'It's a wonderful time' for Thompson's hometown

Ann Hughes said it was a crazy day at Thompson Station on the downtown Lawrenceburg Square.

"We've been overwhelmed," said Hughes, who with her husband, Jerry, owns the store that is a tribute to Lawrenceburg favorite son, former U.S. senator, turned actor, turned presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Hughes said the store, which has photos and memorabilia of Thompson's days growing up in Lawrence County, opened Tuesday. On Thursday, after Thompson's official announcement that he would be seeking the Republican nomination for president, "we've been swamped," Hughes said.

She said her husband and Thompson were high school classmates and played ball together.

"We've had a lot of people coming in to look at the memorabilia to see what we had, and we can't keep the 'Fred' bumper stickers," she laughed. "We even had to go to a couple of other businesses that had bumper stickers and borrow some of theirs.

"It's been wonderful, all the excitement that this has generated."

Jimmy "Chucky" Moore, who owns a clothing store on the Lawrenceburg Square, said the excitement around the possibility of a presidential run for Thompson has been building all summer.

"Now that it's official, it's really gotten crazy," Moore said. "How often do you have a hometown person running for president?"

Reports indicate that Thompson, who began testing the presidential waters eight months ago, lags behind Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney in both money and organization. He still consistently ranks among the top Republicans in national polls and state surveys, however.

The 65-year-old actor/politician was born at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield, lived on Colbert Heights Mountain for a few months, then moved to Lawrenceburg. He was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1994 and gave up his seat in 2002.

Jane Shaw, director of Main Street Lawrenceburg, said a homecoming celebration for Thompson is being planned for the downtown square Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. "There is no telling how many calls I've gotten today (about the celebration)," she said. "It's been hectic, but it's been wonderful for Lawrenceburg."

Mayor Keith Durham said Thompson's official announcement was the talk of the town Thursday.

"You couldn't go anywhere without someone talking about it," he said. "People are excited, and this goes way beyond parties - it's about Lawrenceburg and someone who lived here and grew up running for president.

"It's crazy now; I can't wait to see what it will be like at the homecoming. It's a wonderful time for our city."

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@timesdaily.com.