Thinking of my granpa, Guy Mackey, brings forth memories of the smells in his upholstery shop full of hanging chairs, springs, and bolts of canvas and other materials dangling from the ceiling. Guy worked as an upholsterer all of his life starting at age 16 until his retirement in Miami, Florida. At first he was called a trimmer in the wagon shop in Galion, Ohio where canvas wagon tops were made. In his twenties, he was the foreman in the upholstery shop in the rail road yards. He and his fellow workers upholstered the seats for the passenger cars. In New York City and Newburgh, NY,, he and a partner were the proprietors of the Mackey-Wilson Auto Top Shop. At the peak of this successful business, they had 90 employees! Here they made canvas tops for the popular Ford cars of the early 1900s. During the Deep Depression, Guy and my dad repaired furniture in the shop behind Guy's house in Akron, Ohio. These were the years that folks had to make do with what they already had. They depended on Guy to keep their chairs and sofas in good condition.Guy's grand kids loved to climb into the rumble seat of his little coupe. Then Guy would take us on a fun joy ride around town, loving the air blowing our hair around and the sense of freedom that it gave. My favorite memory of Grandpa though was the day that he took me to his backyard flower garden full of pansies along the stone-walled raised bed that encircled the yard. He made sure that I noticed how each flower had a unique smiling face...and I smiled back, dreaming of how I would someday have a garden just like Grandpa's.
Sources: Federal census for 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; City directorie from New York City and Galion, Ohio, several years, my own memories, interviews with my father, obituary from a Miami, Florida newspaper ( unidentified paper), correspondence from my Mackey cousins.
Guy Athol Mackey
born 22 Apr 1875 Galion, Crawford, OH
married 23 Apr 1902 Galion, Crawford, OH
died 24 May 1963 Coral Gables, Dade, FL
Military: Age 23, private in 10 Ohio Infantry, Co. 1, in U.S. Spanish American War, a member of John J. Pershing Camp
