The Korean War started just a few months before dad got home from his mission. Many of the others who had been in the army after the war were called back into service, so dad decided the best chance for him to be able to stay in school was to take ROTC. He enrolled at ASU, signed up for Air Force ROTC, and graduated from ROTC with honors in only two years because he had served in the army before his mission. He was lucky and was allowed to finished college before going into the service, and by that time the Korean war was over. Dad graduated from ASU with a BA in Secondary Education, majoring in Social Studies.
He didn't have quite as easy a time fulfilling his second goal, marrying mom. Although he had made up his mind that she was the one for him while he was on his mission, she hadn't had the same inspiration, and was going with a couple of other fellows when he got home. Dad hung in there, though, and they were married the next spring. While dad went to school and worked mom worked at Valley National Bank. It always seemed like one was just leaving when the other came home, and their lives were pretty busy.
When they first got married mom and dad lived in the house dad grew up in on Main and Alma School Road while grandma and grandpa Russell were in Texas on a mission. Mom liked to tell about how scared she was at night in that big old house, waiting for dad to get home from school. She would lie awake in bed, listening to the creakings and sighings of that old house, wondering what was out there. Dad's leg would crack sometimes when he walked softly, from being broken when he played football. Eventually mom would hear a soft creaking noise, coming closer and closer, and she would hold her breath, hoping it was dad but never quite sure until the door opened and he whispered, "Eleanor, I'm home."
Dad liked to tease mom, probably because he was brought up with four brothers and they enjoyed teasing each other and especially grandma Russell. She was pretty gullible, and they took advantage of her, a lot. When grandma's car wouldn't run the boys would look under the hood and tell her, "Oh, it's just your dooma flunky not making contact with your diddly swat," and stuff like that. Grandma believed them, too. Anyway, once in a while dad would try to scare mom when he came home late at night, sometimes taking the garden hose, slipping it in through an open window, and moaning softly into the bedroom. Mom didn't think it was very funny, until she told us about it years later.
When grandma and grandpa came home from their mission mom and dad bought an old trailer from grandpa Johnson, parked it by dad's childhood home, and lived there for a couple of years. Dad graduated from ASU in 1953 and was hired to teach English and Social studies in 8th grade. He had done his student teaching at Mesa High in an American History class. Teaching English to junior high kids was a 'whole nother' story, and by the end of the year dad had decided he wasn't cut out to be a teacher. He joined the carpenters union that summer and worked on several major projects, but by fall decided to go back to school and get his masters degree.
Someone they knew asked mom and dad if they would like to manage an old motel/apartment building on Main Street, where they could live rent free and also earn $100 a month. It was a good arrangement, but mom used to tell us about the difficult time dad had with some of the tenants. There was one young couple who would fight, and once dad had to go into their apartment to stop them.
My big brother, Keith, was born while they lived at Davis Court, but the year before I was born they moved to North McDonald Street. There was an old garage behind the big house they bought, and dad remodeled it for us to live in while they rented the house out. I was born there, and so was my little brother, Phillip.
Dad finished his masters and got a job teaching history at Mesa High School. The difference between 8th grade students and juniors in high school was was like and day, and dad found out he enjoyed teaching and was really good at it. He also worked evenings and summers in construction and drawing house plans, and took good care of our family. Eventually dad moved over to school administration, and was assistant principal at Mesa High for many years. He retired in1986, after working at Mesa High for thirty-one years.
No comments:
Post a Comment