Little Known Facts About George Crady
1. THE CRADY FAMILY WAS ONCE THE ABRAHAM FAMILY
2. HIS DAD DID NOT LIKE ORGANIZED RELIGION
3. AS A CHILD, HE ALMOST DIED FROM ILLNESS
5. GEORGE CRADY MET JENNIE ROERIG UNDER A TREE
6. HE HAS SIX DAUGHTERS AND HIS WIFE TOOK IN LAUNDRY
7. HE WENT TO A BOARDING SCHOOL FOR HIS HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
8. HE WAS “CAPTAIN” OF HIS HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL AND BASKETBALL TEAMS.
9. HE RECEIVED THE “BEST ATHLETE TROPHY” AS A SENIOR AT THE MONTVERDE HIGH SCHOOL
10. HE GRADUATED FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY
11. HE WAS A GYMNAST AND THE BLUE DEVIL AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
12. HE WAS AN ASSISTANT MANAGER OF A SERVICE STATION FOR TWO SUMMERS AT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
13. GEORGE CRADY WAS BEATEN BY POLICE
14. HE WAS A MARINE HELICOPTER PILOT
15. AS A PILOT, FLYING A PLANE IN FORMATION, HE WAS ALMOST KILLED.
16. HE RETIRED FROM THE MARINE CORP AS AN OFFICER AFTER FOUR YEARS
17. HE WENT INTO BUSINESS WITH HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, MORRIS
18. HE WAS ONCE A SEAMSTRESS
19. HE WENT INTO THE DRY CLEANING BUSINESS
20. HE OWNED A FLEET OF “PINK” KEROSENE TRUCKS
21. HE HELPED FINANCE A YOUNG MAN THROUGH COLLEGE WHO LATER HIRED HIM FOR INVESTIGATIVE WORK
22. HE APPEARED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION ON THE ABC AMERICAN SPORTSMAN PROGRAM
23. HE, ALONG WITH HIS WIFE JENNIE, BECAME EMT’S, AND HE WAS RESCUE CHIEF IN YULEE
24. HE, ALONG WITH TWO OTHERS, STARTED THE NASSAU COUNTY COUNCIL ON AGING AND WAS THE FIRST CHAIRMAN
25. HE WAS PART OF A ‘BARBERSHOP QUARTET”
26. WHEN FIRST ENTERING POLITICS, HE HAD A NUMBER OF “ACCIDENTS” HAPPEN TO HIM AND HIS FAMILY.
27. THE VICE-PRESIDENT BOUGHT DINNER FOR HIM
28. HE HAD A JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY YEARBOOK DEDICATED TO HIM BY THE BUCCANEER FRATERNITY
29. TO GET THE VOTER’S ATTENTION AT POLITICAL RALLIES, HE USED A NUMBER OF UNORTHODOX METHODS
30. GEORGE AND JENNIE SAVED THE LIFE OF JOHN SPRINGER
31. HE WAS THE FIRST LEGISLATOR TO BE SWORN IN THE NEW FLORIDA STATE CAPITOL
32. HE WENT TO GEORGIA, AS A FLORIDA LEGISLATOR, TO REPEAL A GEORGIA LAW
33. FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, LEROY COLLINS, SIGNED AN OVERLEAF IN HIS BOOK “FORERUNNERS COURAGEOUS” HONORING HIM WITH THE WORDS “STOOD WITH FIRM RESOLVE AND COURAGE SUPPORTED ONLY BY HIS CONVICTION OF RIGHT” WHEN GEORGE STOOD UP AGAINST THE SPEAKER ON THE FLOOR OF THE FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
34. ONE OF HIS POEMS “THE PERFECT LAW” WAS READ ON THE FLOOR OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BY CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE BENNETT
35. HIS DAUGHTER, JACKIE, SANG “THE LORD’S PRAYER” IN PLACE OF THE DAILY PRAYER ON THE FLOOR OF THE FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
36. HE WAS THE ONLY OFFICIAL “PARLIAMENTARIAN” OF A STATE LEGISLATURE WHO ALSO SERVED SIMULTANEOUSLY AS A SITTING MEMBER
37. HE HAS A STATE PARK NAMED AFTER HIM
38. HE WAS A STAND-UP COMEDIAN
39. CRAB EYES
40. HE OWNED AND OPERATED TWO FISHING TACKLE SHOPS NEXT DOOR TO EACH OTHER
41. GEORGE PUNISHED HIS DAUGHTERS BY TICKLING THEM
42. GRADUATION
43. GEORGE CRADY IS A POET
44. HE WAS A MEMBER OF A BARBERSHOP QUARTET
THE CRADY FAMILY WAS ONCE THE ABRAHAM FAMILY
1. As immigrants who had come to the United States from Syria, Esse Abraham and Hopsie Albert had married in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to New York where Baraket (Burkie) Abraham was born. George’s father, Esse could speak no English, and his mother Hopsie attended public schools through the sixth grade.
Somehow, this small family moved from New York to Miami where George Abraham was born. The family then moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and had another son, Morris Abraham. Their final stop was Jacksonville, Florida and a daughter was added. Her name was Watfie Abraham.
It was about this time that Esse realized that the name Esse Abraham was the Arab tradition of naming children in Syria after their fathers and meant, “Esse, son of Abraham”. He had no surname, but because he came from a family of Priests, who had a
lineage name of Crady, he changed all last names to Crady and left the name Abraham with the children as a middle name.
The names became: Barakat (Burkie) Abraham Crady
George Abraham Crady
Morris Abraham Crady
Watfie Abraham Crady
This explains why the daughter, Watfie, has Abraham as her middle name. While in Jacksonville, another daughter was added, but her name was traditional American---Mary Francis Crady.
HIS DAD, ESSE, DID NOT LIKE ORGANIZED RELIGION
2. Esse Abraham (George’s Dad) came from a lineage of Priests in a religion where the oldest son also became a Priest. The Priests were allowed to marry but were limited to one wife a lifetime. This caused them to choose very carefully the woman that was to be
a lifetime mate. Esse’s father, Abraham, was very proud when Esse was born because now there was someone to carry on the tradition as a Priest. Unfortunately, Abraham’s wife died right after childbirth and left Abraham in a dilemma. Not only did he grieve for his wife, but he now had a son that he had to feed. Without milk or refrigeration he found himself in a situation that was almost unbearable. As fate would have it, he found a woman who had also given birth and was nursing her child. Abraham began a regimen of taking Esse to nurse with this woman every two hours, day and night. When Abraham found out that her husband had died, he asked her to marry him so they could live together. She agreed and they were happy for a while. Then the church found out that Abraham had married for a second time, held a conference,
stripped him of his priesthood, and excommunicated him from the church. When Esse was old enough to understand, he realized why his father was so bitter, and even though he was a very religious man, and allowed his family to become involved with churches, he never forgave them enough to be tolerant of organized religions.
AS A CHILD, HE ALMOST DIED FROM ILLNESS
3. George Crady developed asthma immediately after birth and so little was known about the disease that it became life threatening. The family moved to New Orleans because they had heard that asthma patients could breathe in that atmosphere better than in
Miami. Instead, not only did the asthma get worse, but George also developed osteomylitis in his body and it concentrated in his right leg. This is a disease that causes pus to accumulate in the bone marrow and weakens all of the bones in the body. The family was distraught, poor, and could get help only from the Salvation Army for survival. They were told that a doctor was coming through New Orleans who could perform an operation that might save his life, but that he was only passing through on the train. Somehow Hopsie, his mother, convinced the Salvation Army to contact this doctor for help. The results were that the doctor got off the train, performed the operation, and took the next train out without payment. Because of this man, George Crady wanted to be a
doctor.
HE LIVES AT HUTSON LAKE
4. When the Crady family lived in Jacksonville, Florida, during the late 40’s, a favorite swimming hole had become a recreational lake. Mr. Hutson, a retired railroad man, had opened his 13 acre lake to the public with an admission charge of twenty five cents per person. There was a huge sliding board (approximately fifty foot high), diving boards, a tall swing (pulled back to a platform with a rope), rafts for sun bathing, and a wooden sled that rolled down a track into the water. The Crady family became the lake’s most frequent customers and Esse and Hopsie became friends with the Hutsons. After about five years, Mr. Hutson decided that he would like to sell the lake. Esse and Hopsie’s brother, Mose, raised the money for a down payment but when they offered it to the Hutsons, the price had gone up. Esse was very disappointed but went on with his life. While George was still in college, he visited Mr. Hutson to tell him that he would like to purchase the lake if it ever came onto the market. George knew how disappointed his Dad was when the first deal fell through. After he got married, his wife Jennie took up the dream as her own. Together they would visit the Hutsons. Finally Mr. Hutson told George that if he would buy him a house in Jacksonville where he would be near his doctor, he would let that be a down payment. His age got him before any deal could be finalized and six months later his wife died also. Their daughter, Lois Davidson, came down from New York and took over the lake and George thought that his dream was smashed. George was running a fishing tackle shop on Main Street in Jacksonville, and was passing by the lake every time he had to go to the Georgia docks to buy shrimp for bait. One day he decided to stop and ask if Lois was interested in selling the lake since it was no longer opened to the public.
