Grover Always Said: A Taste of the Good Life

For Mom, Aunt Flo, Aunt Glady, Aunt Darlene, Aunt Hon, Teenie; all the good cooks in Lock Haven’s Little Italy and Michaelville; all I.H.M. Sisters, all Maryknoll Sisters, all Glenmary Sisters, in all times, in all places.

My Aunt Hon, Mary Elizabeth Blazina Laux, died April 8, 2009 as this book was being written. Aunt Hon always encouraged me in my adventures, especially my writing. She was a big promoter of my first book According to Grover, as well as Grover Always Said. I’ll always remember Aunt Hon with love and thanks, especially when I see a birthday cake or Hershey’s Teaberry Ice Cream or Lebanon bologna.

Contents

Special thanks to:

Foreword

Preface

Prologue

9-16-2007

Afterword

Epilogue

ORDER OF THE DAY

Special thanks to:

My Mom and Dad; Brenner and Shane; Mom and Pop Pop Hull; Bibiss and Pal Marasco; Grover Cleveland Walborn, Alyssa Ann Walborn, and Woodrow Wilson Walborn; Gram Lucas and Pap Osk; Mama ‘Lina and Pap’Ange Montbianco; St. Ann’s Basilica, Scranton, PA; Norman Rake; Father John J. Elwood, M.M., the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers; Greek Orthodox Seminaries, Seminarians, Priests and Bishops everywhere; Lois and Bill Lyle; Buster Keaton Hull, M.D.; Robert Reese, D.V.M.; Robert Reese, V.M.D.; Wendy and the Lock Haven Express; the Lycoming County SPCA; Avis Elementary School; the PA Farm Show; Vera and John Eckert, Sr.; Clint Eastwood; Kenny, Rose, Jeff, Uncle Harry and Aunt Pearl, Glady June, Aunt Erma, Aunt Lizzie; Woolrich, Inc.,Woolrich, PA; St. Benedict; Lynne and JoAnn, Reverend Charles Ferris, First United Methodist Church, Ft. Collins, CO; St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City; Holy Cross Orthodox Church, Williamsport. PA; St. Gregory’s Abbey, Three Rivers, MI; St. James’ Episcopal Church, Muncy, PA; St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Dallas, PA; Sally and the Hackenberg Store, Rote, PA; Pamela, Fay, Dan, Kristin, Jace and Norman’s Watson Inn, Watsontown, PA; Grandma Marie Antoinette Walborn, Grandpa John Tyler Walborn; Butterkrust Baking Co., Sunbury, PA; Karyn, Dave, Chic, Patti and WQBR FM 99.9/Good News, McElhattan, PA; Kelly, Blue and Ralph; Rod and Melanie Fowler; Olive and Jedidiah McEachern; Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins, CO; Del Grosso Foods, Inc., Tipton, PA; Donna Yannarella Berry; Mary Ann, Rich, Dave, Sharon and Richie Lyle; Old Spice Colognes & Shaving Lotions; James Madison Big Jim Walborn, John Adams Dick Walborn, Andrew Johnson Buck Walborn, Benjamin Harrison Walborn, A. Lincoln Link Walborn; Bobbi Orrico and Gunnery Sergeant John Orrico, U.S.M.C.(ret); the Country Store, Pennsdale, PA; Mother M. Lucetta, I.H.M.; SGM Booker T. Hambrook, U.S. Army; Carlo Rossi Vineyards, Modesto, CA; the Michaelville United Methodist Church; St. Agnes’ Roman Catholic Church, Lock Haven, PA; Mrs. Dorothy Bonner; Rev. Reginald Sones; Kathleen, Tom, Kieran, Keith, Tammy, Ryan, Kyle; Bill Saylor, Jack Eckert, Joe Sohmer; W.B. Griggs Coffee Store, Montoursville, PA; Sister Mary Ernest, I.H.M.; Terry, Debbie, the other Debbie, Lynn, Jeff and the Village Café, Woolrich, PA; Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Eugenio Pacelli, Angelo Roncalli, Giovanni Montini, Albino Luciani, Karol Wojtyla; Richard G. Stuempfle, D.P.M.; Al Jackson; Coors Brewery, Golden, CO; Buck Beiler, Earl Steel, Fred Gage, Jack Lyle, June Tanner, Jesse and Walter Tellings; Margaret Marasco Mangan; Nancy Mangan Craig; Uncle Stan Fox; Shep, Ebs, Queenie, Bruno, Joe, Rin Tin Tin and Sophie; Rev. Joyce Gensib; Luther John Cline, Wesley Anthony Cline, Calvin Aloysius Cline; Bucky Calabro; Clancy McGillicuddy and the Infamous Irish Gang; the Clinton County SPCA, Dunnstown, PA; St. Agnes School, Immaculate Conception Elementary School, Immaculate Conception High School, Eagle Hotel, First Baptist Church, First National Bank, Beth Yehouda Synagogue, First Church of Christ, Great Island Presbyterian Church, Lock Haven Hospital, Lock Haven, PA; Davey Kirk, Mrs. Abigail Kirk, Robert E. Lee Kirk, Ph.D., Ed.D.; the College of Agriculture, Whitney State University; Harley-Davidson owners everywhere; CPT William Blythe, MSG Brian Mulroney, PFC Billy Ray Jones, PFC Joshua Blivens, U.S.Army; Joe and Jane Mayes, Paul Sonneman; PennDOT; Linda, Terry, Pat Reed, Amy, Janet and all the Crew at Terry’s Diner, Moosic, PA; Jody, Jeff, Dustin, Evan and All the Crew at Me & McGee Restaurant, Higganum, CT; Big Mac and J.C. Penney; Criss, Melissa and the Jean Bonnet Tavern, Bedford, PA; Rev. J.S. Harbaugh; Mrs. Ethel Gage, Sue and Don Gage; Vera and Cliff Vonada, Bonnie and Bill Vonada; Donna Yannarella Berry; Carol and Stan McGarvey and the Charco Broiler, Fort Collins, CO; John Arnolfo, Carrie, Heather and the Silver Grill, Fort Collins, CO; Graves Dairy, Morning Fresh Dairy Farm, Bellevue, CO; Danny Cash’s Hot Sauces, Englewood, CO; Hershey’s Ice Cream, Harrisburg, PA; John Deere, Deere & Co., Moline, IL; Lock Haven University; Nathanson Creek Wines, Nathanson Creek, CA; Pat, Mike and Reagan, Vannucci Foto, Williamsport, PA; Rev. Valerie DeLooze.

