Since the question does not indicate a time frame I can only assume that we are dealing with the years involving my preteen and early teen years. As I have stated in previous writings that those early years were very harsh from an economical stand point.Therefore, the kind of automobile a person or a family possessed was the most obvious status symbol or sign of success and affluence that existed. Yet, when you really study this question you will find that the answer has been the same since the appearance of the First horseless carriage and even up to and through this very day.
No, I was not ashamed of our family automobile because to me it was a means of quick, convenient and economical transportation. Although most of our neighbors owned automobiles there were many that did not but I don't remember any of them being sneered at because they had to walk, ride a bicycle or mount a horse. The automobile as a status symbol is emblematic of a phoniness common to the Café Society crowd or as some may observe 'The Country Club elite'.
***
No. The reason for that could be accounted for very simply.
Number one - My Parents would not permit it because it belonged right in there with playing cards, shooting dice, gambling, going to a movie on Sunday, fishing on Sunday, cussing, girls wearing men's pants, flirting, playing pool in a pool hall, drinking beer or whiskey, smoking and certainly NO hugging in public.
Number Two - I was never invited to a dance.
Number Three - Back in those times Churches did not sponsor dances as some do now... So there was no way that dancing could ever be sanctified. Besides I couldn't dance a lick and still can't.
***
Throughout this text I have reflected on my family's involvement with the Church and the influential people associated with the Church during my growing up years; whenever there was a church function of any kind my family was present. Sunday morning for Sunday School, Sunday evening for BYPU (now called Training Union), Sunday night service and on Wednesday it was Prayer Meeting Service. My Dad was a Deacon. My Mother was Teacher & Superintendent in the Junior Sunday School Department. I have already mentioned the Revivals that were held Summer and Winter seasons and the Summer Bible School programs. Some Revivals lasted typically for two weeks and were often times held under a giant tent the Church owned. Some Revivals held in the winter, and preached by an evangelist may last several weeks.
My favorite Sunday School Teacher was a young man by the name of Stanley Price. Stanley had a very deep understanding of the scriptures and I have seen him rise from his seat during church service and challenge the Preacher on a particular interpretation of a Bible passage. It was under his tutorage that I accepted Christ as my Savior - I was 13 years of age. The Price family owned a Clothes Cleaning Plant and the Senior Mr. Joe Price was somewhat of a self taught chemist and invented several products which were successfully marketed. One product he made was trademarked "So Sure" and was sold in Drug Stores and used for about any kind of skin rash or blemish you could think of.
"So Sure" seemed to work and was quite popular for many years. Another product he produced was a mechanics hand cleaning product that was sold under the trademark of "Joe's Waterless Handcleaner" and was very popular. He later sold the hand cleaner but I believe he continued to earn royalty from its sales. Today I see products in the autopart stores that are copies of that item and I occasionally still see one that has Joe's or JO's as a part of its name.
The Price family moved from Ardmore but years later I made contact with them again in Oklahoma City when I went into our neighborhood Cleaners on SW May Ave. and discovered they owned the Bluebonnet Cleaning plant. Their plant was in the same little shopping center where the Duncan Drug Store was located at 1919 So. May Ave.-- Nita & I lived at 3139 S.W. 18th.St. (Ph. 615401).
***
The Estes family never had a family reunion that I ever was made aware of but the Martin Family, which was quite large, did in fact have reunions and fairly often. I don't know which member of the Martin family inspired or organized the functions but I do know that my Mother and Daddy were always very involved in each of them. Most of the reunions, which were held at various places in Oklahoma and Texas, were very well attended and it was unusual for anyone to miss one. My Aunt Savanna hardly ever was present for anything and although there was never a rift involved she was just far removed both geographically and socially from the family. She had removed to California and for much of her life she was out of touch with her siblings.
