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Sarah Walker
Period 7
January 10, 2019
A Story of Strong Will and Determination:
How John Rhoades Built an Incredible Life for Himself and his Children

Children grow up under the guidance and wisdom of their parents​.​ They look up to their

god-like parental figures who seem to have all the answers​.​ When a child is growing up, what

their parents tell them is the truth​.​ It does not matter if it is really the truth because to a child, it

will be​.​ Therefore, the assumption would be that an encouraging parent would raise successful

children, and a degrading parent would raise unsuccessful children​.​ Some children have one of

each kind of parent, and often the child heeds to the words of the harsher parent​.​ It takes a

resilient child to ignore the negativity of a parent and use it as a model of what not to be​.

Growing up, John Rhoades’ father told him that he would never amount to anything, and he

spent his whole life working to prove him wrong​.

John Rhoades III was born in Danville, Pennsylvania on May 25, 1943, during the tail

end of World War II (“WW2”)​.​ He was born to Elnora Byerly Rhoades and John Rhoades

Junior​.​ John and his older sister Mildred grew up bouncing around from town to town, giving

them few chances to establish friendships​.​ Their father was in the coal trucking business​.​ He

ended up going bankrupt so he moved the family around Pennsylvania for several years​.​ In 1951,

John was in third grade and his family settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania​.​ His father
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invested in a new family business; the Tastee-Freeze Ice Cream Shop​.​ His parents rushed to

build a house behind their new ice cream shop so that they could get out of the rougher part of

town they were living in​.

A year and a half later, the Rhoades settled into their new rural home behind the

Tastee-Freeze​.​ John and his sister Mildred worked at the Tastee-Freeze growing up​.​ As kids, the

two of them were closest to one another​.​ Since their parents spent a lot of time working, the two

of them spent numerous hours together​.​ To this day, they are still close and love spending time

together​.​ John said, “we did a lot of raising of ourselves” (17)​. ​They were not close with their

parents.

If anything, John and Mildred were closest to their mother. Their mother wanted what

was best for her children, but was caught in a patriarchal society and had little influence on many

important matters regarding her children. Their parents worked opposite work shifts and seldom

saw one another. Their family was not a close one. Nonetheless, both John and Mildred both

turned out to be wonderful people. As they grew older, they grew closer. To this day, they still

continue to do so.

A few years later, Mildred and John went on to attend Conestoga Valley High School​.

There, John met his best friend, Jerry Furlong, when his high school merged with several others

following his freshman year​.​ Jerry was John’s first real friend besides Mildred. John and Jerry

are still best friends to this day​.​ In high school, John played soccer and basketball in the fall and
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winter. He also had his schoolwork to do and typical teenager chores around the house​.​ These

hobbies alone left little time for much social life.

On top of these activities though, from ​April through October, John worked seven days a

week​.​ He would get home from school, work at the Tastee-Freeze until closing time, do his

homework, do his chores, and go to sleep​.​ This made it difficult for John to have any social life

at all​.​ John and his sister Mildred would take turns having the weekend nights off​.​ Mildred said

that this was the only thing the two of them would ever argue about (31). However, they knew

that they had to take turns and keep it fair. Working at the family business was of the utmost

importance to John’s father​.

In fact, John’s father told him that going to school was a waste of his time​.​ It would have

been easy for John to take his word as truth​.​ It would have been easy for him to stop going to

school​.​ He could have dropped out and worked at the Tastee-Freeze for his father​.​ While he

struggled with his academics, he never gave up​.​ He did not excel in school, but he did his work

that needed to be done​.​ John “was not a very studious student” (Rhoades, J. 16)​.​ He did what he

had to do to make it to graduation​.​ In 1961, John succeeded​.​ He graduated from Conestoga

Valley High School after four challenging years​.

After graduating high school, John had no plans for the future​.​ He had no job aspirations

and had not applied to any colleges​.​ “On a lark, I went over to the school and talked to the
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guidance counselor” (Rhoades, J​.​ 16)​.​ The guidance counselor found a college for him 720 miles

away in Houlton, Maine​.​ Ricker College was one of the only schools still accepting applicants at

that point in the year​.​ A month before school started, he got his acceptance letter and decided to

attend​.​ John could have picked a college in Pennsylvania or any college closer to home​.​ Instead,

he picked a college on the Maine-Canadian border​.​ John was ready to live a life away from his

parents​.

At the time, Ricker College was a small liberal arts school in northern Maine​.​ While John

was at Ricker, there were about 180 students enrolled​.​ At the time, the school was in the process

of being accredited as a liberal arts school​.​ A few years after John’s attendance at Ricker

College, the Maine State Legislature passed the Sinclair Act which established public colleges​.

