DART: Man enjoys quiet, simple life in Spring Hill
Published 8:42 pm Monday, April 28, 2014
This week’s dart landed on County Road 3306 in the Spring Hill area.
Since retiring, Willie Carter says he’s got nothing but time. And that’s just the way he likes it. He spends a portion of every day enjoying a smoke in his front yard.
“It’s nice and peaceful,” he said.
From his favorite spot, he can take in the roses and Gerbera daisies in his flower beds. He can also care for his potted herbs. Carter is growing basil and hot peppers.
He can also greet family and friends who live along CR 3306, too. As his grandson passes by, he greets the grown man by saying, “Hey little bitty boy” and they chat about the approaching storm.
Carter used to work for Wayne Farms in Jack. He retired because he reached an age where he could, but he says he could have continued the work he was doing for year. He was the “floor man.” He swept up and washed down the floors of the facility.
“That was the easiest job I had in my life,” he said.
Willie and his wife, Minnie celebrated their 36th anniversary Monday. He recalled how they met.
“I was working with the city and she was working with the shirt factory. I started picking at her and wound up marrying her,” he said.
Minnie was born in Montgomery County. She had five sisters and three brothers. She resembles her mother, but also her distant cousin, Rosa Parks. Minnie displays a photo of her famous cousin, but she didn’t get to know Parks. She was 6 years old when Parks moved up north.
Minnie had 10 children when she met Willie.
He said going from a bachelor to a stepfather of 10 wasn’t so hard.
“All were out of the house except about four, maybe five of them. On the weekends, they would be out of the house and gone, too,” he said.
Minnie loves Spring Hill for the same reasons as Willie.
It’s quiet.