Memories from Mac Robison

BIRTH to age 12
I was born in Paris, Tennessee on Easter Sunday, March 27, 1932 in the center second
floor bedroom of Cavitt Place, the majestic Mediterranean style home of Col. O.C.
Barton, my maternal great grandfather. The house is now the home of the Paris- Henry
County History Center. In attendance at my birth were my great uncle, Dr. George
McSwain, and my grandfather, Dr. John Horace McSwain (4/22/74-6/4/65). I was
originally named Daniel McSwain Robison but my name was changed after the birth of
my first brother on February 19, 1934. Mother and Dad decided to name George after
Dad, George Daniel Robison,III and my name was changed to Horace McSwain Robison
after Dr. Horace as he was known by all of the family and the community. My
grandmother, Annie Hardy Barton (the daughter of O.C. Barton and his first wife Tommie
Crutchfield) was known by most people as Miss Anne but was named Tish by me with
some help from Dr. Horace. We lived for a short time in Cavitt Place then moved to an
apartment at the corner of E. Wood Street and Dunlap. While there I remember one very
exciting thing. Dr. Barton, mothers brother, came and picked us up in a one horse open
sleigh. Obviously, there was a good bit of snow on the streets of Paris.
When I was about 3 or four, we moved to 702 North Poplar Street, next door to
Cavitt Place. It was quite a wonderful life that we enjoyed in those early years. Tish and
Dr. Horace had several house employees (colored people). They had a cook, a maid, a
chauffeur, and several yard men that worked in the yard and farm. They originally had 50
acres or so and a fine barn. Auntie (Margaret McSwain) and Dr. Barton both had
horses. The garage held three cars and the center bay had a grease pit, where one (usually
the chauffeur) could work under the car, grease it, change oil, etc. The house itself (Cavitt
Place) had some unusual features such as a ham room in the basement, where smoked
country hams were hung. The wall covering in the dining room and the ceiling in the
breakfast room were imported hand painted canvas from Italy. The majestic entrance hall
was marble and led to a marble staircase. The back pasture had CAVITT PLACE spelled
out in alfalfa. The house had a room that became a playroom for us at the top of the back
stairs above the kitchen and next to a maids room. The state bought a right of way for a
new highway through the property and the land across the new road was eventually sold.
But before the land was sold, Cows were taken across the road to the pasture in the
morning and back at night. Big Jim was the man that I remember doing this chore. I
would meet him at the gate when they were coming back to the barn and he would give
me a ride on a cows back.
Dad was a teacher and coach at E. W. Grove High School and coached their first
undefeated season in 1930. He also introduced mens basketball to Grove. Later he was
employed by Silver Burdett Co. to sell textbooks. He was promoted to Vice President and
Northeastern Sales Manager then Southeastern Sales Manager. He traveled a lot in those
days and when I was not in school he would occasionally take me with him to call on
school teachers and superintendents.

George and I attended private kindergartens prior to starting elementary school. One was
conducted by Elizabeth Porter and was at the Porter house on Chickasaw Road. This was
the home of a former governor of Tennessee and the founder of The Commercial Bank
and Trust Co. Another was conducted by Lona Merle McSwain Timmons, later Minor
after she remarried. She was the mother of Tommy Timmons (Minor), a year younger
than me and a second cousin. This was at her house on Grove Blvd. very close to E.W.
Grove High School.
We had dog kennels where Dad and Dr.Barton raised bird dogs next to the barn. The bird
dogs were a big part of their lives at that time and they not only trained and hunted with
them but entered them in field trials. George and I had a couple of pet goats that pulled a
small wagon around the circular driveway. Sometimes, we hitched the goat to a pedal car
as well.
There was a small garden behind Cavitt Place that was removed to build a tennis court.
While constructing the court, many arrow heads were found. The base was dug very deep
and then a layer of rocks, then smaller rocks, sand, and on top was the finished surface of
a tan colored clay/sand mixture. It drained very well because of the subsurface. The lines
were marked with a liquid lime mix. There were long nails at each corner and we
fastened a string to the nails to keep us in a straight line while marking the court. It was
our task after we played, to spray, brush and roll the court, then mark fresh lines. It was
usually Jimmy and Bobby Higgs, Mitch Warren, and I that played then readied the court
for the adult players on Wednesday afternoons. The men would show up with anywhere
from four to eight or so players. They would alternate playing and the others would visit
on the side under a tree. I had a booming Coca-Cola business on those days. I bought a
case of cokes for $.96 and $.05 worth of ice, then I sold them for a nickel apiece, making
the big sum of nineteen cents on the case. Some of the men that played were Dr. Wilder,
Dickie Dunlap (the best players), Mitch Warren, Mr. Little, Uncle Marvin (one of the
pharmacist owners of McSwain Brothers Pharmacy and Dr. Horaces brother), Dr. Barton
(when in town), and of course Dr. Horace and Dad when he was available. Dickie Dunlap
gave me a few tennis lessons.
Every night when we went to bed we would call across to Dr. Horace and Tish and say,
Good night, sleep tight, dont let the bedbugs bite.
While Boss was alive, he portrayed the old Southern gentlemen with his beard, cane,
and always a coat and tie. He resided in anapartment at the southern end of Cavitt Place
that had two bedrooms and a bath. He had a barber come to the house to shave him and
cut his hair. I dont remember much about conversations with him. I think I was probably
afraid of him. Boss had several business interests. He owned some apartments, and was
a partner in a lumber company, but his most profitable investment was in Grove
Laboratories. This was a drug company that started in Paris with several patent
medicines. The first big seller was Groves Chill Tonic, a quinine product that was not
supposed to have the bad taste of quinine but still treated malaria. Because of his

