Marion DeVore, Senior

By his granddaughter, Pat Bonuchi

I want to share some wonderful memories with you about my grandfather whom I called Dad.

My grandparents, Marion and Ann DeVore, owned and operated DeVore's Taxi from 1939-1957 at 105 East Bourke. (The telephone number at that time was simply 2225!) Dad charged two-bits ($.25) to transport people within the city limits, but if they didn't have the funds to pay him, he did it for free.

I started riding in the taxicab when I was only three, so by the time I was five, I was well acquainted with all of Dad's customers. One - a patient at the Sanatorium - was an alcoholic and he would go to town on Saturday nights and always ended up at Tommy's Bar. The taxi office was right behind it so he would mosey over and Dad would take him home. Jack was a distinguished and interesting man, had a mustache, wore funny little shoes and long johns, and had a whiskey bottle stashed inside the long johns. He was such a wonderful, talented artist. Dad had him paint his horse Trixie and my pony Jo. Jo's picture, which Jack painted in September of 1951, still has a special place in our home.

Only one customer ever scared me - a large burly man. He lived south of Macon and in the winter he wore a bearskin coat, so to a young child he looked bigger than life.

We picked up the nurses from the hospital every night at 11PM, so I got to know all of them: Mrs. Bond, Mrs. Claus, Mrs. Binder and many more.

Dad took the young girls to Moonwinx east of town on Saturday night and after he closed his business at 11:00PM, he and Nina would always go back to make sure no one had gotten stranded.

We transported Mrs. Theodore Gary's servants and Mrs. Gary always sent a bag of candy for me on special occasions.

There were no seat belts in automobiles back then so I stood up by Dad and put my arm around him. Dad and I shared many meals together in those days. Ann, my grandmother whom I called Nina, couldn't close the taxi office so Dad and I ate together and took Nina's meals back to her. Louies Sweet Shop, Walnut Cafe, Bungalow Cafe and Bill's were just a few of the businesses downtown at the time.

Dad had such a great sense of humor ... he had bolted a buffalo nickel to a chair, and wired a Model T coil to a six-volt battery and he installed a button to control it under the top of Nina's desk. Then, whenever someone tried to pick up that nickel, he would shock them! More people tried to pick up that nickel, and every time Dad would just chuckle and press that button. I know there are many people who still remember their 'shocking' experiences with that buffalo nickel.

My 'best buddy' has been gone almost 21 years, but he is always in my heart. For many years Dad's taxi cap has had an honored place in my home, and every time I look at it I am taken back down memory lane. He touched many lives in his lifetime, especially mine. He was such a kind and generous person. Even after all these years when his name comes up, someone will remember Dad and then they realize I'm Patty, his little granddaughter that rode in the taxi with him. Everyone respected Dad and he certainly deserves the title of 'Famous Maconite' for all he and his taxi service did for Macon those many years.