Editor’s note: Each year, the Brown County Democrat celebrates some aspect of Brown County history in our Founders Day section, also known as “Yesteryear.” This year — as we’ve done for the past several years — we’re writing about residents who are about 80 or older, who define “Brown County character” in some way.

GNAW BONE — Stanley and Opal Smith moved around quite a bit when they were a young couple, but as life changed, roots were planted on the south end of Brown County.

The Smiths welcomed seven children — five boys and two girls — into the world at their home on Rinnie Seitz Road.

Elvie Leon was born in August 1938.

Opal cared for her family, keeping house and her children, while Stanley worked in various occupations across the county. He drove a bus for the school, with a route on Mount Liberty Road, until he started farming.

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“We raised a lot of crops,” recalled Leon as he lounged in the red recliner in his living room. “Cabbage, tomatoes, green beans — we’d pick green beans for a penny a pound.” Stanley also hauled tobacco on Old 46.

Driving the highway was merely one facet of what Leon Smith’s father did on the road. He also oversaw the operations of the highway department. Brown County’s roads were just as much work to maintain in the early 20th century as they are now, perhaps even more. Leon recalled his father overseeing the operations during winter, with workers shoveling salt out of the back of a dump truck as it drove down the roads.

“He drove a big ol’ dump truck, only ran about 40 miles an hour,” Leon said. “It wouldn’t start when it got cold. He’d have to put a pan of gas under the oil pan and heat up the oil before it’d even start.”

Growing up in rural Brown County required creativity. Leon, his siblings and friends found unconventional ways to entertain themselves.

“You invented your own playthings. … (We’d) cut off grape vines and swing out over a valley, get in corn cob fights in the barn.

“People come out here and they don’t realize what it was like. There were no bridges; most creeks you just had to ford.”

It was a different time — using gas lamps, a wind-up box telephone. Leon remembered the excitement when his family got electricity at their house in 1948. “It was really exciting to see them come through with that wire and everything.”

As the times and technology changed, it wasn’t long before young Leon went to work. At 14, Smith started working at a truck stop in Columbus for 50 cents an hour. He worked as a carpenter’s helper for a summer, then at an appliance service for four years. He then began work at a foundry in Columbus in 1973, from which he retired after 37 dedicated years.

When asked what he did at the foundry, Leon simply said, “Everything.”

In the midst of changing jobs as a young man, he met Dee Pyatt.

How did they meet? “Oh, that was a bad day,” Leon said, and his wife, sitting across the room, let out a laugh.

“Her sister couldn’t go out on dates unless she had somebody to go with her,” Leon said. “So she called me and wanted to know if I’d go with her so her sister could go out.”

In order to appease their mother, Dee agreed to double date. The couple was married six months later, in February 1960.

“We had talked about getting married, two or three times, then one day she said, ‘Let’s just get married this weekend.’ I said, ‘I can’t get married this weekend; I’ve got a car payment.’”

Dee’s pastor had discouraged her from marrying Leon, but the two got along so well. “We had fun. Leon was just fun. I feel blessed. ”

“She married me for my car,” Leon said.

Leon lived in Columbus for the first three years of their marriage. They built a house in Gnaw Bone and moved in on Labor Day weekend of 1964.

They had four children, taking them to the Christian church on Sundays.

“We’ve been blessed so many ways, you can’t name ‘em all,” Leon said.

Leon spends his time these days enjoying his favorite television programs and woodworking. He’s constructed doll furniture for his grandchildren, armoires, and helped his son remodel a house.

With family as far apart as Washington to Connecticut, the Smiths have remained true to their roots. The couple have surrounded themselves with friends and family for 56 years, making it difficult to entertain the idea of ever leaving. At one time, they had put their house on the market, but eventually decided to stay.

“I probably would have been gone if it hadn’t been for her,” Leon said, pointing to his wife across the room.

“It’s a neat place to live. It’s done me right.”

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Age: 81, born Aug. 8, 1938

Place of birth: At his family’s home on Rinnie Seitz Road

Spouse: Dee Pyatt Smith

Children: Terry, Kevin, Mike and Brent

Parents: Stanley and Opal Smith

Siblings: Four brothers, two sisters

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