Our Guest Writer is Anne Coots Brown Part II

My Father by Anne Coots Brown

My father was an amazing man. His full name was Gerald Dean Coots, but he went by, Jerry. He was born, 22 April

1. Geard Dean Coots, born in LaGrange , Georgia.

1921, in LaGrange, GA. Dad was the middle son of Ernest James Coots and his wife, Leila Jane Beverly. The family had a tough life and when Dad was in the eighth grade, he quit school to work and help out with finances. It seems his father had gone to the store one day and didn't return for seven years. I've never been told exactly what happened, but have heard he might have been in jail for part of that time. Dad shared storied with me of how his mother worked nights in the mills and when the three brothers would leave for school, she would not yet be home. When she did arrive she would sleep for a while and then fix food for the boys to eat after she returned to work. Dad said there were times they had nothing but biscuits and onions for supper. I'm not sure all of the jobs my dad worked at, but do know he was a Soda Jerk at Well's Dairy where he made milk shakes, ice cream sodas and other drinks. Dad was also part of the government's Works Progress Administration or WPA for short. This was started, 06 May 1935 by President Roosevelt as part of his New Deal. Daddy said it was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. It taught him to have a great work ethic. He was working in his position as a Soda Jerk when he first met my mom. She had gone into the ice cream parlor where he worked with one of her friends. The girls were having an outing and decided to stop by for a treat. That day, after they left, Mom told her friend, 'I'm going to marry him one day.' And she did. Mom and Dad began seeing one another, but not long after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, dad enlisted in the Army-Air Corp. It was 25 September 1942, when he signed up at Fort Mcpherson in Atlanta. Upon entry he was given a test to see how he was best qualified to serve his country. His score was so high; he was given the choice to choose anything he wanted to train for. He joked about it later, but said since he was planning to marry, he didn't even look at the names of the choices, but looked at the length of time the training took. Airline Mechanic was the longest, so thats what he selected. He and Mom were finally able to marry on, 13 July 1943 in Phenix City, Alabama. After I was born in September of 1944, Dad was sent to Sioux City, Iowa. Mom and I went with him, but when he was shipped out to the South Pacific, we returned to Columbus to live with my Jeffries grandparents. Dad mustered out of service in February of 1946. After the war and his return, Mom and Dad set up housekeeping in Columbus and he returned to his job at Well's Dairy, but this time he became the manager. My Coots Grandfather had returned home many years before that and was a barber who worked in both Phenix City and Columbus. Around 1948 or so, Dad Opened his own business in Columbus called Jumbos. It was located on 17th Street and 4th Avenue. Jumbos was a cafe and not a large place, but to a child like me, it seemed huge. It had a counter with stools plus tables and chairs for the patrons. He served different type sandwiches like hamburgers, hot dogs, bar-be-que, fish and others. One of his best sandwiches was made from pork loin slices, pounded flat, breaded and fried. They were served on a hamburger bun with lettuce, tomato and dill pickle slices. I still make those for my own family and they love them. Another favorite was the Scrambled Dog. Now, I've seen those sold other places, but my dad and his father swear they invented it. It was a hot dog, placed in an open bun and covered with chili, onions, mustard, and chopped dill pickles, with crushed up saltine crackers on top. It was eaten with a knife and fork and unbelievably delicious. He also served dinner plates of all kinds, fried chicken, steak and chops with potatoes and vegetables. At first they were open 24 hours a day and employed mostly family. That wasn't cost effective, so they changed the hours, opening at 6 am and closing at midnight. I'm not sure when he sold it, but do know he opened a drive-in restaurant on Victory Drive called what else, The Victory Drive-In. He had one of those green milkshake machines and I loved the ones he made. Years later, my husband and I purchased a machine just like it at a flea market here in Florida and it is one of my prized possessions. Dad made his own bar-be-que sauce and to this day, we've never found another as good. I'd watched him make it many times over the years, but have never been able to duplicate the taste. It was the best ever. In 1954 our family moved to Miami, Florida. I hated it and wanted to go home! Things were hard when we first moved. Dad tried the restaurant business again, but Florida was different and he wasn't successful as he'd been in Columbus. Eventually he found a job in a window company in Hialeah, Forida. After working there only a few years my father, who had only an eighth grade education, became vice president in charge of production in that same company. He developed all of the formulas used for testing the windows in high rises (those are what FL calls big ol' tall apartments, hotels and condos) along Miami Beach against hurricane force winds. I was so impressed! I had always seen him be able to take long rows of two and three columns of figures and add them together in his head, which was a big deal to me, but algebra! One day I asked him, 'Dad, how did you know how to do that? You never learned it in school.' His only answerer was that he didn't know how, he just did it. Being a good man, my father never saw the need of a savior in his life. He's never been bad after all! I prayed for him a long time and finally in 1974, he did accept Jesus. It was one of the best days of my life. Dad died in November of 1995 from lung cancer. He had been a great son, husband and father. He began smoking when he was in the Army and said all of the soldiers were given free cigarettes. It was a habit he was never able to shake until he learned he was dying. Even after all of this time, I miss him very much.
Anne's

2.Dad Jerry Coots with granddaughters

3.This one did not come out to well, as I was afraid. It was in my scrapbook and wasn't a good picture to start with. I tried to improve it but couldn't.  .Anne's Dad Jerry Coots.

Anne Coots Brown
Feb. 2007

I am very grateful to Anne for sharing her story and pictures of her Coots, Salter and Jefferies families. I know that Anne's family goes back for generations in Alabama.one of Anne's ancestors married one my ancestors Nathan Aldridge. They lived in the Salem, Alabama area in the early 1800s.

One of my Lynn ancestors married into the Jackson family of Alabama. So this makes Ron Rollins 's ancestors married into my family in the eighteen hundreds.

Ron's mother Selma, born in 1916, maiden name was Jackson.( Irene Aurelia Prance married Andrew Walter Jackson)
Irene Aurelia Prance was the daughter of Georgia Washington and Nancy White Lynn ;Nancy White Lynn was the daughter of Levisa Aldridge and William Clinton White. Levisa Aldridge White was the daughter of Sarah Liverman and Ruben Aldridge.(Born in 1770 in North Carolina and moved to the Salem . Alabama area and died there in 1847.

Nathan Aldridge son of Ruben and Sarah , married a Mary Rollins but we haven't made that Merriwether County, Connection , yet.

If you live in Georgia and Alabama long enough and you dig deep enough you will find our ancestors who have been here for many generation are related by marrage.

If our memories have brought back memories of your own and you would like to share them with us. Please contact me. scalawag1826@cs.com.

If anyone wants to start a little Genealogy Corner, let me know and I'll check with our Editor . Just let me know.

I am also looking for people from Columbus, Baker and Central High School who has memories to share.

I know you have enjoyed Anne's stories about her family and their lives in Columbus, Georgia. If you need to get in touch with Anne for any information about names in her story or just want to chat with her about her memories. Anne can be reached by email: jbrown73@tampabay.rr.com

Thank you, for letting me share my memories with you all.

Sandra