This act lowered Ricker’s attendance rate and forced the college to close due to bankruptcy

(“Ricker”)​.​ This was only thirteen years after John graduated, so he was lucky to have gotten the

opportunity to attend.

During his four years at Ricker College, John played soccer​.​ He was still not a great

student, but he applied himself more​.​ He was free to make his own choices for the first time in

his life​.​ He chose to major in history and government​.​ This was not because it was a path he

chose, but because it was what he needed at the time​.​ The teachers for these particular majors

were more role models for John than they were educators​.​ He had adults encouraging him to
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succeed and who were pushing him to be the best he could be​.​ He went through his four years of

college trying to graduate, and in 1965, he did​.

Although he never used a lick of his history and government degree, going to college in

the middle of nowhere was the best choice John ever made​.​ It led him to the love of his life,

Anne Marie Beaulieu​.​ In 1962, John was a sophomore at Ricker and Anne was a freshman​.

They were at a school dance, and Anne had been admiring John for a while​.​ She said she kept

thinking, “​I’ve got to know this guy, I’m going to get a date with him” (Rhoades, A​.​ 40)​.​ She

told her friend, “See that guy over there, I want to dance with him” ​(Rhoades, A​.​ 40)​.​ Her friend

who knew John went over and told him and the two danced​.​ John had a girlfriend at the time,

but he and Anne clicked right away​.​ After the dance, John brought Anne out to dinner​.​ He

brought her home that night, and asked her out to dinner for the next night as well and the next

night after that​.

Four years later, John and Anne got married​.​ Though they fell in love fast, their

relationship proved to not be easy​.​ Anne was raised Catholic and John was raised Lutheran​.

Anne’s mother and father forbade her to even date John, and John’s father forbade him to marry

Anne​.​ ​Both John and Anne struggled with the disapproval of their parents​. ​“It’s hard to believe

that religion does that to people” (Rhoades, J​.​ 22)​.​ This was a tough situation for both of them,
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but they decided it would be worth it to go through with the marriage​.​ The next 52 years of their

lives together proved that this was the right decision​.

Two weeks after John graduated from Ricker College, he received a letter in the mail​.

The army was calling him to report for active duty in the Vietnam War​.​ He got a college

exemption for the last four years, and as soon as he graduated he was eligible to be drafted​.

John did not want to be involved in the war at all, but he knew he must do his duty for his

country​.​ So he enlisted in a delay program with the navy​.​ He left for basic training in San Diego,

California in January of 1966​.

At basic training, John had plenty of alone time​.​ He knew no one there and he spent his

free time daydreaming​.​ By the time he left California and headed back home, he made up his

mind that he was going to ask Anne to marry him​.​ He bought a ring, presented it to her, and she

accepted​.​ Following his proposal, he was assigned to be stationed in Charleston, South Carolina

for six months​.​ As soon as he got home, he and Anne were married​.​ The two got to be together

for about a year​.

Then, in May of 1967, John was ordered to report to USS PYRO AE 24. This was an

ammunitions ship sailing to Vietnam​.​ Anne was pregnant at the time and moved back to

Houlton, Maine​.​ John never got to see Anne pregnant​.​ When he left, she was only two months

pregnant and not showing any baby bump yet. He was aboard a ship in Tonkin Gulf in October,
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and he received a pink telegram that read, "girl born, both fine"​.​ Three weeks later, he got a letter

from Anne with more details including his first daughter’s name, Lisa​.

For Christmas that year, John returned home to meet his two-month-old baby girl for the

first time​.​ He only got to spend four short months with his wife and daughter. Then, he was

ordered to report for a second trip to Vietnam​.​ While John spent the next seven months in

Vietnam, Anne moved she and Lisa out to San Francisco, California. She wanted to be able to

meet John there as soon as he returned​.​ In October of 1968, John was discharged and returned in

time for his daughter’s first birthday​.

During John’s time overseas, Anne spent a whole year raising baby Lisa by herself​.

While Anne was dealing with a screaming baby and all that came with her, John was overseas

enduring one of the most horrific wars in history​.​ He had to witness the horrors of the Vietnam

War firsthand​.​ He saw Air Force planes dropping bombs over Vietnam​.​ He watched as the USS

Forrestal burned down with hundreds of people onboard​.​ He had to be a part of these terrible

events. It was the most atrocious responsibility John ever endured.