There was a “For Sale” sign in the yard behind the fence…..
George called the real estate broker, found out how much she wanted for a down payment, and began raising money. When he had enough, he offered it to Lois but Lois thought that George, who had five daughters at the time, would never be able to afford to
continue making payments. George and Jennie pleaded with her to give them a chance and waited by the phone for two weeks while she made up her mind. She finally said “Yes” and George, Jennie and the kids moved in. They fixed up the lake so that it was a recreational lake once more and opened it to the public to help make the payments. The tackle shop started making money, and after three years the lake was closed to the public once more because the insurance rates became outrageous.
The lake is now known as “Crady Lake”, and is on all navigational maps.
GEORGE CRADY MET JENNIE ROERIG UNDER A TREE
5. George had gradated from Duke University and was waiting to go to Pensacola, Fl to begin his Flight Training. He had returned to his Jacksonville Florida home. The Pig restaurant was a very popular meeting place for young folks and George was a frequent customer. A very cute waitress and George hit it off well and a movie date was set for the next Friday night. Friday night came and George was walking under the huge Oak tree out front of the restaurant, when suddenly two cute girls rushed from where they were standing under the Oak tree and began hugging and kissing him amid squeals of delight. George had no idea who these girls were, but he was willing to stand the torment for a while until one of the girls yelled “Morris, you’re back!!” Now George had a brother named Morris who had joined the Navy right after high school graduation, and it finally dawned on George that these girls had mistaken him for his younger brother who indeed looked very much like him.
George didn’t say anything for a while and played the role well, until one of the girls recognized their mistake and backed off.
George apologized for causing them embarrassment, and explained who he was and that he was here for a date with a waitress in the restaurant. The date went off as expected, but through out the movie George had flashes of the blue eyes of one of the girls who had accosted him. The girl, Virginia (Jennie) told her girlfriend, Betty, and later that night, her mother that she had met the man that she was going to marry.
Some dreams are just dreams-----some dreams come true…….
HE HAS SIX DAUGHTERS AND HIS WIFE TOOK IN LAUNDRY
6. George and Virginia (Jennie) had always planned on six children. They just didn’t think they were all going to be female.
Before they got married, they were in a Walgreens Drug Store drinking a soda when an old lady asked if she could sit with them, since all the other tables were occupied. She sat, after receiving permission, and began to question the young couple (mostly Jennie). She asked if they were really in love, whether Jennie would really bear six children for George, and even if Jennie would be willing to take in laundry to help support a family. All the answers were answered in the affirmative, and they all came true. The six daughters were Virginia’s fault. She was a shy young lady when they married but she was a real babe. George asked if he could call her “Jennie” and she agreed. She blossomed as a military wife and learned to manage a family very quickly. When they moved to Yulee later in their marriage, they were invited to a yearly Ball (The
Reveler’s Ball) by Nassau County Commissioner Jimmy Stevens and his wife Joella. They both loved to dance and George taught Jennie how to do the “Charleston”. At the ball the second year, George and Jennie went into their routine doing the Charleston and
the crowd responded as they do in the movies---they all stopped dancing, surrounded George and Jennie, and clapped with the music as the two of them acted as though it happened all the time.
The daughters were Kim, born in Jacksonville, N.C., Lynne, Denise (Dee), Shannon, Jacqueline (Jackie), and Michele, who were all born in Jacksonville, Fl. Four of them, Kim, Lynne, Dee, and Jackie have property on Hutson (now Crady) Lake and have built houses for their families. As for the taking in of laundry---later, during their marriage----they took over a Laundromat owned by George’s parents, and sure enough Jennie took in other people’s laundry to make a living!
HE WENT TO A BOARDING SCHOOL FOR HIS HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
7. After being treated as a fragile child for years throughout primary and middle schools, George was starting to realize that he was no longer the anemic kid he had been. He had started to play in sports with the other kids without his Mother’s knowledge and found
that he had coordination that was above average. His Mother and Father had started a Variety Store (5 and 10) and were kept too busy buying and selling to follow all of the children’s activities, so they didn’t know that George was bouncing off of people on the basketball courts without breaking any more bones. The daughter of the people who owned the Drug Store across the street told his Mother about the school she was attending that allowed students to pay their own way through school by working on the school grounds for two hours each day. The tuition was only $450/year. When his Mother asked George if he would like to attend such a school, George said “Yes” because he wanted to play sports and knew that his mother would never allow it. The next year George attended The Montverde School where they produced over 95% of
what they consumed. They had their own farm (complete with cows and pigs), dairy, orange groves, slaughter house, bees, and dormitories. The boys also maintained the grounds and buildings while the girls plucked the chickens, cut the meats, baked the
breads, and cooked the foods. All students were responsible for their own rooms and were graded on them.
George felt a new freedom and flourished in his new life.
HE WAS “CAPTAIN” OF HIS HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL AND
BASKETBALL TEAMS.
8. George was still a small kid, weighing about 110 pounds, and only 5’6” tall. His arms were thin and he looked as though he would fall down at any moment. However, he had roommates who encouraged him at every turn, and his coordination kept pulling him through. The first basketball coach who saw him put him on the third string but through his quickness and agility he made it to the first string by the end of the year. The next year brought in another coach and once again when he saw George, he put him on the third string, but again George made it back to the first string by the end of the season. There were no more coach changes so George stayed on the first string for the next two years, and in his senior year his teammates unanimously elected him “Captain” of the basketball team. His baseball endeavors were not quite so dramatic but there too, he was elected “Captain” by his teammates.
As a footnote:
Today, 2014, the Montverde Academy is well known in basketball circles. The following is a quote from MVSports: The Montverde Academy Varsity Basketball team has attained some impressive results in the past few seasons, which include winning the National Championship in 2013. Finishing the season ranked #1 in all major National polls. Traditionally being nationally ranked and credited for sending over 50 players on to the collegiate level via scholarship, the past 9 years. The team has finished each of the past 4 seasons ranked among the top 10 teams in America according to the final 2013 ESPN Rise/Powerade Fab 50 Boys National Basketball Rankings and USA Today.
HE RECEIVED THE “BEST ATHLETE AT THE MONTVERDE HIGH SCHOOL” TROPHY AS A SENIOR.
9. At Montverde, every new student was given a classification of “Philomathen” or “Athenian”. This was the schools way of dividing up the students into two groups to compete in the intramural competition that was held once a year on the school’s grounds.
Everyone had to compete. The track meet was complete with all the activities that a normal track meet has (running, high jump, long jump, pole vault, discus and javelin throwing, shot put and others) along with water sports, including distance swimming, floating and diving. It was in diving that George found his niche. And he won it nearly every year. His roommates, Jimmie Wells and Jimmy Williams, were super athletes and always were ranked among the top. They were both stars in baseball and basketball as well as in the intramural sports and were always in contention for the top athlete award. As luck would have it, in their senior year, the three of them were all contestants for the “Best Athlete” award and no one knew who would eventually win it. I believe that when they both pushed for me to be “Captain” of the baseball and basketball teams, they gave me a slight margin to capture the award.
HE GRADUATED FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY
10. Because The Montverde School had such high academic standards, it was noted by most of the major colleges, and when a student applied to a major college or University, he or she was usually admitted. Since George wanted to be a doctor, it made sense for him to want to go to the University that had the best Medical School and that was Duke University. Two other Montverde
students (Lois Hooker and Charles Nesbit) also applied to Duke, and in a rare moment all three students were admitted. (All three also graduated four years later). George was too young to realize that the tuition at Duke was almost too much for his Mother and Father, but when they told him that he would have to work to help put himself through Duke, he agreed to try. His first job was as a waiter in the school cafeteria which was long and unrewarding. His job for the next three years was as a short order cook and soda jerk at the school’s deli. It was called “The Dope Shop” at first but with the advent of drugs the name was changed to “Devil’s Den”.
In George’s second year, his older brother Burkie arrived at Duke. He attended on a G.I. Scholarship and made things much more comfortable for George. Burkie had a car, and was a star football player for the first year. He, too, was a gifted athlete who had made first string on a number of service teams during wartime. He was chosen “All Japan” (like our All American) and then “All Pacific” before returning to the states. George was watching when Burkie, during football scrimmage, dove over a pile of players to avoid hurting any of them and landed on his shoulder which caused it to be dislocated. It would never stay in joint again for football so his football days were ended. Burkie also graduated from Duke four years later. His Dad, who had never had any formal education, was extremely proud of his sons graduating, a year apart, from Duke.