According to the family records she was the 7th child & born at Bexar, Alabama (year is not shown). Savannah was married to Sid Lindsey and her second husband was a Mr. Misterfield. She is buried in California but I don't know where and I am not sure if she ever had any children but it seems that someone once said she had at least one son.
I was the youngest of the cousin group for many years and I liked all of those that I got to know. I suppose the cousin that I knew the best was Myles (Shorty) Evans & he is still the one that I communicate with mostly - Shorty is the lone survivor of the Evans family at this time (1998).
[The Evans family lived in Cumby, Texas and consisted of Aunt Vona, Uncle Jim, Cousins; Clyde, Lucille, Margie, Oscar (Doodle) and Shorty. Shorty was the youngest and nearest my age.]
The activities that the family seemed to enjoy was visiting, eating, playing games, and just enjoying being together. Although Uncle Claude was the youngest member of the Grandpa Red Martin family and the only one born in Texas, it is natural that his children would fit into a younger group than most of the others but I kinda fit loosely in between everybody. There was a limited number of "Martin" Boys because the Martin men produced mostly girls. Claude Junior Martin, Calvin E. Martin, Edgar E. Martin & Ernest D. Martin were the appointed ones to carry on the Martin Name. It should be noted that it is only the descendents of J.E. Martin that have produced male children that are destined to carry the name Martin on into the future. I loved all of my Aunts & Uncles of the Martin clan but by now you would be surprised if I mentioned anyone other than Aunt Lucy and Uncle Purlee as my favorites.
I always felt that God had bestowed a special blessing on me when He gave me those very dear people. I am convinced that each of the J.E.Martin children fell exactly as I do and everyone of us had and have a special experience that we gladly would share with the world.
***
Yes I did attend funerals. My Mother would attend funerals of people that I sometimes suspected that she did not even know. She always took me wherever she was going and that included funerals, weddings, socials, circles and you name it. No baby-sitter was ever called upon. I think I have attended funerals in about every Church in Ardmore that existed at the time. I remember attending a funeral at the Episcopal Church in Ardmore when the building was still under construction. I don't know who's funeral it was but I remember there were no benches installed and everyone had to stand up. The flooring was not completed, which was made of large flat stones and of the same type material as that of the building itself. The slabs had been placed loosely on the floor. Today the building stands as beautiful and aristocratic as it did back then, those many years ago.
The affect the funerals had on me even at that young age was not traumatic and I suppose it was because I had learned at a very early age that life is fragile and must be accepted as a temporary event while on this earth. I did find it hard to understand when the body was that of a very young person. Perhaps it was through those early exposures to death that I came under conviction at an early age and accepted Christ as my savior when I was only 13 years of age.
***
I felt that my parents treated us the same but perhaps each in a certain way pertaining to our own individual personality and attitude. Obviously my big brother, who was the first born, received much more attention and consideration than any of the other children. He was the first born and the only child for the first two years of his life.
My sister was born two years later and although I was not present to evaluate the circumstances at that time I feel that she had to establish an identity in her own right.In later years I always felt that Edgar was the star of our family.
As other brothers came along, and were lost to death, then Calvin joined our family, and grew to adulthood, so by the time I was born there had become quite a diversified group of personalities to sort out and deal with. For all practical purposes I assumed the role as the 'baby of the family' but I'm not sure I got by with it for long because I was placed in a classification that caused me to be compared to, and expected to attain all of the outstanding attributes of all those that preceded me.
The most dreaded of those was to reach the plateau that Edgar had established. Edgar was a handsome, brilliant and very personable young man and he made outstanding grades in school. I would not accept that schedule and rebelled in a quiet way by creating my own agenda and as fate (or God) would permit it I achieved a goal entirely different but just as rewarding in all respects as that which I was expected to fill.
Having said all of the above I must make it clear that my Mother and Daddy treated us all as individuals and recognized the needs of each of us in a way that was peculiar to our very own. They shared their love, and material blessing with each of us exactly the same.We all loved our family very much. This philosophy was instilled in each of us to the degree that we conveyed it on to our own individual families, which I think is evident even today.
