I was born on February 7, 1927 near the small village of Blue Jacket, Oklahoma. At the time my father was a farmer with some dairy cattle. When I was three the family moved to La Junta, Colorado where Pop worked in the farm fields of sugar beets, cantaloupe, and watermelon. I started school there attending kindergarten and first grade. In 1935 the family packed up and headed for the west coast, actually for Washington. We got as far as Salem, Oregon where the cane berry season was in full swing so we stopped to pick Logan berries. When the berry season was over we picked other crops, cherries, beans, and then to Prunes. My father got a job with Willy Way who had the largest prune dryer in the west. His dryer was located at Rosedale Oregon and he had hundreds of acres of prune orchards. I attended 2nd and 3rd grades at Rosedale school. Eight grades in one school building. We moved to the Salem Heights area where I started the 4th grade at Salem Heights school. During that school year we moved to the Pratum area where I finished the 4th grade. Pop was getting homesick and the rainy weather was getting him down so we packed up and returned to Oklahoma where he worked for my uncle Jay Weston who had a small sawmill where he made mostly railroad ties. While there I attended Ketchum grade school in the 5th grade. WE then packed up and went back to La Junta Colorado where Pop worked for 2 of my uncles who were both home builders. I attended 6th grade there. Then the call of the west got to Pop and we returned to Rosedale where Pop worked again for Willie Way. I remember he drove a team of mules disking the prune orchards. I attended the 6th and 7th grades at Rosedale school. During the summer months my sister Clara brother Bill and I worked in the fields harvesting berries, cherries, beans, prunes, and walnuts. We even tried Hops but couldn’t make any money at that. When attending school both Bill and I had hearing problems and they decided we both needed to attend the Oregon State Deaf school. I graduated 8th grade there. I hated it!!!!! Ninth grade I returned to public school and attended Leslie Jr High, and Salem High School. I rode the bus everyday from Rosedale to Jr High and High school. World war II started for the US when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. I remember I had gone to Church that day and heard about it there. Both of my older brothers joined the Navy that month. The shipyards started in the Portland and Vancouver areas. My dad and brother Ray started working there and my uncle Jay and aunt Ida both came out from Oklahoma and went to work at the Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver. In my Junior year I quit school and went to work at the shipyard. I attended welding school there and became a certified welder. I was 16 at the time and was making as much money as my Dad. I worked at the shipyard 1 year plus and then returned to High School for my Junior year. I had been trying to get my Dad to let me join the Navy as he had to sign his consent. Finally after much arguing and fighting he finally agreed and in November 1944 I joined up. I went to Portland for the exam, passed and sent home to wait. I got notification and was sent to Boot Camp in San Diego on December 4th 1944. After boot camp I came home on leave. I returned to San Diego and was sent to Gulfport Mississippi to basic engineering school to become a motor machinist mate. Again home on leave and then to Alameda California where I was assigned as crew on the USS Rixey APH3, an auxiliary hospital ship. Our first trip was to San Diego where we picked up around 200-250 (Waves) woman sailors and women Marines and transported them to Hawaii. Loaded with replenished supplies we sailed west to several of the small islands in the pacific. The Marshall’s, Guam, and a couple of others before going to Okinawa. At Okinawa we were in Buckner Bay when we were hit by a typhoon that was terrible. We tried to get out to open sea but did not make it so we rode out the storm in the bay. From Okinawa we sailed to China where we dropped off a contingent of Marines we had picked up in Guam. While there we picked up several men who had been prisoners of war held by the Japanese. They were a horrible sight. All skin and bones. We took them to Honolulu. Then sailed to Seattle. The ship was then taken out of service and I was assigned to the USS Brookings, APA141. We sailed to Alameda, picked up supplies and then proceeded down to the Panama Canal and over to the Atlantic side where we went to Yorktown Virginia and started preparing the ship for the mothball fleet. By mid June I had enough points to be eligible for discharge. I was sent to Bremerton WA for discharge on 15th of July 1946. 