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John Winfrey married Bertha Ensley, and they raised their family at Red Marble in Topton.
John was one of four children born to Emmaline Winfrey. The other siblings were Sam, Ross and Manilla (Nellie) Bay. They were known to be a law-abiding and God-fearing people, whose family migrated here from Ireland.
Nellie told her cousin Raul Winfrey, “Do you know there has never been a Winfrey that spent any time in jail?” He answered, “No, but Nell, lots of us should have!”
They were the perfect examples of the “fighting Irish.” And at every Winfrey family reunion a fight would break out before the day was over, usually during the football game in the field across the road from the family home.
John and Berth had nine children: Georgia, Pauline, Mary Ruth, Alma, Sammy, Johnny, Margaret Ann and Josephine, who had a twin, Geraldine, but she died at birth.
Many of the Winfreys had a temper and were bad to fight. Not only the boys, who notoriously would start a row while playing ball, but the girls would square off to fight in a heartbeat. As one of the stories go, at one of the reunions in the late 1960s, Mary Ruth told her cousin, “Watch this, Beatrice, I’m going to start something,” and she did. She walked over and said something to her sister, Alma, and they fought like wildcats.
John was known for keeping his shoes shined, and he continuously wiped the dust off them. And he was meticulous with his grass. The road around Red Marble was not paved and when cars would pass by on the gravel road a few pieces of gravel would sometimes fly off in the yard and he kept busy picking them up.
Jimmy Stewart is the grandson of John and Bertha, and he was their biggest fan. He remembered all the family reunions when he was growing up.
“The reunion was always on June 30th, which was Papaw’s birthday, and besides the football game in the field, there was the annual horseshoe tournament. My Grandpa and Uncle Sam would sit below the house under the apple tree to watch those who were competing,” Jimmy said.
“I was very close to my uncles, Sammy and Johnny, they were like my idols, but I hung around more with Johnny, because he was younger. Sammy was very competitive and always out to win, especially when he played ball.”
“I was born April 5, 1952, to Elmer and Mary Ruth Winfrey Stewart in the Rodda VanGorder Hospital. I was the oldest of five children, my siblings were Linda, Keith, Ann Marie (Tad) and Donna,” Jimmy said. “We grew up in the Rhodo and Red Marble area, and we were raised very poor. My Mom and Dad did the best they could at the time, because money was scarce back then. Poverty makes for innovation, so we made our own baseball and picked out a sturdy stick for a bat.”
Jimmy has a lot of memories of growing up at his grandparents’ home.
“I spent a lot of my childhood with my Memaw and Papaw, and I remember they had a strict schedule. They ate breakfast at 5 a.m. and had lunch at 11 a.m. Supper was at 4 p.m., and they went to bed at 7 p.m., and the schedule never changed.
“They were hard-working people, and I miss them a lot. Looking back many years later, I can say I had a great family!”
Kandy Barnard is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. To talk about the Andrews Valley, call her at 361-3268 or email kandybarnard@gmail.com.