14. OUR WEDDING AND GROWING OUR FAMILY

I was, during our entire courtship, pleading with Barbara to marry me, and my Mom was helping to encourage it. After finally getting Barbara’s approval, I approached Annie Ma, Barbara’s mother, and asked if she would object. She replied that it was all right with her, but I should ask Yancey. Yancey was Barbara’s father. When I asked him for permission to marry his daughter, his reply was that it was all right with him, but I should ask Annie. I really came to truly love both of Barbara’s parents, but would have to favor Annie Ma as the greatest of all.

I felt I had it made at that time and was very happy, as was my Mom and my entire family, when I broke the news to them. They all loved Barbara almost as much as I did.

After lots of dating and discussion, we settled on the date of June 9th, 1949, for our wedding date. Barbara chose the Presbyterian Church in Chatham for our wedding. Since money was so short, we decided to decorate the church ourselves and went about planning the flowers and other necessary arrangements. We visited several people that Barbara knew to borrow the items needed for the decorations. It really turned out to be a beautiful wedding. I am so sorry we did not have a professional photographer to take pictures as they do at most weddings now. That was a mistake I will always regret.

We were fortunate to have both our pastors to officiate at our wedding. It was also quite unusual that both had the same name, Richard Smith. My Richard Smith was a Baptist and Barbara’s was a Presbyterian. We both decided we would follow the Baptist faith and proceeded to join Forest Lawn Baptist Church in Danville.

Randy Yarbrough served as my ‘Best Man’ and Jean served as Barbara’s ‘Maid of Honor”. It was a beautiful wedding with a huge attendance that included all the Coca-Cola owners and managers as well as the entire office staff. They all presented us with very useful gifts for which we were thankful since we did not have a great deal of money or material things.

After the wedding, we were treated to a wedding dinner at the GSK Restaurant in Danville by my sister Edith and her husband, Randy Yarbrough. Immediately after that, we left on our honeymoon, which started in Lynchburg [one night] and ended in Roanoke the next night. We had borrowed Barbara’s brother, Ralph’s, brand new 1948 Chevrolet Club Coupe, and he was on edge that I might wreck it. He was extremely happy when it was returned unscathed.

It was an interesting honeymoon. Neither of the two hotels we stayed in had air- conditioning, nor did the automobiles in those days. Each hotel had a 12-inch rotating fan on a shelf. It is easy to imagine how uncomfortable it was in the month of June. Fortunately for us there was no problem since we were not accustomed to all those luxuries anyway.

Upon our return, we made our home with my Mother at 504 Edgewood Drive for approximately six months, after which we moved into our first residence, which was an apartment on Colquhoun Street. Our landlady was Mrs. Redd. She lived in one side of the house and we in the other.
Figure 28 - Colquhoun Apartment

We were fortunate that this residence was next door to a coin laundry that contained the only television set in the city of Danville at the time. Each Saturday night, we would visit that coin laundry and watch shows such as ‘The Milton Berle
Comedy Hour’. The picture quality was terrible. It was obviously in black and white since color TV had not been invented. The entire screen appeared as if there was a major snowstorm going on. Television has really improved since those days and we should be thankful for that, since improvement was sorely needed.

After residing on Colquhoun Street for approximately one year, we decided to move to a better apartment. We found this at 247 Gray Street. No picture is available since it has been razed to make way for improvements for Danville Regional Medical Center.

Our landlady was Mrs. Mabel Smith. She was a very nice lady and we developed a very good relationship with her. She smoked, but did not want her husband or their son Charles to know about it. In order to hide it from them, she would come upstairs and visit us where she could smoke without being detected.

Mrs. Smith had very strict rules regarding her tenants. Two of these included no pets and no children. After approximately one year of living there, Barbara became pregnant with Beverly.

Obviously, we were concerned that we would have to move and started looking for a place to move to. Mrs. Smith found out our dilemma and changed the rule since we had become so close. She also had grown fond of Barbara’s sister, Jean, who was a frequent visitor of ours.

We lived across the hall from Joe and Clara Chattin. Joe worked at Clements and Parker, a furniture store, and his responsibility was installing drapes. Clara worked for the City of Danville for the Water, Gas and Electric Department. We developed a great relationship, would play cards often and frequently go out partying.