investment in the company he was made a director. The company moved to St. Louis
later.
When Boss died, he lay in state in a glass covered coffin at Cavitt Place and was the
first dead person George and I had seen. We both told him goodbye and watched from
our bedroom as the hearse carried the casket away.
Boss donated money to a variety of institutions including The First Baptist Church in
Paris, Union University in Jackson, TN (Barton Hall), and E. W. Grove High School
(Cavitt Hall). Cavitt Hall was on the hill across from the high school and initially was
used to house students. Later it was used for Home Economics classes and other uses. In
about 1937 Cavitt Hall caught on fire. We went to see it because of the family connection
and saw a most amazing sight. It was very cold and the water was freezing on areas
where it had been sprayed that were not near the fire. Also, ice was forming around the
hose nozzle and down to the ground. The building was saved and rebuilt then removed in
2004.
One night, while we were living at 702 N. Poplar, Dr Horace heard a noise in our yard
and saw a man trying to break into the house. He fired a shotgun out his bedroom
window to frighten the would be intruder away. He said the man was running like a deer
as far as he could see him.
Dr. Horace, Tish, and Auntie moved from Cavitt Place to the house where we had been
living and we bought a house down the street at 716 N. Poplar Street. The property
connected to the original Cavitt Place property via a strip of land behind the houses on
Poplar street and the new highway. The barn was torn down at Cavitt Place and a black
man, J. T. Porter built a large playhouse for George and me in the back yard with some
of the lumber. He used the rest to build two houses for himself. (one to live in and one to
rent) J. T. could do almost anything and was unusually strong. He could lift the back of a
car off the ground. He taught us how to fish, too. This play house was later used as a
meeting site for our cub den. Attached to the playhouse was a
Dog kennel where Dad continued to raise birddogs and later a one stall barn was added
for my horse, a pinto pony. The horse was given to me in return for my continuing piano
lessons for another year. I took piano lessons from Cousin Dolly Crutchfield, Tishs
first cousin as I recall. I tried piano for several years because of these bribes then later I
learned that I was tone deaf and that contributed to my difficulty in learning to be a
pianist. The horse was somewhat (quite) high-strung and would panic at loud noises and
would take off running with me hanging on as best I could, sometimes he would run a
mile or so before I could calm him down. I would ride with Tommy Timmons (Minor,
after his mother remarried). Tommy had a wonderful well behaved Shetland pony.
Tommy was my third cousin. The grandson of Uncle Tom, a pharmacist and a brother of
Dr. Horace.
The Higgs family moved to Poplar Street and we became close friends. Bobby was my
age, Jimmy a year older, and then Tommy was about 8 years younger. Other good friends
were Mitch Warren who lived up the street. Sarah Ann Nealon, who lived next to Cavitt

Place, Billy Chenoweth, and Lewis Allen, who lived on the other side of town. During
the summer we had some fabulous games of kick the can, capture the flag, and hare and
hound.
I started school at the Robert E. Lee Elementary school. It had grades 1-6. On most days
we walked to school but on inclement weather days Mother would drive us. My first
grade teacher was Mrs. Valentine, second grade teacher was Miss Stella Dunn a neighbor
of ours. The school was a two story white brick building with a feature of two circular
slide metal fire escapes. As you can well imagine, a fire drill was a treat by sliding down
one of the slides. Another reward was taking the blackboard erasers out to the street and
beating them on the curb. My first girlfriend was Mary Ellen Sykes. She had curls like
Shirley Temple and wore very short skirts. One day, Jimmy McGehee and I got in a fight
over who was going to carry Mary Ellens books. Dad had spent some time earlier
teaching me what he called the one, two punch where I would, when in a fight, hit my
opponent with my left hand in the stomach then with my right to his face, In this case, I
caught Jimmy in the eye with my right fist. The next morning, he came to school with a
black eye that he claimed was caused by falling down his steps. When we were in the
fifth grade, no one in the class had done a homework assignment that Mrs. Looney
thought she had assigned. Jimmy agreed that she had but he had left his at home.(what
a lie!). Because of this everyone except Jimmy got paddled with a ruler.
George and I also had other pets such as rabbits, turtles, chickens, ducks, dogs, and
alligators. Tish owned a cute house in Melbourne Beach where we would visit in the
Springtime. It was about a block from the ocean and the casino where there was a nice
pool with a diving tower. It was always a challenge to climb the tower and jump into the
pool. We got two alligators while in Florida one spring. We brought them home and kept
them in a porcelain bucket in the kitchen. They grew rapidly and became aggressive,
trying to bite if we put a hand close to them. One died and we turned the other one loose
in the creek behind the house. Years later while we lived in N.J., someone killed an
alligator within a short distance of our house in the same creek. It had grown to a size of
4 + feet according to the article in the paper.
One of the chickens (they were dyed Easter chicks) lived and grew to be an adult rooster.
He would come greet me as I came home from school.
When I was nine and in the third grade, I got called out of the class and was told that
George and I had a new brother, Barton. It was amazing that George and I did not know
that Mother was pregnant!
One winter after a heavier than usual snow I was sledding down the hill in the back yard.
George insisted on riding on top of me. Near the bottom of the hill the sled hit a stump
and my right arm got caught in the sled and was fractured. Dr. Horace took me to The
McSwain Clinic where he x-rayed the arm, set it, and made a cast for it. It healed well but
I was unable to write for several weeks.
Dads father was George Daniel Robison, a Presbyterian minister. I first remember him
when he was a preacher in Sparta, Tennessee. His wife was Sidney Fancher and had been

from that area. The Fanchers had several farms around Sparta and a pretty waterfall that
was named Fancher Falls. We called them Granny and Daddy Robison. He was
transferred to a church in Cowan and he alternated Sundays in Cowan and Winchester.
The church in Cowan had a steeple with a big bell in it. When time for church arrived I
was able to pull the rope and ring the bell. They lived on a small farm in town and had a
cow which I learned to milk. Granny Robison churned her own butter and was an
excellent cook. She would take us to pick blackberries and then bake a
cobbler.yummy. They also kept chickens and we would go pick up the eggs every
morning. Later they moved up on the mountain in Sewanee. They kept the chickens but
did not have enough land for the cow.
During the Second World War, a Barrage Balloon Base was built near Paris. This base
and the war changed out life style considerably. Many of the army families lived in town.
We had some army couples rent a room in our house. The Colonel in charge of the
hospital ( Col. Blackwell) at Camp Tyson lived next door. The base trained soldiers to
operate the balloons that were attached by cables to the ground and raised up to prevent
aircraft from flying low bombing runs. Occasionally one or more would break their cable
and drift over the town.
We also were subjected to practice air raids to prepare in case of an attack. When the
alarm went off, we had to turn out our lights unless we had the light sealed in by black
shades or curtains. A warden, Herman Craven, patrolled to see if any lights were visible.
Herman was a WWI veteran and had lost a leg in Europe.
Dad planted a Victory Garden in the back yard to help feed the family. It was near our
playhouse. He grew a wide assortment of vegetables.
When I was nine, I joined a Cub Scout Pack that met at The First Christian Church. Our
Den met in our playhouse and Margie Higgs was our Den Mother.