After witnessing all these gruesome events unfold, John returned home to his wife and

baby girl​.​ There are stories of men who return home from war and become absent-minded

parents and husbands​.​ John, however, was grateful to return home​.​ He said, “That was three

tough years of my life in the military, and I was excited to be with my wife and daughter”

(Rhoades, J​.​ 21)​.​ He was a loving father to Lisa and as loyal a husband to Anne as ever​.​ Anne
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said she never would have known how devoted and loving John would turn out to be when she

first met him​.​ He surprised her with his patience and adoration for their daughter Lisa​.

In the summer of 1970, John and Anne’s second daughter, Renee, was born​.​ Their

family was living in Portland, Maine at the time and John was working at Southworth Machine

Company as a sales representative​.​ Even though he was not making much, John worked hard to

make a sustainable and comfortable living for his family​.​ He wanted to give his daughters a

different childhood than he had​.​ He committed himself to be a father who would listen to his

children​.​ A father who would encourage them to be the best that they could be​.​ A father who

would love them with all his heart​.

In the next twenty years of his life, John fulfilled this commitment​.​ His daughters looked

up to him and saw him as a role model​.​ His daughter Renee said that the most important lesson

her father ever taught her was about values (29)​.​ One morning, their family had gone out to

breakfast and the waitress gave them too much change​.​ They were already home by the time

John realized it​.​ He got in his car and went back and gave the waitress the five or ten dollars of

excess​.​ John could always be found doing small deeds like that​.​ “He was always doing the right

thing​.​ Treating people like he would want to be treated” (Walker 29)​.​ He led by example​.

In the years to come, John’s daughters would learn to follow his example of selflessness​.

When Renee and Lisa were teenagers, they both had their own jobs​.​ Their jobs paid for clothes
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they wanted or outings with friends​.​ They got to keep half their paycheck to spend for

themselves, and put half of it in the bank for college​.​ This spending money was important to

them because they did not have as much to spend as some of the other families living in their

town​.​ Renee recalls that most of her friends had more money to spend than she did (29)​.

However, Lisa and Renee were both selfless enough to contribute to their family account when

they were in need​.

In 1984, the Rhoades family needed to save money more than ever before​.​ At the age of

41, John had a heart attack and was unable to work​.​ His daughters came home from work and

deposited half of their paychecks into their parents’ account​.​ As teenagers, they were reluctant to

give up their hard earned money​.​ However, John and Anne raised Renee and Lisa to be

considerate and sensible young girls​.​ They knew that they needed to help their family while their

father was unable to work​.

To begin with, the heart attack came as a total shock to the Rhoades family​.​ John had

been healthy all his life​.​ He got up early and went for a run every morning​.​ He played golf often​.

He had no suspicions of anything wrong​.​ When the heart attack happened, John was at his

fraternity reunion​.​ He asked Anne to find his friend Charlie for him​.​ When she asked why he

told her that he was unable to breathe and that he needed to go to the hospital​.​ Anne dismissed

John’s request to find Charlie and raced him to the hospital herself​.
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As he walked through the hospital doors, John collapsed​.​ He said, “I didn’t remember

anything after that, so it’s kind of like a weird movie where you’re looking up and there are

lights shining on you” (Rhoades, J​.​ 35)​.​ The doctor came in and told John that he had a heart

attack​.​ They had to bring him back with a ​defibrillator after he arrested from his collapse​.​ John

spent over a week in the hospital, where the doctors determined that he had a bad heart​.

After his heart attack, John said, “​I went back to work, and I went to rehab​.​ I went home

to have a life and they told me that I would have 5 to 10 good years of life​.​ I am 75 now and I

was 41 then​.​ So I think I have had more than my 5 to 10 good years” (36)​.​ Without a doubt, John

made the most of his years following his heart attack​.​ He spent as much time with his family as

possible​.​ He attended every one of his daughters’ softball, cheerleading, basketball or soccer

events that he could​.​ John worked long and tiring hours every day, but made an effort to sit down

and eat dinner with his family every night​.

At dinner, the Rhoades family would play a game where they would all shoot their

napkins in the trash bin, and whoever lost had to clear the table​.​ If Anne lost, John would go

outside with his daughters and play softball until dark​.​ Anne said, “​I am very good at that trash

basket game, but I purposely lost because I knew how much they enjoyed that time together”

(41)​.​ ​She would watch the three of them from the kitchen window; admiring her husband’s love

for his daughters​.​ She smiled to herself as they giggled and screeched with blissfulness​.​ Anne
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knew that the after dinner softball meant the world to John​.​ He was often busy working and this

was their precious time together​.