***
Did My
High School Have College or Career Days?
What Field Interested Me the Most?
What Did I Want To Become When I Grew Up?
If our high school had college or career days I sure never heard about it. So few students could afford to attend college at that time. I am almost certain that no such program existed at Ardmore High School.The field that interested me the most at the time was Commercial Art because I had always had a deep love for art and loved to draw. I sent off for catalogues to several Commercial Art Schools after my parents had told me that they would pay the tuition but that I would need to work to pay my expenses. I chose The American Academy of Art in Chicago & attended school there for their two year course.
Although I loved art and always did well in it I really wanted to become a veterinarian but I did not feel that I was academically qualified for it - In simple terms, I did not believe I was smart enough for it. My Uncle Purlee was a veterinarian and he recognized my interest when I would go on calls with him, even as a very young kid. He marveled at the way I would run my hand & arm deep into the uterus of a Cow to clean out the after birth - He detected that I had no fear of an animal but he worried a little about that.
He knew about the time I had stayed up all night to nurse a sick calf, that I had properly diagnosed as having tetanus, knowing for certain that it was going to die. He watched me read his huge reference books about animal maladies and how I helped him when he had to corner the horses in order to pull their teeth & to drench them. He said I had what it took and was genuinely disappointed when I did not pursue that field. I never revealed to him that I didn't think I was smart enough, because that would have broken his heart.
Years later after I had graduated from Pharmacy School I investigated the matter but dropped the idea when I realized that at my age it was time to go to work at what I had a degree in. Besides by this time I had a true love for Pharmacy, which had been another hobgoblin in my mind I had shied away from. You know, if you will just get out of the way, the Lord will direct your path much better than you can on your own. I have no regrets.
***
If I Went To College
Or To A Career Training School,
Where Did I Go and Why?
The answer to the above question answered part of this query, except that in order to clarify the answer I should mention that after my two years in Art School I enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served there for 3 ½ years during WWII.
After Basic Training I was assigned to the 'Line' and did repair to various parts of the Training Airplanes. This consisted of repairing the fabric on the wings and tail, painting radio call numbers on the wings, painting the large field numbers and insignias on the fuselage, repainting the instrument panels and repairing the cat walk ramps on the wings. I was classified as the squadron painter but my MOS number was 'Clerk Typist'.
After about two months of this work, the Field Officer, Lt. Rudell, discovered some doodling that I had done in a clandestine way and quizzed me about it. I thought he was going to give me a reprimand but when he asked if I could paint a portrait and I advised him that I could - He suggested that I may want to do one of him and then his fiancée. It was less than a week after I had finished the paintings that he arranged for me to be transferred to the Special Services Department where I soon went from Pvt. To PFC to Corporal and Sgt..
I had been in the Special Services Department over two years when I answered the call to enlist in Aircraft Armor/Gunnery School and was accepted. I will leave off the military experiences at this point in order to enter the next phase of the question.
After the War and my discharge from the military service I worked for an advertising company in Houston for about 7 months. Nita and I had been married in March that year (1946) but an opportunity for a change of professions came about and ultimately I soon enrolled in Pharmacy School at the University of Oklahoma. I was assisted in this endeavor by the GI Bill of Rights, which was perhaps the greatest program that our Great Nation ever entered into for the benefit of the returning Veteran, after a major War.
I doubt very seriously that I would have ever attempted to attend college had it not been for this program. I didn't think I was smart enough -- Boy did I ever fool me.
***
How Old
Was I when I Met Your Mother?
What Attracted Me To Her?
It would seem ironic that these questions would arise on this date because today is March 12th. 1998. This is the 52nd. anniversary of our marriage which occurred on March 12th. 1946 (in the evening) at Lucedale, Mississippi, in the Court House, County of George & by a Justice of Peace.