Age 12 through high school

When I was 12, I joined the Scout Troop at the First Baptist Church. Charlie
Williams, a game Warden was our scoutmaster. He taught me how to shoot a pistol. Dad
had already taught me to shoot a rifle and shotgun and we had been hunting many times
together. Dad was an excellent marksman and rarely missed. He was able to shoot three
quail as the covey flushed, while I was lucky to hit one. It was fun to watch the bird dogs
hunt for quail. They were so dedicated to their task that they sometimes would stay with
a covey of birds for hours. If we didnt find the dog on his/her point and had to leave,
Dad would leave his hunting coat on the ground and return the next day. The dog would
be lying on the coat waiting for us. We also went dove and duck hunting which was easier
because the birds came to you instead of you having to find them.
We attended The First Baptist Church in Paris. This was the church in which Tishs
family had been very active. Dr. Horace was a mainstay in the First Methodist Church so
they each attended their own church except on Christmas and Easter when they

alternated. When I was 12 years old, I decided to join the church and visited with
Reverend Hansel Stembridge , the minister at that time. He explained what it meant to me
to join the church and my obligations as a member. The following Sunday I joined the
church and was baptized in the baptismal pool in the church. Rev Stembridge said take a
breath and slapped a wet handkerchief over my mouth and nose before I got the breath. I
thought I was going to drown at that point.
One summer, Dad sent George and me to Camp Cloudmont on top of Lookout
Mountain in Alabama, It was a great experience. We made a bow and learned archery,
had other crafts such as leather working, woodworking, riflery, swimming, nature study,
and sports.
One Friday night, during halftime at a high school football game while I was in the 7th
grade, I had run out on the field with some friends and for some unknown reason a young
bully named Richard Ross came up to me and falsely accused me of saying something
bad about him. He then started hitting me. I tried to defend myself but was not very
successful and ended up with a bloody nose and a black eye. A few weeks later he was
over in our neighborhood and we had another altercation with the same results. They
were the only real fights I ever had. An interesting follow up to that was a few years later
when I was visiting in Paris, I saw Richard walking across the street toward me. I
thought, Oh No, not again. I was really surprised when he came over, stuck out his hand
and apologized for the fights. He had matured greatly, become a good student, and a
Christian. He finished college and taught for a while then became President of a small
state college. He passed away at a relatively early age.
When I was in the 7th grade, Dad was promoted to the New York (home) office of his
company, Silver Burdette, a publisher of textbooks. We moved to Glen Ridge, New
Jersey. We lived in a three story, six bedroom house. I entered the seventh grade at Glen
Ridge High School in mid year of the seventh grade. Auntie drove George and me to
Glen Ridge with the last few hundred miles in a heavy snow storm. We followed a snow
plow a lot of the way. There was about two feet of snow on the ground when we arrived.
It was a six year high school. I played on the tennis team when I got to the ninth grade
and was eligible. I immediately moved to #3 singles, then #2 in my sophomore year and
#1, my junior year and I was elected Captain of the team that year.
It was a common occurrence for boys to hitchhike on Ridgewood Ave while going to or
from school. The local residents were always good about picking us up. It was only a half
mile from school to the house but it was fun to hitchhike.
I continued to be active in the Boy Scouts and was Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader,
and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. During my junior year in high school there was a forest
fire in the mountains of New Jersey near the regional Boy Scout Camp.( Camp Glen
Gray).There was an announcement over the P.A. system at school asking for all boy
scouts over age 16 to report to a meeting. We were asked for volunteers to help fight the
fire to prevent damage to the camp. I volunteered and after changing and packing we

headed to the camp. The fire was rapidly spreading but fortunately was a ground fire. The
fire at times would go under the surface then pop up, sometimes trapping you in an area
surrounded by fire. Initially we used hand tools like rakes and shovels then later they got
enough of the back pack water tanks called Indian pumps with which we could pump out
a stream of water at the fire. They were heavy when full (weighing about 60 lbs.) and
when we emptied it we had to go back to the base camp to get a refill then hike back over
the mountains to the fire. While climbing the hills, the water would sometimes slosh out
and get our clothing wet. It was quite cold so we became uncomfortable. We worked
continually for over 24 hours with short breaks at the Red Cross station for water, coffee,
donuts, snacks, etc. When we returned home I was totally exhausted. Mother said that I
went to sleep and they got me up to eat dinner, but I had no recollection of getting up for
about 12 hours or more.
We joined the First Congregational Church in Glen Ridge since it was more convenient
than the Baptist Church which was quite a distance away. I was active in Sunday School
and in the youth program. I was also active in a boys group that met at the Episcopal
church in Glen Ridge. The director was a most imaginative man and on some Sunday
afternoons we would go on outings. Some that I remember were rope swinging from a
railroad trestle (the rope was over 50 feet long), ice boating, ice hockey, tobogganing, ski
biking, swimming, ball games, etc. When we showed up he would have all of the
necessary equipment (unless we needed swim suits ) and the event would be a surprise.
I never was really fond of New Jersey and spent the summers back in Paris.
Dr. Horace bought a farm south of town and had a tenant framer living on it One summer,
I spent a week with them and learned a little (very little) about farming. I tried my hand at
plowing, harrowing, driving a wagon, feeding the stock and chickens. It was interesting
and I enjoyed it but decided I did not want to become a farmer.
I learned to drive the little Ford, the nickname of the 1931, 2 door A Model Ford
Phaeton. I started driving it around the yard when I was about 14. When I was 16, I got
my drivers license in Tennessee and was able to work at Arnetts City Grocery. I
delivered groceries in a Crossley pick up truck that had a removable canvas top. It was a
small vehicle and fun to drive. Sometimes I would also drive the GMC 1 1/2 ton truck
that was much bigger and harder to handle. At that time, Paris was still a rural town and
many of the farmers would bring their families to town in wagons on Saturdays to shop.
They would leave the mules and wagons in the stock yard while they shopped. They
would sit around the court house on benches and rest, snack, feed their babies (nursing
them). Many of the men would sit on a wall across from the stockyard and eat
watermelon with their pocket knife. The farm families would buy large bags of flour and
potatoes along with their other needs. The flour sacks were made of colored material that
the women made into dresses after the flour was gone. I would load their purchases on
my truck and carry them to their wagon where we would load them for their trip home.
I was very close to Dr. Horace and he sometimes would take me with him when he made
house calls on sick patients. He was a highly respected physician and citizen. In 1949, he
was selected as the Outsanding General Practicioner of the Year. There was a nice
article in the Nashville Tennessean Sunday Magazine section about his award. He

