"Lend me two dollars and I’ll buy you a beer". That pretty much describes Hoover. That’s how he greeted people when he walked into the Legion. Arthur J. Stone was the name given to him at birth, but I have my doubts anyone ever called him that. He was my husband’s Uncle, and I guess you could say he was the family "character ". Anyone from Richmond County reading this, will remember who he was. Once you met Hoover, you would not forget him. He had a way with women, they all loved him but yet he never married! He loved music and loved to party, which he did every chance he had. He was very fond of alcohol but I've never heard that it caused any major problems, probably because he never had a wife and children.

He was born in 1920 with a speech impediment, which in itself, set him apart from everyone else. He never had a real job, just whatever he could pick up here and there. He didn’t have a place to call home, he would just crash at someone’s house for the night (usually family) and stay until he got kicked out, when people got tired of him mooching off them. He would leave and just show up at someone else’s house for supper and wear out his welcome for as long as he could get away with. Eventually he started to run out of relatives and started on the neighbors. If he wasn’t looking for a place to sleep he was always borrowing something, which he never returned. He was a likeable man but we all considered him a pest. If Hoover had lived in the city he would probably have become a street person.

My brother in-law Vernie Bowen, who has a heart of gold, fixed up a little shack he purchased, placed it on his property, and told Hoover he could live in it as long as he wanted. Hoover was ecstatic and so was the rest of the family. He no longer pounded on our doors in the wee hours looking for a place to crash, but he still came around looking to borrow food or things he could take if we didn't need it any more.

In 1973 Hoover was involved in a car accident that took his life.

At his funeral we were shocked at the people who showed up to pay their last respects and the stories they all had to tell... People started telling us how Hoover was such a wonderful man, how he had helped them in their time of need, how he brought them food when they had lost their jobs, how he drove them anywhere they had to go and didn’t charge a cent. When my sister Catherine was pregnant and had to see her doctor in Sydney, 80 miles away, Hoover drove her because my brother-in-law was working and could not afford to miss a days pay. The stories went on and on. People we didn’t even know, from miles away had similar stories to tell. Suddenly, we all realized why Hoover never had any money, even when he had a job, why he was always borrowing food and money. It was always for someone else! In death Hoover has become a legend and a hero. We can all learn from him. He who had so little gave so much.

Although we had moved back to Arichat in 1969, our children didn’t get to know Hoover, because they were so young when he died. Just the same, they know him well. We have kept his memory alive, by telling our children lots of stories about him. Some are very funny. Our son Dean feels that Hoover is his guardian angel, always watching over him. I hope he is right.