Sunday, February 7, 2010

Did I Tell You ‘Bout… The Day I Stopped the State Trooper

One day, some of the McDonald’s supervisors and managers had just left for a meeting in Northern Virginia, when one of the managers called the office. He just realized his store manager had taken the freezer keys with him. They couldn’t get into the freezer to get meat, fries and other needed items for lunch.

Dad decided, since they had only been gone a little while, he’d try to head up I-95, to see if he could catch them. He was speeding up I-95, when a State trooper came down the ramp onto the interstate; he apparently was sitting up there with radar and was going to stop Dad for speeding (he thinks he was going 75 - 80 mph). The trooper quickly caught up to him and was tailgating him when Dad looked in the mirror and, with his thumb, motioned the trooper to the side of the road. Dad told him about the dilemma of trying to catch up to the managers and asked him to radio ahead. The trooper said he couldn’t do that if there was no reason to stop them. Then, the trooper got in his car and headed up the road. Dad proceeded northbound on I-95, behind him. The trooper sped ahead and was soon out of sight. Dad really appreciated shortly seeing the trooper having pulled someone else on the side of the road…which Dad interpreted as “full speed ahead”. He soon caught up with the managers and signaled them over, got the keys and rushed back to Richmond. Freezer open, supplies out in time for lunch... Once again, the day was saved!!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Camp Reynolds

My dad (Papa) often talks about Camp Reynolds at Transfer, PA. During World War II, the Army came into the area and forced people from their homes and farms in order to establish a camp used for preparing troops to ship out overseas. Many of the neighbors had to sell out and move to other areas. Papa's family moved to the area called Delaware Grove, where they bought a farm which his parents owned until the mid-1970s. (The house on this farm was very old and was reportedly used by the Underground Railroad to hide slaves many years before.)

On Route 18 in Transfer, Papa's family, his Grandfather Love and Uncle Paul Love all had houses side by side. After the Army came in and forced them out, they moved Grandfather Love's house across the road and put the main gate to the camp in its place. Papa's house was taken by the Commander of the base as his residence. It was a very nice house - Papa's father was a good carpenter and had built it well.

Camp Reynolds was built in 1942 and closed in 1945. Papa thinks that it covered about 1,000 acres. Over one million men passed through its gates during that time. The soldiers were trained there and sent to the "European Theater of Operations" to fight in the war.

While the camp was under construction, Papa, who was 15 years old, worked at a sandwich shop about a half mile from his house towards Greenville. The "sandwich shop" was on a neighbor's front porch. The construction workers came there to buy sandwiches, drinks, etc. for their lunches. The neighbor also had one gas pump, so folks could buy gas there, too.

On one trip back to this area after his family had moved, Papa and his friends took a road that goes through a covered bridge. They came to the bridge as American soldiers were marching down the road. The troops parted and Papa drove right down the middle between two rows of soldiers!

The most interesting part of Papa's Camp Reynolds story is when he tells of one visit he and his buddies made to the base in his 1936 Ford convertible. They entered through a back gate - no one tried to stop them, although he doesn't think that they were supposed to be there. They came around a corner and stopped. Right in front of them was a large group of German POWs being marched to the mess hall! They just sat there in the car and watched the enemy soldiers pass by.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Interacting with the Big Wigs

Presentation of 1,776 trees from Richmond McDonald's CoOp to Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr in 1976. This was part of the National Tree Program.

Pretty much says it all

Nice article from the local McDonald's franchisee newsletter.

This was the "Puppy Love" - a 42 foot, wood hull boat used to tour the Chesapeake. Trips included Delaware Bay, Annapolis, the Sassafrass River, down the Inter-Coastal Waterway and various Yacht clubs around Virginia and Maryland. Excursions also included going out into the Atlantic as well to explore more of the East Coast.
The boat was housed many years at Pointer's Marina and Windmill Point. Memories include going through the locks on the Inter-Coastal Waterway and "The Cut", a measure of captainship near Wrightsville Beach.