Track and Half-Track
I
really miss Eugene Walker who was a friend of mine since we
were first graders. He was such a breath of fresh air, so
straight forward, honest, good natured, and with a great
sense of humor.
A number of years ago as I was coming out of the old
Walmart store, I met Eugene. His memory of an incident in
the past was clearer than mine since he was a main
character in it. He reminded me of this story.
Work was begun on paving Georgia Highway 85 around 1940
using state prison workers. Mr. Dell Walker’s family lived
near the grading site. Two of his sons Eugene and Joe, ages
around 10 and 11, became intrigued by the activity of the
huge grading machines. The prison workers, probably
remembering their own youthful curiosity, had compassion
for them and would often let the boys ride with them on the
machines. Sometimes they let the boys crank the machines
and even steer the machines for short distances. How
thrilling this must have been for Eugene and Joe!
Paving was completed down to Camp Creek, but work was
discontinued because of World War II. Paving was not
resumed until after the war when a private contractor was
employed to complete the work. Then the big grading
machines were brought back into the area and parked in a
vacant lot where Hudson Plaza is now located.
When no one was around, Eugene and Joe went down to the
-lot and played on the machines. No key was necessary to
start the engines. The boys, remembering the procedure,
soon got up the nerve to start one of the machines. They
got the motor going on their own but they became afraid and
quickly turned it off. That didn’t end things though. Their
passion to operate one of the big machines grew so great
that they decided to try it again and actually push down
some small trees in the area.
That’s when the trouble started. It
was winter and during times when the machines were
left idle, the water was drained from the radiators to
prevent damage from freezing. The boys didn’t know
this. They started the small “pony” engine which in
turn started the large engine and off they went. Of
course, without proper cooling, the large engine soon
burned up.
Eugene’s and Joe’s father punished them severely. Eugene
said he wore out a couple of switches on him and Joe.
That’s all he could do. A man of modest means with six
children certainly couldn’t afford to replace the engine on
one of these large machines. This was the talk of the town
for a while. After this since these machines ran on tracks
instead of wheels many called Eugene “Track” and his
younger brother Joe “Half-Track.”