Prior to our moving from 247 Gray Street, Joe and Clara went to California on vacation. While there they saw an ad in the newspaper advertising for people to appear in a movie mob scene for $25.00 each. They appeared in this mob scene and decided to stay in California in the hopes of appearing in more movies. They had their furniture in Danville stored and I have no idea whether or not they ever recovered it.

On March 29, 1951, our lovely daughter Beverly was born. What a tremendous joy to both Barbara and me. Beverly was one of the most beautiful little girls ever born and gave us both much pleasure while growing up. We were so proud of her for the cute little smile she had, as well as the way she looked when Barbara would dress her up for Sunday school. We have remained very close to her over the years and she has been a tremendous help to both of us as we age gracefully into the sunset.

During the time of uncertainty as to whether or not we could remain at Mrs. Smith’s apartment, my Mom decided to build a house for us next door to hers at 508 Edgewood Drive. She proceeded to build us a four-room house, which was a tremendous improvement over anything we had previously.

Figure 29 - our first home - 508 Edgewood Drive, Danville, Virginia Pictured: left to right: Henry Dillard, Beverly and Barbara Dillard.

The only drawback was the lack of an indoor toilet. We were right back to my Schoolfield days and Barbara’s farm days. We did have an outhouse which was totally unacceptable, especially since we now had Beverly. With Mom’s help, we quickly installed an indoor bath facility and really began to enjoy our new home. As I recall, the house cost around $2,500.00 and the payments were $50.00 per month. Mom rented it to us for $35.00 per Month, which was a real deal. After a couple of years, Mom decided to deed the house to us and we would simply take over the payments. This was great since we could now build some equity that would assist us in getting an even better house. During these days I was a workaholic and was continuously looking for something to do. I had left the Coca-Cola Company during this period of time and was employed by the Danville Transit Company as a bus driver. Since I worked broken hours, I had lots of off time during the days. With all this time, I decided to dig a basement under one half of our house for storage and other uses. This took over a year to complete and I wished many times that I had never started it. I must admit that after completion, it was something with which I was quite proud.

I will never forget the two most frightening times in my life and they both involved Beverly. On one occasion while I was tending to her, she swallowed a straight pin or at least it disappeared and I was sure that she did. I called Barbara who was working at the time and we met at the hospital where an x-ray was made, and sure enough, we saw that pin. The doctor advised that we watch her stool for a couple of days to see if she might just pass it. Sure enough, the next day we found it. Believe me; I was never that careless again while tending to Beverly.

The other incident happened some time later. I was standing in our kitchen and watching out the window as Beverly, who was about 2 ½ years old at the time, was going up Mom’s rear steps to visit. She got to the top step and fell about five feet down with her forehead hitting on the concrete. I thought it would have killed her. I immediately ran out the door and was over there in about 5 seconds. I was relieved to find that she only had a slight bruise on her forehead. That, to me was a miracle. Had an adult taken that fall, it would have been a lot more serious.

Figure 30 - Beverly at about the age when she fell

These days, I was beginning to really regret the fact that I did not finish high school and began to take night classes to improve my skills. Barbara and I took typing together. I took a separate course in bookkeeping. Having most of each day off while employed with Danville Traction and Power Company, I decided to return to high school in an effort to gain further education and improve my chances for a successful future. I quickly learned there is a great difference in “wanting an education” and having to attend school. If one wants an education, they dig right in and learn the subject matter of what they are being taught. I proved this to myself the first day I entered math class at George Washington High School and met my teacher, Alma Ricketts. She was the greatest teacher I ever encountered. She was fair to everyone and gave every student the same opportunity to succeed. During one period, I took two math classes, got perfect grades on both report cards and 100 on both exams. What a day that final exam day was! Ms. Ricketts told the class to do their final exam and when completed to put it on her desk and they could go home. They were told to take as much time as needed. Some students were through in 15 minutes and took their papers to her desk. She glanced at the papers and asked each of them if they would like to put in some more time on it. Each person gave her a negative answer. I was the last one to turn mine in and she glanced at it and asked if I was in a hurry. When I replied no, she suggested I spend more time on it. This went on for three trips to her desk, after which she took a glance and said, “That’s fine.” I was ultra happy that I devoted the time to get it right. I never got the diploma, but felt I had learned a great deal that helped me further my career.