continued to practice medicine until he was 90 and still made house calls when
necessary.If he was called out on a house call in the middle of the night he would pull on
a suit pants and coat over his pajamas.
The next summer I worked for The Southern Lumber and Supply Company, owned by
Johnny Province. I did manual labor such as unloading railroad cars, loading trucks,
delivering materials to job sites, etc. I drove an army surplus 5 speed truck for deliveries.
One day when returning from a delivery near McKenzie, we witnessed a horrible auto
accident where one car was knocked off the road and overturned, skidding over toward
the railroad track. I was the first person to the car and helped get a lady out but her
husbands foot was caught and he couldnt get out. He had a bad cut over his eye causing
his eyeball to hang down.
My days and nights when not working were spent cruising the square in the A Model
with Bobby Higgs and M.F. Hurdle. We called ourselves the big three. We also spent
time at the private pools. The Mandels had the nicer pool but the Nelsons had the cute
girls, so it was like a party every day. We played card games around the pool. One of our
hangouts was Frys Drug Store. We would stop by for a coke and conversation with
any girls that might be around.
During my senior year in high school I stayed with Dr. Horace, Tish, and Auntie and
attended Grove High School in Paris. It was a very good year with the Little Ford at
my disposal and the good friendship of Bobby and M.F. I also had a torrid romance with
the only Jewish girl in town, Becky Fagenbaum. My goal toward college was to attend
Vanderbilt University and then go to medical school. That was the only college I applied
to and Bobby Higgs and I were to be roommates. During the Christmas season Bobby
and I both worked for Fields clothing store and modeled for an ad in the paper. It was
good experience in learning to sell and to use the cash register and make change.
During my school days in Glen Ridge I picked up some extra money baby sitting. I
received 50 cents an hour and thought that was great.

COLLEGE
I started Vanderbilt University in the fall of 1950 with all intentions of becoming a doctor.
Bobby and I got a double room in McGill Hall. It wasnt long before I realized that pre
med was not a course of study that I was cut out for, Bobby and I both pledged Sigma
Alpha Epsilon fraternity and I became very involved in extracurricular activities on the
campus. The fraternity required that we participate in intramural sports, so I played touch
football and got my nose broken, wrestled and had a shoulder separation, played
basketball, etc. I was active in Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity made up of former
Boy Scouts. I was elected President during my senior year. We were asked to work with
the founding of a new scout troop at the Woodie Barton Goodwill Center.
Coincidentally, this center was built from contributions from Tishs half sister and named
for her. I was the scoutmaster and Dick Carpenter was my assistant. We had about eight
boys join the troop. It was a real learning experience because most of the boys were from

homes with poor parental support. Clarence was the devil of the group and was always
causing problems. We felt that he had stolen a girls purse but could not prove it. I talked
to the entire troop about honesty and not taking things that didnt belong to them. I
suggested that it would be great if someone was able to find the purse and return it with
no questions asked. The next morning the purse was located on the front porch of the
center! It worked! We did not have any more thefts either! We got a call from the school
principle giving us credit for a drastic improvement in Clarences behavior. The scouts
wanted to go on a camping trip so we scrounged together enough equipment to take them
on an overnight camping trip. Tommy Williams and some other fraternity members
donated money to pay for the food and went along to help. One young boy was reluctant
to go and confidentially explained to me that he had a bed wetting problem and would be
embarrassed. I allowed him to sleep in my tent and he had no problem. In fact he told me
later that the problem had gone away.
I was also active in the Student Christian Association and served on our class cabinet, I
also was on the dormitory council of McGill Hall. As a member of the S.C.A. I
volunteered to work at a summer camp as a counselor while attending summer school.
We worked with mostly underprivileged black children.
On some weekends when I wanted to go to Paris to visit Dr. Horace and Tish, I would
hitchhike. It was still common to see college students hitchin. We usually carried a
suitcase with a college decal on it so the drivers would recognize us as students. Most of
the time I had good luck in getting all the way to Camden but it was sometimes hard to
get a ride on to Paris. I would either call Auntie or catch a bus for the last leg.
During the spring of my freshman year, I met Alice Eloise (Punky) Stockell. She had a
date with John Dodd for the Black and White Formal dance and a date with John Macey
for the Friday night party. I was totally swept off my feet by this captivating lady and
invited her to the S.C.A. Spring retreat. A torrid romance began! We had our ons and offs
but she accepted my fraternity pin in the spring of our senior year after I became insanely
jealous when she invited someone else to a dance.
Some friends (Bud Hahn and Gene Davidson) and I bought an A model Ford truck (it
had been converted to a truck in an amateur fashion.) We paid $35 for it then we removed
the truck bed and put a sofa where the truck bed had been right over the rear wheels. It
was a fun car to drive and ride around in. It was especially efficient during a heavy snow
storm since the weight of the passengers on the sofa gave the rear wheels good traction.
One day after we had the car for a few months another student stopped by my room to see
if we would be interested in buying his A model sedan. We all checked our pockets and
came up with $13 which we offered him. Surprisingly he accepted it and we became the
proud owners sight unseen. The body was in good shape and we got the car reupholstered
at an upholstery school for a nominal cost. Then someone gave us a radio and we located
a manifold heater for the car. The engine gave out so we swapped the engine from the
truck to the sedan. One Sunday while driving to church, a young girl ran a stop sign and
hit the car broadside and turned it over. We negotiated with the insurance company and

got a $300 settlement.[ The top book value for that year and model with a radio and
heater.]
We took the $300 and bought a 1936 Chrysler Airflow. An advanced car for that time. It
had overdrive and a concealed radio antenna. It was a real luxury car. In 1953 Bud Hahn
and I bought a 1932 Franklin Roadster that had an air-cooled engine and rumble seat for
$325. I sold my interest to Bud because I couldnt afford to keep it. We drove it in several
parades and Bud kept it for a long time, finally selling it for about $25,000. (I think)
I had some part time selling jobs while in college. First I sold stockings to the coeds.
They were guaranteed not to run or they would replace them. I learned that while they
were good at honoring the guarantee, the stockings did run easily. I then started selling
CUTCO CUTLERY. They were expensive high quality knives.
I worked one summer for The Silver Burdett Co., Dads company. I worked in the
shipping room where we loaded and unloaded trucks, shipped books to schools, accepted
returns, etc. The offices were located in New York City at the time. The address was 45
East 17th Street. I commuted by train from Glen Ridge. In this job, I had my first
experience working side by side with black men. There were two outstanding colored
college students as we Southerners called them along with two other white students
working there that summer. At the end of the summer we went out to a nice restaurant
and a movie with a stage show also. It was my first experience at being socially involved
with colored people after the initial embarrassment to me we had a wonderful time.
Another summer I worked for the Gulf Oil Corporation in their Tourguide Department.
We answered travel questions for customers and marked maps for their vacation trips. It
was very educational and a lot of fun. Most of the employees were college students. The
offices were at the tip of Manhattan Island with a great view of Battery Park and the
Statue of Liberty. I caught the train and subway most of the time but on pretty days I
would sometimes ride the ferry to NYC.
The war with Korea was being fought while I was in college and I was deferred from the
draft while in school. They started an Army ROTC unit at Vanderbilt and we were
required to participate even though we would only have two years before graduation. I
applied and was accepted to attend the Naval Officers Candidate School after
graduation. I had to attend summer school in 1954 in order to graduate.
After Summer School, Punky and I drove to Cape Cod for a week vacation at the beach
with my family. Unfortunately, Hurricane Carol hit the Cape at that time. We were in
the closest house to the ocean that was not ordered to evacuate. It was a powerful
hurricane with a high storm surge because it hit at high tide. We were able to see houses
on the beach disintegrate as the water came up over the road.. The following day, we
drove over to the Buzzard Bay area where the eye of the storm had passed. We wanted to
check on the damage to Tom McCuskers yacht that we had been on earlier. The damage
was amazing boats overturned up on the land, some half under water, poles and signs
were blown down, roofs gone, etc. Amazingly the McCusker yacht was totally intact. The