By the time John’s daughters were in school, he was working long, hard hours​.​ He started

out as a dealer representative at Southworth Machine Company. His job was to travel up and

down the east coast training people how to sell Southworth’s products​.​ He spent many weeks

traveling away from home for work​.​ After a while, John decided he was good enough at this

profession to break off and do it on his own​.​ He knew that being on the other end of the trade

was where the better money was​.

With this knowledge, John went off and started up the company Material Handling Sales

with a business partner. They represented Southworth and other companies like it. In 1994, he

sold that company and started his own company, Rhoades Industrial Systems. It was his favorite

job he had ever had​.​ John was “fairly content being my own boss” (Rhoades, J​.​ 22)​.​ It was not

his easiest job; it is possible it was his hardest job​.​ All the hard work was worth it though

because he had proved to himself how determined and strong-willed he was​.

Five years later, at the age of 56, John retired after a second heart issue​.​ After a golf

match, he went home and told Anne that he needed to go to the hospital​.​ He told her that he was

having another heart attack​.​ Again, Anne rushed him off to the hospital. This time, he arrived at

the hospital to find out that it was not another heart attack​.​ After extensive testing, the doctors
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found that John had a blocked artery in his heart​.​ A few months later, they operated on him and

did a ​coronary artery bypass graft​.

At this point in his life, John was ready to retire​.​ He had achieved his goal as a parent; his

daughters both graduated high school and went to college​.​ Now, he had new goals set​.​ He

wanted to see his daughters get married​.​ He wanted to meet his grandkids and get to watch his

daughters be great parents to them​.​ By the time the twenty-first century rolled around, John had

two sons-in-law​.​ “I tell everybody that if I could have hand-picked my sons-in-law, I couldn’t

have done any better” (Rhoades, J​.​ 38)​.​ He is proud of his daughters for picking such wonderful

men to spend their lives with​.

In 2001, John and Anne were overcome with joy to meet their first grandchild​.​ Renee’s

first daughter was everything they wished for; a healthy little girl who loved her Grammy and

Grampy​.​ Over the next five years, John and Anne were blessed with three more healthy

grandchildren who also loved their Grammy and Grampy​.​ Anne said that John ​“truly loves his

grandkids like you can’t believe” (40)​.​ He is proud of the family he has built over the years​.

When asked about his greatest achievement in life, John said,

Well, it sounds trite, but my family is my greatest accomplishment in life​.​ That’s

probably because I didn’t have a real family​.​ I didn’t have what my grandkids

have​.​ I’m not lamenting on that, but it’s something I didn’t have​.​ That makes me
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very happy​.​ One of the happiest days of our lives was the day that our first

granddaughter was born​.​ (25)

As he has grown older, John has been a model of dignity and persistence in the lives of

everyone he loves​.​ He created a family filled with love and prosperity​.​ This prosperity and

happiness has only spread over time​.​ The lives he has touched are not limited to those he spent

countless hours with​.​ In raising two wonderful daughters, his wisdom and integrity have been

passed on​.​ His character has emerged in the personalities of his four grandchildren​.

Today, John’s character can be found in the compassionate heart of his first

granddaughter​.​ He bestowed his sharp mind upon his only grandson​.​ His middle granddaughter

has his cunning wit​.​ He gave his determination and strong will to his youngest granddaughter​.

John has given great gifts to his grandchildren​.​ These gifts are used to inspire other people and

will be passed on when his grandchildren have children of their own​.​ The most remarkable

aspect of these traits is that John could have passed down different characteristics​.​ He could have

passed down the traits of his father. He could have been negative and degrading, and no one

would have blamed him.

Instead, John chose to take a path in life that would better himself​.​ He chose this path so

that he could better those around him​.​ He turned a childhood of negativity into a lifetime of

positivity​.​ John’s greatest accomplishment is his family​.​ He built his family off his own morals;
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not what he had as examples​.​ He wanted his children to have a more loving and happy childhood

than he had​.​ Later, his children wanted to give John’s grandchildren an even better childhood

than they had​.​ This cycle of hard work and determination has given John’s children, and his

grandchildren an infinite number of possibilities in life​.​ They know that they can achieve

anything they set their minds to​.​ They owe this to their grandfather, who set his mind to creating

a better situation for himself​.

His whole life, John worked to create a family that was loving, strong, and happy. He

challenged himself to make the best living possible for this family he was building. He did his

duty in the military, he went to college, then he started his own business. In turn, his

improvement of himself created a better future for his children and grandchildren​.​ Growing up,

John was told he would never be able to succeed​.​ He spent the next seventy years demonstrating

how much he would amount to because he knew that no one could tell him what he was going to

be; he had to figure it out for himself​.

