Although this website is dedicated to prayer out loud, I am taking the opportunity to create an online tribute to my grandfather, Lonnie Carmon. He was a remarkable man in many ways.
After I created this webpage, I approached the Ohio Historical Society to assist me in paying further tribute to my grandfather. On Saturday, February 20, 2010, as a part of the HeART of SOUL event, associated with the Ohio Historical Society’s exhibition, SOUL! Art from the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, I will be making a presentational tribute to grandpa. The all-day exhibition begins at 10 a.m., with presentations such as musical performances by Urban Strings and the Columbus State Gospel Choir and the Society's suite of SOUL project exhibits. My presentation of "The Story of Lonnie Carmon, Aviation Pioneer," will take place at 4 pm.
Parking and admission are free.
On this webpage, you can view the slideshow I created to honor his achievement as an aviation pioneer. He became such a pioneer by building his own airplane in the 1920's in his backyard in Columbus, Ohio!
More than that, though, was the spiritual legacy that he left our family. One of my sisters and I are born-again, Spirit-filled Christians. We are both generous, giving and generally empathetic, always willing to help, even when we don't have enough resources to give.
We wondered where this spirit came from, what ancestor passed these spiritual traits down to us. Grandpa passed away in 1955, when I was just 4 years old, and when the sister I refer to was not even born! Much of the personality of Lonnie Carmon was unknown to us.
Over the years, however, many stories have been told. Some of the stories can be substantiated, but some are probably exaggeration and outright fabrications that have a kernel of truth. One of the stories that has been substantiated by relatives, old neighbors and friends, illustrates the humanity of my grandfather.
He owned several businesses, one of which was recycling...he was a junk man, OK? He made a good living at picking up stuff people wanted to get rid of, and profiting by making it available for sale to folks who needed the goods he acquired. In his travels, he came in contact with a potato farmer. Yes, potatoes grew in mid-Ohio in the 1920's.
The farmer complained about the wet Ohio season, believing that his whole crop would rot in the field before the potatoes were ready for harvest. He finally informed my grandpa that he, the farmer, was going to let the potatoes just rot away in the field because he didn't want to spend the time, diesel fuel, effort and money to harvest a crop he could not sell.
In a moment of revelation, grandpa asked the farmer if he could harvest the crop and take the potatoes with him. The farmer consented. Grandpa dug up the potatoes and deposited them in his cellar at 328 South Grant Avenue, in Columbus, Ohio. That winter, people were hungry in the racially mixed, poor and moderate-income community that was the "South End." In those days, Grant Avenue was not downtown. The South End was bounded on the west by the beginnings of downtown, on the south by German Village, on the east by Parsons Avenue, and on the north by Broad Street.
Because folks were needy, Grandpa Lonnie let every family in the neighborhood have one paper sack of potatoes per day. He gave the potatoes away!
He was an entreprenuer and had been blessed with an opportunity. He decided not to profit financially, but instead, to receive a greater blessing through his generosity. Lonnie Carmon is the source of a valuable spiritual legacy which lives on in me, in my aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins. We thank God for His grace and mercy toward us all.
Enjoy the slideshow!
(If you cannot play it below, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SaxF4E0jDQ )