Dover was wild little town when Carla and Vickie lived behind the Dairy Dip in 1980
By DAVID RUSSELL ROSS
Dover, Tennessee was one wild little town in 1980 when murder victims Carla Sue Atkins, 14, and Vickie Lee Stout, 16, lived in a mobile home right behind the old Dairy Dip.
In my opinion, whatever lead to the brutal shotgun murders of these two children started as the result of something or somethings that were going on and going on with these two children — and around these two children — when Carla and Vickie lived behind the old Dover Dairy Dip in the summer of 1980.
There were thefts and underage drinking and drug use and drug sales and a drug deal went bad. Several folks closely connected to Carla and Vickie were arrested and went to jail.
The town was so unruly during that era, the Dover Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to establish a city police department to get matters in check.
“It was so bad some people, especially the older folks, didn’t even want to come to town at night,” said longtime Dover Vice Mayor Paul “Bud” Berry.
“There was beer drinking and young people hanging out all over town, especially in front of the (Stewart County) courthouse,” Berry said. “And there was always something going on at The Dairy Dip.”
Folks driving through our scenic area now, or those who have moved here in the past two decades or so, probably can’t imagine just how lively our quiet, historic, beautiful little river town was in 1980.
Wild is putting it mildly, some say.
For two decades, some of the fastest cars in several surrounding counties in Tennessee and Kentucky could regularly be seen and heard “squealing out and laying rubber” after “Circling The Dip.” Sometimes those cars would head off toward the long asphalt stretches in Land Between the Lakes and Long Creek Road for drag races.
Throngs of teens and young adults – especially in the summers — would gather in groups in and around parked cars, motorcycles and trucks in “The Dip’” parking lot, watching the show unfold night after night.
Music would blare from the amped up car stereo systems and from the Dairy Dip’s powerful outdoor jukebox.
As 1980 rolled around, the muscle cars and hot rods “Flipping The Dip” had been joined by pickup trucks of all makes and colors.
Soon after Berry was first elected to the Dover City Council in 1982, town officials began discussing the need for a police department.
“Lots of things were going on in Dover then, I imagine, “ Berry said.
The summer of 1980 may have been the zenith of raucous behavior in Dover.
Along with the constant nighttime action at the Dairy Dip and in Dover, there were regular parties going on in the small wooded area around and at Carla and Vickie’s home, sources say.
Carla and Vickie’s home was hidden from those at the Dairy Dip because of the nearby woods and by the large wooden, two-story B&M Furniture Store building nearby, which was originally the Dover High School.
Some folks hanging around the Dairy Dip sometimes would walk into the woods behind the B&M Furniture Store and the B&M Dairy Freeze and join the activities going on in and around Carla and Vickie’s yard.
On occasions, a local singer/guitar player would entertain at the parties in the woods.
Sometimes Carla and Vickie were left without adult supervision, sources say.
At times, young people who were at the gatherings at Carla and Vickie’s house would walk up to the busy parking lot and invite people hanging out at the Dairy Dip to join the parties in the woods.
There was known alcohol consumption and illegal drug activity around the girls when they lived behind the old Dover Dairy Dip.
Carla and Vickie and their family had been moved from behind the old Dover Dairy Dip perhaps as little as six weeks before the girls were murdered, relatives say.
Around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1980, Carla and Vickie walked from their home on U.S. 79 West of Dover to the nearby Furnace Restaurant/Store. They had skipped school that day.
Carla and Vickie walked to The Furnace, purchased items and were reportedly walking back toward their home when they stopped to talk with a man in a blue truck.
Their bodies were found on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 5, 1980 by two hikers in the Stewart County portion of the federal government’s Land Between the Lakes.
No one has ever been charged in the crimes.
A 35th anniversary memorial vigil and an acoustic musical celebration of life was held Saturday, Oct. 3 , 2015 from 3 p.m. to 7:35 p.m. at the Stewart County Visitor’s Center for Carla and Vickie.
The multi-award winning progressive Bluegrass Band “Yankee/Dixie” from Fairview/Dover performed
The public was invited and encouraged to attend. Admission is free. No donations are being solicited.
Local and area musicians of all skill levels were invited to bring their acoustic instruments and join in the acoustic musical celebration of life jam session from 3-5 p.m.
Original music and songs, especially from children and teens, was encouraged.
Special invited guests spoke during the vigil.
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