crew had ridden out the storm at their dock, while all of the other boats in the area were
destroyed or badly damaged.
Just before leaving for OCS, I developed appendicitis after a Vanderbilt homecoming
football game. We drove to Paris thinking I only had an upset stomach due to too many
hot dogs. Dr. Horace checked me out and though he did not tell me, he suspected that I
had appendicitis and told me to see Dr.Barton when we got to Nashville. They scheduled
me for an emergency appendectomy immediately. The surgery was performed by the Dr.
Scott, the Professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt. After the surgery I stayed at Punkys house
for a few days before flying to N.J. I caught a bus in New York City for Newport, R. I.
Punky and I became engaged just before I entered OCS.
I sat next to Bob Haws on the bus to Newport, R. I. and we became good friends. It was a
tough four months during OCS with the weather being very cold, damp, and windy. I
also was still recovering from the appendectomy. My stomach was still quite swollen
from the surgery and after the swelling went down, my uniform was about three inches
too large. Standing at attention in that kind of weather was a trial in itself. I applied and
was accepted into flight training. After graduation and receiving my commission as an
Ensign, I flew to Nashville for our wedding which was on March 7th, 1955. It was a real
whirlwind with the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, then off on a brief
honeymoon to New Orleans. We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel and ate some excellent
food. We took a buggy ride tour of the French Quarter with Bill, the buggy man and his
horse named Dan.
From there when we returned to Nashville, we rented a trailer and drove to Jacksonville,
Fl. for my first duty station with FASRON 9 at Cecil Field NAS. There were about six
new Ensigns from my OCS class that were sent to FASRON 9. Being eager flight
candidates we went to an adjoining hangar where VF 14 (the Top Hat Squadron) was
based. They took us for rides in their F3D interceptor jets. I went for two rides and got
very sick both times. We were fortunate to have Dr. Thad Mosely, a friend of Dr.
Bartons locate a duplex for us to rent. Our first home!!! It was at 1706 Fair St. After 6
weeks we went to Pensacola to start flight training. Again, we were fortunate to have
friends locate housing for us in Ellinor Village, 104-b Catherine Court. It was a great
neighborhood with almost everyone attending flight training.
We had several Vanderbilt and OCS friends that were there while we were; Ed and Alice
Newman, Dan and Jo Pope, Bob and Frannie Haws, Hayne and Mary Phil Hamilton,
John and Myrtle Ann Archer, Alan and Carol Cargyle, Jim and Elnie deVries were some.
We did a lot of outdoor cookouts and one famous mint julep party. We bought our first
dog, a Shetland Sheepdog, Miniature collie, while in Pensacola. We named her Tiny
Penny and called her Tiny. She was almost human and a great friend. This began a long
relationship with shelties that continues even at this time.

After ground school, we started flight training in the SNJ. I soloed in September of 1955.
We went through basic instruments, aerobatics, gunnery, air to air combat, bombing, and
formation flying and then did out carrier qualification with six landings on the USS
Saigon. We then transitioned into the T-28 for advanced instrument training. On one
instrument training flight in the T-28, we were going to land for a break between sessions.
The instructor was making the approach when he almost rolled the plane and told me to
take over. He suspected that he had carbon monoxide poisoning so we both put our
oxygen masks on. I leveled the plane and started back to our home field. We declared an
emergency and I was looking forward to trying a landing from the rear seat for the first
time but the instructor took over on the approach and made the landing. He was grounded
for about two weeks but I did not get enough to cause a problem.
I was sent to multi engine advanced training at Hutchinson NAS, Kansas. On the way to
Kansas we had to drive through a sand storm. The dust penetrated around the windows of
the car putting a small ridge of sand on the edge of the window.
We lived in a duplex in town owned by a former friend of Punkys mother and former
dean at Ward Belmont, Gertrude Casabeer Oswald. She lived on a farm outside of town
and raised collies and cows. Her husband was an author among other things. We bred
Tiny while in Kansas and she had four puppies under our bed, but the first one born died.
The deVries and the Neumans were also there. We underwent training in the SNB,( twin
engine Beechcraft) and the P2V. One of our flights in the SNB was a cross country
flight to El Paso, Texas. On the way down we encountered a severe thunderstorm where
we tossed around the sky going up 500 or more feet while trying to dive down then
dropping while trying to climb to maintain altitude. Hail stones were banging against the
plane. We were forced to turn around and circumvent the storm. On the return flight we
spotted a tornado and reported it.
Tornados were a regular weather item in Kansas and we had warnings every day for
almost two weeks. We lived next door to the TV weatherman so we got updated weather
information when there were warnings.
My first flight in the P2V was interesting. The instructor told me to make a 90 degree
bank turn, then said to feather the starboard(right) engine. I was convinced that we would
flip over, but did as instructed and found that the plane could hold altitude and continue
the turn on one engine. This gave me tremendous confidence in the aircraft.
Then we had navigation training, including celestial navigation. On my final navigation
training flight we went to GTMO, Guantanamo Bay NAS, Cuba.(I was crazy about
GTMO and even requested that as a duty station.) Over the door into the operations
office there, was a sign that read through these portals pass the greatest crosswind pilots
in the world. On the return flight, I had a faulty oxygen tank and was unable to think
clearly or shoot the stars (I had anoxia). I would have failed the flight since I didnt
complete the required celestial fixes, but because the instructor was violating regulations
by flying that high, I was passed .