1 year 8 months in the US Navy. After discharge I worked at a couple of odd jobs and then went to work at Valley Motor Co in the parts department picking up and delivering parts. I drove a 1931 Model A pickup. In late 46 I met Ramona at the Capitola skating rink and we started dating. We decided to wed and were married on the 15th of June 1947 in the Rosedale Friends Church and honeymooned at Seaside. I continued at Valley Motors until late 48 when I was fired for refusing to unload the freight elevator while all the others were standing around and I was busy cleaning the display counter. I went to work then at Kirkpatrick Ford in Lebanon. Then I got a job at Warner Motor Co in Salem. It was the Lincoln-Mercury Dealer. Later the dealership was sold to Fred McKinney. In 1949 at the urging of a buddy, Carl Goldsby I joined the Marine Corps Reserve unit in Salem. We had monthly drills and meetings at the reserve center. In April Ramona got pregnant with Dave. We were living in what was known as “vets housing” in Salem. In June the war in Korea started and August 5th the reserve unit was activated. We had made a down payment on our first house in June and it was just being finished when we were notified that we sould be shipping out to the Marine base at Camp Pendleton California. We boarded the train on the 25th or 26th of August 1950 and arrived in camp Pendleton on the 27th or 28th. We were rushed through all the necessary stuff, like issue of gear, medical checks, rifle range and then assignment to units. I was assigned to Service Battery, 3rd battalion, 11th Regiment, 1st Marine division as battalion welder, and automotive serviceman. We were informed that we would be shipping out on the 1st of September but not as to where we were going. I called home to let Ramona know but she had already boarded a train to come down to California even though I had told her to sit tight until we found out what was going to happen. Through some phone calls I was able to reach my Aunt who lived in Huntington Beach CA and she was able to pick Ramona up at the train station and bring her down to Camp Pendleton. She had sent a telegram letting me know that she was on the way. We got to spend about seven or eight hours together as I had to be back in my barracks by 4:00 am to board trucks o take us to San Diego to board ships. Still didn’t know where we were going. We landed in Kobe Japan and had one night of liberty and then headed for Korea. We made the landing at Inchon, fought through to Seoul, then north of there when we were relieved and sent back to Inchon to board ships headed for Wonson North Korea. The harbor there was heavily mined and while they were clearing the mines we sailed back and forth for 5 days. They called it the yoyo operation. We finally landed and headed up the peninsula toward the Yalu River, the border between Manchuria and North Korea. We went through several towns and villages on the way. Just outside the village of Chinhung-ni we set up camp for the day and we had a mail call. Guess what. I got the wire that Ramona had sent in August. This was in late October. Wow! It said she was on her way to see me. Oh well no such luck. We continued on up into the mountains and the weather was turning awfully cold. We didn’t have our winter clothing yet so it was kind of miserable at times, especially when you were standing perimeter defense and was staying awake all night in a fox hole. We finally got up onto a plateau near Koto-ri and we got our winter clothing and shoes. Later on we learned that they weren’t that good as it got bitterly cold. We moved farther up into the mountains to the village of Hagaru-ri where we stopped for 3 or 4 days. I did some repair on trailer tongues that had been broken off trying to back up. Repaired 3 or 4 of them. We had Thanksgiving there. Turkey with all the trimmings. We then packed up and moved farther up the mountains to a village called Udam-ni. We set up camp and just getting settled in and that night the Chinese hit with all their might. They drove the infantry regiments back to our gun batteries and ti was getting to be a bad situation. During the daylight the Chinese would pull back and not fight for fear of our aircraft catching them in the open. They only fought during the night. At night we would hear their bugles, horns and what not as that was their way of signaling to units letting them know what to do. The following day it was decided that we should pull out and go back to Hagaru-Ri to join forces with the Marines and Army units there. It took us 5 days 4 nights to reach Hagaru-Ri a distance of 14 miles. We were fighting our way through roadblocks, blown bridges and ambush sites all the way. The weather was still terribly cold and we had snow and cloud cover a couple of days which kept the aircraft from being able to give us support. We did receive air drops of supplies when it was clear. When we reached Hagaru-Ri we reassembled