I Remember Grandpa! By Darrell McLain
My earliest memories of grandpa were of this old man who came around occasionally. Grandma lived just over the hill from us in Leon, IA. It was during the depression and grandpa traveled the country looking for work to support his large family. At this time most of his children were grown and just my aunts Teresa, Dollie and uncle Max remained at home. When WWII started he went to Burlington, IA and got a job at the Murray Iron Works. The absence wasn't good for his marriage and they eventually divorced. He later married Jessie Cox.
After retiring, Grandpa moved to Garden Grove and bought a forty-acre farm. Garden Grove is northeast of Leon. In 1968, my brother Jim had been drafted into the army and had just finished basic training and was being shipped to Vietnam. Our family all gathered in Des Moines and grandpa came to our house to bid him farewell. He made doubly sure that the trip was worthwhile and brought a small TV with him to see about getting it fixed. Grandpa, dad and the four sons all climbed into the car on a busy Saturday and went to Sears. The service counter was crowded with people lined up in rows trying to get waited on. He instructed all of us to spread out and get in line and whoever was waited on first to call him. As luck would have it somebody stepped back and he was right at the counter. He told the clerk that he wanted a repairman to look at his TV and give him an estimate. She explained that the repairmen did not work on Saturdays. He countered with "I don't want them to work on it. Just give me an estimate," all of this in a loud voice. Rejected, he finally said, "come on Steve let's go get a bottle." We all tried to look innocent as though we weren't with him.
In 1970, I moved back to Leon and got to spend a little more time with him and his wife Jessie. Grandpa was always the boss and never failed to voice his opinion. He was in control of almost everything. I went with them once to Osceola, IA to go to the grocery store. It was the first of the month and they had just received their Social Security Checks. When it came time to pay for the groceries he told Jessie to cash hers then if anything else came up later he would cash his.
He loved to play cards and especially cribbage. When anybody would call on them there would be the usual gossip sessions and exchange of pleasantries. Then after a few minutes he would get his cribbage board, deck of cards and sat at the table. He hated to lose. It wasn't unusual for him to fumble the pegs if he started to get behind. Worst of all was to lose to a woman.
Another time he heard that if you played a radio in the sweet corn field that it would keep the raccoons out. He put the radio under a bucket and tuned it to WHO, a 24 hour radio station in Des Moines. It worked well except on Sunday night they went off the air for maintenance at midnight. The next morning most of the corn was gone.
He asked me if I wanted to ride with him to Burlington, IA. He had some business to take care of so I agreed to go along. I drove out to the farm and he told me to get into his car. I asked him if he wanted me to drive. He said that he would do the driving and this rather scared me. His driving skills and eyesight were becoming suspect. He drove out of the driveway went a couple of miles and said, "Ok, you can drive." When we reached the outskirts of Burlington it was time for me to relinquish the wheel. Coming home was just the same. He wanted everyone to think that he did all the driving.
One day he was driving on a busy thoroughfare in Des Moines. Traffic was passing him and he was having trouble concentrating. He began to drive too fast. He was pulled over by the police and issued a ticket. He asked his grandson, Paul Baker, to appear in court with him. The judge asked Paul what his interest was in the case. Paul told him that he was asked to come along. Then the judge asked grandpa if he was guilty or innocent. Earlier that week there had been an accident involving the governor's son. He had been driving too fast and was only issued a warning ticket. Grandpa recited this to the judge, who then decided to throw the case out on the condition that he wouldn't drive in Des Moines anymore.
After his death, the death of my father Stephen McLain and Wilbur Baker, we attended the funeral of Uncle Pete,[Harley Reynolds]. This completed a foursome who enjoyed playing cards together and having a few drinks and enjoying each other's company. We always knew that they were all together having one good time.
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Harrison (Harry) Hyatt Reynolds, son of Oliver H. and Irene (Allen) Reynolds, died March 16, 1980, age 89 years, 4 months and 18 days at his home in Leon, IA. Harry was born on a farm near Allerton, IA, Oct. 28, 1890.
The family moved to Leon, Mar 27, 1900. Except for an extended period of time in West Burlington, IA, he lived in Decatur County. He was united in marriage to May F. VanHorn in Chariton, IA, July 2,1910. To this union 13 children were born: Nadine, Retha, Elmer, Hubert, Clair, Edith, Richard, Iva, Harley, Gene, Teresa, Lorraine and Carl Maxwell.
He was united in marriage to Jessie Cox in Burlington, April 7, 1945. They adopted and raised two children, Francis and Barbara. He was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers: Guy, Perry, Merritt, and Carl;three sisters: Flora Kendall, Arla Alley and an infant sister Jessie; five sons: Gene, Hubert, Richard, Clair and Francis; one daughter Teresa West; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and three sons-in-law. Survivors include: widow Jessie; six daughters: Nadine Baker and Retha McLain of Des Moines; Edith Franklin, Winchester, IL; Iva Robertson and husband Bill, Benton City, WA; Dollie Lorraine Sissel and husband Arthur, Falmouth, KY; and Barbara Massick and husband Michael, III, Burlington, IA; three sons: Elmer and wife Eva, Marysville, CA, Harley and wife Patricia, Indianapolis, IN., Max and wife Jean, Martensdale; sister: Irene Akes, Billings, MO; two brothers: Roscoe and Thad both of Leon; two sisters-in-law, Alta, Leon and Bessie, Clarence, MO; 46 grandchildren; 52 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren and other relatives and friends.
After retiring from Murray Iron Works in Burlington, he returned to Decatur County. He joined the United Brethren Church as a young man.