Wilma Setzer has laughed and danced her way into the hearts of people too numerous to count. This former Southern Appalachian Clogger has fallen on some hard times, and those whose lives she’s touched are doing something to give back.
Setzer was born Dec. 17, 1938, in Robbinsville. She came to Haywood County when she was 24, married Wade Parris and had a daughter, Patty.
She worked a plethora of jobs — at Dayco, a nursing home and a Rose’s in Waynesville, to name a few. It was during this time that she danced for the Foggy Mountain Cloggers and the Southern Appalachian Cloggers for a number of years. She eventually started working at Dollar General in Waynesville and continued there for 16 years until she had to retire due to issues with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She …