Foreword

Grover Always Said is a lighthearted story that will delight the reader with a delicious, colorful and sometime comical account of growing up in small town America during the 40’s and 50’s

Bob Hull brings a fresh approach to his childhood and young adult memories. As a story teller, Bob has an uncanny ability to bring out the color of places and characters. In a manner of speaking, Bob’s book is a Norman Rockwell look at Michaelville, Lock Haven’s Little Italy, Watsontown, Buffalo Run Valley and the beautiful people who worked so hard to give us the memories and lives we have.

Bob and I became friends the summer before first grade. I can remember my first day of school, dressed in my little sailor suit, waiting shyly for a familiar face, and there he came to my rescue, Bob Hull. It is mostly because of Bob’s writings that I think back to such memories for I’m sure I will lose them someday to Mad Cow or something else.

Finally, Bob’s story telling prowess reminds me of a modern Mark Twain. His stories are filled with wit, sensitivity, sadness, hope and joy. Days, people, and tales to remember forever is a recipe for a good life.

Congratulations, Bob, on another great book. I am very proud to be called your friend.

JACK ECKERT

ELMIRA, NEW YORK

October, 2009

Preface

Bob, Grover and I crossed trails out west forty-nine years ago in such an anomalous happenstance that it deserves recapitulation here and now.

They had deserted the environs of Michaelville for a quest to the West, seeking new fame and fortune. Fishing with large nets in the Pacific off the coast of La Jolla. in southern California, they were astounded to find two perfectly white porpoises with twin red lightning strikes, like tattoos, on their chests.

Seeking advice on their discovery, they were directed to Scripps Oceanographic Institute where they consulted a famed ichthyologist who researched the creatures and declared them to be the legendary Immortal Porpoises, who had been living in the oceans of the world unseen by man for centuries. The legend told that possessors of the porpoises were guaranteed a long life and a fabulous fortune.

Bob and Grover worked with colleagues at Lyle’s Dairy Farms to convert an eighteen wheeled milk mover into a traveling aquarium for the immortal porpoises. They crisscrossed the country displaying their amazing find, and by charging hefty admission prices to view the beauties, they soon amassed a fortune.

The immortal porpoises preferred seagulls as a dietary staple. The boys would go to aviaries at the zoos in large cities they visited and offer to haul away any dead seagulls, an offer that was cheerfully accepted.

The trouble came in Tucson.

I was working uniform patrol on daywatch, assigned to a beat that surrounded our zoo.

The state animal in Arizona is the mountain lion, and the official cat is kept in our cages.

That day the lion had escaped and I had been dispatched to the area to maintain order and protect the public.

The zookeepers had just stunned the prowling lion with an anesthetic dart and he was peacefully sleeping as I arrived. The second thing I saw was Bob and Grover carrying bags of dead seagulls as they stepped over the fallen lion.

