2010 Griner Reunion - Click Here For Pictures
October 9,2010 - 12:00 noon -
Griner Homestead - Covered Dish
Arron
Beal Griner
I,
Aaron Beal Griner, am the last of 10 children born to J. J. and Leah
Griner. With a span of 20 years between Alonzo and myself, I did not
experience many of the hardships of the first siblings. Our dad was a
survivor. Born November 4, 1898, only 25 years after the civil war, he
knew hardships we cannot imagine. During that time, the Yankees
destroyed everything the south could use. Most of dad's descendents
know his life story- His father took him at age 16 to Falco, Alabama,
to work in the timber industry. Later his father returned to Georgia to
get the rest of his family. All the family came back with his father
except his older sister, who was then married and chose to stay. lt was
a story of survival for our grandpa moving from place to place until,
on his death bed, our uncle Colonel Griner asked the family to stop
moving, buy the property next to our house, and settle down. Grandpa
had a life savings of about 16 dollars.
Our dad planted corn and
made syrup; corn for the cows, mules, hogs and our corn bread. Peanuts
were also planted, and we hoed them twice to get the grass out; the
grass would grow faster than we could hoe. "I can see the fields now!"
lt wastime to start over before we even finished the first time. In the
fall Daddy turned in the hogs; they ate the peanuts, we ate the hogs. I
am sure our mother has a special place in heaven. She worked with us in
the field until time to cook dinner on a wood-burning stove. Try
cooking over a wood-burning stove sometime. After we ate, the men took
a nap on the porch while our mother and sisters washed the dishes, and
then back to the field until time for supper. We grew some cotton and
picked up tung nuts around the place. They were sold in Florala,
probably for less than the cost of the gas to take them. lt was a cycle
of working jobs to make money to buy fertilizer and seed for the next
spring. We also chipped pine trees for turpentine. Each pine tree had
to be hoed in the fall to remove grass about six feet from around the
tree. This was done to prevent wood fires from burning the trees since
the turpentine face was covered with turpentine that would catch fire.
If you have ever hoed in a field, you can imagine how hard it was to
remove the grass from around the tree, and there were
thousands
of trees to hoe!
I will tell you my life story now; everybody
has one. At age 17 ,I found a girl in DeFuniak Springs that was to be
my only love and soul mate, Sylvia Marsee. During my senior year in
high school, I interviewed with the FBI for training as an agent in
Washington D.C. I am sorry to say I did not accept this position. I
tried to join the Navy, but they would only put me on a waiting list.
Esmond hired me to work at the Post Exchange at Eglin where I pumped
gas. I remember the salary was 59 cents per hour or $5.52 per day,
before tax. I had to get to Mossy Head where I rode in a dog box with
other riders. The truck was owned by Walker Adams. One day, I remember,
I was approximately 25 yards from the designated pick up point when he
looked at me and just drove away. I had to hitchhike from Eglin to
Mossy Head then walk home. I had been driving Eugene's old '41
Chevrolet at the time, but it died with a knocking rod. Fortunately,
J.B. came home from the Navy on leave. He said, "You have to get out of
here. Where do you want to go?" So with a Greyhound bus ticket, $50 in
my pocket, and all the courage of youth, I went to Detroit to see my
true love, Sylvia. Much to the dismay of her father, I arrived on a
Sunday morning. He directed me to a boarding house where I was able to
get breakfast and a sack lunch for dinner. On Monday morning at
breakfast I asked, "Who is hiring?" I was told Ford Motor Company was.
I traveled by street cars and bus, and was able to get a job. Less than
three months later, I was laid off. After that I worked for a short
time with Process Development as a mail boy. I was then almost drafted
for the Korean War, but joined the National Guard instead. I was hired
as a technician for the Guard and worked with them for 37 years. Sylvia
and I were married in June 1955. After we had two daughters, Brenda and
Treasa, I came to my senses in January 1962, left Michigan, and moved
to LakeWales. Soon after we moved to Lake Wales, we had two sons,
Kenneth and David. I retired from Civil Service with the Florida
National Guard in 1990, was mobilized to serve in Desert Storm, and
finally officially retired in 1992.
After retirement, I have become more active in my commercial beekeeping
business, gardening, and blueberry farming.
Every
old person has a story. lf you don't believe it, the next time you are
sitting on a bench in Wal-Mart turn to the person sitting beside you
and say, "What did you do in the real world?" There are many stories of
picking cotton on the Covington homestead, and of Alonzo living with
grandpa Williams to help him farm and attend Paxton School that offered
the 8th grade. Alonzo took it twice, because it was the highest grade
offered. There are also other stories of going to see grandma and
grandpa Williams at "Big Swamp", and her making a cobbler in a large
pot because there were so many people.
Life is a journey we
begin at birth. There are many experiences along the way. Dad said when
he was over 100 years of age, "just yesterday t was a little boy."
Esmond said recently that he knows things no one else does. Make time
to speak with Es, Selma, Iva, Gene, Cleo, and myself during the
reunion!! There are so many memories.
I am proud to have been
born in Pond Creek; and I am proud of my brothers and sisters. We were
born during hard times, but it built a fire under us. We all made it;
never rich, but rich in memories.
This has been a long bulletin,
but I trust you find it entertaining. Be sure and come to the reunion.
My brothers, sisters, and I are getting older. As lva said, "Come visit
me before it is too late!!"
See you there!!!!
AARON "BEAL" GRINER
Keeping you in touch with the past...