HE WAS A GYMNAST AND THE BLUE DEVIL AT DUKE UNIVERSITY
11. Upon entering Duke University, all students are enrolled in a physical education course. They are tested on their ability to do certain exercises. George was tested and immediately advanced to a sophomore class that had the coach of the gymnastic team in
charge of the class. After watching George do simple tricks on the trampoline (the ability to dive had formulated good form), the coach, Don Hedstrom, asked George to try out for the gym
team. Because gymnastics was just getting a start in the U.S., there were not many students with a basic knowledge of gymnastics, and Coach Hedstrom was willing to teach someone who was well coordinated, the basics of working the trampoline and tumbling.
After working with the Coach for about four months, George could do a nice routine on the trampoline, which was an event of the gymnastic competitions, and also improved enough in tumbling on the mats for the Coach to add his name to the Gymnastic Team
roster. Competing for the school gave George the “Letter” that he wanted (A sweater with a big “D” on it). The coach knew that George was working his way through college and worked around his schedule. The team also had two of George’s best friends on the roster, Jack Evans and Pete Raby. Jack had competed for the title of “School Mascot” and had won the chance to appear on the field during football games dressed in a Blue Devil outfit. It was a tight fitting outfit that allowed the mascot to demonstrate tumbling all over the field. Jack was very good at this but at one stage of the season, for two games, Jack caught an illness and couldn’t perform. He asked George to replace him for those two games so George became the “Blue Devil” and performed his tumbling routines before 50,000 fans.
HE WAS AN ASSISTANT MANAGER OF A SERVICE STATION FOR TWO
SUMMERS AT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
12. George not only worked at Duke, but he had to also work during the summers to earn some money for the next year.
The first summer was spent working on a dredge that deepened the St. Johns River to a depth that allowed oil tankers to enter the river. He worked on the dredge with his brothers, Burkie and Morris. It was a tough job, but it helped build bulk onto George’s body through the heavy lifting that was involved. The next summer, George looked for a job that would pay well, and also allow him some recreational time. Some of his classmates told him about a job at Yellowstone National Park, where he could earn, through his paycheck and tips, about the same money that he had earned on the dredge. It was a dream job with classmates, friends and employers that all blended well. George was initially given the job as a gas station attendant at the station near “Old Faithful” geyser along with about fifteen other boys who worked three different shifts. The girls took jobs there, too, as house maids at the Lodge, or sales clerks at the various stores. The money they earned was sent directly to the school. The manager of the station, Mike, asked George, during the second month, if he would be willing to take a promotion to assistant manager with a slight increase in pay. Of course, he had to work more than one shift to keep the station running smoothly, but George was delighted with the arrangements.
There was plenty of time to explore the Park with its steaming geysers, mountains of obsidian glass, bubbling mud streams, exotic animals, and extra time for fishing. George learned to fly cast on the Yellowstone and Madison rivers of Wyoming. When he was asked for a repeat performance the following summer, the job was eagerly accepted.
GEORGE CRADY WAS BEATEN BY POLICE
13. In 1952, George Crady and his older brother, Burkie, were attending Duke University. George was working his way through college at the “Dope Shop” (the campus deli whose name was changed to the “Devil’s Den” because drugs were now in the news and in honor of the Duke Blue Devils). One Friday night, while George was working, a friend rushed in to tell George that Burkie had been arrested. Duke was having a pep rally preparing for the game the following day and the rally had turned ugly. George clocked off work and went to the Durham, N. C. police station to find out what had happened. On the way, another friend explained that a student had been blowing a trumpet when a policeman ordered him to stop and grabbed him. Someone told Burkie
that it was George, and Burkie, without thinking that he had just left George at the deli, rushed across the street, pulled the policeman off the student and with one swing knocked him cold. Other policemen then grabbed Burkie and arrested him. When George arrived at the station, the desk sergeant told him that they had, indeed, arrested Burkie for assault on an officer. When George realized that there was nothing else he could do that evening, he walked out of the station to return to the Dorm. He had only walked about half a block when two officers ran after him and ordered him to stop. They then grabbed him, took him back to the station, put him in an elevator and proceeded to pound him with their fists, trying to make him admit that he was the one blowing the trumpet. Three officers were beating his head against the elevator’s walls
while the fourth one was trying to temper the situation. When they finally realized that George could prove that he was at work during the rally, they released him. The next day, he went back to the station to get his brother. It was almost unbelievable to see his brother’s face so swollen round that one could not tell where his ears or nose began. The officers claimed that no one had laid a hand on George or Burkie…… However, there were charges placed against the policemen, a trial was held, George and
others testified, and some of the charges were upheld.In the end, a couple of the officers were fired while others were suspended.
HE WAS A MARINE HELICOPTER PILOT
14. After finishing his education at Duke University, George turned his attention to trying to get into Medical School. He knew that it would be an uphill battle, because the studies at Med School would not allow anyone to work part time. With no money, and the Korean War increasing in intensity, George knew that if he tried
to delay entering college for even one year while earning tuition money, he was in danger of being drafted into the Army. Some of his friends were in the same position, and when his roommates Dick Oliver and Charles Nesbit told him they were going to enter the Navy Cadet program and become pilots in the Navy, George thought that this would be a perfect way to avoid the draft, and
also earn money to go back later to Medical School. He joined the Navy Cadet program and went to Pensacola, Florida. All three of them now had college educations and could have gone to OCS (Officer Candidates School) and could have entered the program as Officers, after finishing the school, but statistics swayed them from doing that. Officers in the program were killed at the rate of three to one over cadet’s deaths while learning the same program. None of them liked those figures so they entered as cadets. Later on, they found out why the officers were in so many crashes. The cadets were in study hall until 10:30 each night and then went to bed. They were roused in the morning at 5:30 for drill and exercise, and as a result of this regimen, they stayed in great physical condition.
Officers were allowed to get married, live off base, go to bars at night and party, and then come in the next day and try to fly. As a result, many of them killed themselves and others. After a year of training, which included learning to fly a plane solo, deliberately putting the plane into a stall and pulling it out, firing weapons at a sleeve being towed by another plane, bombing targets, acrobatics, formation flying, and landing on a carrier at sea, George felt that he was ready to get his wings. The extensive navigational training taught him how to navigate from city to city. He had a choice of moving on to jets, multi-engine planes or helicopters. George chose helicopters, and after another year of training in this field, he received his wings, became an officer, and married Virginia Roerig, his sweetheart from Jacksonville.
AS A PILOT, FLYING A PLANE IN FORMATION, HE WAS ALMOST
KILLED
15. Formation flying is an exact art. The squadron would send four student pilots, each in his own plane, out to have them practice flying with each other. While flying in formation the group of planes can stay together and not worry about running into each other while
going to the same destination. The formation for four planes is almost always a “step down” formation, where the leader of the group flies to the destination while the other three fly their planes a little bit behind and a little bit below the plane ahead of them. You fly your plane while watching the wingtip of the plane ahead of you, maintaining the same speed and and staying slightly lower than the plane in front. The cardinal rule of formation flying is “Never turn into a formation”. If you turn your aircraft, you immediately lose altitude and airspeed. If you turn into a formation and lose airspeed and altitude, you will almost always crash into the plane that you turn into. That is what happened to George. The four student pilots went off to the practice area to practice formation flying. Since one of the students was a newly graduated Ensign from OCS he was designated as the leader of the group. The practice went very well and the Ensign called over the radio for George to fly his wing and let the other two join up, to head back to the base. George took the number two position on the Ensign’s wingtip while the others joined up on him, and they were on a straight approach heading back to the base. They were in a step down formation to the right. Then the unbelievable happened. The Ensign turned into the formation………….
In horror, George saw what was happening and his instincts took over. He couldn’t turn right to avoid the Ensign or he would crash into the number three student. He did the only thing that he could do. He pushed the nose of the aircraft down into a steep dive and
added full power, avoiding the Ensign by only inches. The other two students saw what was happening and also dove to avoid disaster.
After it was over the Ensign came on the radio and said, “I’m sorry Crady. I thought I was heading in the wrong direction and was adjusting for it. Come on back up and get on my wing and we’ll head for the base.”. George responded, “Sir, I’ll never fly your wing
again. If you want to go back to the base you can fly my wing.” They all regrouped on George’s wing and went home safely. George thought they would wash him out of the program for disobeying an officer, but later realized that the Ensign would have been the one to leave the program.
