Childhood friends Betty Snodderly (left) and Gen. Carl Stiner, both La Follette High School graduates, share the stage at the LHS “Best of Times III” celebration.

By Charlotte Underwood 

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Once in a lifetime someone like Gen. Carl Wade Stiner is born. He was a man “born to be a leader,” according to his long-time friend Betty Snodderly who said what she remembers the most about “Carl Wade” was his “kindness and respect for others.”

Snodderly grew up neighbors with the General and his siblings and has “the fondest memories” of their childhood times together. Her family’s farm was next to the Stiner’s farm with a creek separating the two. 

The two families “canned vegetables together and shared vegetables, shared gardens and shared everything.”

“We were all in one little neighborhood there, it was kind of like Mayberry. Elm Grove Baptist Church was at the end of the Lane and we all went to church together, ” Snodderly said. 

The oldest of five children, Stiner, was “born in a Christian home,” according to Snodderly. “His mother Hassie was the closest thing to a saint I have ever known. She was a great prayer warrior, very kind and gentle. His dad was a wonderful person too, but Emmett expected a lot from his boys. He wanted them to work hard, play hard and to have respect for other people,” Snodderly said. 

She said the boys sometimes referred to their dad as the “Drill Seargent.” 

“He taught them discipline and responsibility. That’s probably why the childen grew up to be such wonderful people.”

She recalled that “even when he was young, Gen. Stiner was a fine young man.” One of his first responsibilities was to get Snodderly on the right school bus when they went to Valley View School. “And then, our bus driver, sometimes would let us off and let us walk through the field because he was running late, and so I would sit down and cry, because I didn’t want to get my shoes wet or dirty through the hay field and Tom and Carl would carry me on their shoulders,” Snodderly said. 

She shared other fond memories of growing up with the Stiner family and recalled that “all the boys were pranksters,” but especially “Carl Wade.”

According to Snodderly, the “boys loved to play after a hard day’s work in the hay field or the tobacco patch and if it was a hot day, they would hurry down to the blue hole. That was down in the creek and cool off.”

“That was a special place for us. That was our pool in those days. They loved to invite the city boys and prank them. Carl was a prankster, and he loved to prank them and that was a happy time for everybody, but it was just good old fun,” Snodderly said. 

Snodderly spent a lot of time at the Stiners’ because it was a “fun place to be.”

The General also made sure Snodderly and his own little sister could walk to the store with him and that they always got a treat. 

“The other boys wouldn’t want us to walk to Eb Parrott’s store to get candy, but Carl always let us and made sure we got a treat. And when the Rolling Store came on Tuesday mornings, we would exchange eggs and get a treat off the Rolling Store and Carl made sure we got whatever we wanted,” Snodderly said.

Stiner was always a hard working young man and kind and considerate of others. 

“He was just such a special person as a young boy, always working on the farm, it was just obvious that he was born to be a leader. He was just such a fine young man,” Snodderly said.  

The General was always helping others. If a farmer was sick, Carl and his brothers would come take care of the hay or the tobacco. When Snodderly’s father had a heart attack, the General took care of the tobacco for them that year.

“He’s just been that way his whole life and I just think, that at this point, we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude because our country and our world are a better place today because of Carl Stiner. Because of his sacrifice and his service to our country, we ought to be so grateful. We’re going to miss him and I want him to rest in peace.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 06/09/2022-6AM)

One Reply to “Carl Stiner was more than the hero next door to Betty Snodderly”

  1. Hi Betty, Really enjoyed reading about your memories of growing up as a friend and neighbor of General Stiner. Little did you know he would become such a great leader and defender of our country. We all are blessed to have had him in service to our country. May he rest in peace and may God continue to bless Anerica.

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