MOVING ON: POST #64

It was a very hot day on August 22, 1958. I will never forget that day as long as I have my right mind. Late in the evening when it got a little cooler, My Lady and I along with my sister Linda and her husband got in their old 1949 Ford car and left Herman Junction. We drove to St. Louis where we spent a little time with Linda's brother-in-law and his wife before resuming our journey to Rochelle, Illinois to work in the Del Monte Company canning plant. We got lost on the way and spent some time on roads that we had never heard of and it was during a terrible thunderstorm. We began to wonder if we would ever make it to our destination.

Our plans were very simple. We would work at Del Monte for a few weeks and go back to Herman Junction, build a Jim Walter home on Dad's place, get a job at the Singer sewing machine plant in Truman, and live happily there until we went to heaven. I hadn't really thought about people going to heaven except the folks at Herman Junction and a few from Bay and Truman. Our plans and dreams were simple and we had no doubt that everything would work out perfectly for us. We even took very few clothes because we fully intended to be back to Herman Junction very shortly.

But, it was not to be. The Del Monte plant was slowly closing down because the harvest was almost over and they were not hiring additional workers. I don't know when nor why we decided to go over to Michigan City, Indiana where our oldest brother, C.W. and his wife lived, but that is what we did. Sister-In-law, Emmie worked at the M & M diner on the main street of Michigan City and we walked in unannounced to her surprise. Barbara ordered a Dr. Pepper and the whole place responded in laughter at that little ole Southern girl coming in there and ordering a Dr. Pepper. That didn't set too well with her either. We went on to 202 California Ave. where C. W. and Emmie lived right on the edge of Lake Michigan. I mean when you stepped out their door there was sand on the driveway and it was just a few steps to the beach.
What a wonderful place. We slept on pallets on the floor and wherever we could find a place to lay down.

I got my old job back at Weil-McClain, a company that manufactured boilers for heating systems in huge buildings and maybe even some smaller ones for homes. I loved working there until the snow came and it got extremely cold. I think that I have mentioned before how hard it was to go to work at 6:00 in the morning to shovel the snow off the sidewalks so the people who worked in the offices would not have to wade through it. It was a hard job but one that afforded My Lady and I the opportunity to soon move into our own apartment on Franklin St., the main street of the city. The building is standing there today and we love to drive by and see it. We asked one time if we could go up to the third floor and see it but they would not allow us to do so.

Soon, I was offered a job with a company, Independant Steel where I would work inside where it was warm and it even paid a little more than my job at Weil-McClain. Ray Brown was a good friend and he called and told us that the job was mine if I wanted it. I considered it for about two minutes and took off for home to go with him to work at 1:00 in the afternoon. I really liked that job. I went in at noon Indiana time and was back at home at 8:00 PM and I loved that. When I got home My Lady would have a great meal and I ate like a full grown hog and went to bed and before long I weighed 250 pounds and was still gaining.

I love Michigan City, Indiana to this day and go there every time we have the opportunity to do so. But, we missed Herman Junction so very much, especially My Lady. A truck driver came through one day and he had a stalk of cotton and she just looked at it and cried like a baby. Seeing it almost made me cry too but not for the same reason. It was March of 1959 before we got to go home for a visit and it was a delight for us both.

We have never lived at Herman Junction again but we have visited there hundreds of times and we still do as often as possible. Why don't we just go there right now?