Don Remembers
Mama’s family lived in Florida, and we didn’t get to see them very often. When we did go, it was quite a trip. We left early in the morning and traveled all day. We passed the time away by counting the mules and horses and cows along the way. If we encountered a gray horse or mule, we could double the number that we had counted. Richard and I counted one side of the road and Edwin and Sister counted the opposite side of the road. We looked forward to the trip simply for that game alone.
Granddaddy lived in Sanford, Florida, and he was quite innovative for his day. He heated his house with solar energy before it was even an idea in the mind of others. He grew a variety of produce on his farm: celery, melons, and papayas as well as other vegetables. Mama would receive big barrels from Granddaddy with papayas and watermelons carefully packed in excelsior to prevent their being bruised or broken. Mama loved them, and he frequently surprised her with them. He also had turkey houses, where weasels often would invade the premises and kill his turkeys; he had to remain diligent. He also had to deal with rattlesnakes, particularly in the terra cotta irrigation pipes where the turn-off valves were located. At night, they slithered into the pipes, and I remember that he used to tell us about popping their heads off.
One of his major projects was the breeding and growing of gladiolas. He had acres and acres of them. A particularly beautiful one that stands out in my mind was big and white with a red throat. The flowers were packaged and shipped all over the country.
Granddaddy was married to his second wife. We called her Aunt Emily, because that was the name by which we knew her. His first wife died young, and we never knew her. Aunt Emily was her sister, and the two of them were married after she died. We just always thought of her as our grandmother.
When we were in Florida, Granddaddy would always take us fishing in the St. Johns River, and we never went without catching lots of fish. It was always one of the highlights of our trip. He always took us to see Uncle Bob Garrison who was Mama’s brother. He farmed hundreds of acres in the Sarasota area, and was so busy he seldom took a lot of time with us, but we liked going to see him. Uncle Bob offered me a job one time, but we were already building a house and involved in our own farm work, so I refused. Aunt Betty, one of Mama’s sisters lived in Bradenton and was married to Uncle Ed L. They were always fun to visit. (Aunt Betty used to make persimmon pie that was so good.) They lived on the Manatee River and had a dock that projected out into the river. Manatees would frequently swim within view of the house. She always warned the children to stay away from the shores of the river because alligators attacked anything within their reach. We believed her!
Granddaddy became very ill, and Mama went to Florida to see him. He died seven days to the hour before Daddy did. Mama lost both of them within a week.
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