HE RETIRED FROM THE MARINE CORP AS AN OFFICER AFTER FOUR YEARS
16. After receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, George married Virginia Roerig and lived in New River, North Carolina. He began training at Camp Lejune, flying Sikorski helicopters. As a newly commissioned officer, he often flew co-pilot which meant that he sat in the left front seat of the helicopter. The dust and dirt of the turmoil created by the rotor
blades often entered his eyes even while wearing goggles and this created aggravation in his eyes. Consequently, he developed a disease in the left eye that caused scar tissue on the focal point of the retina and caused him to lose his depth perception. Without depth perception (knowing how close an object is) his flying days were numbered. He had two choices---to transfer to the ground troops as an officer, or to retire---and he chose to retire.
HE WENT INTO BUSINESS WITH HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, MORRIS
17. As a college graduate, and with a pilot’s life behind, George returned to Jacksonville, Florida and was ready to begin life. His 2-year younger brother, Morris, had just returned home from a tour in the Navy. Together, they decided to buy the two story Variety Store from their parents, who wanted to tend to their newly built public, automatic and self-serve, Laundromat. George and Jennie moved into the second floor to live temporarily with Morris and his
new wife Carole. They bought the store and began to renovate. The store was run mainly on goods that were purchased from surplus, railroad and bus salvaged freight and merchandise bought straight from manufacturers. All of the goods were removed from the store in order to repaint the walls, the ceiling, and to lay down new tile onto the cement floor. While they were laying tile, Dad walked in and began to admonish the brothers. He told them that the plastic tiles, which had wood grains imbedded, should be laid with all the
grain going in the same direction. The brothers were inserting the tile with the grain alternating in two directions, which they believed was the correct method. Since they were half finished with the floor it was agreed that they should continue, which they did. Three weeks later, George was in Dad’s house enjoying breakfast together, when George looked down at the green tiled floor in the kitchen. It was in alternate grains…… George thought that he had proved his point, when he said, “Dad, look down at your tiled
floor”. Dad looked, but instead of admitting that he was in error, simply stated: “Them Bastards!!!! They did mine wrong, too!!!
It was not an easy task to convince Dad that he was wrong…..
HE WAS ONCE A SEAMSTRESS
18.The brothers earned a decent living for about two years when the new giant discount stores came onto the scene. They decided to sell it and make the laundry the new focal point. They bought out Mom and Dad who then retired. The Variety Store was sold to a man who took advantage of Mom’s perfect credit rating by buying huge amounts of goods from the manufactors on credit. He then loaded the goods in semi trucks, and left for parts unknown.
In the laundry, they were also doing alterations to clothing and had a seamstress that served them well for about a year. She ended up in the hospital, unable to sew or to do alterations. Failing to find a new seamstress, and in danger of losing a big part of their business, George taught himself to sew and began putting in zippers, cuffing pants and hemming dresses. If the job looked good, George let it go. If it didn’t, he would tear it out and start over until it worked. This went on for about three months until they united with a dry cleaner that also did altering.
HE WENT INTO THE DRY CLEANING BUSINESS
19. The laundry proved to be fairly profitable for George and Morris for a while. They were both earning a living for their families but were barely getting by with finances. The man doing the dry cleaning (Mr. Crummy) wanted to sell his cleaners which was
called Superior Cleaners (we asked him why he didn’t call it Crummy Cleaners), and move out of the city so he made the brothers a very good offer, and volunteered to stay on with them until they learned the business. For a while, George ran the cleaners and Morris ran the laundry, until they realized that
there was much more profit in the cleaning business than there was in the laundry business (with much less work). The laundry business was sold and the brothers now concentrated on dry cleaning clothes for their customers. Dry cleaning went well for a couple of years and they decided to expand. They bought another dry cleaning plant in downtown Jacksonville, and another agency on the north side on Main Street. They operated all three outlets until they realized that the labor costs were more than they had anticipated and retreated back into the single original dry cleaners.
Because each brother wanted to go his own way, George went to Jones Business College and graduated with a Real Estate license. He then sold out his half of the cleaners to Morris and tried real estate. George sold one house—twice. The first deal was cancelled when the buyer couldn’t come up with the money and the second time George made a commission of $100. After two weeks in this very competitive business, George’s brother, Burkie asked him to
go into business with him for a year, and then he could return to real estate. George agreed and the new set of brothers started a business in an old gas station with $800, next to a retired police captain who had a very profitable fishing tackle business.
HE OWNED A FLEET OF “PINK” KEROSENE TRUCKS
20. The fishing tackle business was a good business in the summertime, but when the winter came, no one went fishing and the brothers had to find something that would sustain them through the winter. Since they were in a gas station, they tried to earn a living through gas sales, fixing flat tires, and oil and lubrication services, but there simply was not enough profit for two families. The idea of home heating services was just turning from wood burning fire heat to oils and kerosene, so they bought an oil truck and began making home deliveries. This proved to be a little more profitable but was the hardest work encountered thus far. Getting up early in the morning to service those who had run out of fuel in the night, during the coldest days of the year, and then continuing throughout the day until dark was not what they had expected, so Burkie told George that he wanted to leave the business after a year of hard work.
George bought Burkie out and continued in the fishing tackle and oil business. After about the third year, George had accumulated three oil trucks and because he was proud of the five daughters he now had, decided to paint the trucks a bright pink so that they
could be distinguished from other trucks in the neighborhood.
It was a good fit with the times and both businesses started taking off. He hired some good personnel who helped him run both operations. The Dicks family, father Alonzo, Horace, Alonzo Jr. and Charlie (Bubba) stayed with him for the next twenty years. It was about this time when Hutson Lake came onto the real estate market, and because the businesses were now profitable, payments on the lake were much easier.
HE HELPED FINANCE A YOUNG MAN THROUGH COLLEGE WHO
LATER HIRED HIM FOR INVESTIGATIVE WORK
21. Self service gas stations hadn’t appeared on the scene when Horace Dicks, age 13, went to work for George Crady. His dad had asked that he be given a job. The very first customer that Horace waited on was a man who wanted gas. After the car drove off without getting his gas, Horace came into the station, crying. After Horace had calmed down somewhat he explained that he was going to have to quit because the man said that he wasn’t going to have a “nigger” waiting on him, and that he was losing
business for George George said that he wasn’t going to quit and that there were enough sensible people in this world to make the business prosper. So Horace stayed on. When Horace Dicks graduated from high school, he decided to attend college. He went to Bethune-Cookman Collage in Daytona, majoring in Governmental services. Whenever Horace’s Dad needed help with finances for college, George contributed. When Horace graduated from college, he went to Texas, worked in government and eventually ended up in the Governor’s Office. The Governor assigned Horace to an oversight committee that was to investigate farm hands and migrant labor conditions. Horace returned to Florida, where migrant farm labor was in the headlines, and asked
George to accompany him to the labor camps in the middle of Florida. George was very reluctant to leave his business, but Horace insisted, offering him $100 per week for two weeks. (A tidy sum at the time). With Jennie’s assurance that she could run the business for two weeks, George and Horace did an extensive investigation with many interviews, found some very deplorable
conditions, and they wrote a report that the Texas Governor received well.
HE APPEARED ON NATIONAL TELEVISION ON THE ABC AMERICAN SPORTSMAN PROGRAM
22. George had always loved to fish, and with the tackle shop needing publicity, George was glad when reporters asked him to take them fishing. At Hutson Lake, the schools of fingerlings flourished in the lake, alerting George to assume that the bigger fish would be lurking about. At the railroad trestle, just outside the lake’s entrance from the river, scores of stripped bass would congregate to feed upon the fingerlings. George introduced the reporters to this extremely hard to find fish, and the headlines screamed of George’s expertise. Monroe Campbell, a television sportsman with his own television show, called upon George numerous times to take him fishing. They filmed the whole trip each time which was shown on the Monroe Campbell Fishing Show in the evening. One day, the fishing trip was unsuccessful and no fish were caught. Monroe was very upset at having no film for his evening show, and wondered how he would fill in the show’s allotted time. George told him that he had a collection of old reels that were very unusual and that his
customers were delighted whenever George displayed and explained them. Monroe seized upon his chance to fill in the time slot and the reels went on display. The show was a hit and a national newsman, Glen Lau, happened to see the show. He
called George the next day and asked if George would be willing to appear on national television doing his demonstration. George didn’t know if Glen was serious or not, but when Monroe told him what a great opportunity it was, George agreed. Glen paid the expenses for George to go to Rainbow Springs, Florida, where they filmed four segments to be shown over the entire United States on the same night. The show was called “ABC-THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN” and George heard from friends from all over the U.S.
