Posted by R. Neal

The local paper asked readers to vote for the top ten East Tennesseans. They came up with a pretty impressive list. Here are the results:

1. Dolly Parton: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap!"

2. Sgt. Alvin C. York: Pacifist WWI hero, immortalized by Gary Cooper

3. David Crockett: "Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three", died at the Alamo

4. Pat Summit: Six time national champ Lady Vols basketball coach

5. Sam Houston: First president and then governor of Texas

6. Howard Baker Jr.: "What did the president know and when did he know it?"

7. Alex Haley: Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Roots"

8. Cordell Hull: FDR's Secretary of State, "Father of the United Nations"

9. Andrew Johnson: Lincoln's vice president, first president to be impeached

10. Sequoyah: Invented the Cherokee alphabet, published the first Native-American newspaper

You can see the list here (free registration required), along with a short bio of each.

(Memo to Texas: You're welcome.)