A Carter Reunion - Dixie Carter Holbrook, father Halbert and husband Hal come home to Tennessee

By Deborah Turner

The old Carter home place in McLemoresville where Dixie Carter grew up was home once more to Dixie and her 90-year-old father, Halbert, when they returned from Los Angeles recently for a family reunion that was hosted at the estate on Friday, June 29th, 2001.

Dixie is, of course, Carroll County's own ever-shining star of Broadway and film; a leading character is the much-loved series "Designing Women" and most recently acclaimed in her role as Randi King, an attorney in the series, "Family Law", which is only a scratch in the surface of her accomplishments. More importantly, she represents our county and the State of Tennessee with beauty, grace and intelligence, while keeping her roots firmly embedded in the rich soil from which she grew.

The Carter's ancestral home retains an aura of yesteryear with dark woods and leathers accented by a needlepoint rug in red, blue and green florals on a background of black and cream. A fireplace in one corner is reminiscent of cozy evenings enjoyed by generations of Carters during chilly Tennessee winters.  A piano and table tops are decorated with family photos, both old and new.  Pillows nestle into the corners of chairs and sofas, including one embroidered with the admonishment, "Do not mistake endurance for hospitality."

In a rare deviation from the homespun atmosphere, a striking, avant-garde drawing of Dixie adorns one wall of the room. A horseshoe is nailed above the doorway to the exquisite dining room, its walls lavishly papered in a green scrollwork design while a long table with seating for at least fourteen guests occupies the center of the room. Dixie's voice carries tantalizingly through the house while beyond the dining room the kitchen staff is heard bustling about, coming into the dining room now and again to make adjustments in the table setting.

First to arrive for the event are Dixie's uncle and aunt, Tom and Naomi Hillsman, who live in Jackson, Tennessee.  Tom is the brother of Dixie's late mother, Virginia Hillsman Carter. The Hillsmans have been married for 68 years as of the 27th of June. They recounted their history together from Trezevant to Trenton and then to Jackson, where they moved in 1936. Tom worked with the Agricultural Extension office there for many years while Naomi worked in a variety of positions as well. They recently moved to the Jackson Oaks Retirement Home, which, the couple admitted, is nice but isn't the same as home. Still, they are able to enjoy their own furniture and come and go as they please, making the drive to McLemoresville on their own despite the stormy weather that beset the earlier hours of the day.

Dixie's father, Halbert, was all smiles as he came into the room, along with Hal Holbrook, to greet Tom and Naomi. "It doesn't seem like a long time but it sure passes fast," Tom said to Halbert as they exchanged greetings.

The party moved outdoors while awaiting other family members, relaxing within the elegant gazebo that lies just off the entrance to the kitchen and is connected with the back porch for easy transition from house to gazebo.  The expansive, gently rolling lawn stretches from the beyond the house in a garden of green, punctuated by a brick walkway along which occasional benches are placed as well as one seating area that is arranged inside a circular stand of hedges. Ample trees provide a shady playground for a multitude of squirrels.

While Halbert, Tom, and Naomi caught up on events together, Hal relaxed and shared some of the events in his busy life: "We've really been enjoying ourselves here in Tennessee," he said sincerely. "This is the best shout I've had at staying in Tennessee for a few years - I'm really enjoying it."

The trip home that began on June 7th is a true respite for the busy couple whose individual itineraries reflect the steadiness of the success they have both enjoyed as entertainers over many years.

Even this vacation was interrupted when Hal traveled to Hartford, Connecticut after the first week home, where he assumed his Mark Twain persona for a "Mark Twain Tonight!" benefit performance before returning on the 22nd of June.

Holbrook has been performing as 70-year-old Mark Twain for 47 years, first on Broadway and then on a CBS special in 1967 through which he reached a crowd of over 30 million viewers. Twain has been a constant among the many other roles Holbrook has portrayed during his acting career, with several performances taking place each year. Wearing the characteristic white linen suit that was the trademark of Twain and with cigar in hand, it has been said by many that Holbrook "becomes" Mark Twain right down to the thoughts that drive his stories.

It was during the filming of another project, "The Killing of Randy Webster", he says, that he and Dixie met, playing opposite each other as husband and wife. Their wedding took place three years later at the same estate at which now the family enjoyed their reunion. 

Hal clearly loves Tennessee and enjoys southern culture. He related that the Hillsmans were owners of a plantation home in Trezevant where Tom grew up as a child along with Dixie's mother, Virginia and three other siblings: Mary, Jack and Helen. 
   

