to stay independent, and now I’m not able to do anything. I’m just not used to that.”

STAYING POSITIVE UNTIL THE END
But he still has his sense of humor. “Even in the shape I’m in, I’ve had to meet with lawyers, bankers, realtors and all, trying to figure out the best way to handle my affairs and how to donate some things, and it has just about worn me out. Dying is just too much trouble, and it’s really taking up a lot of my spare time,” he said with a laugh.
“And I could tell you some stories about medical care,” he says. I asked him if he was in any pain, and he said, “Not now, they finally got it right.” I asked him to explain, and he said, “I was in terrible pain for a while, and it turned out I was on the wrong medicine. Instead of giving me the pills that were meant for Robert Elmore, the pharmacy gave me the ones for a Mr. Robert L. Moore, who was being treated for diabetes. That’s about the only disease I don’t have, so those pills didn’t help my pain one bit!” And of course, he laughs about it, realizing that would be a great story if he was able to write another book.

He expresses no fear of dying, and has told family members he looks forward to being reunited with Bettye, his wife of 57 years. “We sure made a good team,” he says. He says as word has spread of his terminal condition, he’s hearing from friends and acquaintances, and it always cheers him up. “And I’m telling them all, including you, that I will not have a sad funeral. That’s not me. My family knows that I want my friends to remember the good times, and just tell some amusing stories. There’s plenty of them to go around.”
Just as the title of his book says, some funny things have happened “on his way to the National Cemetery.” And Bob Elmore has contributed so much during his 85 years, from serving his country, to helping start the local branch of Big Brothers-Big Sisters, to spreading the word about the Scenic City he loves so dearly. As he prepares to take his final bow, it would only be fitting to serenade him with his TV theme song of so many years: “You’ll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes…right in your own back yard.”

BONUS VIDEO: News story with Bob Elmore interviewed about Chattanooga tourism by WRCB’s Bob Beard.  This is from April 1983: