Vol. 4 # 4 - Tiffin Motorhomes

O w n e r P r o f i l eOneal Oliver: A Native Sonby Fred ThompsonOOneal Oliver was born in Belgreen, Alabama, in 1927, a smallfarming community about 17 miles east of Red Bay. He grew upin Vina, about five miles southeast of the plant. His ancestorscame to North America in 1665, and 114 years later found theirway to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains. The Oliversare a hardy Scot-Irish clan who survived the persecution of England’sKing James and fled their homeland, forced out by povertyinduced by political oppression and famine. The westernNorth Carolina mountains surely reminded them of the lovelygreen hills they left behind. But life in Cades Cove was not easy.Many began to move west looking for arable land to farm.Oneal’s parents eventually settled in Belgreen. In the face ofthe Great Depression, Oneal’s father left the family in search ofwork and never returned. In 1934 his mother found shelter ina corn crib in a rich man’s backyard, earning $1.50 a month toclean and wash for the wealthy family. As a seven-year-old, Onealwalked the area and asked many a shopkeeper and family, “Doyou have anything I can do?” Finally, the owner of the cottongin agreed to pay Oneal 25 cents a night to stay in the gin andwatch for fire. The youngster was now earning in a week morethan his mother made in a month.The job turned out to have a much greater benefit. Whenit was time for the equipment to be rebuilt in preparation forthe ginning season, Oneal watched carefully and learned whereevery cog, wheel, and belt fit into the gin. By the time he wasnine, he was running the gin. He continued to run the Vina ginuntil he was 23 and then bought it for $18,000.By this time Oneal was spending a good bit of time in RedBay where he had his eye on a young lady whom he had met oneSaturday—the day when everybody came to town. “I knew fromthe day I first saw her that she was the girl I wanted to marry,”he smiled as he looked over at Idabell, recalling the event as ifit were just last week. With entrepreneurial skill, he found outContinued on page 4848 Roughing It Smoothly