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The grandfather Carl Williams' grandchildren knew was a fun-loving, laughing man that often needed a shave. He liked flannel shirts that he buttoned up to the top, probably out of habit to keep out coal dust. He smoked a good-smelling corncob pipe and terrible-smelling cigars.
He liked baseball, Jack Benny and paperback westerns. He played the radio too loud, partially because grandma was hard of hearing. Carl's best friend was Bobus, the storeowner across Vernor Highway in Detroit. He would talk to Bobus for hours about baseball until grandma would tell one of the kids, "Go tell grandpa to come on." It would usually take about three trips to the store before he would come out. Each time Larry went for him, his granddad would buy him a comic book. Carl drove a Model T Ford until 1930. At some point, having no lifting equipment, he had his son Woodburn help him take the old greasy engine out of it. Carl slipped and dropped his end of the engine, leaving Woodburn holding the whole thing. Larry's dad said he found out that day how strong he was. In 1931 Carl bought himself a new Model A. Ford and he also bought Woodburn a new Model A Roadster. Carl told Woodburn he did that so Woodburn wouldn't be wanting to drive his car. In the 1950's Carl and Woodburn built a camp trailer together from a plan they saw in Popular Mechanics magazine. They built it all with extra heavy plywood construction and when they finished it, it was too heavy for the car to pull. So Carl traded his Kaiser for a Buick; it was do that or sell the trailer. About that time Carl and Ermie started taking trips to Tampa, Florida to visit his sister Prudy Nance. That was in the days before I-75 and they had to pull that heavy trailer through the mountains on US 25W. After arriving in Florida with the Buick exhausted and leaking oil everywhere, Carl sent his son a map showing him where he could pull off 25W to let his brakes cool off when he came to Florida. Carl treated his cars just as well as he had treated the mules he cared for working in the mines.
Parting words from Carl's grandson Larry Williams "So there you have the short version of the life of Robert Carlton Williams from Providence, Kentucky - a caring and honorable man searching out a life of happiness and leaving us all lessons of a simpler life. So here's a toast to you, Granddad - I know you're somewhere in the fluffy clouds, with sweet music and paperback westerns, and since there are no hell fires to tend, it looks like you finally got out of the coal business for good. Congratulations!" |