to fight out way back to Koto-Ri. It was the same old thing. Road blocks blown bridges ambushes etc. We reached there a lot faster, I think 2 days and 2 nights. We spent a couple of days there getting organized and waiting for the engineers to replace a bridge that had been blown out. It was over a deep canyon and the only way out. When that was done we continued our evacuation to the port of Hungnam. There we boarded ships and were taken to the port of Masan South Korea. On board ship I had the first hot meal in weeks, a shower and clean clothes. What a luxury. At Masan we regrouped, and got things in order. On the 19th of December I was notified by the Red Cross that I was the father of a new baby boy. Too bad I was far away when he was born. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner. Some received Christmas packages from home. I didn’t get any as I think they were sent early and wound up in Chinese hands when a convoy bringing them to us was ambushed between Koto-Ri and Hagaru-Ri and everything was lost. Oh well, I was alive and well. I was beginning to have ear problems, otitus midea. My ears were running puss and I was having trouble hearing. When we were standing inspection the officer asked me some questions and I couldn’t understand him. He said get to sick-bay and have them check you out. They put me in the infirmary gave me anti-biotics and finally sent me back to Japan for treatment. I went to the US Navy hospital and Yokosuka. Spent several days there were receiving treatment and hearing tests. When I was released they sent me to Otsu Japan to what was called Casual Company. All guys who were awaiting return to duty of some sort. I was there until March when they decided that they would send me back to the states for duty assignment. It took 14 days to cross the Pacific and arrive at Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay area. They ran me through the process and I was assigned to the Marine Barracks at Bangor Washington for guard duty. In the meantime I was granted leave so I got to spend a couple of weeks at home before reporting for duty at Bangor. Finally got to spend a couple of weeks at home before reporting for duty at Bangor. Finally got to spend time with our new son. He was 4 months old and he weighed in at 24 pounds. What a chunk. We made a trip up to Bremerton looking for housing and found a place in the military housing there. I think the monthly rent was $10 or 15. We lived there until July when they released me from active duty. We returned to Salem, rented a place back in “vets housing” and I returned to work at McKinney Lincoln Mercury. We found a small house in the Four Corners area of Salem that the owners would sell to us on contract so we moved there. A little later Tom was born. In 1954 I was looking for a job that paid better, I think I was making around $300 or $350 per month and I wanted something better. I took a job in Portland at Wolford Ford that paid a little more. I worked there for a few months but our hearts were still in Salem so when my ex boss asked me if I wanted to come back I jumped at the chance. Back to Salem and McKinney Lincoln Mercury. We bought our first new home that year. A new house on Peck Avenue adjoining the Morningside School property. The next year Bob was born. I was still looking for something better to work at. I started taking night classes at Merritt Davis School of Commerce with the intention of becoming a bookkeeper and advancing to a CPA. It consisted of Bookkeeping, Math, English, Business law etc. I also took a Dale Carnegie course on how to meet and influence people. It was a eye opener for me as I was able to come out of my shell so to speak. It boosted my confidence. I continued at the auto dealership from 8 am until 5 pm. Come home and have supper, go to bed and get up at 10:30 pm to go to work at the cannery until 7am. Go home and have breakfast and head to work at the dealership. I did this for 3 months of the year for 3 years. It almost killed me but it brought in some extra money which we could sure use. I gave up on the thought of becoming a CPA as it would take too long to become one and they pay for apprenticing was not any better than what I was making. In November 1957 my father, Pop went in for surgery for a stomach ulcer and something went wrong and he wound up with infection that killed him. After a few months I agreed to buy the farm in Rosedale from my Mom so she could move to town. We rented our house on Peck Avenue and moved to the farm. I tried to plant the acreage in strawberries but I didn’t have the knowledge nor the equipment to make a go of it so it was a bust too. In march of 1959 I was fired from the job at McKinney with no explanation. After 10 years there I was devastated. Oh well life has to go on so I took a job at the Ford dealership, Hart