|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 7
For recreation, Frank runs a bulldozer and backhoe on the family
farm near Russellville, continuing to actively participate in its
management, like his "Pap" before him. The farm also has the
hangar and airstrip for Frank's Cessna, which he enjoys flying
when not engaged in his law practice or farming. He first soloed
in 1935. In 1971, he was a guest of the Canadian Government,
helping celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Northwest
Territory by flying with a small group down the Mackenzie River.
He has flown a small plane to Alaska and back seven times, and
was a guest writer in a published book by Loren McDonald, "A Very
Private Pilot." On another occasion, Frank and a friend took his
young sons on a float trip down Alaska's Porcupine River, using
kayaks they built themselves from kits in an Eskimo village.
At age 82, J. Frank Durham is a worthy scion of his very active
lineage.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Acknowledgments and thanks are long overdue to Elaine, my lovely
spouse, who is largely responsible for the success of our
marriage; my sister Aura May Durham, for all the proof-reading
and telephone-answering; my sister Ann (Mrs. Ralph Weinrichter of
Menlo Park, CA), for her research and help; my sister Joan (Mrs.
William McGaughey of Milford, PA), for her editorial assistance
and continued interest in this book; Indiana University
Chancellor Herman B. Wells, who steered me to Nancy Niblack
Baxter, president of Guild Press of Indiana, the book's
publisher; my lifelong friend Maurice Smith, former newspaper,
radio and TV pundit at Fairbanks, Alaska, for his practical and
constructive suggestions; my Delt fraternity brother Loren
Sylvester McDonald, who had a similar undertaking in his recently
published book "A Very Private Pilot"; my neighbors Jack and
Marian Cook, for their continued assistance, suggestions and
interest; and last but most noteworthy, the distinguished
writer-editor, Douglas N. Hay, of Mill Rift, PA, for
appropriately handling the epistles from Pap. Without his sure
and steady hand, they would probably have been permanently
entombed in trunks and boxes in Pennsylvania, Indiana and
California.
J. Frank Durham
CHAPTER I: EARLY YEARS--1899-1911
As a boy of 17, Pap was considered somewhat wayward by his strict
Kentucky-bred mother, after being caught hanging around the local
pool parlor. He was also out of favor with his father for daring
to criticize the latter's rather conservative attire. So to help
him "straighten out" and prepare to become a useful citizen, he
was sent to Western Military Academy, Upper Alton, Illinois, in
1899. He graduated from that institution with high grades, but
the endeavor to reform him was nevertheless only partly
successful. Enrolling at "Old Asbury" (DePauw University,
Greencastle), he promptly got in trouble with the Methodist
administration for organizing a dance at "The Delts," his
fraternity house. About to be suspended, he beat the
administration to the punch by transferring to Indiana
University, where he went on to undergraduate and law degrees.
Pap subsequently met and fell in love with Aura May Sawyer
(better known as "Munny" to the family). The couple eventually
married and Grandfather Sawyer gave them a generous start in life
by financing a house in Greencastle, but not before being
satisfied with Pap's credit-worthiness.
FIRST TASTE OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD
(Pap's earliest surviving letters were written at Western
Military Academy, Upper Alton, Illinois, the first to Mitch
Taylor, a Civil War veteran, the other to his mother.)
Upper Alton, Ill.
March 9, 1899
Dear Uncle Mitch,
I am over here in Illinois going to the Military Academy. This is
the damndest place I ever got into. They are terrible strict.
They make me get up at a certain time in the morning (6:30) and
have the meals at a certain time. They make us go to bed at 9:00
and have the lights out at a quarter after nine. If we do
anything wrong we have to carry guns and walk. For smoking the
penalty is five hours hard walking. If we wear a dirty collar we
have to walk an hour. They make us have our rooms unlocked so
that they can come in at any time. They require us to make our
own beds and if they are not just right they report us and that
means two hours walking. This is a damn sight harder than ground-
hog hunting. How I wish I was back. . .
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|