It started as a polite conversation with new friends, finding a common interest. Texas history quickly moved to Texas ghost towns, and our new older friends lighted up! She was a student of Texas ghost towns, so when I asked if she knew about Benford, she told its story, and he was delighted. They knew Benford.
Mr. Bennet and Mr. Stanford partnered in a small mill, and built a railroad siding to reach it, just north of Livingston and west of Moscow, Texas. They called the mill, and the Post Office, Benford, Texas.
Art, our new friend, had left home at 13, looking for work, arrived in Benford and went to the lumber mill. Not hiring today. He waited until the boss got busy, then picked up a broom and started sweeping. The next day, showed up early and started sweeping.
"I didn't hire you", the manager said. "O.K.", said Art, and kept sweeping. The manager shook his head and got busy. The sawyer, who ran the big saw, watched it all, and called Art over. "I need help, but you need to learn to sharpen this saw", and a deal was struck.
Art learned quickly. Two weeks later, an injury disabled the sawyer. But Art had learned quickly, stepped in, and suddenly had the best paying job in the small mill. It was a classic tale of "pulling myself up by the bootstraps".
The mill closed the next year, leaving Art with no work, at 15. But he already had his game plan in place: Art went to the theater in Livingston, applied for a job, was denied, hung around and found a broom! Art swept until the manager hired him, and eventually moved up into the projection room.
By this time, Art knew a lot about cutting wood, running projection equipment, and was a natural fix-it man for anything you put in front of him. He had become a walking skill-set with great self-confidence.
Next up: and just where DID Art go next?
No comments:
Post a Comment