HE, ALONG WITH HIS WIFE JENNIE, BECAME EMT’S, AND HE WAS RESCUE CHIEF IN YULEE
23. Jennie and George lived beside U.S. 17 in Yulee. The road coming from the south was a long and sometimes boring drive through miles of marshland. Their house seemed to be the center spot of the accidents, as most of them occurred within a hundred yards of their front door. After hearing the crash they would report the accident and run out to help. Almost always, the victims of the crash would be hurt beyond the help that they were capable of administering, and they both felt helpless. At the same time, Yulee was in danger of losing its volunteer rescue wagon due to the fact
that a State Law was passed mandating a Certified EMT had to be on board before a rescue vehicle was allowed to roll. Since Yulee had no EMT’s, George and Jennie joined a group of locals who went to school to become certified. After passing the state finals, they both joined the local fire department and helped run the Rescue Vehicle. There were many episodes that each of them could tell but the one that frightened George the most was when he was called out in the middle of the night to a domestic quarrel where the husband had shot his wife, who was bleeding. When he got there the police still had not apprehended the husband who was still somewhere near the house. The wife was treated and taken to the hospital where the emergency room personnel took over. George and Jennie together received the “Outstanding Citizen Award” from the Yulee P.T.A. There were seven or eight people working rescue, and they elected George as the Rescue Chief for two years until the county took over the functions on a professional basis.
HE, ALONG WITH TWO OTHERS, STARTED THE NASSAU COUNTY
COUNCIL ON AGING AND WAS THE FIRST CHAIRMAN
24. George had run for the office of State Representative in 1970 and again in 1972 in the 12th district which included the counties of Nassau, Baker, Union and Duval. He lost both times, but his name was becoming widely known. Some representatives of the federal government called to ask if he would be interested in
starting a service organization for the elderly. He said he would and called a meeting with others who also offered to be involved. Two others volunteered to become advocates for the elderly, offering their time and service. They were Edgar Lindsey and Elsie Harper. County Commissioner Jimmy Stevens and Elsie Harper of Fernandina Beach worked many hours throughout the county and brought others on board. The advocacy was to be called The Council On Aging and was initially to be funded by the federal government for a period of about three years, after which they would have to turn to the county or rely on donations. After an initial period of doubt from the seniors, the committee started functioning and elected George as their chairman. Very slowly they started to acquire donations and started a pick up and delivery service to take the elderly to the doctors or shopping. It really began to catch on the second year while George was still chairman, and the county agreed to chip in with some funds.
With the funding problem seemingly solved, their next step was to hire a full time coordinator who could then handle the day to day problems as they came up. The first Director of the Nassau County Council on Aging was Elaine Steere who wanted to answer the telephone with “How Can We Help?” and thus named another service that the Council provided. The third year found the organization delivering meals (Meals On Wheels) along with a van called the Care-o-Van. After the residents realized that the Council On Aging was in it for the long haul, it took off and is now one of the most important organizations for the elderly in Nassau County.
Later, after being elected to the Florida House of Representatives (1977), George was instrumental in obtaining funds for a Senior Citizens Building to be built in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
HE WAS PART OF A ‘BARBERSHOP QUARTET”
25. George and Jennie had held many “Sing” parties at their house where they invited musicians, singers, and just friends over to sing. George’s best friend, Bob Springer (piano) was always one of the guests, along with Betty Jean and Harold Hagins who lived in Yulee. Lee Nawls (piano), Bill Forshee (Guitar). Marjorie Mason (vocalist and originator of the Madrigal Singers at Fernandina Beach High School) and Bill Mason, her husband, along with Linda Atter (vocalist) of Jacksonville were invited. One evening the administrator of the Hospital in Fernandina Beach, Gill Hosak, was
invited. Gill was married to a very beautiful woman whom he loved very much, but one day she told him that she was getting a divorce. Gill was devastated and tried everything he could to save the marriage, but to no avail. He was so completely shocked and so emotionally upset that he tried to commit suicide. He failed, but spent two weeks in the hospital and when he finally got out, he had no place to go. Jennie and George took him into their home while he completed his recovery. Gill was a big man and had a beautiful tenor voice. While he was recovering, he told George of his thoughts of starting a barbershop quartet. George thought that this would be good therapy for Gill and invited Don Hefner (Baritone) and Hank Lipinsky (Bass) to meet every week for practice. Even when Gill had recovered enough to find a place of his own, the quartet would meet at the Crady’s house for practice. They became so good that others heard of them and asked them to perform.
Their highlight came when the Fernandina Beach High School was presenting the play “The Music Man” and asked the Quartet to perform the role of the barbershop quartet in the play. For the next three nights the Quartet basked in glory. They finally disbanded when Gill moved out west and eventually got remarried. For years he would call George to express his thanks.
WHEN FIRST ENTERING POLITICS, HE HAD A NUMBER OF
“ACCIDENTS” HAPPEN TO HIM AND HIS FAMILY
26. The location that Burkie had found for a tackle shop was next door to one owned by a retired police captain who was doing a prosperous business. The captain, Mr. Acosta, was not pleased by the competition and vowed to have them out of business in three months. The following weeks were stressful for the brothers as Mr. Acosta called every agency in Jacksonville to inspect the Crady business. The brothers were ordered to tear out and replace electrical, plumbing, sewage, signs and a litany of others. Soon the inspectors realized what was happening and ignored the calls.
Finally Mr. Acosta asked one of his officers to write them a ticket for parking on the sidewalk. When the officer started to do so, he was confronted by Burkie who explained that many people parked on the sidewalk there including Acosta’s customers and that one
was parked there now. When he asked the officer to write a ticket for Acosta’s customer, the officer ordered Burkie into the back of his patrol car to be taken to police headquarters. George told him to get in and when they drove off, called a childhood friend (Brad Tredinnick) who had recently been elected as City Councilman. Brad intervened, and Burkie came back riding in the front seat of the patrol car. Following this incident, George realized how important politics could be to survival. He began to get involved with other campaigns—putting out signs, writing speeches, and
also newspaper ads when requested. He joined the “Young Democrats” and within a year became president with the help of Bobbie and Dick Bowman and Curtis Lovelace. They began a vigorous campaign to oust many unscrupulous councilmen and commissioners from office. Because of the efforts of these young democrats, almost all of the “bad” guys were soon out of office and some were indicted. However during this period, signs were ripped off the roof of their business, the wheel on Jennie’s car came off while she was driving down the highway, plate glass windows were destroyed, the business was fire bombed, and the rear window of their station wagon was smashed by a brick.
Some of the members of the “Young Democrats” were eventually elected, including Carl Ogden, Joe Carlucci, Clyde Simpson, Gifford Grange, Ted Alvarez, and George Crady.
THE VICE-PRESIDENT BOUGHT DINNER FOR HIM
27. The year was 1968. Vice president Hubert Humphrey was running for President, and George Crady was President of The Young Democrats in Jacksonville, Florida. The Democratic Party needed someone to put up signs and prepare for the nominee, who
was arriving the next day to give a speech and have a fund raiser the following night, so they asked George and the Young Democrats for help. Some of the Young Democrats who later held public office were Gifford Grange (Florida House), Joe Carlucci (County Commission, Florida Senate), Ted Alvarez (Florida House), Carl Ogden (Florida House), and Clyde Simpson (County Commissioner). The Buccaneer Fraternity at Jacksonville University again agreed to help, and were with George putting up signs in Jacksonville’s Hemming Park, when someone complained to
the police that a group of people were violating a city ordinance by putting signs on public property. The Police arrived in force and arrested all of those involved. The police were very much opposed to Hubert Humphrey, which was made evident when a sergeant took George aside, showed him a George Wallace card that he kept contained in his wallet. His remark that “You wouldn’t have been arrested if you were working for our man” was further proof that politics was involved. George and the group were taken to the jailhouse, booked, fingerprinted and put into cells. This was during the time when everyone in office were Democrats, including the Mayor and Sheriff (who were at the meeting when the Young Democrats were asked to help), so George and his group were released about three hours later. Hubert Humphrey was one of the most intelligent politicians of his time, and when he heard of George’s plight, called and invited George and his wife Jennie to the dinner they were having that night and said he would pay for the dinner. His remark to George was, “I’m grateful, and don’t worry about the event. A lot of my friends have been in jail at one time or another”. He also sent George an autographed photo and a letter of gratitude.
