I cannot say I really knew Hubert Gregg. However, it seemed almost everyone in Longview, Texas, recognized the Peanut Man.
He first came into my sphere when I was playing Little League baseball during grades 3-6 in the Greggton area of Longview. With some regularity, Mr. Gregg would travel to this outer edge of town to hawk his famous roasted peanuts.
Now, it didn’t occur to me at the time to wonder how a blind man traveled like he did, and I still don’t know the answer today.
Yet, there he was, with some regularity, as I said, working the crowd. He always wore blacked out glasses and was led by a guide dog. As I recall, he wore a white apron with his name embroidered on it, I believe in red thread.
He pulled a red wagon filled with bags of peanuts. When he accepted money, he would finger the coins to determine the denomination. If someone gave him paper money more than one dollar, he might ask someone else to verify it. For elementary-aged boys, there was a lot to take in.
Time passed and, several years later, I was working the evening shift as a sportswriter for the Longview Daily News and Morning Journal. On occasion, Mr. Gregg came walking through the newsroom, following his dog, looking to unload a few more bags of peanuts before calling it a night. At the time, he would have been about 75 years old and did not seem to have lost a step.
Again, I did not know him, but I did admire him. And I believe most people did appreciate and respect him.
A tribute to this local legend written by the late Van Craddock, an East Texas institution in his own right, can be found here.
A look at the memorial plaque Van mentions can be found here.
Respect
When Leah and I were visiting in Spain this winter, our host made some comment about how elderly people in the area were generally treated with respect. I came to recognize that, such as offering a seat or yielding at a doorway.
You still see it here, too, but not to the degree I remember … but, then again, that memory is nowadays being called into question, so …
Take the story of Hubert Gregg to heart. Find a way to brighten the day and/or lessen the load for one of our aging neighbors. The easiest path to doing that is to get to know them, to ask questions, to listen to their stories.
And buy their peanuts.
Steve Martaindale 
Steve – I too have fond memories of Mr Gregg. He had a little stand near the post office, or at least he sold peanuts at that stand. It was across the street from Hurwitz, where my dad worked. He and Dad would often visit during his lunch. It was always amazing to me to see him in other parts of town – I never knew how he got around, either.
LikeLike