Although your Mother was living and working at Mobile, Alabama she had a very deep love for Mississippi and insisted that the 'Ceremony' be carried out there. I voted with her, so we drove across the State line to Lucedale, Mississippi that evening, after she got off work from Greens' Department Store & the deed was done. She was 19 years of age, but would be 20 the following June 19th. And I was 24, but would be 25 the following April 13th..
This is how we met. I was in the Air Corps and was then stationed at Keesler Field which is located at Biloxi, Mississippi. Some GI friends of mine decided they would go over to Pascagoula , Mississippi, which was east of Biloxi, Mississippi and although it was a Ship Building area it also had attractions to entice the tourist to come there. The group of GI's invited me to go along with them, probably because they knew I didn't drink and they may need someone sober to get them out of trouble, which they were likely to get into.
The State of Mississippi was a dry State but the entire coastal region was wide open. Well, they all got inebriated that evening so we stayed the rest of the night at a residence close to downtown Pascagoula. The next day was Sunday, May 13th., 1945 and since everyone, except Audie and I were hung-over we decided to go to the Bus Station and return to Keesler Field.
The Bus Station was crowded, fly ridden and very stuffy. It would be awhile before a Bus was scheduled to go west, but as the Good Lord would have it, in walked the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Audie was a handsome young man, from New York, so I expected him to make contact with her real soon, but when he just swooned and went outside I took advantage of the circumstances and introduce my unworthy self to her.
She told me that she had a brother who was in service and stationed somewhere in the South Pacific. I learned that her Daddy was employed at the shipyards there in Pascagoula and that she had come over from Mobile, Alabama to visit her Mother & Daddy that week end. They were living in a company housing unit at the time. She said her home town was Mize, Mississippi and her family home was there, and this was only a temporary arrangement. She told me her name, but I promptly forgot it, except I remembered her initials were N.H. (later I will tell you how that became very important) and she said she worked at Greens' Dept. Store in Mobile, Ala.
By now, I am operating under the illusion that there is something very special about this girl. There seemed to be an aura or gentle radiance about her that I could not completely understand, it was almost as though I recognized her from some previous revelation, like, well, this is the Girl that is meant for me.
On the way back to Keesler Field I was in a daze, which must have been evident because Audie noted it by stating, "I would be going to Mobile by the next weekend."
I told Audie that he could forget it, that I would not even bother to ever look her up & that this was just another one of those passing encounters - So just forget it. Guess what? Audie was wrong about my going to Mobile the next weekend , shoot, I showed him, it took two weeks.
Next comes the story I have told many times and I am sure you can remember hearing me tell it before. Yes, I went to Mobile, I went to Greens' Department Store, I walked by the counter where she told me she usually was assigned duty, that being the jewelry counter, but she was not there. I asked one of the pretty girls working at a near by counter if all the girls that worked at Greens' were on duty that day and she said yes they were all there.
In my past I had been fibbed to before by girls but somehow I just knew I must have misunderstood what N.H. had told me. I knew in my heart that she was a trustorthy person so I asked to see the floor manager. Mrs Taylor answered the call and asked me how she could help me. I told her I had met a young lady that told me she worked at this store and that I just happened to be passing through Mobile and decided I would look her up but I had forgotten her name. It came to my mind that her initials were N.H. so I wondered if she had someone there by the name of Nellie Hinkhouse. No, she said, but we do have a Nellie upstairs in book keeping and that she would be glad to call her down.
Soon a rather rotund Nellie came bouncing down the stairs and I starting backing up and saying NO! NO! I'm sorry but that isn't the girl I was looking for. Poor Nellie was out of breath - Gave a feeble smile and trudged back up the stairs. Mrs. Taylor said she was sorry but wait a minute, hey, it could be Nita - "does the name Nita sound familiar"?. I was almost afraid to say yes by now, but I guess I did because Mrs. Taylor then said that she had a girl named Nita that was modeling ladies clothes in another part of the store but was in the dressing room right now.