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Biography Interview #1

John Rhoades December 4, 2018

Over the Phone; myself in Gorham, Maine, and Grampy in his home in Florida​.

Sarah: Where were you born?

Grampy: I was born in Danville, Pennsylvania​.

Sarah: What year were you born?

Grampy: 1943​.

Sarah: Did you grow up in Danville?

Grampy: Nope.​ ​ I was raised in Shamokin, Pennsylvania until third grade​.​ Then we moved to

Lancaster, Pennsylvania​.

Sarah: Do you know why you moved?

Grampy: Because my dad had coal trucks and the coal business wasn’t very good and he
actually went bankrupt.​ ​ He moved the whole family to Lancaster where he invested in a “Tasty

Freeze”, which is just like a Dairy Queen.​ ​ That was our family business when we were growing

up​.

Sarah: What high school did you go to?

Grampy: I went to Conestoga Valley High School.​

Sarah: After high school, did you go straight to college?

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Grampy: When I graduated from high school, I went to college.​ ​ I went to Ricker College in

Houlton, Maine​.

Sarah: What made you decide to go so far away from home?

Grampy: Let’s see how do I make this sound nice… Well, I needed to get away from home​.​ I

wasn’t going to college when I graduated high school.​ ​ I was not a very studious student and so I

didn’t even apply to any colleges.​ ​ After I graduated from high school, on a lark, I went over to

the school and talked to the guidance counselor.​ ​ He found some schools that were still needing

applications and needing people.​ ​ So a month before school started, I got accepted at Ricker.​

Sarah: I did not know any of these things!

Grampy: Well there are certain things you don’t need to tell… no I was not a good student.​ ​ I

admit it​.

Sarah: I would never have guessed it​.

Grampy: Thank you, you’re very kind​.

Sarah: Back on the subject of your childhood, who were you closest to as a child? A friend or
family member?
Grampy: It was probably my mother​.​ We didn’t have a whole lot of… my parents didn’t have

much of a social life​.​ So we were pretty much homebodies​.​ Then when we moved to Lancaster I

was in third grade so I didn’t have a whole lot of friends​.​ Then after third grade, when I got to

fifth grade, we had to work for my dad.​ ​ We moved out and built a house behind the Tasty Freeze.​

My sister and I spent our time when we came home from school at work​.
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Sarah: So the Tasty Freeze was your first job?

Grampy: Yes, it was.​ ​ I was… I don’t know​.​ How old are you when you’re in fifth grade? Ten or

eleven? Now this isn’t a sob story, it’s just the way it was.​ ​ We helped and my parents needed

help and my sister and I were free help.​

Sarah: So did you look up to your mom when you were younger?
Grampy: Yes I did​.​ More than my father.​ ​ He wasn’t around a lot​.​ It was a cold relationship

between my father and my sister and I​.

Sarah: So what were your parents like growing up?

Grampy: My dad traveled a lot on the coal trucks when we had the coal business​.​ Then before

we opened the Tasty Freeze my dad worked at Armstrong Cork Company on the night shift​.​ My

mother worked at Hamilton Watch Company on the day shift.​ ​ They were, I don’t know if you
want to call us “latchkey kids” or whatever but my sister and I did a lot of our own raising of
ourselves.​

Sarah: So were you and your sister close growing up?

Grampy: Yeah… we were.​

Sarah: What is the age distance between you guys?

Grampy: Three years​.​ She is three years older than me.​

Sarah: Do you have any interesting childhood stories that you want to share, or anything to add
about your childhood that we didn’t cover?
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Grampy: There was nothing remarkable about our childhood.​ ​ No I’m serious​.​ We didn’t travel,

we’d come home from school and we’d work over in the Tasty Freeze, do chores and go to bed​.​ I

played basketball in high school and I didn’t start until I was in junior high I guess.​ ​ I played

soccer for a couple years in high school​.​ That was pretty much it really.​

Sarah: What was your favorite sport in high school?

Grampy: Soccer.​ ​ Soccer by far​.​ And I’ll brag a lot, but I was pretty good at it​.​ No I did, I played

four years in college then too​.​ It was a very very very small school​.​ We had less than a thousand

students in the whole college.​

Sarah: The college doesn’t exist anymore right?
Grampy: No they went bankrupt in the mid seventies​.​ I don’t know how a college goes bankrupt,

but they did.​

Sarah: Who was your best friend growing up?