After graduation and receiving my wings.I received orders to report to VW-15, an early
warning radar squadron based at The Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland.
We had given one of the puppies to the breeder as stud fee and decided to trade another
female for a male that we could use for breeding. Punky had become pregnant before we
left Kansas so we drove cross country to Glen Ridge with a very pregnant Punky, Tiny,
and the two puppies. By the time we got to Paris, TN we decided that we needed to
lighten our load and sold the male, that we had named, Marty, to the Provinces. I left a
very pregnant Punky in Glen Ridge with Mother and Dad while I found a house at 303
Wasp Rd.. I then moved Punky down where we slept on a single bed until our new
furniture arrived. When we got to Lexington Park, MD we sold the other puppy, Lady, to
Tommy and Mary Ruth Haws our neighbor. George and Shirley McLain lived next door
and they bought a Sheltie also. The three couples became close friends.
I was the second LTJG to check into the squadron. We had about 30 Commanders, 3
LCDRs, 3 LTs, 1 Captain and 35 Ensigns. I became the Assistant Air Intelligence
Officer and underwent flight training in the Lockhheed Constellation, both the R7V (the
passenger version) and the WV-2 (the radar version) I qualified as a plane commander
but never got my own crew because of the surplus of senior officers. I flew as 3rd pilot on
our first deployment to Argentia, Newfoundland and also served as a navigator. On the
rest of the deployments I was copilot and either the plane commander or I had to be in the
cockpit at all times.
My most frightening experiences were;
1. We, being a critical operational squadron, had to fly in risky situations, such as
poor weather and aircraft not completely up to par. In this case we were assigned
a plane that had a replacement engine that had not been flight tested so we were
asked to perform the test as we left our station. Part of the test was to feather the
engine then unfeather it. It feathered but would not unfeather so we were flying
without the number three engine. Almost immediately, we developed an oil leak
in the number four engine. I asked the engineer to monitor the oil quantity and we
kept the engine on line. I called for an emergency approach and we were vectored
in to a GCA landing because of instrument conditions. As we came through
minimums, the fire warning sounded on #4 and I feathered it, fired the
extinguisher, and made a successful landing all in a matter of seconds.
2. On another flight, I was in command and the plane commander, CDR Perry
Roberts, was sleeping when we encountered severe icing. The deicer boots cycled
and each time, there was an accumulation of about 6-7 inches of ice on the wings.
The drag was tremendous and we were having difficulty maintaining altitude. I
could not raise anyone on the radio so had to add power and climb to a warmer
altitude (temperature inversion) where the ice stopped forming and we were in
rain. I was then able to get clearance for the new altitude.
3. In our briefing on another flight we were informed that the plane we were to
relieve had not been in radio communications for about 6 hours. They would be
declared missing when we went on station if no contact was achieved. The Coast
Guard Ocean Station notified us that they thought they had seen a light so we got
clearance to perform a search. The weather was horrible, rain and poor visibility

but I went down to 50 feet over the ocean and everyone available was in the
cockpit looking out the windows while I was on instruments. Someone spotted
something and I glanced up in time to see the bridge of a Russian Trawler at my
altitude, I pulled the plane up and was able to see some very frightened sailors on
the ship as we missed them by only a few feet. The missing plane and crew of 25
were never found. An interesting sidelight to this accident was that the news of
the missing plane got to the news media and was on TV. Dad saw it and called
Punky. Fortunately, she had also seen it and called a neighbor in Patuxent River
whose husband was also in Argentia. She had already spoken to him and learned
which crew was involved before they shut down the switchboard. Unfortunately I
had told Punky my flight schedule so she knew I was on the barrier at the time.
4. On another flight our electronics man informed us of a Russian submarines
radar near us. We obtained clearance to check it out and dropped down near the
water, turned off our radar and let the electronics man vector us to the sub. When
we were close, we turned on our landing lights and caught the submarine on the
surface. When the saw us, they frantically tried to submerge.
5. Because of the large number of junior pilots in the squadron, many were not
getting much pilot time so we were assigned an SNB-5 (twin engine Beechcraft) .
I volunteered to be an instructor since I was one of the few qualified in the plane.
It allowed me extra flight time both in the U.S. and in Newfoundland. On one
training flight, I cut the power on an engine to check the students reaction to the
emergency. He feathered the good engine.I had to move quickly to get both
engines restarted without losing any altitude.
6. On our return to Pax River from Argentia one time, the weather was very bad and
.
the airfield had been close for some time with 0/0 visibility. We flew in and made
a totally instrument landing. It took the ground crew about 20 minutes to find us
and lead us to the hangar.
7. On one mission, I was flying as first pilot and we were scheduled to take off on a
short runway A little over 5000 ft.) because of a severe crosswind on the main
runway. I almost didnt get in the air before the end of the runway.
8. Argentia was noted for its poor weather. The field was almost always under
instrument conditions and many times below minimums. We made a take off if we could
see three runway lights. If there was snow falling rapidly, we sometimes had to follow a
group of high speed snow plows down the runway so they could clear a path for us.
Fortunately, we were able to land back in Argentia most of the time. However, one night,
The entire coast of North America and much of Europe was closed down because of the
weather. Fortunately Gander, Newfoundland was open and we were able to land there
along with many other commercial and military planes. We stayed in an old army
barracks along with the other stranded people.
I was asked to fly Commander Stafford (who had been on the TV program The $64,000
Question) to Danville, VA. In the SNB. I took one of my students, and a couple of other
passengers. We were expecting good weather but within an hour we encountered a squall
line and had to file an instrument flight plan. The weather lifted before arrival at Danville
and I learned that the airport there did not have a control tower. I made the approach and
to my surprise, I found the runway went up hill so I had to add power on the landing. Our

