Services scheduled for former Oneida mayor
Funeral services are scheduled for this afternoon for former Oneida mayor Robert L. “Bob” Carson, who died Monday morning at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. He was 100.
Carson served as Oneida’s mayor for six years in the 1970s and was one of four surviving mayors of the town (current mayor Jack E. Lay and former mayors Denzil Pennington and Rodney West being the other three).
Born July 23, 1908, Carson attended the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute after graduating from Oneida High School, and was a long-time teacher in both local school systems, teaching for 43 years at Huntsville High School and Oneida High School, as well as other schools around the county — including Low Gap, Sulfur Springs and Annadell.
It was after his retirement from education that Carson spent three terms as Oneida’s mayor. He was first elected in 1973 and was re-elected in 1975 and 1977 before leaving the post in 1979.
Oneida experienced notable growth during Mayor Carson’s administration, which was during a time when the mayor’s position was not salaried as a full-time position. At that time, mayors received only token reimbursement for their time.
During Mayor Carson’s time in office, Oneida’s city hall moved from its old location on Main Street (near the present-day Senior Citizens Center) to the current Municipal Services Building on Municiple Drive. Carson’s tenure also saw the establishment of the Oneida City Park, the beginning of construction on the railroad overpass on Paint Rock Road that allowed the roadway to bypass the Tibbals wood flooring plant, and the town’s expansion into the west Oneida area, where the Green Hills and Skyline Drive subdivisions were annexed.
Mayor Carson also served two terms on the County Court, and later served on the Board of Directors for the Scott County Hospital.
Mayor Carson is survived by his two sons: Robert L. (Robby) Carson, Jr., former chief detective of the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, and wife Ola Mae, of Oneida; and Rev. Anthony (Tony) Carson and wife Peggy of Kenkins, Ky.
Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. today (Thursday) in the chapel of Jones & Son Funeral Home, with Mayor Carson’s son, Rev. Tony Carson, officiating. Interment will follow in the Cecil Cemetery. The family was to have received friends yesterday (Wednesday) from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Jones & Son. A complete obituary will be included in next week’s edition.