Later I was told by your Mother that Mrs. Taylor came into the dressing room and asked if she knew a soldier by the name of 'Martin'. She said maybe so and when she appeared in the doorway as she came out I said, "That's Her ! That's Her!..."
Nita smiled and said, "Yes I know him."
The store had a soda fountain but Mrs. Taylor was a wise lady and very kind hearted. She seemed to sense the depth of this encounter and invited Nita to take a break and maybe go down the street and get a coke.
Well, after I found her I really didn't know what to do with her except to follow Mrs. Taylor's suggestion, which I must say was an excellent one. At the little Café where we went, I wrote her name and address on the inside cover of an USO match cover, which I have carried in my billfold to this very day. All of the writing has disappeared and the folder has lost it's shape but to me it is a symbol or token that connect the past with the present. Without any doubt it was love at first sight for me.
She lived in an apartment with some girls over on Blakely Island, which was reached by going through a tunnel under the Mobile Bay. That evening we went back into Mobile and attended a movie, this was our first date, and I have no recollection of what the show was about or even how many times we sat through it. Before I left to return to Biloxi we planned to meet the following week end at Pascagoula, so that I could meet her parents. We met at Pascagoula as planned but her parents had gone home to Mize and had not returned by then.
We visited at their apartment while we waited for them & it was there that Nita and I found what our true values were. Now I knew I had found the girl that God had prepared for me. It was obvious that our moral values were on the same plane and that we had much in common. Those very observation prevailed throughout our entire togetherness as the years went by. We decided we would meet at Pascagoula again the following week end, but it was at that time I was tested to the utmost and after I tell you about that episode, you will know my meaning.
The following week I was to meet Nita at the Pascagoula Bus Station as we had planned, but for reasons unknown to me at the time, she did not come in on the Bus I expected her on. When the next several buses arrived without her being on board I was beginning to maybe wonder a little about our relationship after all. I began to reason that maybe something had caused her to be running late and since she had no way to get word to me maybe she had contacted her parents to meet her at the station at a certain time later.
Now with this in mind, I began looking around the Bus Station to maybe locate someone that could be her people. I found that task to be very difficult and as the evening approached night time I decided that she was not coming at all. Still I trusted her and just knew that something had come up that caused this situation. About dark, I caught a bus back to Biloxi in order to take a shower, change into a clean uniform and head to Mobile.
I was determined to find the answer. Now in Mobile, about six O'clock the next morning, I went directly to Blakely Island, but her roommate said she had gone to Mize and had not come in from there. She knew that Nita had planned to go to Pascagoula but had suddenly changed her mind and caught a bus to Mize instead, but she did not know why. The room mate told me that she was pretty sure Nita would be back that day because she needed to be back on the Job Monday morning.
Now it was turn around time again so I could be at the Mobile Bus Station to meet every bus that came in that day. I must have met 25 Buses that day but as the daylight began to weaken she still had not come in. I still expected to see her as every bus arrived but I somehow felt that she would choose to come in before dark, and it was approaching that time, right now.
I was leaning against the brick wall on the outside of the station where I could observe the arrival of every bus. Suddenly a big bus pulled in and parked near the location where I was standing. When Nita came down the Bus steps she did not seem at all surprised to see me - It was as though she knew I would be there waiting for her. She looked thoroughly exhausted, which she was, and when she regained her composure she told me the whole story.
Her Dad had had a very serious hemorrhage of the lung and the whole world had seemingly come to an end all at once. His condition had improved and the hemorrhage had been brought under control, only then, would she leave his side. This was the beginning of a long hard fight for life by Dewey Hegwood , which he did not win. He was never able to return to work again although he never really gave up. My faith in Nita was vindicated - My love for her never faltered - I knew that I had found a very special person and I realized also that I had matured somewhat when it became evident that I could truly trust someone.
***
Share A Memory About the Way I Proposed To Your Mother.