Grampy: I did.​ ​ When I got to high school, my school merged with another school after my

freshman year.​ ​ My best friend, and he’s still my best friend, was Jerry Furlong.​ ​ Jerry’s father

owned a business very similar to ours and it was about ten miles away from ours.​ ​ Jerry and I

grew up together, as a matter of fact he went to Ricker for a year.​ ​ We are still in touch.​ ​ He now

lives in Montana.​ ​ We’re close.​ ​ He was my best friend and he still is.​

Sarah: ***You said that you weren’t a good student, was it because you didn’t apply yourself or
because school was challenging?
Grampy: I didn’t apply myself.​ ​ My father was very very negative​.​ He told my sister and I we

would never amount to anything, and that it was stupid for us to go to school​.​ Naturally when
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your parents do that - well my mother wasn’t like that - but when they do that, you are not apt to
apply yourself.​ ​ That’s the truth​.​ You could say I didn’t apply myself.​

Sarah: What kind of music did you listen to when you were in high school?
Grampy: Rock and roll.​ ​ That was back during Elvis and the Beatles​.​ I still listen to all that.​

Sarah: What did you study when you were in college?

Grampy: When I was in college… well I have a degree in history and government.​ ​ I never used

any of it​.​ When I went through college I actually was just trying to graduate​.​ I applied myself a

little more in college but still not enough.​ ​ I could have been a much better student.​ ​ I could have

been an “A” student but I just did what I had to do.​

Sarah: Why did you pick history and government?

Grampy: Well I liked the teachers​.​ You know everybody in a small school, and I liked the

teachers​.​ And actually they were very helpful to me and pushed me.​ ​ It was something that I guess

I needed coming through my life; somebody to be positive.​

Sarah: How did you end up in the military?

Grampy: Okay​.​ This will be a longer story than you’ll probably want.​ ​ Back in that day, they had

the draft.​ ​ When I got out of high school, you immediately go for your draft physical to see if

you’re eligible to go​.​ And of course I went, and I passed my physical​.​ But then, I got college

exemption​.​ At that time, you didn’t have to go if you were in college​.​ So every year I got a

college exemption, and I stayed in school as long as I could until I graduated​.​ Two weeks after I

graduated, I got a letter from the army that said report for active duty​.​ At that time, everybody
who was going into the army was going to basic training and then they were put on an airplane
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and sent to Vietnam.​ ​ I had a fraternity brother who was a year ahead of me that got drafted,

went over and lost an eye​.​ I didn’t want to go.​ ​ So I signed up with the navy, and it was a delay

program​.​ I didn’t have to go until the end of that year.​ ​ I went to the navy and then spent three

years.​ ​ Two tours of duty in Vietnam, which was a horrible thing, but it was there and people

just… you did what you had to do.​ ​ So I went​.​ And I was on an ammunitions ship​.​ That wasn’t

very exciting.​ ​ But I’ll tell you; I was scared.​ ​ I admit it.​ ​ I was scared all the time​.​ And you don’t

need any more details than that​.

Sarah: So you were never in direct combat?

Grampy: Yes and no.​ ​ One of the things we did on an ammunitions ship is called unreping; which

we supplied ammunition to the aircraft carriers and the other boats that were out there.​ ​ We
would have wires between the ships, we’d pull up beside them and they’d fire wires over and
then we’d send palate loads of bombs over to them.​ ​ Then they would go do what they did with

their bombs​.​ We were never fired upon, we were in the combat zone.​ ​ But unfortunately I saw a

lot of stuff that I didn’t like that scared me​.​ I saw USS Forrestal, which was a big carrier at the

time, burn​.​ And a hundred something people died in it.​ ​ We went the other way because we were

a big bomb; being an ammunitions ship.​ ​ I saw air force planes dropping bombs on places in

Vietnam​.​ That’s pretty much it​.​ No, I was never under actual hostile fire.​ ​ But it was scary

enough.​

Sarah: Is there anyone from the military that you still know?
Grampy: Basically, no.​ ​ I lost contact with the couple of guys that I did stay in contact with​.​ I

haven’t talked to anybody that I was stationed with or whatever in twenty years.​
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Sarah: You already said that your first job was at the Tasty Freeze, but what was your favorite
job that you ever had?
Grampy: When I owned my own business.​ ​ It was hard, it was the hardest, but for the first time in

my life I really applied myself.​ ​ When I got out of the navy I went to work for a company called

Market Forge in Massachusetts​.​ I worked for them for one year, then we moved to Maine and I

went to work for a company called Southworth and they sold industrial equipment.​ ​ I became a

dealer rep, I would travel up and down the east coast and train people how to sell our products.​