troubles were not over, as we continued on to Norfolk we encountered the squall line
again and on the approach to Norfolk NAS, they declared the field under instrument
conditions to I had to file another flight plan and do a GCA approach. I had never
practiced one in this plane and came in too fast but made a safe landing. We were able to
get an enlisted man on the ground to give us some fuel because we didnt have any gas
chits. We made it back to Pax late but safe.
After the loss of the aircraft, discussed earlier, the plane commander, CDR McBride , had
been the Air Intelligence Officer so I was moved up to that slot. I was the most junior
department head and was responsible for all of the operational briefings as well as air
intelligence training.
We kept a crew at Lajes AFB in The Azores as a standby crew. It was a great opportunity
to enjoy good weather and an interesting environment. One night while eating at the
Officers Club a woman kept looking at me. I didnt recognize her but later she came up to
me and asked if I was Mac Robison. She and her husband (Betty and Dave Gray) had
been in our class at Vanderbilt. I went over to their house for dinner the next evening.
While at Pax River, we had the opportunity to move to a nicer area, and jumped at the
opportunity, moving to 23 Officers Court. As the name implies, all residents were junior
officers.
During my tour in the Navy, our first children were born. Punky went to Nashville to
stay with her parents while I was deployed to Argentia. Nelle McSwain was born on
March 1, 1957 while I was in Argentia. Mrs. Stockell called to give me the good news.
Fourteen months later Bert (Albert Stockell) was born on May 1, 1958. I had returned
from Argentia and caught a commercial flight to Nashville and arrived the day before
labor was induced so I was there for his birth.
CIVILIAN LIFE
In August of 1958, I received my release from active duty. I had a family to support and
no job! We went to Washington, D.C. where I was offered a job with the Reuben H.
Donnelley Corp. selling advertising in The Yellow Pages for The C & P Telephone
Company. It was a fun job that provided some excellent sales training. We stayed for a
few days with the McLains until we found an apartment. We lived initially in the
Brookview Apartments in Alexandria, VA, then we bought a new house in Fairfax, VA at
503 Sideburn Rd. on a VA loan. We paid $18,750 for it. With very little saved money we
were fortunate to be able to get a 100% VA loan. The basement was unfinished but
roughed in, so we were able to have it finished into a nice recreation room. We joined a
new church, Fairfax Presbyterian Church. Bert attended kindergarten there and Nelle
went to the public elementary school. I ushered and served on the newly organized Boy
Scout Troop Committee as advancement chairman. Tiny was bred again and had four
more puppies that we sold. After 2 years, I tired of the pressure of a straight
commission job and the lulls between directories so I started looking for a job as a
pharmaceutical salesman. I was offered a position with The Borden Companys

Pharmaceutical Division. The companys primary products were Bremyl and Mulsoy,
infant formulas, and we sold the Marcelle hypo allergenic cosmetic line to dermatologists
and allergists, we also had Methacote for diaper rash and some other dermatological
products. I worked the entire Washington metropolitan area and suburban Virginia.
One day after about 2 years I was glancing through the want ads and one jumped out at
me. It was from the Flint Laboratory division of Baxter Labs. I was well aware of
Baxter but not familiar with the name Flint. I called and got an appointment for an
interview. I was interviewed by Bob Fuhr, the District Manager and Jack Brennan, The
National Sales Manager. I hit it off with Jack Brennan and felt like I had won the job. I
even drove him to the airport. After two weeks in a training class in Morton Grove, Ill. I
started in the field and had very good success. After only 6 months I was promoted to a
position as Field Assistant to Jack Brennan and we made the move to the Chicago
suburbs. I had to go first and lived in a motel for almost two months before the children
were out of school. When they were out of school we moved the family to The Holiday
Inn, Highland Park where they came down with chicken pox while we were finding a
house. We moved into a split level in Deerfield. I was doing a lot of traveling but when I
was in town, I was able to commute to the office by train in about 12 minutes. I had
numerous responsibilities including advertising, training, interviewing, etc. under the
supervision of Jack. Two weeks after we had moved into the house Jack informed me that
I was going to take over the Southeastern District in Atlanta. It couldnt have pleased
us more because we had anticipated having to move to the west coast. On July 4th, we
were planning to go to a neighborhood swimming party when the temperature dropped to
the low 40s and we learned that our furnace didnt work and had to be replaced. On
another day, I was commuting home when a horrible rain storm started. It was so bad the
train had to stop for a few minutes because they couldnt see in front of them. When the
train stopped in Deerfield it was still pouring down. I jumped off the train and under the
roof, only about 6 or 8 feet away. In that short distance, my clothes were wet as much as
if I had gone swimming. Later I heard on the radio that 4 inches of rain had fallen in 30
minutes.. In August we started looking for a house in Atlanta. We stayed with Mother and
Dad for a while so we could get the children enrolled in school. Because we were in that
school district we learned the housing was stretching our budget. We finally found a
house for sale by a garden club friend of Mothers. I was still doing a lot of travel and
trying to get started in my new job. Fortunately our house in Deerfield sold very quickly
for what we had paid for it even though the market was poor and many houses that I had
looked at were still available.
When the furniture was delivered to our new house, I was holding a sales meeting in
Atlanta. Punky said she felt that I should check out the house (she was great on
premonitions). I scoffed at her feelings but did as instructed. When I walked into the
house I felt a draft and found that the kitchen door had been opened by breaking a
window. We lost a hi-fi, some jewelry including my fraternity pin, Navy wings, etc. They
had more sentimental value than monetary value.
One day, I was storing things in the attic and stepped off the ceiling joists, feeling secure,
I picked up a bag containing my navy uniforms ,the extra weight caused me to fall

through the ceiling into Nelles room. There I was hanging from the rafter!! Fortunately, I
suffered only minor injuries like a scraped back, twisted finger, and other aches and
pains.
We tried a few churches then joined Trinity Presbyterian Church where several friends
were members. I ushered and we led a youth group with the help of another couple, The
Harrison Reeves.
My first tasks as District Manager was to fire some of the non productive salesmen and
hire new ones. I therefore spent a lot of time interviewing and training new
representatives. The Southeastern District had been the lowest of the four districts when I
took over and we became number one in the first full year in the job. As a reward for
being number one, we won a trip to Grand Bahama Island. The district went as far West
as Louisiana and North to Ohio and Maryland. I increased the size up to 12 reps then the
district was reduced geographically so I ended with a district that went from Alabama to
Tennessee , then North to Virginia and D.C. I had to rebuild the district with new
representatives but we worked our way back up and were contenders for the top district
most of the time, then in 1972, I achieved the top again. This time we were sent to
Acapulco, Mexico. We took an extra trip to Mexico City for a few extra days.
I was summoned for jury duty in a Federal Court shortly after moving to Atlanta. It was
an interesting case where two young men were charged with perjury in a trial involving a
murder in the Federal Penitentiary. A young attorney, Ed Garland represented the
defendants and later achieved an outstanding reputation as a criminal attorney. All of the
witnesses were inmates in the prison and their trustworthiness was very questionable. I
was elected foreman and after a lengthy debate we finally got one hold out to agree to a
Not Guilty verdict. Ed Garland went on to become a highly respected defense attorney.
We got involved in the YMCA, first as members of the Parents Council, then President
of the council, then I joined the board of The Northside Y. I was elected Chairman for
the years 1983 to 1985. I received the honor of Volunteer of the Year for the Northside
Branch in 1985. I led the Partner With Youth Campaign several years and served on the
board for a total of over 25 years. I also served on the Metropolitan Atlanta Board for two
years. Then I was on the Metropolitan Y properties committee for several years. While on
this committee I was successful in selling both Camp Waco and Camp Pioneer to enable
the Y to purchase and open Camp High Harbour, a lakefront camp at Lake Burton.
Also while serving on the Y Board I coached a soccer team that Bert played on. I knew
absolutely nothing about the game so I coached with a manual in one hand. Fortunately,
we had some very good players and were successful in coming out in first place in the
Northside league and played the top team in Decatur for the state championship. That
team had a number of the children of professional players. We were tied at the end of
regulation time and elected to select the winner by the number of on side kicks which
gave them the championship.