HE HAD A JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY YEARBOOK DEDICATED TO HIM BY THE BUCCANEER FRATERNITY
28. A new young Democrat, Joe Carlucci, had just lost a race for County Commissioner, and asked George and the Young Democrats for help. He had qualified to run but didn’t have the money or manpower to compete with the incumbent. George knew where there was plenty of manpower if he could assemble it in time for the
race. He remembered his days in the fraternity at Duke and thought that he would try to garner help from the fraternities at Jacksonville University. He went to the campus and asked where the nearest fraternity was located. He was directed to the Buccaneer Fraternity and asked to see the president. When he knocked on the door, a giant, who had been sleeping, answered. After apologizing,
George explained that he needed manpower on the weekends to hand out leaflets in shopping centers and to put out political signs. In return, George explained, he would let the fraternity have parties at the lake he had just purchased, and would let them have the
kegs of beer for the party at cost, providing that the fraternity had someone of age to purchase it from him. The giant wanted to see the location so George drove him to the lake for inspection. He loved what he saw. The fraternity had a meeting, and agreed to the terms, and for the next five weekends every shopping center in Jacksonville was bombarded by young frat members with leaflets asking the public to support Joe Carlucci. Carlucci won, and became commissioner along with Clyde Simpson who was also supported by George and the Young Democrats. The Buccaneer Fraternity started having their parties at Crady Lake for the entire school term. George and Jennie became favorites of the fraternity. When the Buccaneers rented the entire Alhambra Dinner Theater in Jacksonville and brought their own entertainment from New York, they invited George and Jennie to be their guests of honor. At the end of the year, they dedicated their yearbook to George Crady.
TO GET THE VOTER’S ATTENTION AT POLITICAL RALLIES, HE USED
A NUMBER OF UNORTHODOX METHODS
29. In 1972, George decided to run for the House of Representatives in Florida. There were four counties included in the District---Nassau, Baker, Bradford, and a part of Duval. In such a large district, it was impossible to go door to door, or to reach all the voters by advertising in a single medium (T.V. or newspaper) because each county had their own medium and George did not have the money for all of them. It was decided that the political rallies held in each small county was the best way to reach the voters since each county had at least five rallies and the most political people attended. Attendance varied from five hundred to fifteen hundred at each rally. George’s message was not heard in 1972 and so he lost. He ran a second time in 1974 and noticed that the audience would congregate in bunches after the local candidates were heard and would not pay attention to anyone running for state office. George developed a strategy of telling a silly story about peanut butter to make the voters pay attention. After the laughter at his story, George would explain the serious side of his candidacy. After a time he became known as the “Peanut Butter Man” but he was at least being heard. In order to diversify, George also started to play his ukulele, tell other jokes, and even put his daughters on the ball field in close order drill to underscore the fact that he was a family man. The close order drill was a game he played with his kids after he taught them to drill. He would bark the orders and the girls would perform as ordered testing themselves as to which one could go the longest without making a mistake. The crowds loved it because it was different and entertaining among so many boring political speeches. The voters started to look forward as to what this idiot would do next. George also lost in 1974 by a very slim margin to the incumbent who was able to raise large sums of money, and George thought that his political career was over.
However, the peanut butter reputation caused George and Jennie to meet the Bennett family from Baker County at a dance at the Jacksonville Armory. They were a large family with a good reputation who offered to help if he ever decided to run again.
As fate would have it, the incumbent was given a job as U.S. Marshal and vacated the office in mid term, giving George the opportunity to try for the position he wanted for the third time in 1977. The third time was the charm and George was elected with the help of the Bennett family. George was re-elected by the voters in his district in the next eleven elections and served the people for twenty three years. Term limits was enacted in 1992 and he could
not run again after the year 2000. That was the year he retired.
GEORGE AND JENNIE SAVED THE LIFE OF JOHN SPRINGER
30.George and Jennie loved to skate and dance. Jennie was glorious on the skating rink and when George taught her the steps in dancing that he knew, she fell in love with the dance floor.
After George lost the election in 1974, and they were no longer attending the Reveler’s ball, they began going to the Jacksonville Amory with friends. Dances were held on Friday and Saturday nights. It was after the dance in late November or early December (because it was cold) that they were returning home by way of U.S. 17 at 1:30 in the morning. As they neared Yellow Bluff road, George noticed a car stopped in the middle of the highway. He slowed, and noticed another car on the right side of the highway, and realized that there had been an accident, since steam was coming from both cars. George and Jennie, both EMT’s, pulled over and rushed to see if they could help. They could not have imagined a more devastating occasion than realizing that the two occupants of the roadside car were their friends, Bob Springer and his son, John. Bob, who already had a bad back was pinned in the driver’s seat, and could not be moved because of danger to his spinal cord. John was laying on the passenger’s seat with his head tilted back gargling his own blood. It was evident that he had hit his mouth and jaw against the dashboard, and was in danger of drowning in his own blood. George and Jennie removed him from the car and laid him on the ground, turning his head so that his mouth would drain. George took off his white shirt and ripped it into bandages for Jennie to use while he inspected the second car.
The driver, who was on drugs, was unhurt and moaning about getting home. Others came and called the Police and Rescue, and then they offered George clothing to replace his torn shirt and protect him from the cold. Bob and John were returning from the Yacht Club where Bob was performing as a pianist. He often took John with him because John was developing as a good performer
himself. Bob eventually had to have another back operation while John’s jaw was broken and had to be wired shut.
HE WAS THE FIRST LEGISLATOR TO BE SWORN IN THE NEW FLORIDA STATE CAPITOL
31. The Florida House and Senate had appropriated money for a new Capitol Building in Tallahassee. It was completed in 1977 but the Legislature decided not to move into it until 1978. It was dedicated in early 1978 so that the members could be in it for one session before the elections of 1978 took place. George was elected in the off year in 1977 in a special election to replace George Grosse who had vacated the position to take a job as U.S. Marshall in Tampa. Grosse was appointed Marshall by President Jimmy Carter. Because the new Capitol was now the official domain of the Legislature, Clerk of the House Allen Morris made the decision to swear George Crady into office at the new gathering of Legislators who were there to start another session. Speaker Don Tucker saw to it that there was a Supreme Court Judge there for the
swearing in, and welcomed the new legislator by letting him preside at the podium, a position that George Crady was to carry on for every Speaker of his tenure. He presided at the podium because of his knowledge of the rules and passed more bills
with his gavel than any other person or Speaker, before his arrival or since his departure.
HE WENT TO GEORGIA, AS A FLORIDA LEGISLATOR, TO REPEAL A GEORGIA LAW
32. After his election to the Florida House of Representatives, George began hearing from his constituents. The most volatile issue at the time was that Georgia had recently passed a law to allow a limited number (100) of out of state hunters into each county and that they would be chosen randomly, by lottery. Since two of George’s counties (Baker and Nassau), bordered the state of Georgia, he received hundreds of calls from hunters who had leased lands, owned hunting lodges, or belonged to hunting Clubs in Georgia, to repeal the law before it actually took effect. George went to the Speaker, and received permission to officially travel to Georgia and seek repeal. George took his sister, Mary, along as an assistant. Since the Legislature was still in session, George sought out the Natural Resources Chairman, Howard Rainey, and explained that since the law affected so many Florida Counties, other Legislators wanted to limit Georgia residents from obtaining fishing licenses in Florida and a “war” was eminent, not only from Florida but from Alabama, South Carolina and other states that would be affected by the law. Chairman Rainey was convinced that the law could become a problem, and received permission from his Speaker to hold three public hearings along the Florida border to test the will of the people. The first hearing was held in Hindsville in front of an overflowing crowd that was mad at a Florida hunting Club owner, Richard Hance, who leased Georgia land but would not let any Georgia residents become members. The meeting did not go well, and George was afraid of the crowd getting out of control. The next two meetings, however, convinced the committee that the people of Georgia were not in favor of such a restrictive law, and Chairman Rainey recommended repeal. The Georgia Assembly took up the repeal bill and passed it, thus keeping the peace. George, in gratitude, promised Chairman Rainey a reciprocal law between Florida and Georgia, to allow those citizens who were 65 or older, free licenses to hunt or fish in either state. George passed the Florida law the next year, but it took Georgia five years to pass theirs. Both laws are in place today, and seniors can hunt or fish free in either state.
FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, LEROY COLLINS, SIGNED AN OVERLEAF IN HIS BOOK “FORERUNNERS COURAGEOUS” HONORING HIM WITH THE WORDS “STOOD WITH FIRM RESOLVE AND COURAGE SUPPORTED ONLY BY HIS CONVICTION OF RIGHT” WHEN GEORGE STOOD UP AGAINST THE SPEAKER ON THE FLOOR OF THE FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
33. Beginning his fourth year in the Legislature, George was made aware by some Jacksonville constituents that a law was being passed that would hurt the Florida National Bank, headquartered in Jacksonville. All of the Duval County Delegation was made aware of the law at a public hearing in Jacksonville and all pledged support to stop it. The law made its way through the Senate and the Senate passed it overwhelmingly. It then came to the House floor for a vote. In debate, all of the Duval Delegation spoke against it, citing it as a special interest law that had no business in the Florida Statues. The Speaker, Ralph Haben, however, favored the law and asked that it be passed. The vote was taken and the bill was defeated by two votes. A Motion to Reconsider is a parliamentary move that is allowed, to nullify a former vote and cause another vote to occur on the same matter. It only takes a majority vote.
