I was first elected to the Alabama Legislature in 1982. George Wallace had been elected to his last term as governor that year. Therefore, my first term as a legislator was Wallace’s final and fifth term as governor.  

I had met Wallace during his first term as Governor in 1963.  I was a 12-year-old Legislative Page and he was an energeticyoung governor. He never forgot that day and always reminded me of it in most of our visits.  

In 1983, Wallace would have good days and bad.  He was in constant pain from six bullet wounds from a crazed would-beassassin who shot him in a Maryland parking lot while he was running for President in 1972. His memory and demeanor were quite diminished from his earlier years.  He was also almost completely deaf. A lot of men his age who had fought in World War II had diminished hearing due to excessive exposure to fighter planes and bombings. Wallace’s deafness had become so pronounced that I wondered on my visits down to his office if he ever heard a word that was said. It really did not matter much anyway, because he usually did most of the talking.

My best legislative friend and seatmate was the legendary Mr. Pete Turnham from Auburn. Mr. Pete came to the House in 1958 and served for 40 years from 1958 through 1998. He was the Dean of the House and had a prime seat on the House floor. Like Wallace, Pete remembered me from my youthful Page days and he adopted me as his protégé. Pete prevailed on the venerable House Clerk, John Pemberton, to give me a seat next to him,which was usually reserved for more veteran members. Mr. Pete and I sat together through 1998. I loved Mr. Pete like a father.

Pete Turnham loved and cared for Auburn and Auburn University more than any other legislator in history. Like Wallace, Pete was a veteran of World War II. Unlike Wallace, Pete had a very important and highly decorated world war experience. He was an officer, who had actually been one of Patton’s lieutenants in Europe. However, like Wallace the bombings had rendered Pete deaf in one ear. So, Pete was hard of hearing like Wallace.  

Pete, like most men of his generation, loved agriculture and gardening. Mr. Pete graduated from Auburn and majored in Agricultural Science. Pete’s home was on a large tract of land on Moore’s Mill Road in Auburn. He had a tremendous, well-known garden next to his house. He had a green thumb that was unbelievable. He would feed almost half of Lee County out of his garden. Folks who were down on their luck in Auburn and Opelika would awaken to a week’s worth of fresh vegetables left on their doorstep, left anonymously by Pete. His garden was truly legendary.

One day Wallace had asked me and Pete down for a visit together. I am pretty sure Wallace did not know Pete and I were best friends and seatmates.  I do not think Pete knew why Wallace wanted to talk with him. I sort of thought Wallace wanted to inform me and Pete of his plans for an educational initiative. Pete was an educational advocate and Wallace knew that.

Well, Pete and I arrived to visit with Wallace who was in his wheelchair with the ever-present cigar. You could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he adored and admired Mr. Pete. They immediately engaged in conversation, and I stood aside and witnessed one of the funniest conversations in my life. These two World War II legends began their conversation and ended their conversation with neither knowing what the other one was saying and totally agreeing with the other.

Wallace was extolling some education matter and Pete nodded in agreement. Pete was thinking Wallace was asking about his garden and he responded by telling Wallace how his peas and tomatoes were doing. They continued their diatribe for 15 minutes. Each time both nodded and smiled while Wallace was telling Pete about how much good his program was going to help the poor little school children and Pete smiling in agreement telling Wallace how his corn was doing.

See you next week.