Liven in a funeral home

Liven in the funeral home


My dad was an undertaker and worked for Allen Summer hell funeral home in De land Fl. We lived in a house on Alabama Av. I was about five years old I went to the Boston Av Elementary School we didn’t live there vary long then we moved to Orange city in to a funeral home that was owned by Allen Summer hell it was a big two story funeral home we lived on the top floor down stars was a chapel they didn’t use it much maybe once or twice when lived there we lived there for about three years we went to Orange city Elementary School I went from the frost though the thread grades we walked to School. Then we moved again this time to De Bary  Fl. Oliy five males from Orange city Dad had bought the funeral home from Allen Summer hell this one had a small two bed room in one side of the funeral home so we moved in during the summer my dad also ran a ambulance service out of the funeral home he started out with one ambulance then after a few years he then bought two dodge station wagons he turn them in to ambulances he had them going twenty four seven he and about two others ambulance service in the county he would respond to all kind of calls from vehicles accidents to helping someone in and out of bed he would take use to school in the ambulance we thought that so neat the other kids would ask us who got hurt we would say no one that is jest my dad I went to enterprise Elementary school until the six grade my two brother three or four grads ahead of me wail living at the funeral home we had to play rail quiet when dad had a funeral service going on in the chapel because it was next to our living room dad would have to come in from the chapel and teal us kids to be quiet that they could us in the chapel we lived at the funeral home until I was about eleven years old then dad had bought a house out by a lake a three bed room two bath we lived there for about six years I quit school in the tenth grade I couldn’t take the kids making fun of me so dad told me that I could come to work for him I was about sixteen years old and I wanted to get my driver’s License so study the hand book sense I could not read very good when they took me up to the driver’s License office the they had a tape for me to lasing to I took the test took my test up to the officer he came back he sad that I past I went to sine my name and he seen me sake when I wrote my name he said that he couldn’t give me my License’s to me he sad that a Dr. had to sing a paper be for I could get my License’s so we took the paper to the family Dr. One of the questions On the paper it said would fill safe driven with this person and the Dr. put in BIG letters HELL YES we took the paper back up to the driver License’s office gave it to the officer and I get my License’s my job at the funeral home was from washing cars be for funerals to taking death certificates To the Dr. Office to get the Dr. to sing them I some time I went to get a body from the morgue at the hospitals and some time we went to the house to get a body we had one man that worked with us his name was Jim Hogan and dad called him goat because he would make a sound like a goat when he would get scared dad was all ways scaring him like in the casket show room at night Jim’s job was to turn the lights out in the show room so Jim would go to turn the lights out the light swatch was right above the casket Jim reached up to turn the lights off and dad was laying in the casket dad reach up and grab Jim's arm Jim let out a scream and took off out the door pore old Jim dad had to go catch him dad thought that was so funny another time Jim had to turn the lights out in the chapel we had a body laid out in the chapel Jim reached over the casket to turn the light off about that time dad was in the room behind the casket and dad said what about me and Jim yelled and went through the door I mean he went through the door he broke it off the frame dad love to play jokes on him the ambulance service was going strong then and dad went and bought two now dodge vans and turn them into ambulances he kept the two dodge stanchion wagons he had two ambulances going twenty four hours a day seven days a week now this was way be for (911) was ever thought of dad was all so the DeBaryfire chafe of the DeBaryvoluntary fire dept. he had a lot going on the fire dept. would have a oyster roast we would have it at our home out by the lake ever one would come kids and grownups dad would bring the oysters home that after noon we would get the fire going put some teen on top on some bricks and put the oysters on the teen to roast them another time the fire dept had a cook out down by the high banks Marinna me and my dad would go get the fire stored we dug hole in the ground we got the fire going took some blocks on both sides of the hole and laid a great on the blocks and then we laid a hog on top and we cooked it all night long until the next day until twelve o clock then everyone came and we all ate some food had a good time I remember one time the fire dept. had a practice drill so that if had a real emergency we would know what to do so we had lot of people to be victims I happen to be one of the victims they placed all of the victims all over town and they put me in a old bill din and told me to lay down on the floor and water for the ambulance to come and get me so I laded there for about treaty men tens and then I could hear the saran the ambulance came and rescued me from the burning bill den they took me the fire dept. that was the hospital took me in said they had cots set up for the victims and my mom was one of the nurses someone else was the Dr. they came over to take of me like putting glaze around my head and my arms I was a burn victim so every time mom raped me up the Dr. would come around with some lip stick and right on the glaze burn victim that was they had about fifty victims in all that a lot of fun I remember one time dad had to take my cousin up to Ganes ville for some tests he couldn’t walk so dad took him in the hearse and on the way back they stop at a McDonalds’ for a cup of coffee so dad pulled up to the drive though and order three cups of coffee he pulled up to the window to pay for the coffee he cave the women the many the women Onleyseen two people she asked about the other cup of coffee dad sad Jest it to the man in the back about that time my cousin stock his hand though the window and the women through the cop of coffee every ware and dad, my cousin, and the other man that was in front with dad wore all leafing they thought that was so funny Dad was all was pulling things like that for intones there was a restraint down the road from the funeral home that he went to for lunch and for a cup of coffee dad would go in and order a cup of coffee dad didn’t have any filling his index finger so when the waitress came back with his cup of coffee he would stick his finger in the cup of coffee and tell the waitress that the coffee was cold he wanted some hot coffee this cup is cold if you don’t be live be stick your finger in it so she would stick her finger in the coffee she would get burnt and he would light he thought that was funny he lake to go in there when a new waitress was working he order some lunch and then after he get though with lunch she would bring him the bill he would get up and walk out the door without paying the waitress would chase him out the door to get the money he would get in the car and live in the mean time dad had all ready for his lunch he snuck back in the kitchen and pay the owner for his lunch when she wasn’t looking he thought that was so funny dad didn’t have his ambulances service any moor the state came out with this law that you had to have a E M T on every ambulances so dad got of the ambulances service the county had open up a ambulance service out of Deland my brother David went to work for them for a wail I had join the Debary fire dept. It was fun knowing that I was helping out with fighting fires mainly brush fires I remember one of the brush fires that we went on out in Enter pries it had gotten so big that we had to call in three or four other fire Dept. To come help out any way my dad and someone else was on the brush truck so dad was on the front of the brush truck with the fire hose wail the other man was driving through the fire there was flames going up over the brush truck but they kept going fighting the fire they wasn’t going to give up the man that was driving the brush truck told dad they couldn’t go though there but dad sad lets go they was going though the fire dad got burnt on his face and arms they put me on the mop up detail that is where you go behind the brush truck with it looks like a mop with a rubber mat on it you go around the outer edges making shore that the fire is out they finely got the fire out