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Note: According Kevin Winfree interview with his grandmother Frances Louise, C. S.'s brother Joe always told C. S. that his real name was Cloud Smith, after his uncle, Cloud Smith Denney. C. S. must of not liked the name because he would never admit to it. C.S. was a JP, tobacco farmer, and Missionary Baptist. I have vague recollections of his stories about a local school at Tucker's Crossroads in Wilson County that he "saved" from consolidation with his influence as a JP.
He was a man of simple tastes and pleasures. He enjoyed playing checkers with family and friends. Reading the newspaper and eating crumbled corn flakes was a daily ritual. He was also a parent of the "old school" and a no nonsense kind of father. Unlike many of my generation today, he knew the line between child and adult. He was a life-long Democrat (as many are today solely because of tradition in the same area) and it appears he was friends with his cousin Sen. Albert Gore, Sr. and was at least known by Vice-President Al Gore, Jr. Unlike the party itself, C.S. (and much of the family) were very conservative.
C.S. died after a long illness which kept him mostly unaware of the world. During that time family members took care of him, especially his son Joe who kept him at his home which was just a couple hundred yards from C.S.'s own house. The last words I ever heard him say was "BOO!" to my son Jonathan.
Matthew Van Hook
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