In order to answer this question it will be necessary to proceed in accordance with sequential events that occurred in chronological order from the period covered from May 1945 through March 1946. [Let's see now, what was your question again?]
The time we were dealing with in the previous reading was during the early spring & early summer months of 1945 but in August of 1945 'World War II ' suddenly ended. The United States had dropped atomic bombs on two Important Japanese Cities and the Japanese Empire was compelled to sign an unconditional surrender. Quickly the United States began to immobilize and the troops were being discharged according to a point system.
Although most military men were signed up for the duration of the War plus 6 months this did not preclude the discharge of men that had earned points greater than others and earlier than the designated six months. When I enlisted in 1942 the duration was synonymous with eternity.
No one had a reasonable idea how long the War would last because the United States was fighting on the European front with Germany and the South Pacific Front with Japan. Much of our navy had been destroyed at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The European Continent and much of the Near East was under occupation by Nazi Germany.. The fact is we were losing the War.
I had received specialized training for over seas duty in Armament & Gunnery but seemed to always be skipped over about the time I would otherwise be shipped out. Therefore on the point scale I did not rate very high and in fact served all of the six months. Really, I would not have had to stay over that long but I had been assigned to a Classified Job in the Training Aids Dept., as a draftsman, and the Civilian I was working under would not sign my release. He said that since I was his head draftsman in the Department of 35 others that he would look silly signing my release when at the same time he was requesting more help. He made a mistake when he dared me, to just try, and go over his head to get a release.
That night I met an Officer in the Squadron recreation room that listened to my tale of woe. He avowed he knew the Commanding Officer pretty well and since the idea of a civilian controlling a military person just didn't seem right. The next day my name appeared on the Bulletin Board under special orders and bless my soul guess what Staff Sergeant's name appeared thereon? None other than S/Sgt. Ernest D. Martin, enlisted man - 18127747 to be shipped out for discharge to the Separation Station of his choice. I had a choice of Ft.Sam Houston in Texas or Lowery Field at Denver, Colorado. I chose Denver because we were paid mileage for our return trip home and it was further to Ardmore from Denver.. (So much for another lesson in politics).
Throughout all this time Nita & I had kept in close contact with each other and when I got to Lowery Field for discharge, after a l-o-n-g train ride, I went directly to the PX and mailed her a big box of Chocolate Heart Candy. It was February by now but she told me later that the candy arrived in pretty sorry shape - Anyway she didn't really care much for chocolate candy, so all was well.
After discharge I arrived in Ardmore on Feb. 12th., 1946 and that night, which was officially the 13th., a tornado hit Ardmore and I slept right through it. My Mother told me that it missed us about a block and she was correct because I checked it out that day.
By now I know you are wondering just how any of this has anything to do with how I proposed to your Mother. Just be patient because, didn't I say this is February. Didn't I already tell you that we were married on March 12, 1946, so how much more can I say without dealing with that query? (you are probably saying - "a lot").
The discharge from service seemed to set me free so I ran up and down the town looking for old friends and when I found one we ran up and down the town looking for something to do. But nothing was the same - It wasn't fun anymore and although I dated a girl now and then - It just wasn't fun any more. I wrote to Nita but never mentioned that I may come back down there someday. I wasn't sure whether I would ever go back because a couple of years ago when I painted Frank Sorgs portrait he was so thrilled over it that he offered to set me up in a private studio in New York City after discharge, and provide me with some high dollar clients.
Frank was a GI friend of mine and Mel. Klizer's. Mel. & I had been buddies since we became acquainted at Lowery Field Colorado and although we were not in the same squadron we managed to politic our way into receiving a permanent pass and traveled all around Denver while we were stationed there.
I should mention how it came about that I managed to acquire a permanent pass while stationed at Lowery Field - Well first of all, even when I was still a student in Armorer School I had conned the First Sergeant to give me special duty to stencil identification onto barracks bags for the troops. This little assignment allowed me to receive a special pass to leave the post on occasion.