In 1956, we decided to build a larger house and contracted with Brightwell Construction Company to build it on Northmont Boulevard. It was the first house on the left coming down Northmont from North Main Street and was number 143. Prior to this decision, I had left Danville Traction and returned to Coca-Cola where it was my desire to continue my career. Obviously Mom was disappointed that we had decided to move since she was so fond of Beverly and did not want us to leave the area.

Figure 31 - 143 Northmont Blvd., Danville, Mom and Blain, 1965.

We were beginning to worry as to whether or not we would ever get in our new house since moving into it was dependant on selling our house and we were not having much success. At the last moment, however, we found a buyer. He happened to be our postman and was marrying a local girl. That house was just right for them.

In 1964, Barbara presented me with a son, Blain. While I must admit, he was a surprise; he was truly loved by all. There were all sorts of confusion prior to his birth. One doctor said that Barbara had a tumor and wanted to do surgery on her to remove it. Another doctor said she was pregnant. Thank God, we believed the latter and wound up with a beautiful boy. Beverly was 13 at the time and was most valuable in helping care for Blain.

When we moved to Northmont Boulevard, I suppose we were the happiest family in the world. It was a beautiful house with a full basement on a beautiful lot with great neighbors. Our next-door neighbor was O. V. and Mabel Miller. He was an Internal Revenue Agent and Mabel worked at Kingoff’s Jewelers in downtown Danville. We became very close friends. This was during the atom bomb alerts and everyone was asked to construct a ‘fall-out shelter’ in their basement. I constructed one in O. V.’s basement and he paid for all materials and even stocked it with canned foods, water, flashlights and other necessities in the event of an atom bomb attack. My reward for constructing it was that my family would be allowed to use it if needed. Thankfully, we never needed it and hopefully never will. It is most interesting, in looking back to mull over the fact that O. V. and Mabel had no children and showed great concern as to how many Barbara and I might have. They immediately met Beverly and fell in love with her, but were concerned that we might have a house full. After Blain was born, however, they fell in love with him too. As a matter of fact, when O. V. would go out of town on business, Mabel would ask Blain to come over and spend the night. I suppose one might have considered him her protector.

Sandra Bell, Elsie Haskins youngest daughter, would spend considerable time with us and we cherished her just as if she was our own. O. V. and Mabel thought the world of her and remarked on several occasions that they wished she were their daughter.

Figure 32 - Pictured is the home of Larry and Sandra on the fairway at Bermuda Run Golf and Country Club

Sandra initially married Tommy Dalton who worked for me in the vending business at the time. Later, he went into the landscaping business and they moved to Winston Salem,
N. C. Some years later, they divorced and Sandra married Larry Bell who was in the tire business. They have done quite well with Sandra working for Haynes’s Finishing and Larry remaining in the tire business. As of this writing, they live at Bermuda Run on a golf course that is one of the finest in the area. They are great friends of ours and we love them both a great deal.

Figure 33 - Pictured left to right: Henry Dillard, Calvin Neal, Jean Neal, Barbara Dillard and Rev. Harold Parker.

It seemed as if just about everyone worked for Coca-Cola at one time or another. In the early 1950s, Calvin Neal ran a route, as did Ralph Wilkinson. Calvin ran route number one (my old route) which consisted entirely of downtown Danville operations. It was the hardest route to work since there were so

Customers located on upper floors involved. Most of these had no elevator. It also was the route that distributed more Coca-Colas than any of the others. Of course, at that time there was only one size bottle and that was 6 ½ ounces. This made it possible to distribute a large volume since the cases were light in weight and fairly easy to handle.

Calvin Neal is my brother in law who married Barbara’s sister, Jean. As a matter of fact, I was ‘best man’ at their wedding and Barbara was ‘maid of honor.’

The wedding was held on July 4, 1951 and prior to departing on their honeymoon, Barbara and I hosted a wedding dinner for them at the Cavalier Restaurant in Danville. We became very close over the years, more like brothers than brothers-in-law. We took vacations together and did just about every thing that brothers would normally do. Calvin left for the air force in the mid fifties and upon returning, decided to work for Merita Bakeries. He did this for a time and then took over his father’s store on Route 58, east of Danville. He was quite successful in that endeavor and built a house nearby. As of today, he is wheel chair bound due to having flown through atomic bomb clouds while in the air force. He is hopeful of negotiating some sort of settlement with the government regarding his disability.

Figure 34 - Jean and Calvin Neal’s home.

