Emmett grew up in the small town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, part of a large Scotch‐Irish family. He had what his parents considered a wild adolescence; never one to worry about consequences, Emmett ran with a wild crowd that drank, gambled, and womanized. Emmett was always a help to his family, however. He was an excellent hunter and woodsman, and always kept the McCartys supplied with game.