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History is in his bloodline

A descendent of pioneers relishes talking about his family's heritage in Pinellas County.

By PETER SCHWEITZER
Published July 3, 2004

[Times photo: Carrie Pratt] The McMullen family cabin is said to be the oldest structure in Pinellas County. Friday, 97-year-old Guy McMullen regaled an audience of Heritage Village junior docents with stories of growing up in the cabin.

[Times photo: Carrie Pratt] Guy McMullen, left, shares a word with his nurse, Edi Darr, and Paige Noel, living history interpreter at Heritage Village, on the porch of the log cabin where he grew up. They were preparing for a question-and-answer session with a group gathered to hear McMullen reminiscence about life in early Pinellas County.

[Times photo: Carrie Pratt] Following the posted advice, Paul McMullen ducks through a doorway in the log cabin where his father, Guy McMullen grew up. The cabin is now part of Pinellas County's Heritage Village, a 21-acre, open-air historical village and museum.

[McMullen family photo] This photo shows five generations of McMullen men: James Parramore (inset, bottom left) and, left to right, George Ward, Guy, Paul and baby Brett, in Paul's arms.

[Times photo: Carrie Pratt] Paul McMullen, left, listens closely as his father, Guy McMullen, talks of his years growing up in one of Pinellas County's pioneering families. "I'm very proud of our heritage here in Pinellas County," Paul McMullen said. "It's important for people to understand that this heritage is about the hardship Floridians faced."

LARGO - After a lifetime as the scion of one of Pinellas County's pioneer families, Guy McMullen might be tired of telling his family's story by now. But Friday morning, he eagerly told it again, this time to a group of uncommon interviewers.

"It's a wonderful life," said the 97-year-old McMullen, as he described his family's heritage in Pinellas County. The last surviving grandchild of James Parramore McMullen, a 19th century Pinellas County pioneer and settler, Guy McMullen was interviewed by the junior docents, or young tour guides, of Heritage Village as part of their summer program.

The program emphasizes the importance of oral history in the preservation of local heritage. The young docents interviewed him at Heritage Village, the 21-acre open air historical village and museum that opened in 1976.

Clad in a red, white and blue baseball cap, McMullen sat on the porch of the same log cabin in which his father was born in the 1800s.

The junior docents sat on the steps in front of him, asking questions about his childhood and what life was like in Pinellas County in the early 20th century.

The McMullen log cabin is preserved along with many other historical buildings and artifacts detailing the early history of Pinellas County. The 28 structures on the property date to the mid-to-late 19th century, with the McMullen log cabin the oldest structure in the county.

McMullen was surrounded by four generations of his family, including his 66-year-old son Paul, from Clearwater.

"I'm very proud of our heritage here in Pinellas County," Paul McMullen said. "It's important for people to understand that this heritage is about the hardship Floridians faced. There was no air conditioning, no refrigeration, and no paved roads up until the 1920s."

Yet Guy McMullen remembers it as all good. "We enjoyed life. We were plain old country folks. We had our farm animals, including horses, pigs, milk cows, dogs and cats. We raised sugar cane and citrus."

McMullen entertained the docents with his self-deprecating humor and quick wit. When asked about his best friend, McMullen quipped dryly, "I had a female."

When asked to relate the story of his pigs, McMullen grinned and told them of the time when his father asked him to give the juice from skimmed sugar cane liquid to the pigs.

"But the skimmings had fermented so when I gave it to the pigs they all laid down. I thought my father had killed them. My father said, "Don't worry, they'll be okay, they'll get up.' I realized later on that they were all drunk from the fermented cane juice that I gave them!"

McMullen remembered growing up in Safety Harbor and working on the family's farm.

"If we worked hard my father would take my brothers and me fishing. We'd cast our nets and catch mullet. That was our main menu in those days."

His first job was with the local B & B grocery. "I worked six days a week from 6 to 6," he said. "I got paid $2.00 a day and $12 a week. It was good money in those days."

[Last modified July 3, 2004, 01:00:34]