Scotty, Barbara’s younger brother also worked there, but did so in the 1960s. He worked for me and serviced the vending machines in Klopman Mills at Hurt, Virginia. Scotty passed away by drowning at the Brantley Steam Plant on the Dan River in 1965. It was a real tragic event, especially since it took a week to find his body. I recall that Barbara was all to pieces, as was all the family. Ralph, who was a police officer at the time stayed at the riverbank for several days and had to be dragged away to get some rest.

The employees of Klopman Mills started a flower fund for Scotty and it became so big that Arnold Barwick, the personnel manager came to my house and asked my advice on what to do with the $1,100.00 they had collected. We both agreed giving it to his family rather than buy a lot of flowers would better spend it. This, he did, and the entire family was most appreciative. Everyone that knew Scotty loved him and would do anything for him.

J.T. Whitehurst, Calvin Neal, others, and I started a trust fund for Scotty’s children. It was not a substantial amount but was presented to Beth, Scotty’s wife, for use as she saw fit after approximately 10 years. Their children are both grown now, and Lisa, who has been an invalid since birth, is now cared for by someone I do not know, but it is my understanding that she is in good hands.

Scott, the eldest child got a good education and has had several wonderful jobs, but couldn’t seem to cope due to mental stress. Consequently, he is now on disability and has not been seen by either Barbara or Jean since last year [2004] when he was gong through a religious experience. I have been told that he is residing in an apartment complex near the airport (which would put him very close to our house), but we have not seen nor have we heard from him in over a year.

Blain was always very observant and was hard to fool on most any subject. This was made evident during a Christmas season when he was about five or six years of age. Calvin came to our door dressed as Santa Claus and was there to determine what Blain wanted for Christmas. Blain immediately looked at his boots and said, “Those are Calvin’s boots.” For the life of me, I will never know how he recognized those boots.

Beverly was just as observant as Blain, but was fascinated with guns. She loved guns and horses and most things that would make one think she was a tomboy. Once, when Ralph who was a police officer came by the house to use the bathroom, she said, “Ralph, you have a new gun!” She was the only person to notice that.

Figure 35 - Pictured left to right: Beverly on horse, Charles Phipps, Clarence Kennedy and Glenna Kennedy. This was taken at Clarence and Lola’s home in the mountains. Clarence was my uncle who is now deceased, as is Lola, his wife.

Elsie Haskins was Barbara’s sister who is now deceased. She was one of the finest and kindest people I ever knew and one that made a real impact on everyone she met. She was so generous and had cooking skills that could not be matched by a master chef. Elsie had three children that included Winnie, Sandra and Keith. Winnie and Sandra turned out to be wonderful girls that took after their Mom while Keith took after his Dad. Keith is living in South Carolina and is disabled. I understand that his wife is also in bad health. The entire family has seen very little of during the past several years.

Figure 36 - Elsie and Blain

Elsie had a hard life in her marriage and after it broke up she worked hard to raise her children well and, in my opinion, succeeded. She was a member of Third Avenue Christian Church and seldom missed a service. She could quote the Bible better than most preachers and was a true believer. One could visit Elsie and whether they were family or just some street person, she would not let them leave without taking some food with them. She was great and everyone that knew her loved her.

Figure 37 - Elsie and Barbara

Winnie Fillian has always been one of my favorite people. She was just like a doll as a little girl and when we lived in Edgewood she would frequently stay with us over the weekend. The Danville Commercial Appeal that was once Danville’s second newspaper, had neighborhood reporters, unpaid, of course, that would report any happenings in their assigned neighborhood. They would frequently run the following item: “Little Winnie Haskins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Winifred Haskins spent the weekend with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Dillard at 508 Edgewood Drive.” I thought that was so cute and will never forget it. Winnie has always had my deepest respect for the hard work she has done throughout her life, and like her Mom and her Mom’s Mom, she is a great cook.

Her first husband, Cookie Ragsdale and she would come to our house for Sunday lunch quite often when we lived on Northmont Boulevard. After lunch, Cookie and I would watch the football game. Cookie and Winnie divorced several years ago and she married Ralph Fillian. They seem quite happy and are a lovely couple. Cookie had a stroke some time ago and it had a dramatic effect on his speech quality. It is very difficult to understand what he is saying when he talks.

Winnie loves Charleston S. C. and loves to visit there. She is so in love with that life style that she was prompted, along with Ralph who has similar feelings, to renovate an old house to conform to the ‘Southern Style’. It is truly a beautiful home, one of which they are, as they should be, very proud.

