I’m frustrated. Maybe you can help me.
Five years ago, my friend Bob Elmore died after battling cancer, at the age of 85. Bob was the best promoter Chattanooga ever had. For many decades, he worked tirelessly to spread the word about the Scenic City. Long before the Aquarium, Gig City, Ironman and all that, Bob was Mr. Tourism.
He had his own TV show, he was on radio, and probably waved folks off the freeway at the Chattanooga exit signs. If the Internet had existed then, he would have figured out a way to be on every pop-up ad.
He made the Fall Color Cruise a big deal, helped create the Better Business Bureau, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chattanooga, and played competitive tennis well into his 80s. He was born and raised here, and attended our schools (Central High ’43, University of Chattanooga ’49). He was married to his dear Bettye for 57 years, raising two daughters. He worked for WDOD, Channel 3, Provident and TVA before starting his own ad agency. For more than 2o years, he was president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. He was in the Jaycees, the PTA, and all the UTC sports booster clubs. He won every “Man of the Year” award that the civic clubs could dream up. He even flew 28 combat missions over Europe in the Army Air Force during World War II.
Let me add that the Tennessee Riverpark exists, in large part, due to the groundwork laid by Bob and his pal Hubert Fry, for whom the pavilion is named.
With a resume’ like that, Bob Elmore deserves to remembered in a permanent way. But Chattanooga and Hamilton County government leaders don’t seem to be interested. More on that later.
I was honored to speak at Bob’s memorial service in October 2010, and I talked about how Bob “bailed me out” many times when one of my TV guests would suddenly cancel, or call in sick. There were days when I had 90 minutes to fill. Bob was #1 on my emergency guest list. “Is there anything going on locally you could promote,” I’d ask. Within 30 minutes, he’d show up, ready to go.
When I’d heard he was in his last days, I called him and he was in great spirits. He told me a story about some medication he had taken that made him feel worse. It turns out the pharmacy had given him the wrong pills. “I was in terrible pain for a while, and I figured out I was on the wrong medicine. Instead of giving me the pills for Robert Elmore, the pharmacy gave me the ones for a “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!”
He had contributed a photo for my Chattanooga Radio & Television book, and he asked me when it was coming out. I told him around Christmas, and he said, “I’m afraid I won’t be around that long. I wish you could get it out sooner.” I told him I did too, “But just hang in there, Bob. You might surprise those doctors!” Sadly, he was gone within a week.
At the memorial service, his family was kind enough to give me his trademark pith helmet that he wore on his TV shows and personal appearances. They said, “This shouldn’t just sit around in somebody’s closet. Maybe you can find a permanent display for it.” I promised them I would.
Bob Elmore with Bill Brock on “Backyard Safari”
I envisioned a display somewhere, maybe at the Riverpark, or a popular attraction in the city. I wanted to see the “hat” in an enclosed case, maybe with a photo or sketch of Bob, and a brief bio commemorating his role in the development of our local attractions. As his “Backyard Safari” TV show theme said, “You’ll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes, back in your own backyard…”
Now here we are five years later. I have yet to find any government official who will help me honor this man. I have even offered to pay the costs of whatever they come up with, but still, there’s no interest. Most recently, a Hamilton County official told me, “We believe your effort might be more successful with the city.” This is what I’m running into.
You can read his obituary here, and explain to me why Bob Elmore isn’t being given permanent recognition for his contributions to our area. I truly don’t get it.
I loved Bob’s tireless energy and enduring passion in communicating this area’s gems and attractions. He put in much more than 40 hours a week, and his focus went way beyond drawing outsiders to experience our sites — He wanted current residents to know about and enjoy them too. Bob promoted all of SE Tennessee, and all counties in this region are receiving the benefits of money visitors spend. The Hamilton County official’s response to you speaks volumes about how much we need a single city-county government!
I love your outward focused attentiveness to people and their stories. What an outstanding man was Mr. Elmore. Can’t imagine the City would object to honoring him in some way, but I’m not familiar with Chattanooga politics or the protocol for obtaining such an accolade. Apparently it’s not about lack of funds, given your offer of payment. It’s probably a matter of people being too busy or distracted to focus on your request, in which case the more leg work you do, the better: Find the person to make the enclosure and to what specifications the enclosure would be made, find an example where it’s been done elsewhere and get a picture, learn about the City’s procedures for approving this kind of thing…all that kind of heavy lifting….and then present a proposal. The more planning you do for them, the less thinking they have to do. Perhaps someone could help you do that?
Read the obituary and the text of an interview of Mr. Elmore from several years ago. Coincidentally, he flew on the same type of plane my father piloted in WWII – the B-26 Marauder.
My husband Ralph used to say about Bob that “he could have more ideas, thoughts, suggestions, promotions in five minutes than most people would have in their lifetime; of course, some of them would turn out to be completely impractical and/or useless, but most of them would be viable and if pursued, exceptionally beneficial to the Chattanooga area”. Our families were good friends and our children grew up together, as well as the two of them working together through Jaycee projects and later in City government. And in later life in the RBI Club for the Lady Mocs Softball team. One suggestion to you, David, might be to contact the History Center and see if they could not add (if not already done so) a memorial tribute and/or display to/for Bob somewhere in their long-delayed opening plans.
Barbara, thank you so much for reading this story, that means the world to me. Bob and Ralph made a great team, and they are both among my lifetime heroes. I hope the History Center will remember Bob. My only concern is, as you say, their opening is long, long delayed. I’m not sure I want to wait that long for Bob to get his long overdue recognition. Ralph led an amazing life as well. He is remembered fondly by so many. David
Bob Elmore was extremely helpful during the years that I’d published a guide for interstate travellers back in the 1980s. Without him, it would never have been possible.
Hi David! I’m Bob’s grandson, or as I called him “Papaw!” I appreciated this article so much. I miss my amazing grandfather and cherish all the memories I had with him. Chattanooga will always be a special place in my mind not just because my grandparents lived there, but because I knew my Papaw had a special connection and appreciation for his city. All of his hard work and years of promoting the city has paid off as many people are seeing how special Chattanooga is. I actually was named after him! My first name is Robert! I carry that name proudly. I resonate with the comment Barbara Kelley said above about her husband Ralph saying that “he could have more ideas, thoughts, suggestions, promotions in five minutes than most people would have in their lifetime” — I am the same way. In meetings, I can spit off ideas and solutions where most people just sit there and stare at the wall. I am thankful to have that same gift. Thanks again for this article. I’d love to connect in any way if you’d like. I have many photos and memories of him, as does my mother, of course. Thank you!