I think I’ve found Chattanooga’s cheapest — er, most frugal — person.

Two weeks ago in this space I asked for nominations for the title, and boy did I hear about some skinflints. Before I reveal the winner, though, a few words about the finalists.

Gary Higbee e-mailed us about a man in another Tennessee city who was famous for unplugging the company wall clock at quitting time.

“Next morning, he would reset the time,” Mr. Higbee explained. “This was in 1966 when electricity in the Tennessee Valley was so inexpensive most people did not even consider it in their monthly budget.”

Teresa Kinzalow, of Soddy-Daisy, wrote a letter in support of her husband, Sonny. Ms. Kinzalow said he once promised her “front-row seats” to a NASCAR race in Atlanta, only to spring a surprise on her as race day approached.

“I waited for days for the tickets to arrive,” she said. “... Well, to my surprise the tickets WERE the best seats in the house — OUR HOUSE, that is.”

Another time, she said, Mr. Kinzalow used a coupon to purchase half-price dinners for their wedding anniversary, and he brought along drinks from home to save even more.

“He may be cheap, but to me the night was priceless,” Ms. Kinzalow said.

Jerry Payne wrote in to tell us about a first cousin who had no shame when it came to penny-pinching.

“I’ve stopped at many a funeral home with him to eat with families (we didn’t know),” Mr. Payne wrote.

Yikes.

The title of Chattanooga’s Cheapest Person goes to Henry Camp, 58, a history and economics teacher at Sequatchie County High School.

Mr. Camp’s wife, Gwen, said that her hubby wants to be known as “the most frugal man alive.”

Here is the evidence:

* Mr. Camp saves slivers of bar soap and dissolves them in water to make hand soap.

* He scrapes the gooey remnants from used ChapStick canisters and transfers them into the replacement tube.

“I put it right on there, just like an ice cream cone,” Mr. Camp explained in an interview.

* He squeezes toothpaste tubes until they are paper flat, and then he cuts off the ends and excavates the last molecules of toothpaste with his electric toothbrush.

* He refuses to buy most toiletries unless the manufacturer offers a 100 percent rebate.

“I don’t think I’ve paid for toothpaste or shampoo in years,” Mr. Camp said.

“My husband loves to get rebates ... even for things that he doesn’t necessarily need,” Ms. Camp reports.

* He orders kids meals at Cracker Barrel restaurants.

“It says right on the menu, ‘for kids of any age,’ ’’ Mr. Camp insists.

Fanfare and drum roll, please. We have a winner.

Like Ms. Kinzalow, Ms. Camp reports that her husband — despite his over-the-top frugality — is still her man.

“My husband is a wonderful man and a good provider,” she said. “He’s always willing to help his fellow man.”

We’ll be sending out a prize package to Mr. Camp that includes a big tube of toothpaste, two ChapSticks and a Times Free Press T-shirt.

Listen closely, and you might even hear Henry Camp whooping it up all the way over in Sequatchie County.

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