Winnie and Cookie had three wonderful children, Michele, Neal and Angela. They are all very thoughtful and are always doing things for others. I love them all a great deal.
Figure 38 - Ralph & Winnie at home.

When Blain was around 3 or 4 years of age, Barbara went downstairs to put in a load of clothes to wash. She gave explicit instructions for Blain not to attempt coming down the stairs for fear he would fall and get hurt. Before she realized what had happened, Blain tumbled down just like Humpty-Dumpty. Beverly and Barbara rushed him to the emergency room at the hospital where he was required to have several stitches just above his eye.

After all was over and I came into the picture, Blain looked at me so seriously and said, “Daddy, I am not going down those steps again until you carpet them and I want it done right away.” Obviously, I immediately had carpet put on those steps.

Later at the beach, with a patch over the stitches, I was trying to get him to swim and was in the pool below the sliding board. I encouraged him to slide down and promised to catch him. He was very reluctant and frightened, but with lots of pleading and promising, he decided he would risk the slide and put his trust in me. Just as he began his slide, someone from the street tooted his or her car horn and I looked up. This caused me to miss him and he went on into the pool. He got up crying and stammering and said, ‘Daddy, You broke your promise!” That, I did, and have always regretted it. I have made every attempt not to do it again.

Ralph, Barbara’s brother, and I were always the very best of friends. It is sad that he passed away so early in life [1979]. His passing was only a short while after Charlotte, his wife, passed away, stricken by cancer. He loved his family in every respect and there is nothing he would not do for any of them.

Once we were at Myrtle Beach together and went out to dinner at Roma’s Italian Restaurant. Ralph looked the menu over and finally decided on ‘buttered spaghetti’ not realizing that it would not contain meat sauce. He was very disappointed and after arguing with the waiter went on and ate it anyway. He would take such huge bites and open his mouth so wide; it drew the attention of this elderly lady at a nearby table. Each time he would take a bite, I noticed her mouth would gape open. I brought this to Ralph’s attention and he sort of upped the ante for her amusement by dipping his napkin in the finger bowl and washing his face with it. It was amazing to see her face and how wide open her mouth became at that antic.

While living on Northmont Boulevard, we frequently had Doris Williams as a visitor. Sometimes she would just visit and other times would sit with Beverly while Barbara and I would go out to dinner or possibly go away for the weekend. Doris worked at the Old Dutch Super Market at that time and for many years until retirement. She was not driving at the time, although in later years she learned to drive and bought a car. Prior to this, however, she relied on others for transportation to and from her residence in Ringgold and her work in Danville. On one occasion, she came by our house unexpectedly to visit and missed her ride home. She then became our houseguest for the better part of a year. We were fortunate to have her, however, since she was great company for Beverly and was a whiz at ‘Jack Rocks.’

On June 7, 1958, my beautiful wife, Barbara was a contestant in the annual Dan River Mills ‘Cotton Queen’ contest. This event was held at Dan River Mill’s Country Club Inn and was followed by a dance with music provided by the Paul Dameron Orchestra. I will never forget how proud I was of her at that time. I must admit, however that she was not as happy with me as I was of her. This was due to stupidity on my part by telling her that I did not think she had a chance of winning. I did this because I thought it would make her feel better should she lose. After my theory backfired when she won the contest, Barbara felt I did not have confidence in her and I then realized what a huge mistake I had made. In any event, I was then and always will be proud of her.

There were several in the contest that I had attended school with, and one in particular was quite jealous of the fact that Barbara won and she did not. Regardless of this fit of jealousy, Barbara still won and took home all the many gift certificates that went along with winning the title and crown.

Figure 39 - Henry Marries a Winner!

She was honored by having her picture on the 1960 Dan River Annual Report although this distinction had nothing to do with being crowned “Cotton Queen.” It was, however, a real honor and made everyone that knew Barbara very proud of her.

Figure 40 - Barbara pictured on cover of 1960 Annual Report for Dan River Mills

One of the more interesting times in my life was my experience in meeting and getting to know Joe Powell. Joe was a Virginia State Trooper who built a house on Brentwood Drive which ran parallel to Northmont Boulevard. His lot adjoined mine and initially, I was extremely happy to welcome a state trooper to the neighborhood. One never could tell when a policeman’s influence or his protection might be needed.