Helen lives in Memphis now and is owner of a health food store called the "Good Life".  Eating healthily is a trend followed by Dixie as well as her aunt; however, Dixie's father, Hal, has another word for it: nuts. "Dixie's a health nut; she's got an aunt down in Memphis who has a health food store and she's a health nut," he said. "My breakfast is strictly healthy." 

In California, that is. He then described the way the family's cook in Tennessee prepares his breakfast, making "good country sausage, bacon just as crisp as it can be, ham, soft scrambled eggs, strawberry jam and biscuits."

"That's prime eating," he said with his characteristically happy smile. "Her name is Louella and she can cook!"   

He recalled that, when he was growing up on the farm, the family killed three hogs per year to keep the family in ham, sausage and sidemeat (bacon). "Grandpa's barn was down there," he said, gesturing. "They lived in this yard."

He remembered getting a room upstairs when he was 12 years old. "I loved that room," he said. One thing he didn't love was school, although he did enjoy running track. "School bored me to death," he said, "I passed though! I knew I had to or Daddy would have cleaned my plow!" After some thought, he remembered that his Uncle Harrell was a teacher at the school as were two of his cousins and other relatives. "That's what it was," he exclaimed, "I think I had too many kinfolks teaching!"

The Carter name was well known in Carroll County, Tennessee long before the name "Dixie Carter" became synonymous with southern culture in homes across the United States and abroad. Conversations with those who are among older generations in the county often contain a story or two about the Carter general stores that Hal and his father, Horace, before him, established in Huntingdon, McLemoresville and McKenzie; shops that, with their wide variety of merchandise, were mainstays for every home in the then mostly rural, agrarian communities.

Mr. Carter appreciates his daughter, especially since his wife passed away in 1987 at the age of 77 and he moved to Los Angeles to be with her. 

He related the conversation with Dixie that took place after they lost his wife/her mother: "Dixie said, 'Daddy, I want you to live with me, I need you,'" he said earnestly, recalling the words his daughter had said in convincing him to move to California. "I've been with her ever since."

"Los Angeles is the meanest town I've ever seen in my life," he said exaggeratedly, "but the weather is good and Dixie's got me a nice room."

Mr. Carter is himself a singer, crooning out small ballads of admiration for his daughter and grandchildren. "Stay sweet as you are and as you are tell me that you'll always stay; night and day I pray that you'll always stay sweet as you are," he sang.  According to Mr. Carter, "There's a song for everything."

He recollected that when he went off to war he taught his wife how to use a gun. "Here's what else you did," Dixie said animatedly, drawing her arms up in a big rectangle, "You wrote the instructions on a bulletin board and it stayed there for nearly three years."

The gazebo became crowded as other family members arrived. Margo, the widow of Dixie's late brother, Hal, arrived cradling her newest grandbaby, Hal, who is six months old. Also arriving were Margo's three sons: John, James and Horace, along with their families.

John and Unshu Carter reside in Huntingdon with their daughter, Margaret, who at 15 years of age is the oldest of Halbert's great-grandchildren.

James and Amelia Carter live in Jackson and are the parents of Adeline, age two, and baby Hal.  

Horace and Missy Carter and their two-year-old son Joe, live in Memphis.

Naming children after kin folks is a special tradition in the Carter family: James was named James Reddick Carter after Tom's father, James Reddick Hillsman. Little Hal is actually named James Halbert Carter with his names being a combination of his father and grandfather's names. Horace, who is the youngest son of Margo and her husband (Dixie's brother) Hal, is named Horace Leroy Carter, which, Dixie says, is "Papa's name exactly."

The original Horace Leroy Carter (Dixie's grandfather) was not fond of his name. He wanted to name his son with his same initials, however, and after searching high and low he came up with Dixie's father's name, "Halbert", a fact that remains baffling to Hal after all these years.

Margo is the consummate mother and grandmother, relishing that "all the kids are smart, intelligent, athletic." Just as she asserts, every one of the children are definitely, undeniably beautiful and more importantly, all are loved with the intensity that a strong family unit provides.

The gazebo the family visited in that evening will soon be history when it is torn down as major renovations take place to strengthen the structures as well as change the face of the estate. 

One thing that won't change is the reason the family came together on this evening. "We are crazy about each other," Dixie says happily, putting into words the family's obvious enjoyment in each other in a scene that has been repeated throughout the generations of the Carter family.