Pawpaw Don, Stories From My Dad

My dad shared some stories and memories he had of his grandfather Brownlow Mcdonald (Don) Winters. Paw Paw Don lived in the mountains in a town called Asheville, NC which was about an hour and ½ away from where dad lived.  He moved down from the mountain to live in Connelly Springs where dad lived when he retired. That was when dad was about 17 years old. Dad and the family were excited when Paw Paw decided to move near them.  He was a painter and worked for a company where he would spray paint big machines and equipment.  He learned the trade of painting when he joined the Navy at the age of 17 years old.  He helped paint the USS Enterprise when he was in the Navy.

Pa Pa Don loved Nascar Racing before it was popular.  He was a big Chevrolet fan and always pulled for Cale Yarborough who drove a Chevrolet or Oldsmobile most of his career. My dad remembers how he would always go out to his car on Sunday afternoons and listen to the race on the car radio for hours.  Paw Paw had a neighbor / friend that he worked with for years and called “Stroop”.  Stroop was a big David Pearson fan and he and Don would always make friendly wagers/bets on the race for bragging rights.  Pearson drove a Ford and Stroop was a big Ford fan.  Don would always say he did not care if Yarborough did not win the race just as long as he finished ahead of Pearson!  Dad remembers listening to some races when he was eleven & twelve years old with Paw Paw Don on his car radio.  He loved it when Yarborough beat Pearson and he had bragging rights at work all week and would harass his friend Stroop!  When Yarborough lost to Pearson he was not very happy to say the least.

Paw Paw Don loved to hunt and fish and spend time outdoors with his grandchildren.  My dad cherishes memories when he took him deer & squirrel hunting on several occasions when he was a teenager with his cousins Mike & Tim Carpenter.  Mike was the oldest grandson and dad was the second oldest grandson.  Dad had lots of cousins on his mother’s side of the family.  They would go out in the woods early in the morning before dawn and take good turkey or bologna sandwiches to eat for lunch.   They would stay out in the woods all day and hunt.  Dad said that they did not shoot too many deer or squirrels, but they sure enjoyed the time out in nature with Paw Paw.  He always had good stories to tell and good advice to share.

Dad most cherished the summer days that he would go out fishing on the lake with Paw Paw Don.  He would usually take dad fishing out on Lake Hickory at a cabin with a dock.  The man that owned the cabin was named Sam Herman and he was a friend of the family and member of the church.  They would always refer to this fishing place as Sam’s Cabin.  Paw Paw would take dad with his cousins and sometimes with Dad’s younger brother and sister to Sam’s Cabin to fish. This was their favorite place to fish.  Sometimes Dad and Paw Paw would go alone and dad really liked that.  Dad was always a good fisher!  Unlike hunting, they would always seem to be successful fishers and catch many fish that they would clean and cook for dinner.  They would put extra fish in the freezer and save for later. 

Dad remembered a time when Paw Paw took him (12-years-old) and his sister Tammy (7) and brother Randy (6) fishing one summer day on the lake at Sam’s Cabin.  Paw Paw took out two ten foot ropes and tied one around the waist and through the belt loops of Tammy and Randy’s pants and tied the other end around a tree so they could get near the edge of the water but not fall in. Dad was a proven fisher and good swimmer so Paw Paw didn’t worry about him falling in the water.  They all caught lots of fish that day!  Dad’s sister Tammy still remembers that fishing trip to this day and says how embarrassed she was to be tied to a tree like Randy.  She would talk about it many times to Paw paw as she grew older and how it embarrassed her.  Paw Paw would say, “Sis, it is better to be embarrassed than 10 foot under the water with a chance of not coming back up! It worked out just fine and you will understand better someday when you have children of your own.”  Tammy ended up having 4-boys and 1-girl and she did understand as she used the same kind of techniques Paw Paw used on her with her young sons when she took them fishing!