I would hire dealers and representatives​.​ We would sell them the product, and they would sell it

to the customer, it was mostly all custom made​.​ And after a while I got pretty good at that, and I

said, well I could do this, I could be on the other end which is where the real money is.​ ​ So I,
myself and another guy, started in material handling sales and we represented Southworth and
other people like it.​ ​ We sold a bunch of different stuff to the direct customers and bought them

from people like Southworth​.​ Then in 1994, I went off on my own​.​ I got rid of my partner, and

started Rhoades Industrial Systems​.​ And your dad worked for me​.​ Yeah he worked with us for

three years.​ ​ It was fun, but we were not making a lot of money and it wasn’t a good career for

him at that time​.​ He made some good career choices and went off, but I stayed with it​.​ It wasn’t

a fantastic living, but we did good​.​ We survived​.​ And like I said, it was the first time in my life

that I actually applied myself​.​ I’m telling you things you never expected aren’t I? You don’t go

around telling your grandkids stuff like that when they’re little​.​ But I’m being as honest as I can

be.​

Sarah: What would’ve been your dream job if you were to do anything you wanted?
Grampy: If I had to do it over again? I don’t know​.​ If I had my life to live over again, I would’ve

gotten married sooner.​ ​ You don’t have to laugh, but I would’ve because it would’ve taken the

military out of my life because if you get married you could get a family exemption​.​ I wouldn’t
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have had to go for the draft, I wouldn’t have had to go.​ ​ That was three tough years of my life in

the military​.​ Your Aunt Lisa was born while I was in Vietnam​.​ I never saw Grammy pregnant,

and when I got home we had a three month old baby​.​ That was very very very hard on both of us.​

My dream job; I honestly don’t know.​ ​ I don’t have one.​ ​ Like I said, I was fairly content being my

own boss.​ ​ There was a lot of things I could have done different with that but, you know, we

survived​.

Sarah: When did you and Grammy meet?

Grampy: Alright, I’m going to tell you the whole true story.​ ​ I had a girlfriend at the time, and

she lived in Canada.​ ​ This girlfriend had a sister, and her sister was dating a guy from Houlton

where I went to school.​ ​ I knew him very well and I went to a dance at college​.​ Anne knew this

​
other guy, and she went up to him and said “See that guy over there? I wanna dance with him​.”

And the rest is history​.​ Grammy will vouch for that.​ ​ It did a lot for my ego​.

Sarah: So how long after that did you and Grammy get married?
Grampy: Four years.​ ​ Her mother and father forbid her to go out with me because she was

Catholic and I wasn’t.​ ​ My parents did want me to marry her because she was Catholic.​ ​ It’s hard

to believe that religion does that to people.​ ​ That was very hard for both of us.​ ​ But we did it.​ ​ And

we are glad we did​.​ The best things that have happened to us since then are your mom and Lisa

and now you four kids.​ ​ And of course Todd and Jeff but we won’t mention them.​

Sarah: Did you and Grammy not get married until after you got back from the war?
Grampy: Nope.​ ​ What happened is, I went to basic training in California and at the time I had a
lot of alone time, you know I mean there’s lots of people around but it’s a whole bunch of people
I don’t know and I kind of made up my mind that I was going to ask her to marry me​.​ When I got
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out of basic training, I bought a diamond and presented it to her and she accepted.​ ​ Then I moved

to Charleston, South Carolina and I didn’t see her for six months​.​ Then I got some leave and I
went to my folks house and she came down, flew down, and met my folks for the first time and
then she went back to Maine.​ ​ She was actually training as an x-ray technician, and so I spent the

next six months in Charleston and then flew up and got married.​ ​ So we spent about six or seven

days together in my folks house before we got married and we were together for a whole year​.

Sarah: How long were you guys married for before you left for the war?
Grampy: Let’s see, I had short duty September, and I left in May… so that’s… months.​ ​ And she

moved back to Houlton to live with her parents.​ ​ That’s where Lisa was born; in Houlton.​

Sarah: And then you guys moved to… Windham? When you got back?
Grampy: No, we were in Charleston for a year, she moved to Charleston​.​ And then I got
stationed in California so she moved out to San Francisco and lived in San Francisco for nine
months while I went over for the second time.​ ​ So then she raised Lisa by herself for a whole

year.​ ​ Then we moved back to Massachusetts.​ ​ I worked in Massachusetts for a year and then we

moved to Portland.​ ​ We were in Portland for a couple years and then we moved to Windham​.

Sarah: How long were Aunt Lisa and my mom when you settled down in Windham​.
Grampy: Your mom was just taking her first steps so she was probably a year, and that would
make Lisa… three and a half, four years old.​ ​ We moved into the house in 1971 I think it was​.​ I

worked for Southworth until 1980​.