In January of 1969, John Barton Robison, came into the world. Since I wasnt traveling
as much when he started participating in athletics, etc., I was able to work as an assistant
scoutmaster and coached a youth basketball team that he was on. Nelles husband ,
Win Cooke, assisted me and we started at Peachtree Road Methodist Church. When our
new church, Northside Methodist Church tried to get a more active youth recreation
program we switched over there. My coaching at the church (Northside United
Methodist Church) led me to a job as Chairman of the Recreation Department, then
to the board, finance committee, Pastor Parish Committee (Chairman), Lay
Representative to The North Georgia Annual Conference. All the while, I was
ushering and counting money.
I was traveling to work with the salespeople or to interview most every week. I did have
two Atlanta based salesmen by that time so was able to stay at home a little more. On one
trip to Miami, I was staying at The Everglades Hotel on the 15th floor (the hotel had 16
floors with a pool on top). At 4 AM the fire alarm went off and in a short time a fireman
was banging on doors telling everyone to leave. I quickly put on some clothes and headed
for the exit only to find that it was very congested so I went to the other side of the hotel
and down the exit staircase on the outside. After going down a few floors, a door flew
open, smoke and a fireman came out. I thought I had made a big mistake but he said
everything was under control and I could go back up. I did and went to sleep. When I got
up, I looked out and saw many guests still in their pajamas standing outside in the
parking lot.
In January of 1974, I decided to take the real estate pre license course and seek a new
career path. While taking the class, I started interviewing different real estate companies.
Joe White introduced me to Cleve Wilcoxin, President of Adair Realty. While
interviewing, he asked if I would be interested in managing the residential real estate
division of the company. Because of my previous ten years of sales management, I felt
confidant that I could do the job. It also meant that I would be able to start real estate with
a salary rather than being on straight commission! Again, I had to start a house cleaning
job and had to hire two new office managers then had to close one office and fire the
manager. Shortly after that, Jack Adair died and the company went into turmoil. We had
to make severe cutbacks and my job was one that was cut. Since, I had not yet gotten my
Brokers license I was forced to start again as a sales person. I found a niche in selling
farms and acreage.
In 1976, during the childrens spring break a tornado swept through the north side of
Atlanta. It went over Mother and Dads house on Peachtree Battle then came through our
neighborhood and over the Governors Mansion. Because the children were on spring
break we were still in bed and the smoke alarm awakened us before the storm actually
hit. Punkys 6th sense made her send us all to the basement. After things quieted down,
Bert and I walked outside to see the devastation. Trees were down everywhere. We were
fortunate to only lose a small tree near the patio and no damage to the house. Mother and
Dad lost over 100 trees and suffered some damage to their house. While Bert and I were
outside looking around, a young boy down the street yelled to come help Mr. Hunkin. We
went down the street to their house and could hear him calling for help. I tried to get in

the door and was unsuccessful. After walking around the house I saw two large pine trees
that had fallen across the corner of their house. The calls seemed to come from that area
so I crawled out on the trees to their bedroom. Mr. Hunkin was pinned between the bed ,
the trees, and the wall. I was not able to get him free and tried to keep him comfortable.
After an eternity, several people got into the house. Mr Hunkin asked about his wife who
I had not seen. I looked in the bed where I had been standing and found her bloody hair
under the cover. I kept her covered and asked one of the neighbors to check her foot for a
pulse. As suspected, there was none. The fire department finally arrived and got Mr.
Hunkin to the hospital. His arm was swollen to almost twice the normal size but he
survived with no ill effects. Mrs. Hunkin had died instantly.
During my early days in real estate we went through a recession and the real estate
market was very slow. I started a small business selling pre-packaged instant coffee,
chocolate, and soups. I sold them to offices and to youth athletic teams.
When I completed my three year requirement as a licensee, I completed the Broker
course and got my Broker license. Adair was ready to close the residential office and sell
to Ackerman. Our Broker decided to move to Harry Norman, REALTORS and most of
the agents went with her. I talked to Harry about opening a Land Office and after a few
months he agreed to do that and let me be the manager. We occupied the rear of the
Roswell residential office with initially three agents. We did very well in selling land
especially in North Fulton and Forsyth Counties. Unfortunately, I could not find many
new salesmen with experience to work with us and we were not able to make as large a
profit as Harry desired. Another broker talked him into changing the office to a
commercial office and moving into Buckhead. It did not do as well as hoped and I
decided to activate my own license and started working out of the house. I concentrated
on selling farms and land. I had some good years and some not so good. In 1988, I started
teaching pre license and continuing education classes. I taught at The Georgia Institute of
Real Estate, Atlanta Area Technical School, DeKalb Tech, and Kennesaw State
University. I also did some substitute teaching at Georgia State. I enjoyed the teaching.
I joined the Buckhead Business Association to become more active in the community. I
was made chairman of the Area Planning Committee and a vice-president of BBA. I also
was responsible for updating the BBA Buckhead map.
While still teaching, I was hired by Cone Maddox to be sales manager at Atland Realty
and brought in some of my former students and picked up a few more. In 1996 the
OLYMPICS came to Atlanta. Punky and I volunteered to work with a group from The
Trust Co. at the press center. I was a wonderful experience and we helped members of the
press with information, directions, etc. I also got into pin collecting and amassed a large
collection of pins.
Cone Maddox decided to purchase an EXIT REALTY franchise to replace Atland
Realty. It did not work out so I went back to working out of the house and brought four
agents with me.

The real estate pre license classes took a lot of time so I retired from teaching. A few
years later I took an AARP Safe Driving Class which I thought was very good. They
asked for volunteers to teach so I started that in 2003. I taught about ten classes a year.