In Memory Of
My Dad
Dad was born in Gypsy, Creek County, Oklahoma.
He grew up living and working on farms.
I can remember him talking about working for 50 cents a day.
Back then they worked with teams rather than tractors.
Mom and Dad were married in Bristow, Oklahoma.
There was little hope for a better life working on farms
so dad went to school and learned to weld.
He went to work in the shipyard in Richmond, California in 1942.
He welded in the double bottoms of the ships.
I was born while dad worked in the shipyard.
Near the end of 1945 the shipyard was closing down.
We moved to Kern County, California where my sister was born.
We then moved to Rawlins, Wyoming.
Dad taught welding to the inmates at the Frontier Prison, when they needed anything fixed.
He also worked at a service station.
Dad was assigned to clean the lube room floor.
He was doing this when the materials he was using to clean the floor ignited with explosive force.
He was knocked unconcious and when he came to he was on fire.
He stood up and walked out of the building and
the Firefighters from Rawlins Fire Department put him out.
Dad spent three months in the hospital then got to come home for two weeks.
He went back into the hospital for another two weeks and was transfered to the Mayo Clinic.
They did some amazing things there and dad was eventually able to return to work.
However he could no longer take the cold temperatures of Wyoming.
In 1948 we moved back to Kern County, California.
My brother and another sister were born in Kern County.
Dad and I did a lot of hunting when I was growing up.
We had hounds and hunted racoon, bobcat and bear.
We did some deer hunting also.
I married and moved away.
When I started taking tests for the fire department,
I was surprised when dad sent me applications from departments in his area.
This was surprising as he had always said,
"Firefighters are great guys but they are crazy.
Any one who goes into a building when everyone else is leaving is crazy"
My thanks and appreciation to the Firefighters of Rawlins Fire Department That January 21, 1947.
Well I did become a firefighter and dad was as proud of me as I always was of him.
Dad worked as a welder for Frank Russel and Armstrong Nurseries
until he could no longer do that type of work due to a broken leg.
A broken leg is normally not that bad but the burns dad suffered left deep scar tissue.
They had to put a plate on the bone to hold it together
and the scar tissue took a long time to heal.
After that dad could not handle the welding profession.
He went to work for Anton Caratan Ranch as a guard.
Dad lived in Kern County, California until he passed away July 4, 2002.
Rawlins Wyoming
Rosie The Riveter and Richmond Shipyard
Kern County, California
Music=Daddy's Hands
