My grandfather, Bill Pry, my dad’s step-father, built houses for a living. He owned his own company in and around Galion, Ohio. He had quite a number of master craftsmen working for him and the homes he built were rarely on the market long. My grandmother would stage the homes before staging was a thing, with furniture and whatever else would generate a quick sale. It never failed and many times they were sold before they were even on the market.
The homes he built were always brick. At least I never saw one that was not brick. He was very good at what he did. I remember as a kid when he had a home sale, he would let me help him count the money, many times they were cash sales, before he went to the bank. I think he let me help because it was his way of spending time with me and doing more than a little bit of bragging. I remember counting out the bills, they were large denominations no longer used in circulation. The largest was a $10,000 dollar bill. And yes, in the 60’s 10,000 bills were in circulation, at least until 1969.
My grandfather also taught me to pitch pennies and play poker. Two activities my parents were absolutely thrilled about when he taught me how to play those two games! And no, I do not pitch pennies or play poker and haven’t in ages… but it would not take me long to pick it back up. The thing is, I actually enjoyed pitching pennies. It reminded me of playing tiddly winks when I lived in California.
My grandfather was a golfer, and he absolutely loved playing golf. In fact, he built a house on SR 598 across from the golf course there because he loved the game so much. Next to their house was an empty field he would use to practice hitting golf balls. When our family went out on Sundays to visit, if the weather was nice, I would head out to that field and retrieve as many golf balls I could find. He always had a bucket ready for me to use, and he would pay me a penny a ball. He would get the biggest kick every time I found a ball that wasn’t his as he tried to figure out where it came from.
At one point my grandfather decided to build what in essence today would be a small subdivision. The road created is off Dawsett Avenue and he built most, but not all the homes on it. My grandmother named the road: “Alayne Avenue.” And yes, it was named after me as my middle name is Alayne. I have to say, I think it is pretty cool to have a street named specifically after you.
I have a lot of fond memories of my grandpa Pry. I know most people who knew him do not. He only had an eighth-grade education but was a very successful businessman and made a lot of money. He lived a hard life and learned not to trust anyone. Even his own father cheated him out of money he earned when he was young. His life experiences made him into the hard man he was and he did not always treat people well. But he was always good to me. And I think that is an important distinction to remember. I know who my grandfather was. He was both/and. He was both a good businessman and he was difficult to work with. He was both mean-spirited to many family members and he was also good to some family members. He was both stern and funny. And like my grandfather, we are all both/and in our own unique ways.
Peace,
Beth
BTW…here are a couple pictures. One is of me standing below the “Alayne Ave.” street sign. The other is the original survey done for my grandfather of the street he developed and would be named after me.
Beth's Blog 