Neighbors say Gunnels a man who would build it, fix it, clean it
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His passing last month meant the neighbors would no longer have a tremendous asset living among them. A printer by trade, he was relied upon as a handyman who helped everybody and could do just about anything, friends and neighbors said.
There’s no question Gunnels had certain qualities people appreciate — qualities that are few and far between in this day and age. Those closest to him said if something needed to be done in Booger Ridge, he was always there.
“I’m 70 and we were lifelong friends,” Crain Road neighbor Carl Crawford said. “He was one of the best neighbors and buddies a friend could have had. He was just the kind of person who reached out when there was a need. He fulfilled that need if somebody needed work. He was just very good about that.”
When a neighbor kept a washer and dryer on the back porch into the winter, Gunnels wasn’t going to have it exposed to the elements, so he dropped by to build an enclosure – all the while knowing she was planning to move in a couple of months.
He was considered the historian, the caretaker and the guy who got things done around Booger Ridge, also called Bugger Ridge on local maps. However, Booger Ridge was rumored to be named so because horses would get spooked in that area, hence the “boo” in the name, more than one neighbor said.
Gunnels had a number of names. He was called “Mr. G,” “Strat” and “Little Man,” but mostly, he was considered the mayor of Booger Ridge. Eventually, a large wooden sign that designated him as such was crafted and the entire community came out to dedicate it.
Crawford has favorable memories of the sign.
“A lot of people had a problem stopping there and knocked it over a few times,” he said with a chuckle. “They kept knocking it over and he kept putting it back up.”
Today, the little gray house on the corner is without a standing sign, but neighbors don’t really need a sign to appreciate his efforts. Teddy and Olivia Boyd lived next to Gunnels for 25 years and had high regards for him.
“He worked on our cars and lawn mowers,” Olivia Boyd said. “He could do anything.”
“Anything” included hauling wood, mowing or bush-hogging unkempt areas, picking up trash around the roads, completely revamping an old car and a host of other activities requiring skills often lacking in others who had neither the talent or desire to pursue such efforts.
Don and Betty Drake lived next to him for 15 years. Many summers, Drake and Gunnels cut wood and gave it to elderly folks who didn’t have any. And when Gunnels fixed something, he didn’t expect anything back.
“He wouldn’t take a penny for it,” said Don Drake, who was also a friend to Gunnels. “We all loved him. He was a wonderful, smart man.”
To people still residing in the community, Booger Ridge will not be the same.
“It’s a great loss,” Crawford added. “He was always ready to lend a helping hand.”
Gunnels’ longtime companion, Peggy Maxson, agreed.
“All of the neighborhood will miss him. He was so well known by so many people,” she said. “He was so good to so many people – rich or poor, black or white – he could put his arms around all of them.”