I had no choice. The violation was clear and I was only one of many witnesses to their criminal act.

As sworn to do, I placed them under arrest. The charge (get ready for it….)

TRANSPORTING GULLS ACROSS A STATE LION FOR IMMORTAL PORPOISES!

Bob Hull has once again penned a propitious memoir. The fact that he is a knowledgeable analyst with a gift for maintaining focus allows him to people his stories with folk we all know and love. Some are familiar from his earlier work, some unknowns are made known to us in his tales sprinkled with mirth and gravitas

In this book, Bob stands as a proponent of a Jesuitical plan called RAKE. When you comprehend his scheme you will understand that the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. Bob is a master craftsman of the extra.

ROD FOWLER, Ed.D., Ph.D.

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE

October, 2009

Prologue

Reading Bob Hull’s book Grover Always Said reminds me that I had a good life as a boy growing up in Michaelville, PA. The boys from Michaelville played a lot of baseball and football on the school ground which adjoined our farm. Those boys included Earl Steele, Fred Gage, Don and Bill Drexel, Buck Beiler, Bob Hull, Ronnie Cash and me.

Many Sundays we would play bag tag in someone’s barn. I remember the Sunday I rode my bike to the Hugh Mayes Farm where Ray Cash lived. As I was riding, Aust Earley’s Collie ran out onto the road and knocked me off my bike.

Many evenings my dad and I would walk over to A. J. Tull & Son General Store & U. S. Post Office. We would sit on a long bench, either inside or ouside the store, depending on the weather. Often, Grover Cleveland Walborn would join us. Sooner or later Grover would pull a mountain lion claw - that’s what Grover said it was - out of one of his pockets. Grover always had teeth and claws which he said were from the mountain lions he caught. All of us kids were too young to know that Grover might not always tell the truth.

Work on the farms wasn’t easy. We all neighbored a lot, helping each other with chores. That way, we were assured of lots of help

After hay balers came along, I remember putting up hay at what is now Belles Springs Restaurant and the Clinton County Fairgrounds. Lynn Hull lived there at the time. We mowed the hay in tiers. I’m certain some of those bales weighed more than Bob, Rich, Dave or me.

One threshing season at the Hull Farm, I upset a load of wheat sheaves twice before I got the load to the barn. Lynn Hull and Dad were not happy at all. At noon, we stopped for lunch, called dinner in those days. Dinner was the best part of the day. Ann Hull is a good cook and I ate some delicious meals at her house. Thanks, Ann.

Some winters there was a pond in our front lot. When it froze we would ice skate and play hockey with a tin can for a puck and pieces of tree limbs for hockey sticks. If we had snow we would sled ride on George Earley’s hill which was behind the present Post Office. A community bob-sled was kept in a barn behind the old store. Many winter evenings there would be a dozen or more kids waiting for rides on that old bob-sled.

Grover Always Said highlights growing up in the small town of Michaelville, PA, in beautiful Whitney Valley.

We always seemed to be able to make our own entertainment.

BILL VONADA

MACKEYVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

October, 2009

9-16-2007

Dear Brenner and Shane,

I need your help to get an idea off the ground.

When the terrible events of 9-11-2001 happened, like a lot of Americans, I was angry. How could these so-called believers in God kill and maim so many innocent people and cause so much destruction? I spent most of 9-12-2001 trying to get back on active duty with the U.S. Army. Of course, with my age and health problems, I was turned down. I remember going to St. Ann’s Basilica in Scranton, PA. I was too angry and too disappointed to pray so I just sat there in that big, cool, beautiful, old church. I don’t know how long I sat there. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. In a flash I realized my anger at the hijackers and others like them and my disappointment in the Army’s refusal to take me back on active duty weren’t doing any good for anyone, including me. I decided to do something nice for someone, anyone, nothing spectacular, just some thing nice. Not just one time, I’d do something nice for someone every day. I’ve done just that every day since; and, where possible, I’ve asked that person to pass it on. I don’t plan what I’m going to do in advance. Some days have more opportunities than others. In a long line of traffic, I’ll let someone pull in front of me. In a restaurant, I’ll buy a meal for a complete stranger. I make arrangements with the person’s waitress, pay for the meal and leave the restaurant before the person does, leaving instructions for them to pass it on. They know only that someone bought their meal. They never know I was that someone. Sometimes, I see things you guys might like, so I buy them. Someone coined the phrase Random Act of Kindness. That’s what I mean, random or unplanned. But I’d like to add Everyday. Random Act of Kindness Everyday which gives us the acronym RAKE.

On February 10, 1964, just before your Mother’s fourth birthday, I went to work for the Prudential as an insurance agent. One of the people I worked with was a