Meeting Granny

This is a post that I made right after Suzanne's Granny Died last year. I first met Evelyn Gunter way back in June of 1974. My father had just purchased some land and we were going to build a Western Auto Store. He and I started clearing it off and we got thirsty. Across the street was Terry’s Grocery Store. Terry’s was like most small town grocery stores at that time. One half was a bar and the other half was like a convenience store. When I walked through the rusty screen doors which had “Bunny Bread” painted on them I stepped into a room full of history. There were the old chest type soft drink coolers. Inside of them one had their choice of about six different kinds of soft drink. I chose a Chocolate Soldier and got an R.C. for my father. I sat my soft drinks on the counter and this feisty woman walked to the counter. She asked me what we were going to do with the land across the street and I told her we were going to clear it off to build a store. She said, “You two will be there all year clearing off that mess.” “What you need is a bush hog.” I asked her what that was. She asked me was I from the city or something? I told her sort of. She said she “you need a bush hog”.

Not long after that miraculously a tractor with a bush hog pulled up to the bar. Evelyn walked outside and yelled across the street to my father. She said “You need a bush hog.” My father walked over to the young farmer who was wearing overalls and no shirt and asked him what he would charge him to bush hog the lot. The man said “What will you give me?” My father said “How much do you want?” The young man said “What will you give me?” This went back and forth for a while. Then my father said, “I’ll pay you five dollars.” ” The man said, I’ll do it for six.” Evelyn went back inside.

Through the years Evelyn was a good customer at the store. A little coarse around the edges but easy to like. I remember taking a wringer type washing machine to her house. The automatic type cost ten dollars more. She wanted what she wanted and she told me in no uncertain terms that she wanted a wringer washer and not one of those that tear up your clothes. She got her wringer washer.

A few years later she was in the store and my father told me after she left that Evelyn was my fiancée ( Now wife) Suzanne’s Grandmother. I soon began to call Evelyn Granny.

One Thanksgiving she was at our house cooking Thanksgiving dinner. She said to me “Go get me some fat meat, boy, and don’t tell me you don’t know what fat meat is.” Well, I didn’t but I didn’t tell her that either. I went to the butcher and told him that Evelyn had sent me for fat meat. He fixed me up a pound of fat meat which looked for all the world like fat back because it was.  It turns out I could have come back with any type of pork with a good bit of fat on it and she would have been fine with that.

Well, today she left for Heaven. I sure hope they have fat meat there.