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Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Brother & Sister Austine Hunter Wallice & Charlie Hunter

This is Charlie Hunter and his sister Austine Hunter Wallis (1927-2006). They are the 3rd cousin, once removed of my Hunter first cousins and me. Austine and I sort of bumped heads when we were researching the same Hunters. She was a principal of a grammar school in Athens and her husband was s professor at UGA. We swapped information and personal antidotes back and forth that we became good friends, which I told her our friendship was unnatural because principals have always been my natural enemy. Austine and her husband George settled back at her home place in Union County after they retired. And so did Charlie. Austine return to the home place she grew up in and became the caregiver for her elderly father. In time George died and then Austin became sickly and died. The picture of her was taken just a couple of weeks before she died. Charlie wasn't much for computers but at times he would call me and we would talk. One time he called me and told me our ancestor, the first Hunter in Union Count John Hunter's cabin was to be demolished, the land had been bought by someone who wanted it gone. Charlie called me a couple weeks later and told me he paid someone to disassembled and number all the boards and bricks, whatever, and reassembled one day in the future at the Choestoe Museum, which has not been founded yet. For a while Charlie was calling me often. He told me war stories and Marietta stories. One time he was stationed at Dobbins and the bank was always getting his checking account and another Charlie Hunter who owned a laundry near Page and Hunt Streets mixed up. He also told me he had a good friend in the Air force that lived in Marietta, his nickname was Smokey. His last name was Stover. Smokey Stover. A guy that went by Smokey Stover did all the carpentry maintenance for my in-laws. It was his friend Smokey. small world. The last time I saw Charlie, a couple years ago, we were in Union County, in or near the Choestoe District, and lunched at Jim's Que, one of the best barbecue places in Georgia and I thought I would drop by and pay Charlie a visit. We knocked on his door and he came, drowsy, he was taking a nap. We talked for a while and he told me of his latest projects and other small talk. I felt we needed to go before we wore our welcome out so thanked him and we walked out to the car. He stood on his porch just as we were leaving and said, "Who did you say you are?"

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