The Speaker knew this and while the House was still in possession of the bill, sent his lieutenants into the assembly to change the minds of at least two of the members while the House carried on with other business. A member then stood up and asked for
reconsideration of the vote by which the bill failed. The reconsideration motion passed and another vote was taken on the bill. This time the bill failed by one vote since one of the members who had previously voted for the bill, changed his mind. A second reconsideration motion is a serious matter, and all authorities (Robert’s Rules of Order, Sturgis etc.) call for unanimous consent in order for the second reconsideration to be heard. The Speaker again sent his lieutenants into the assembly to change members’
votes. When the Speaker called for the second reconsideration, George waited for one of the more seasoned members of the Duval Delegation to stand in objection. None did, and after waiting about ten seconds, George stood up and said, “Mr. Speaker, if no one else will object to this bill, I will”. The silence was deafening, and the members near George told him that his career was over.
Even though George was ostracized for a while, his knowledge of the rules prevailed. Governor Leroy Collins was sitting in the gallery at the time and, along with others, expressed his admiration for the courage shown.
ONE OF HIS POEMS “THE PERFECT LAW” WAS READ ON THE FLOOR
OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BY CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE BENNETT
34. Charlie Bennett was a Congressman from Jacksonville who served over thirty years. He was a beloved man who had helped George’s Dad get his citizenship papers to be an American Citizen, and George’s Mom was a personal friend to his secretary. Whenever Charlie would politic, he would walk the streets of Jacksonville even though he was crippled by polio. One day, he stopped by George’s Tackle Shop and met George and after that they became friends. On one of his election cycles, he was in Friendship Park in Jacksonville where George was reading some of his poetry. He was particularly entranced by a poem that George had written called “The Perfect Law”. He asked George if he would allow it to be read on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. George agreed, and Charlie not only read it on the floor, but also sent George documentation that he had done so. George was grateful, and the poem follows.
THE PERFECT LAW
We knocked the street curbs down, you know…..
And passed the perfect law…..
The Legislator’s dream, come true…..
A law without a flaw…..
For who could now complain against…..
The smoothing of a curb…..
It passed with only best intents….
No feelings to perturb…..
The handicapped in wheelchairs…..
And those crippled with disease…..
Could cross from street to sidewalk with…..
A fundamental ease…..
But one Group now has come to mind…..
With thoughts that do disturb…..
Disabled?.....Yes…..We call them Blind…..
Who cannot find the curb…..
-George Crady
HIS DAUGHTER, JACKIE, SANG “THE LORD’S PRAYER” IN PLACE OF THE DAILY PRAYER ON THE FLOOR OF THE FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
35. In the Florida House of Representatives, a daily prayer is heard. The members are allowed to invite their own Pastors, Priests, or Rabbis to pray for up to two minutes, each morning before the session starts. George’s daughter, Jackie, had already been invited to sing before Governor Graham who was a friend of George. His staff director Dick Burroughs suggested that she be allowed to sing at the yearly Prayer Breakfast that they have each year during Session in the coliseum in Tallahassee. She sang at the prayer breakfast, was enthusiastically received, and was heard by the
incoming Speaker, James Harold Thompson. When James Harold became Speaker, he asked George if Jackie would sing the Lord’s
Prayer in lieu of the ordinary prayer heard each day. George asked Jackie, she agreed, and the Members of The House of Representatives were delighted with her song. The Clerk of the House, Allen Morris, sent her a check for $50 to further her career.
HE WAS THE ONLY OFFICIAL “PARLIAMENTARIAN” OF A STATE
LEGISLATURE WHO ALSO SERVED SIMULTANEOUSLY AS A SITTING MEMBER
36. At first, knowing the rules proved to be somewhat of a detriment to George. The members who needed to understand the rules would come to George’s desk and kneel by him with a rules book asking questions. George would either answer forthright or look up the answers and get back with the member. Later, when the member would call a “point of order” either on the floor or in committee, the Speaker, who saw the member with George, would think that George was masterminding dissension. When James Harold Thompson became Speaker, he named George the unofficial
Parliamentarian, and seated him on the front row next to Herb Morgan who was the Rules Chairman. He explained to the members that George was there to help the Rules Chairman interpret the rules, but George knew that, in reality, the Speaker wanted Herb to make sure that George was not disruptive. The move was deeply appreciated by George, for now he was in a coveted seat that he would hold for the rest of his tenure as a member, and also it placed him at the center of the action. George and Herb became
friends and Herb included him in all that transpired. George also presided at the podium as he had for every Speaker when they left the chair. The Speakers all trusted George to carry on the business of the House in their absence. When Tom Gustafson became Speaker, he was in fear that the assembly would not hold him in high respect, since he broke into the line of ascension to the Speakership. He changed the rules to allow the Speaker to appoint an official Parliamentarian of the House of Representatives. He designated George to that role, and the Speakers that
followed continued his example by also appointing George as Parliamentarian. In searching the history of the Legislative bodies of the United States, no other example of a sitting member of a House or Senate was found to serve simultaneously as the official Parliamentarian. Today the House of Representatives has a paid Parliamentarian.
HE HAS A STATE PARK NAMED AFTER HIM
37. In 1998, a new bridge for A1A was built that connected Duval County and Nassau County across the Nassau Sound. The old bridge, over a mile long, was to be demolished and the debris was to be used to create offshore fishing reefs. Janie Thomas was a Nassau resident and friend of the fishermen who didn’t agree with
tearing the old bridge down. She called a public meeting, on her own, to be held at the foot of the old bridge and invited local public officials to attend. There was a good crowd and George Crady was in that crowd. He, too, realized that the bridge had been an asset to fishermen ever since it was built, and agreed that it should be preserved as a fishing pier. Janie and George started working together. They created a committee to decide what amenities the bridge should have, what agency should have
control, how money could be raised to keep it in continuous repair, and other issues. George researched the bridge and found that the Department of Transportation (DOT) was in charge of the demolition and the contract had already been assigned. He asked that nothing be done to the bridge until the current session was over and DOT agreed. George then went to the Speaker and outlined his plans. Money for the preservation of the bridge was put into the appropriations bill, and Mike Bullock of the Parks and Recreation Agency was contacted to determine if they would be the controlling agency. He agreed, providing that an inter local agreement could be worked out between the Department of Environmental Protection, DOT, and Nassau and Duval, as to liability, financing and repair of the bridge. George persuaded Mayor Delany of Jacksonville to put $35,000 yearly into a pot for repairs, and then persuaded the Nassau Commissioners to contribute $15,000 yearly. The total of $50,000 was to stay in escrow for ten years at which time DOT would take the $500,000 and repair whatever needed repairing. All of this was worked into the inter local agreement by George and the agencies involved. Mike Bullock decided that it should be a State Park, because the money appropriated provided for new parking lots, boat ramps and the most modern rest rooms in the state. It was a State Park with no name, but Legislators Lindsay Harrington and Joe Spratt worked with the Legislature for three years after George retired and finally named it “The George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park”.
HE WAS A STAND-UP COMEDIAN
38. George, as a Legislator, was staid, solemn, and serious. He therefore found it painful that few would laugh at his jokes because he loved to make people laugh. They had a talent show in Tallahassee each year and with only a few years left in the
Legislature, George decided to enter. Because he didn’t want anyone to know who he was, he gave a false name and wore his
favorite Halloween Costume on stage—a stocking mask with a wig and hat, a huge overcoat and scarf and oversized shoes. He also had his ukulele as a prop. Using a false laugh, he began his routine which he had taped onto the side of his ukulele so that he wouldn’t forget his lines. He was an instant hit and the crowd made him stay
on stage for more stories. After his identity was revealed, the people developed a new attitude toward him and made him repeat some of the stories that he had told. Even his aide, Jim Alfred, who hadn’t attended the show, came to him and remarked that everyone
was talking about him. Without the disguise, George started performing for different organizations whenever they needed entertainment. Some of those were—The Convention of Correctional
Officers, classes at the Tallahassee Community College, the Parole Board, the International League of Cities, the Nassau Marine Corps League, the Bob Springer Appreciation Dinner, Churches, and the Small County Coalition. Even the Talent Show organizers asked him to perform, not as a contestant, but as an entertainer for the next three years. Most of these appearances were unpaid, except for expenses and hotel rooms, but after the third appearance for the Small County Coalition, Chris Doolin, the executive director
offered him $250 for a thirty minute skit, which he accepted.
CRAB EYES
39.Crab eyes, when removed from the shell of the crab, look like the matchheads of strike anywhere matches. If one crab eye could bring good luck, hundreds of them would make a person invincible.
Or so George believed, adopting the superstitions of his black friends in the neighborhood where his father had just opened a corner grocery store. And he had a pocketful of them…….
