Meet the official: Melton, a little bit salty

Don “Salty” Melton has been in Marshall County his whole life. The Melton family has been in the area for multiple generations. Salty lives and runs the same farm raising cattle that his grandparents once owned.

He said he looks forward to visits from his nine grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren; and now has one more on the way. Melton reminisced about the days growing up as a child, how he and others rode horses out at the “Old Cook Place” for days with no end to the land.

He enjoyed talking about his family; he has three adult children, Salty, Pepper, and his daughter Jana. Melton also talked about how he loves Easter because that is when his children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren all come out to the farm and have a big celebration. Melton said he enjoys his job to the fullest, starting his career out with Lance Incorporated selling chips and snacks for 35 years before becoming Marshall County Commissioner for District #1 In 2011.

The Madill Record was abletosetdownwithSaltyfor a short Q&A for the residents of Marshall County to get to know him.

Q: Tell our reader a bit about yourself and your family.

A: “I was born and raised about a quarter of a mile of where I still live. I still live on the hill, still live on the family farm. My grandpa moved here around 1930. We lived there my whole life, I still live on the farm. My mother and daddyinheriteditandmeand my sister inherited it from them. So we still live there and I don’t plan on going nowhere. I’ve got three children Salty,Pepper,andJana. Their real names are Salty and Pepper. They named me “Salty” back when we used to gototheStockYards,withmy daddy, when I was a little kid. Theoldboyswouldaggravate me and daddy would say tell them ‘You think you are pretty dang salty don’t cha’. I’m a six year old kid telling them adults ‘You think you are pretty dang salty.’ They started calling me that and it stuck. I never minded being called Salty and so whenever little Salty came around, my first kid, we named him Salty Don. Then Pepper, everyone would say ‘did you name Pepper that. Can’t have Salty without Pepper’ But that ain’t it. John Wayne had a show called Chisolm. Ben Johnson played in that movie, with John Wayne and old John Wayne would call him ‘Mr. Pepper’ And I always thought that was really cool, so Pepper was really named after that show. Both of the boys live here in the county. Salty lives on the Farm near me and Pepper lives off of 32 in Lebanon. My daughter lives in Durant and works for a nursing home.”

Q: Do you think you will run for Marshall County Commissioner again?

A: “If my health is still good and I have got as good of a crew as I have got right now, I don’t know why a man would want to quit. I enjoy getting up and going to work every morning. I truly do, I enjoy this job. Back before I didthisIworkedforLanceIncorporated for 35 years. They sold potato chips, crackers, andsnacks.Iwasasalesman. I ran for commissioner then I retired after 35 years and the day after Thanksgiving I became commissioner. I ran and won the race and have been blessed to have this job. I work at the discretion of the people and the privilege of working for the people, because all they have to do to get rid of me is to vote me out next time. The only campaign promise I ever made was that I promised to work at the job as a job not just as a position. I hope that I have fulfilled that. I get up and go to work everyday. I really do enjoy the job. I really do enjoy my job. All my ‘hands’ are my friends. And I hope they feel the same way about me, I think they do. Every ‘hand’ that I got at that job we work as a team. I’m not a boss, I'm more like one of their helpers. I’m blessed to have the crew I have.”

Q: You said you still live on the family farm. What livestock do you have out there?

A: “Cattle mostly. I’ve got about 40 cows. Pepper runs a pretty large herd. I grew up out there where I live now. My daddy was a farmer and he rough-necked a little bit. Because you couldn’t make it on a farm. Daddy milked five or six cows everyday. I can’t. None of that fancy milking stuff. There was an old ice box that sat on the porch. Daddy would take that big gallon jugs and a dish towel over the top of it. Strain that milk, that was the purification and put it in the ice box with the eggs in there. With other farm related stuff and sold it. There was a calendar there by it and if someone came by and got something out of the ice box they would just write it down there on the calendar. ‘2 dozen eggs on the calendar’ it was an honor system. I did a little milking in my younger days and I hated it.”

Q: As someone who has a working cattle farm, how important is the tradition of agriculture and farming to Marshall county? How important is it for the next generation of family farmers and ranchers to carry on the tradition?

A: “It is wonderful to have your Hard Rock Hotel, casinos, and Wal-Mart, and all this fancy stuff; but you have to eat. Everybody has got to eat everyday. And I am sure thankful that there are still a lot of people out there still trying to raise something for us to eat. If I could make a living at it, would I do it , yea I would. I love the farm life and the country life, but there just isn’t any way for you to make a living at it nowadays. Property values being what they are, you can’t get started as a young kid. I am fortunate that that was handed down, the family farm. Me and my sister, we are still on it. It’s something you gotta love or you wouldn't do it. Because there isn’t a lot of money in it. It’s very important. I don’t know how kids can get into it these days. I drive out now in the county and see places that used to be farms, there are houses now. As long as I am alive our little family place we got out there will stay in one piece. I know that you can’t stop what they call progress.”

Q: Several people inquired about your little dog, is he still with you?

A: “Eddie passed away about 2 years ago, he’s buried out at the yard. I did not replace him, can’t replace a perfect pet.”