Bus Hunter, the Pool Shark

Here is something I don’t remember sharing with my Hunter cousins. From 1960 to 1963 I worked for Eastman Atlantic Mfg Co. on Chattahoochee Avenue in Atlanta. The company was an assembler and seller of hydraulic hose and couplings. I think about 20 to 30 people worked in the warehouse. The first year at Eastman I worked in the warehouse. After that I worked in the office until I quit to go into the Navy. When I worked in the warehouse I worked with about 5 or 6 young men. Three of those young men were friends, single, that lived in Douglasville. Their names were Lee, Jerry, and Red. Red was red headed. On their off-time they hung out at pool hall in Douglasville. One day Red asked me did I know a Hunter that lived in Douglasville that played pool at their hangout. I told Red I did not think so. I did not recognize the first name. It was a nickname. Finally, after he described him I knew they were talking about my uncle Robert Ray “Bus” Hunter. So “Bus” liked to play pool! So did I. I played at Past Time Grill on Roswell Waddell Streets. Bus worked for Douglas County REA as a lineman. I heard he was famous for being able to single handedly pick up a single telephone pole. Also, he and his big brother Herbert entered the simi-pro wrestling circuit for a while. Herbert did the managing and promoting, and Bus did the wrestling. I got off Naval active duty July 1965. About a year later Bus’s only son, Jerry, as a pilot, was shot down in Vietnam. Jerry was about two months older than me.