Later after I had graduated from the 13 week Armorer School I was placed in a work detail. When the orders came out on the bulletin board I discovered I would be assigned to a mess hall and placed in charge of a crew to truck potatoes from Lowery Field-One over to our Field, Lowery Field-Two.. Non Commissioned Officers were not usually called on to do such lowly duty, so it became important to get out of that duty quickly. We did manage to transport one load of potatoes before I thought up a scheme. So when we got back to the Mess Hall I informed the Mess Sergeant that I had not realized that I had forgotten my glasses before it became daylight and that it was imperative for me to run up to my barracks and retrieve my glasses. He said, well okay but get back down her right away. (By the way- I did not wear glasses)
I quickly took off in the direction of my orderly room and announced to the First Sergeant that I had mistakenly been put on KP (kitchen police) and that was against my policy. He said that was tough so get your rear back to the mess hall but then he paused and said "by the way do you know how to fire a coal burning furnace for the barracks?"
I replied , "Oh my goodness yes Sergeant - I grew up in Eastern Oklahoma where the coal mines are located and that's about all we ever used when I grew up."
"Alright then, go over to the barracks in our squadron and start building up the fires and get those barracks warmed up."
My Friend, Mel Cliser already had such a job for his squadron so I recruited him to train me in the fine art of building and banking a coal fire. Mel had grown up in Kentucky so he taught me how it was done. The hours were for 24 hours on and 24 off so with proper building and banking, along with filching larger chunks of coal from some other squadron fireman Mel & I were pretty free to roam the country side. We both had been given permanent passes by now so we made at least a couple of trips to Boulder, the Colorado University town, where the girls were.
The problem I had with Mel. was that he would find some doggy looking old girl and shack up with her for a day or two. I would just leave him there and return to the Base without him. I should say that this was a common practice that prevailed all the time that I knew him. I dated a girl named Tommie Tomlinson, an engineering student, from Nebraska and she was responsible for my having my picture made to send to her after I arrived at Keesler. I still have a copy of the picture.
I had rescued Tommie from a couple of rowdy privates one night as the bus she was on was headed for Denver, this struck up an acquaintance with her. Again, when the orders came out for me to ship to Keesler Field Mississippi , orders were likewise issued at Mel's squadron for him to be shipped to Keesler also. He arrived at Keesle at the same time I did and our squadrons were located about a mile from each other. Our barrack bags had not arrived with us and we were still in winter uniforms in this humid climate, but we got together. The first night there we hitchiked all the way over to Bay St. Louis, some distance west of Biloxi - just checking out the territory.
Before long we had politicked our way into receiving a Permanent Party Pass at Keesler and had hitch hiked all the way inland as far north as Laurel, Mississippi. I had gotten my Pass by politicing my way into the Drafting Department, that I mentioned before, and Mel. had convinced the powers that be, that he was qualified to be an instructor in the Diesel Engine Training Department.
I did a charcoal portrait of Mel. one evening at my desk in the drafting department. The Drafting Department {Training aids, film strip, Tech-Order Books etc. were all done here} was really off limits to Mel. but since I knew the Guards I got him through security check and all was well.
How I got assigned to the Training aids Department is a story within itself and I have no doubt that it happened so strangely that I have become convince that it was a part of HIS plan. Perhaps at this time along this rambling system of writing I hope to tell that story - but briefly. I had already found out that my assignment for Keesler field was to be in the mechanics school and I felt that I had no aptitude for such a course - Frankly I was dreading that assignment very much.
Before the orders came out I just happened to be riding on a bus coming in from somewhere, when I struck up a conversation with a young Tech. Sergeant and I mentioned my dilemma to him. I explained that I had a background in art etc... And that I had very little interest in mechanics. With those words he brightened up and informed me that he was a head draftsman in the visual aids department at hanger number three and he advised me to come to that department and see if I could get assigned there. The next day I went there and was immediately hired for the job.
