Barbecue restaurateur, conservative political enthusiast Col. Oscar Poole passes at 90

Col. Oscar Poole, a longtime Gilmer County resident whose East Ellijay barbecue restaurant became known far and wide for both its home cooking and conservative political functions, passed away Sunday, May 31, 2020. He was 90 years old.

“Sometimes in life you’re lucky enough to meet someone who is truly larger than life. Oscar Poole was one of those people,” commented Gilmer Chamber President Paige Green. “He was a genuine, hardworking, Godly man and his passing will leave a hole in our community.”

Place for pork and politics

Oscar and his wife, Edna, started their family business, Poole’s BBQ, in 1989 as a small, roadside shack just off Highway 515. 

After expanding to its current location on Craig Street, the restaurant became a local roadside attraction thanks to the ever-growing Pig Hill of Fame -— a literal hillside populated by thousands of brightly-painted plywood pigs bearing the names of restaurant customers.

East Ellijay Mayor Mack West, who said he and Poole were friends for many years, described the pig hill’s origin.

“The shack which Oscar first erected was not up to any city code in existence. When he erected his new (restaurant) several years later, all city codes were followed except for the sign ordinance. As wooden pigs started to appear on the hillside behind his lot, the city inspector at the time informed city officials of the violation,” West said. “When I contacted Oscar about this possible violation, he looked me right in the eye and replied, ‘I don’t see any signs. I only see pigs.’ The city council had a long session and we allowed him to keep the signs.”

Local political pundit Joe McCutchen described his friend, Poole, as “a marketing genius” and “a fun, uplifting person.”

“They started that barbecue (restaurant) from almost nothing and built it into a huge thing,” said McCutchen. “Oscar projected love and kindness and he was also very deep. He would try to figure people out in a good way, to where he could connect with them. He always encouraged people and built them up.”

Poole was a man of many talents, just one of which was restaurateur, remembered another longtime friend, George Winn. An actual Kentucky Colonel, he was also an able pianist and the author of several books with such titles as How To Make Things Happen and God in the Market Place.

“He was a husband, father and grandfather. He was a humorist who liked to joke and tell stories. He was an entrepreneur and a PhD Methodist minister. He was easy to talk to and just a fun guy. We were loyal and trusting friends and I’ll really miss him,” said Winn. 

When the two first met, Poole had just opened his barbecue shack and Winn was division manager for the Gold Kist poultry plant (now Pilgrims).

“He was a customer of ours. He bought chicken for the restaurant. A lot of times, he would come to the plant to get it himself and we would talk,” Winn said. “We became friends visiting and eating. I was a customer of his, too.” 

Poole’s BBQ is also known for the numerous visits and campaign stops made there by conservative politicians. 

McCutchen, who’s brought several campaign rallies and guest speakers to the restaurant over the years, recalled how supporting one of Pat Buchanan’s presidential bids led to Poole getting national press.

“We were delegates to the Buchanan convention. I looked in the paper the next day and Oscar was on the front page of the San Diego paper and the Los Angeles Times. Then we went over to the convention center and he was on CNN,” McCutchen said. “The Associated Press saw the pigs on the hill and did a story. There was a picture of Buchanan and Oscar in every paper in the country and that launched him. It’s amazing to me the press that came up here.” 

The bright yellow suit and red, white and blue top hat often worn by Poole sparked many conversations, McCutchen noted. 

“His yellow suit attracted him to more people. I’d be sitting with him at the (restaurant) and people would come up and want to have a picture taken with him. He’d always say yes and encourage them,” he added. “If somebody wanted to interview him, he would do it at the drop of a hat -— CNN, Fox, C-Span, WSB. He took it all in stride and never got the big head. When I’d travel, people would ask me if I knew Oscar Poole. I’d say, ‘Yes! He’s one of my best friends.’” 

West remembered, during a trip to the U.K. several years ago, meeting a man there who’d visited Poole’s BBQ and had the T-shirt to prove it.

“We’d just got off an airplane and were sitting in Victoria Station in London eating,” West said. “This guy comes strolling by sporting one of Oscar’s T-shirts. My wife says, ‘look at that shirt!’ So we called him over and he says, ‘Oh yes, fine fella, good wit. Boy that’s a unique place.’ He’d been traveling through the U.S. and had been there. It’s a small world.” 

‘Set your goals and to go for it’

Darvin Poole, who bought the barbecue restaurant he now operates from his parents 12 years ago, said Oscar and Edna’s 70th wedding anniversary would’ve been June 2. 

He was asked what he learned from his father growing up.

“He taught us a lot of basic things — to love and forgive, and having a good work ethic,” Darvin said. “Dad was a hardworking person. When he got out and got set on doing a job, he got after it. He taught us punctuality, keeping your word and just the basic moral things and a lot of good family values.”

Darvin began working one weekend a month at the restaurant in 1998, while still teaching and coaching at a high school in Alabama. He was asked what drew him to East Ellijay to learn the barbecue business from his parents.

“Number one, I thought of the positives – I get to see Mom and Dad,” he said. “Number two, make a little money and eat some barbecue. Those were just bonus things, because the main thing for me was to get to spend more time around Mom and Dad.”

One of four sons, Darvin was asked about the legacy of his father and what kind of message he leaves.

“Probably the number one thing was to set your goals and to go for it. Don’t let anybody get in your way,” he said. “Be positive, and whatever your goal is, you head toward it and get to work and see it through.”

(Story by Michael Andrews and Mark Millican)