Monday, June 27, 2005
Grandfather Earnest
David Melton Earnest was born in 1907 to David and Callie Earnest, the 6th of 9 children. They were dirt poor. He remarked one time that he never saw a toothbrush until he left home. He married Beulah Pipkin in 1930 and worked in the vegetable fields of South Florida as a migrant worker for 25 cents a day. Toward the end of the depression, they had two boys, Lee and Ben, even though they couldn't afford to rent a house. During one period, they moved into a house on one of the lakes in Avon Park because it was empty, and during the depression, no one cared who owned a house if it was empty. After WWII, DM bought a bulldozer and spent the next 30 years in the business of land clearing. He used to kid that the initials DM stood for Dirt Mover. DM always had a good sense of humor and loved to laugh and joke with friends and family. He never missed a chance to pay a compliment and thank people for any small deed.