Motor Co., in Independence. I am still trying to find something better so I quit there and took a job driving delivery truck for Dads Root Beer-Canada Dry. My route was west to Dallas, east to Mill City and north to Mulino. It didn’t take long to know that job was not for me so I quit and went back to work in Independence at the Ford dealership. Later that year I got a call from Jim Hollis, the parts manager at Eyerly Volkswagen asking me if I would be interested in taking his place as he was going to become Service Manager. I took the opportunity and gladly. We gave up living out on the farm and moved back to our house on Peck Avenue. I worked at Eyerly for 3 years as Parts Manager. I b ought a black 1958 VW bug that they had taken in on trade. The summer of 1961, just before school started we made a vacation trip down to Disneyland in that bug. We went on down to Tijuana Mexico. It was a great trip and really our first real vacation. I also around that time joined the Salem Chorus, The Salem Senate Aires which was associated with “SPEBQSA” I really enjoyed that. I sang “Lead” The three voice ranges were Tenor, Lead, Baritone and Bass. We sold the house on Peck Ave and bought a house on Edward Ave which was just up over the hill from our old house Ramona & I started Square dance lessons and then joined the square dance club in Independence The Wagon Wheelers. We had more fun going to the dances. I got interested in square dance calling so I took some classes and in a short time I was calling for the Braids & Braves in McMinnville. While at Eyerly I got interested in getting a job as Parts Field Representative with Riviera Motors which was the VW distributor for Oregon Washington, Idaho Montana and Alaska. In December of 1962 I got that job and went to work in Portland. We were still living in Salem. I was traveling in western Washington from Portland to Bellingham. I really enjoyed the work as I was more or less my own boss and set my times as I saw fit. Later I was assigned the Alaska dealers as well so made several trips to Alaska to the towns of Ketchikan, Juneau, Kodiak, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. On one trip to Fairbanks in February 1965 it was 72 below. That was really cold!!! Irvin Sharp, Ramona’s stepfather gave us an acre of land next to them and in 1963 we had the house built there. It was 3 miles or so east of Wilsonville. I continued traveling and in Mid 1965 I had a perforated ulcer that almost did me in. The Dr’s were able to operate and save me for another day. We were still square dancing, going to Independence with Ramona’s cousin Betty and her husband Jess. While I was doing the calling for the Braids & Braves we decided to try to get some of the teenagers from around Wilsonville to form a teen square dance club. We must have had 16 to 20 kids dancing. It was fun for a while but was too hard to keep them focused so gave it up after a short time. Ramona got pregnant in 1965 and in March, Tracy was born. We were having trouble making the payments on the house we had built so in early 1966 we put it up for sale. We moved just down the hill from there to a little rental unit. We stayed there until Tracy was born and then we bought a small house in the Willamette area of West Linn. We moved in there in mid 1966 and lived there until late 1980. In the meantime I had quit the traveling and took a job in the office as Inventory Manager. I quit calling Square dances and settled down to doing other things of interest.
In 1980 I moved to Hillsboro to be closer to work only to be let go in a management reduction plan. Again I was devastated but had some profit sharing money available. Started a small after-market parts business and on a trip to California, learned about an opportunity to open a Meineke Muffler Shop in Portland with the franchise. Opened the shop in 1981. Had sons Dave and Bob working for me. My wife Ramona did the bookkeeping for the business. I opened a second shop in Lake Oswego in 1984, a third shop in Milwaukie in 1986. My son, Tom, joined the business, and took over the bookkeeping chores. The boys continued to build the business while I was involved in national meetings as the president of the West Coast region of Meineke. I moved to Oregon City in 1988 after which I moved to Gladstone in the late 90’s, where Ramona and I enjoyed retirement. While golfing one day with my boys, I discovered a bench at one of the tees donated by the “Chosin Few”. Having been to Chosin during the Korean Conflict I did some further investigation, found the group, and joined. Ramona and I became very involved and made many friends there. Ramona passed in 2009 after a long battle with COPD. She and I had 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and now 11 great-grandchildren.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18