One night, one of George’s friends rapped on his window and urged George to come with him. George pulled on his pants and crawled out of his bedroom window. The houses in that neighborhood were built on concrete blocks and the kids could run
under them. George didn’t know where he was going, but followed his friend under houses, through alleys, and shortcuts, avoiding any people, until they finally stopped in a dead-end alley way. There were garbage cans and boxes under the lighted window that his friend pointed to, and they both climbed onto some boxes to look into the window. The singing, chanting and rhythm were loud, so they knew they would not be heard, but what they saw was weird and grotesque. The crowd of people in the room surrounded one
woman in the center who was dancing and gyrating in a frenzy. They were in rhythm, beating on pots and pans, and chanting wildly in a strange language. She danced on and on, faster and faster. George asked his friend what were they doing and was told they were removing the demons from her body. Looking back into the room, George saw that her long hair was pasted onto her face by sweat, and her dancing continued until she collapsed in a heap. The silence that overcame the participants was awesome and scary.
George remembers reaching into his pocket with the crab eyes and stirring them around and around to try to build a barrier between him and what he had just witnessed. He didn’t get much sleep that night.
HE OWNED AND OPERATED TWO TACKLE SHOPS NEXT DOOR TO EACH OTHER
40. When the brothers, George and Burkie, opened their tackle shop in 1960, the owner of the tackle shop next door was a retired Jacksonville Police Captain who did not take kindly to competition.
Mr. Acosta called the brothers “gypsies” and vowed to have them out of business within three months. He was a very successful businessman with access to some of the best wholesalers in the nation. He also had a huge plate glass window that faced the former gas station and could watch his competition build their business. In addition to using his political power by calling city agencies to inspect every aspect of the new enterprise, he also watched to see which wholesalers were selling them supplies.
Since he knew the major companies, and was doing a booming business with some of them, he refused to buy from those companies whose representative was doing business with his competition. To some extent that tactic worked, but the salesmen were free agents and told the brothers what was happening. The salesmen then started taking orders from the brothers on the phone, and although the tactic worked initially, it was doomed to
failure. George became personal friends with most of the salesmen, and even swapped homes for the weekend with one of them. Steve Dunbar had a home near the beach in Daytona, and he had admired George’s home on the lake. One weekend in the summer of 1966, George and Jennie went to Daytona to live in Steve’s home while Steve and his wife had a vacation in Yulee, Florida.
George and Jennie enjoyed Steve’s home. In addition to swimming in the beach, they fished in the surf and cooked the whiting they caught for supper. They also rented motor scooters and roamed the beaches of Daytona. The business came with a built in “ice house” and the ice business flourished in the summer. The ice came in 300 pound blocks that were “scored” into 25 pound squares.
The ice business was a perfect draw for the fishermen who filled their boat compartments in preparation for the fish they would catch. George stayed in business for twenty-eight years. Mr. Acosta’s vows went unfulfilled. Just a few years after his death, his widow sold the business to George and George now owned two tackle shops….. door to door to each other.
GEORGE PUNISHED HIS DAUGHTERS BY TICKLING THEM
41. It is not the kind of punishment, but the certainty of the punishment, that causes discipline in children. George learned this after having three of his six daughters, and both rewarded and punished his girls through the act of tickling them, and they loved it……
Finally, George wrote a poem called “THE KID’S GAME” which follows:
To fool a pretty girl is not….
Too hard, with charm and grace….
For I fooled three just yesterday with….
A tick, a cull, and a place….
Now a tick might be a little ant….
A’ crawling up a tree….
Or it might be the sound of great big clock….
A’ staring at you and me….
A cull might be an ugly sheep….
That the farmer sent away….
Or it might be just an old orange peel….
From an orange you peeled one day….
A place is where, at the table, you sit….
Or where you comb your hair….
It could be here, it could be there….
It could be anywhere….
But how can you fool three pretty girls….
With a tick, a cull, and a place?....
‘Cause when you say them all real fast….
It comes out….
Tickleplace!
The howls of laughter that echoed throughout the house when the first girl caught was tickled, caused a fear of being “next” within the hearts of the others who were watching from their hiding places….
From that day forward, whenever George wanted the girls to vanish, all he would have to say was “To fool a pretty girl…..”
GRADUATION
42. It was Michele’s day.
No matter how many jokes I told, how much I tried to dominate the conversations, or what kind of magic tricks I produced, I was not going to steal the scene from her. Realization came slowly, but Jennie and I had traveled to Savannah Georgia to see our daughter, Michele, graduate from college at the age of 41, and we were so proud of her. Her sister Dee, with her daughters Michele and Delaney were also present and anxious. The graduation ceremony took place at Fort Stewart in the large church on base. The
large room which had seating for about 1,000 was full and our family had to sit near the rear of the room. They had set up two huge television screens overhead so that everyone could see all of the action. The graduate students, numbering around 150-200 marched in proudly in their beautiful caps and gowns about three rows in front of us and took their seats in front. It is customary, as each student approaches the podium, for the family to stand up and
yell proud words of encouragement while the student reaches out with the right hand for a handshake, and uses the left hand to grab the diploma. Then the student would turn, with the presenter, to the camera for a picture. Polite applause from the audience would
follow. At last---it was Michele’s turn. As soon as she reached the stage, our family was up and yelling like the place was on fire. We watched Michele approach the presenter who was smiling with his right hand extended for Michele. She then completely ignored the
presenter, turned to the audience with a brave smile on her face and flashed the television screens and the audience by holding both ends of a huge white banner with blue lettering that read, “I TOLD YOU I’D GRADUATE, DAD!”. The audience went wild and looked back at the family who had stood and yelled so hard. I slumped back into my seat and looked at the other members of the family. When the audience continued their applause, I finally stood back up and yelled, “I’m the dad!”, and all of those people near me wanted to shake the hand of the man whose daughter had
finally conquered the world. And she did!!!! Magna Cum Laude!!!!
It was Michele’s day……..
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GEORGE CRADY IS A POET
43. Almost everyone writes poetry. Most people never let on that they write, because poetry reveals the innermost thoughts of their mind. George never has worried that people might misinterpret his thoughts and has written poetry all of his life. Whatever came to mind was written down on paper and shown to others. His daughter Lynne was really proud that her father could express himself so well and asked her fifth grade English teacher if she would invite George to her classroom and let him read some of his poems. Of course the teacher had doubts, because of her many years of reading novice poetry, but she was curious enough to invite him to read to her students. George, too, was doubtful and wondered how people outside of the family, would respond to his readings. As it turned out, the boys and girls in that classroom cried, along with George and Lynne when he read the poem called “Stormy”. It was a story about a little black Cocker that George had given to his wife before she had her first child, and for a while, was the only addition to their family. George was amazed that his poems had transferred to others the emotions that he, himself, had felt. As he continued reading, the children applauded each poem, until the end, when the children all gave him a standing ovation.
The teacher later wrote a letter of recommendation for him, saying that the poetry recital was one of the most impressive days of her school career. Lynne, years later, took it upon herself to gather all of the poems that George had written through the years, and without him knowing, compiled and edited them into book form
through an internet site. She purchased two copies of the book, one to keep for herself and one to give to George on his birthday. The books cost about $45/each from the site.
The book, today, is one of his most prized possessions.
Years later his granddaughter Cameron reprinted the book, and now everyone in the family has a copy.
Click here to read some of his favorite poems.
HE WAS A MEMBER OF A BARBERSHOP QUARTET
43. The hospital administrator of the Fernandina Beach Hospital, Gil Hosak, was in love with his beautiful wife and they had been happily married for about seven years. He was living the good life and was not prepared mentally when his wife asked for a divorce.
He tried to commit suicide and failed. Three weeks later, he left the hospital with no wife, no job, and no place to live. George and Jennie took him into their home to try to help him recover.
Gil had a beautiful tenor voice, and he loved to sing. Bob Springer, George’s best friend, was accustomed to playing the piano at George’s house for “Sing Parties” where they would invite local musicians or singers to join them. It was a fun event. Gil attended one of these parties and made friends with Claude Haddock and Hank Lipinski (both from Fernandina Beach) who sang Baritone and Bass. He invited them along with George to join him in forming a Barbershop Quartet. Every Thursday night would find them at George’s house practicing harmony. Whenever they hit the perfect notes in harmony, Gil would point to his forearm where the goose
bumps could be seen. The Quartet became known as “The Nassau Sounds” which was a play on the county (Nassau) where they lived, and the entrance of the ocean into Nassau River which was
called Nassau Sound. They became well known and were invited to events within the county. They felt that the highlight of their singing was an invitation to be the singing quartet of the show “Music Man” that was put on by the Fernandina Beach High School. Gil lived with the Cradys until he was fully recovered and was offered a job out west, which he accepted.
George heard from Gill for many years expressing his appreciation.