This was a great thing for me and I will always be thankful for that chance encounter with a wonderful young man. It was not possible for me to establish the plan any better. Frank Sorg had migrated into the presence of Mel. Klizer and I and as time went on we had all three become quite close in our friendship. Mel & I had considered Frank to be as ordinary as we were but some time later he told us that he came from a very wealthy family in New York.. That his family owned a large engraving house and that he knew that some day he would be expected to come into the fold of the Company Business. He really did not care to join the business and instead wanted to pursue a career as a concert pianist. He recorded a song (Laura) he played for me on the Grand piano at the USO club. I still have the record. I don't think Frank went any further in his music career as he had hoped.
Frank told Mel. and I that he had had an apartment rented at Gulfport and also had a late model sports car in the garage over there but he decline to mention it sooner because he was concerned that it may preclude his finding out if we were genuine friends. I think he felt that if we knew his financial background it would affect our relationship. Well, who cares, we told him and that we did not want to know any more & just leave things as they were. So, as I said, Frank had offered the above mentioned proposition to me and told me the offer would stand if I ever decided to pursue it. I had been giving that idea some serious thought but I had also considered going to work as a Commercial Artist some where a little closer to home but right now I was just running up and down the town.
By now, it is about the First of March and no plan of action had surfaced. Maybe I was looking for excuses not to consider going back south. One day I stopped by Pop's Drug Store and was simply visiting with him over his desk at the back of the store when He reached in his pocket and tossed me the car keys and said "Now go get that girl".
Could he read my mind, did I talk in my sleep, had I said anything other than I had met this pretty girl from Mississippi and that she was a Protestant? I always knew that Pop was a very wise man but I didn't realize that he could read my mind, maybe he could read all of this by my restlessness.
The next day I was traveling south by way of Houston, so I could see how it would be to find a job there in the Commercial Art field. A day of two later I was headed east toward Mobile, Alabama and encountered the Mardi Gras celebration in full swing when I went down Canal Street in New Orleans and all along the coast, even into Mobile. I stayed all night in Biloxi and when I arrived in Mobile I discovered that Green's Department Store had a float in the Mardi Gras Parade and that Nita was riding along on it. I rented a hotel room, a short distance from the square in downtown Mobile & later I made contact with Nita. She was still living in the apartment at Blakely Island and although I can't remember letting her know that I was coming down there, she did not seem at all surprised to see me.I don't remember how Nita arranged to have time off in order for us to do the things we soon were to do.
It was springime and the Azaleas were in full bloom - Nita took me to the Bellingrath Gardens which is a beautiful place as described in The World Book Encyclopedia as follows: "Bellingrath Gardens, along the Fowl River near Mobile, have thousands of flowering plants in a setting of mossdraped live oaks. Once a jungle of wild vegetation, the area has been landscaped with streams, bridges, and fountains."
This is the estate of Walter Bellingrath and covers an area of 100 acres - the Camellias begin to bloom in January followed in March by 20,000 Azaleas. Hundreds of other flowering plants bloom throughout the season according to their time. We strolled along the beautiful walkways and I came to realize that here I am in a most beautiful place with the most beautiful girl in the world. We visited many places along the Mississippi and Alabama coast but it was not long before she mentioned that we should now go to Mize, Mississippi to her home town, where we would meet her family. I was welcomed with typical southern hospitality.
That evening while we were all eating supper at the big table I noticed that slowly the family members would excuse themselves and there we were, just the two of us, left alone with our half finished corn bread & sweet milk. How could there be a more romantic setting? It was then that I looked deeply into her eyes -- All the way into her heart and then I asked her if she would marry me. Her answer came with tears in her eyes which brought tears of joy into mine, because her answer was a serene Yes .
[This is the end of Martin Vol. 4 - Next is Martin Vol. 5]