In the social media post announcing the death of James “Cecil” Brannon, the manager of the Walker County Farmers Market said perhaps it’s fitting a toy maker went to heaven on Christmas Eve.
Brannon and his handmade wooden toys and crafts had been fixtures at the market since 2009, market manager Mackenzie Boisvert said. Always by his side at the market, she said, was his wife of 65 years, Mary “Mary Jo” Brown Brannon.
In a phone call, Boisvert said Cecil Brannon would shoot a ball on a string from his handmade popgun at her and children at the market as a way to interact with the crowd and bring a smile to everyone’s face. After the children were drawn to his table full of wooden trains, trucks and tools, Boisvert said it seemed like he gave away more toys than he sold, because many families at the market are low income.
“It was truly just a passion to make kids happy,” she said of his time at the market. “That’s how his whole soul was. He was such a kind-hearted man, always trying to make people laugh and smile.”
Brannon missed a few markets in the summer for health reasons, but Boisvert said he usually attended every market throughout the season. It would take him 15 minutes to set up, but he would arrive two hours before the market started because he loved the atmosphere of the market so much, she said.
As well as managing the market, the resident of Villanow, Georgia, also sells her own produce and other products at the market.
Born in Trenton, Brannon was a lifelong resident of North Georgia, according to his online obituary. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, the obituary said, and retired from a metal casting company after a 45-year career.
Roger Hall and Brannon were market buddies and close friends, Boisvert said, and always set up their tables next to each other.
In a phone call, Hall said he and Brannon had been friends for more than 20 years. The two went to the same church and Sunday school class over the years and tabled at farmers markets and crafts fairs together for much of that time, he said. Both men made their home in Flintstone, Georgia.
Hall said he and his wife sell jams and jellies at markets in the area.
“All the vendors, they are kind of a family; it’s the same vendors every time,” Hall said of the people at the Walker County Farmers Market who sell vegetables, meat, and a variety of crafts and goods. “You get to know the customers, too. Farmers markets have a pretty regular clientele.”
People who shop at farmers markets are back-to-basics people, Hall said, and he said he’s watched many children grow up while selling with Brannon and his wife.
Held May through September on Wednesdays at the Walker County Agricultural Center on North Highway 27, the Walker County Farmers Market requires its vendors to be local and to grow, bake or craft what they sell with their own hands.
(READ MORE: Northwest Georgia farmers markets growing community)
Watching Brannon interact with children through his handmade toys was great, Hall said. He said younger generations in his family own some of Brannon’s toys and played with them during their childhood. New grandparents would often buy the classic toys of their childhood for the new generation, he said, or even for themselves.
The wooden trucks, trains, toolboxes and rubber band guns Brannon made were simple, Hall said, but they brought a lot of joy to children.
“Basic little wood toys, you know, like old-time stuff,” he said.
In the toy toolboxes was a wooden hammer and screwdriver, and Hall said one of his most cherished memories was watching the woodworker teach children the basics of his craft with the toy tools.
Christmas meant a lot to Brannon, he said, and a lot of people bought toys as a gift for Christmas morning over the years.
Starting in the fall, Hall said Brannon was unable to sell at the market regularly due to his failing health.
He was able, however, to attend a Christmas market in Fort Oglethorpe, Hall said, but just to enjoy the market and community it attracted. Instead of Brannon setting up his own table, Hall had some of Brannon’s wooden toys for sale on his table alongside Hall’s jams and jellies, he said.
Boisvert said it’s great that Brannon was an active member of his community until his final days.
Brannon’s presence at the market will be missed, Boisvert said.
“He was loved by everyone,” she said.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.