The Journey – Dan Winters
Childhood – My Dad
Harold E. Winters
My father, **Harold E. Winters**, was born on January 17, 1909, in Logan County, West Virginia. He was the third child born to John H. and Addie Winters.
At that time, the Winters family lived on a small farm on the east side of the river, just north of Pecks Mill, near the present location of Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery. There was no bridge crossing the river. The road and railroad were on the opposite bank, so anyone wishing to visit the family had to cross in a small johnboat that carried only five or six people at a time. For those who couldn’t swim—including my mother and Alberta—that short trip across the river could be quite an adventure. Grandma Addie would often hold little Ernest, or whichever baby needed carrying, while everyone made the crossing together. Like most young men growing up during those years, my father experienced both successes and mistakes.
My Uncle Eugene often told the story of an incident that occurred around 1927 while Dad was still a young man. His older brother Raymond worked at Crabtree’s Market in Huntington. After a shipment of grapes failed to sell, Raymond and some friends decided to make homemade wine from them. Before long, both Raymond and my father had enjoyed more than they should have. When the family realized Dad was missing, Eugene called their cousin, Irvin Robinson, for help. After searching for some time, they finally found my father in the Logan City Jail. It became one of those family stories that was retold for years with equal parts laughter and embarrassment.
What I appreciate most is that my father was as a kind, dependable man who believed in hard work. As a teenager he worked first in a local drugstore and later at Schromann’s Bakery in Huntington before accepting a position with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad in Peach Creek. His first railroad job was as a **call boy**.
Since very few homes had telephones, his responsibility was to personally notify train crews when it was time to report for work. Day or night, rain or shine, he walked from house to house carrying a lantern after dark, searching for railroad men wherever they happened to be. Some were at home, others stayed at the YMCA, and some could be found in the local taverns. Dad took his responsibilities seriously. He wanted every man to receive his call so no one would miss a day’s work. Because he was tall and extremely slender, the railroad men nicknamed him **”Shape.”** The name stayed with him for many years. Working around older railroad men also exposed him to temptation. It was common for crew members to offer him a drink while he searched for them. Dad later admitted that he rarely intended to drink and never set out to become a drinker. More often than not, he simply found it difficult to refuse the friendship and encouragement of the men around him.
What truly defined Harold Winters was his strong work ethic, and his unwavering commitment to provide a better life for his family. Those qualities would become the foundation upon which our family was built.
Dad's Life/Death after Virginia died
After Mom died in 1962, Dad had a difficult time dealing with the loss of his wife. He and Mom married while teen-agers and he missed her terribly. He could hardly function without her. Often his window blinds would be closed most of the day. He apparently was suffering from depression.
Sue (youngest child of Harold and Virginia) had married Billy Carter and he was now in the military. Their son Billy was born about this time as she was staying with Dad at 1214 seventh St SW. After Bill was discharged, Sue and Bill moved to Indian Rocks Beach to work as grounds keeper, for Bill Morris on his golf course under construction. I delivered and set up a new 24-foot-wide mobile home for them to live on the golf course. Bill Morris was the father of Dick Morris and grandfather of Ronnie Morris who later pastored the Woodlawn Church of God in Clearwater, FL in the year of 2005.
I was building and selling new houses, I took a nice home in trade that was located at 116 Dean Blvd. in Auburndale and Dad moved into it to get away from the memories of the old home place at 1214 seventh St SW.
I invited Dad to work for me to get him out of his house in effort to rid some of the depression. He would visit the job site and keep me informed as to the status. This included supervising work being done by Jim Morehead. As an additional incentive I gave him the title of Vice President of Dan Winters Corporation. Dad’s part time salary in 1964 was $1,975.
Dad was active in the Masonic Lodge with George Jackson, Bill Ogden and others. I think the Lodge and the Daughters of the Easter Star sometimes had combined meetings or social functions. He began to date Pauline Mitchell who was a member of the circle. Her former husband Abby Boland had died several years previously, and their three children were grown except for Charles who was in college. Dad and Pauline seemed to be good for each other. He was impressed that she had been a schoolteacher, her parents were wealthy grove owners, and her brother John Mitchell owned the local funeral home. He impressed her with his resume with the C&O railroad not to mention his position with the Dan Winters Corporation. I suspect she felt he was responsible for the real estate ventures.
Dad and Pauline had a nice simple wedding in the chapel at the Beymer Memorial Methodist Church on Lake Howard. He moved into her house on Avenue G NE near the Polk Community College.
She and her parents owned some groves and they tried to keep Dad busy as a handy man. I think they were good for each other however both Dad and Pauline like to drink. Dad had drunk from time to time since he was a teen age call boy for the C&O railroad at Peach Creek WV. Pentecostals teach abstinence therefore this caused family conflict when he was known to drink.
On October 16, 1966, they moved back to WV for a few years so that dad could earn money working for the C&O plus he could improve his pension. After a few years they returned to Winter Haven. After the death of her parents Pauline and dad moved into their home on the corner of Avenue “G” and seventh Street N.E. She was a good cook and invited my family to her home for a meal on several occasions. We often invited them to share many events and holidays with us at our home.
My dad injured his spine when he was about 25 years of age and afterwards, he always had pain. Pauline said his doctor told him an alcoholic drink every day was probably good for his pain. Sometimes he would keep the bottle in the garage or workshop and take a drink from time to time. Occasionally he would become somewhat drunk and was difficult for Pauline to handle. On a few occasions she telephoned me to come and calm him down. I always went and would set and talk with him. He would tell me the negatives with the expectation from her and her parents.
Dad’s Death on May 21, 1979
May 21, 1979, he wrote a note as to the pain he had suffered every day since the operation on his spine and then took his life in the bedroom of their home on Avenue G NE. It latter disturbed me to find out that Pauline had come to our SGC offices a couple of days prior to dad’s death and requested one of my employees Charlotte Toney to witness a deed signed by my dad transferring to her any interest he had in her real estate. I assume they had been arguing for a few days.