Shortly after moving in, Joe came over and introduced himself. He advised that he had moved to Danville from the Culpepper, Virginia, area and was looking forward to getting to know everyone and become a good neighbor. After the usual amenities, he asked if I would lend him my car to go and buy groceries since he didn’t know as yet how his Danville sergeant would react to using the state car for personal purposes. Although I never like to lend my car to anyone, I agreed while thinking what can he do for me later? I even gave him some Coca- Cola coupons entitling him to buy a six pack carton and receive a six pack carton free. When I observed him unloading the groceries that included Pepsi Colas, I asked why he didn’t redeem the coupons I had given him. He responded, “I talked the grocer in to letting me redeem them for Pepsis.” I was about as angry as I had ever been in my life. Needless to say, that was the last free coupon he ever received, and it was the last time he ever drove my car.

After a couple of years, Joe and I decided to have our back lots landscaped and seeded with grass. He found a black man and his son with a tractor and we gave them the job with no estimate requested or given. Those two guys worked as hard all day as any two men I have ever seen. When they finished, the entire area was landscaped to perfection and was really beautiful. I called Joe off to the side and asked how much he thought they might charge? He responded with a request that I let him negotiate with them in private. After a brief conversation with them, he approached me and said their charge would be $10.00 or $5.00 each. I simply could not believe it. I was happy that it cost so little but felt those guys were not being treated fairly. After they departed, I asked Joe how it came to be so cheap and he explained. When he asked how much they charged, the answer was $50.00. [This would still be awfully cheap.] He advised that they never knew what night he might slip up on them, and of course, it would be in their best interest if they felt obligated to him. That is when the price dropped to $10.00. What a shame to use that type advantage over less fortunate people.

Shortly after the landscape event, I decided to remodel our basement. I started getting ready by purchasing some beautiful birch paneling from Southside Manufacturing Company. Southside Manufacturing Company was partially owned by Mr. Whitehurst and I was able to get paneling at a very good price. When Joe drove by and saw me unloading the paneling, he approached and asked what was going on. When I told him about my remodeling plans, he asked why I didn’t give him the job. [He had started sometime earlier a part-time venture into remodeling rooms for various people.] When I said I wanted to do it myself, he gave me a price of $3.00 per hour. When I declined, he dropped to $2.00 per hour. I declined again and he dropped to $1.00 per hour. When I declined that, he came down to 50 cents per hour. I then told him he was finally in my neighborhood and gave him the job.

Prior to getting started, he asked if I would let him have a key to the basement door since he would be working at odd hours and possibly at times when I would not be home. I agreed and told Barbara to keep up with the hours he worked as best she could. Our bedroom was located just above the construction area and often times we would almost jump out of bed when a skill saw would become engaged downstairs. It really turned into a horrible experience but also turned into a beautiful family room.

Barbara, at that time was working for Lorillard Tobacco Company and invited her office to the house for a Christmas party. As the first guests arrived, Joe was driving the last nail and was ready for his pay. I had already talked to Barbara and we figured he had worked around 198 hours. When I asked Joe how many hours he had out in, he responded with the statement, “It is very close to 200 hours.” I agreed to pay him for 200 hours and proceeded to write the check for $100.00.

We were really happy with that basement and I spent most of my leisure time down there watching television. Approximately two months after completion, I was watching television and Joe knocked on the basement door. He entered, looked around and asked when I was going to give him some more money on the basement. When I replied I had no intention of doing so, he said that I knew he took the job too cheap and felt like I owed him more. I absolutely refused and he left feeling very dejected.

I will wrap up the section on Joe at this point although it would not be too difficult to write a complete book with him as the only subject. I will add the following items of interest. Joe did not drink, gamble, smoke or curse. To my knowledge, he had only one vice and I won’t bother to mention that in this book.
He got discharged from the Virginia State Police after being caught at Smith Mountain Lake, which was 30 miles from where he was supposed to be, painting his boat with his uniform on.

Joe came by our Green Acres Home about 1996 and told me something that really shocked me. He said that when his Sergeant Hutchinson fired him at Smith Mountain Lake, he contemplated shooting him, but fortunately thought better of it since there was a good chance he would have been caught.

At that time and now, so far as I know, he was and is residing in Maryland and was in the remodeling business. His wife Betsy was working in some office as she did in Danville. His two sons, Ricky and Edward had married and divorced.