Every Woman Should have a John 1989
Kudos this week to a man of small stature, but one who stands head and shoulders above most — a man of many talents. He’s quick tempered and short spoken, but even so he’s a keeper. I’ve heard him say many times of a Georgia friend, “She will work anywhere you hitch her.” The same applies to him, as well. The person to whom I refer was born in 1924 to Clarence and Delphia Bailey Crumly. They gave him the name of John Wilvie — John being for his paternal grandfather and where the Wilvie came from nobody knows. Many people on Sand Mountain know him as “Tooter,” a name bestowed on him as a toddler by his dad.
John W. Crumly
John Crumly graduated from Crossville High School with the encouragement of several teachers. Her served four years in the armed services. Beginning in what was then known as The Army Air Corps and later the US Air Force. The B-29 was his specialty. You should hear his stories about being one of the mechanics that helped put the Enola Gay in the air to drop The bomb. It’s been said that he was born with a screwdriver in his hand – due to his agility in using same.
John Crumly, with the help of his father and older brother, ran the projectors in the first theater in Crossville and later operated the projectors in the Sandy Theater. When Geraldine’s Gerald Theater came along, John was farming the land where he now resides, but he also operated the projectors at night, It only took one year of farming for this person to know that was not his cup of tea. While still in high school, John and his bother wired the first greenhouses of Cook Nurseries in Crossville. With a background in aircraft mechanics, John had no trouble getting a job with Lockheed Aircraft when it came to Georgia in 1951. He spent 34 years there working on B-29’s, c-130’s, C141’s, The Jet Star and the C-5 to name a few.
The Fix-it Man
John can put a meal on the table in a flash. He makes a delicious meatloaf – a niece, who holds a degree in dietetics, says she would not think of serving meatloaf if Tooter is eating a her house. This man knows more about putting a quilt in the frame than most women, yet he can tune a car or pull a calf. He can diaper a baby, wire a house and/or do the plumbing. We’ve been married 44 years and I could count on one hand the number of times we’ve called a service man. Then it would only be for TV repair. A friend visited recently with a crippled old grill/toaster and a radio. While she visited with me ten minutes he repaired the grill; and though he lays no claim to being able to repair radios, hers now works.
He insists on living in coveralls and I keep telling him that if he dies before I do I’ll bury him in same. He likes the idea!!
On Valentine Day this year, I was away from home — and while some wives received candy (perish the thought) or flowers — my gift was a clean house, complete with vacuuming and mopping! What a wonderful and talented helpmate is my better half, John. Every woman should be so lucky Now this is country living.