Sarah: You said that your parents were against you and Grammy getting married…
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Grampy: They weren’t “kind of” against it, they were totally against it.​ ​ Not my mother, my

mother wanted us to be happy.​ ​ And my dad was just old school, and that’s just the way it was.​

Sarah: So was your family very religious growing up?

Grampy: My family? Yeah​.​ Yeah.​ ​ We went to church every Sunday and we went to Sunday

School and you know we did our catechism, going to church and so did Anne, Grammy​.

Sarah: Did you raise my mom and Aunt Lisa with religion​.

Grampy: Yes.​ ​ Basically Grammy took over that, and they were raised Catholic.​ ​ They went and

did all the stuff in the church that they were supposed to​.​ I acquiesced to that.​ ​ I wasn’t going to

be like my parents.​

Sarah: When I think of you from when I was younger, I always think of you building us things​.
How did you learn to build things?
Grampy: That was kind of my outlet.​ ​ And I was self taught with all that stuff​.​ I would watch

house stuff, or I would look at how stuff was made.​ ​ Well, I wanna go back, way back​.​ My

grandfather, my mother’s father, was a tinkerer​.​ And so my dad’s father was a tinkerer​.​ My

grandfather, my mother’s father, your great grandfather’s brother owned a hardware store.​
They didn’t have any grandkids so I was kind of their grandkid, and he used to give me tools
when I was a little kid and stuff like that.​ ​ When I was a little kid I just wanted to play with them, I

didn’t ever build anything because I always had the interest but I never had the skills.​ ​ And then
when we got our first house, we didn’t have any money so I would spend time working on the
house and working on the yard and learning how to do stuff.​ ​ Uncle Eddie taught me how to do

electricity and I read some books on how to do this and finish this off; and I’m self taught.​ ​ You

know, it was cool.​ ​ From there I expanded on it.​ ​ I never made stuff for Lisa and your mom, I
 Walker 25

made them toy boxes; but not the kind of toy boxes I made you guys​.​ I just got some wood, put it

together and put hinges on it.​ ​ That was it and I made them stools and stuff like that​.​ But then

when I had some time, I really got into it to make stuff for you guys​.​ And that was my happy time.​

It really really made me happy doing that stuff.​

Sarah: How did you get into golf?

Grampy: I don’t know, once I started playing, and I found out I could play, I was pretty good.​ ​ So
I would play in a league at Southworth and I started that in 1970 or 71, at about the time your
mother was born​.​ I would play in a league on Wednesday nights.​ ​ And I found out I liked it and

then towards when they graduated from high school is when we moved to Brunswick.​ ​ I only

played once a week before that.​ ​ And I joined the golf club at Brunswick, and I learned how to

really play golf, and became adequate at it.​ ​ But it’s something that I’m still doing​.​ And I’m 75

years old.​ ​ I play three times a week down here (in Florida) and more than that in Maine​.

Sarah: To wrap this up, what is an accomplishment that you are proud of?
Grampy: Well, it sounds trite, but it’s my family​.​ That’s probably because I didn’t have a real

family.​ ​ I didn’t have what you guys have.​ ​ I’m not lamenting on that, but it’s something I didn’t

have; the growing up like you guys have​.​ That makes me very happy.​ ​ One of the happiest days of

our lives was the day you were born​.​ We didn’t know anything about it​.​ It’s just that I was in

Vietnam when Lisa was born, so I didn’t see that first born there​.​ I came home and she was a

three month old baby.​ ​ Fortunately, I was around when your mother was born, but that was a

whole different ball game.​ ​ I should’ve gone away for three months… no I’m kidding! That’s not

true​.​ But then you guys started coming along and it’s been very good for us​.​ I think probably the

only person who was happier about it was Grammy.​ ​ I know you’re interviewing me, but when
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you guys started growing up, she was really disappointed when you weren’t babies anymore​.

Because she really liked that part of it​.​ And I wasn’t into little babies; burping and changing

diapers and all that kind of stuff but she was​.​ And it’s a good thing! Sarah I want to tell you, I

didn’t hold anything back on this.​ ​ I don’t know if I went overboard on my childhood, but I’m just

telling you the truth​.

Sarah: No I appreciate you telling me everything! I think I should have plenty to write about!
Thank you!
Grampy: I am very pleased that you chose me to do this on​.​ I am very very honored​.​ I really am​.
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Biography Interview #2
Renee Walker December 5, 2018
In Gorham, Maine at the Walker Family Household

Sarah: Growing up was your dad strict?

Renee: Yes, yes he was.​ ​ My parents were a lot stricter than my friends parents.​ ​ My sister and I

had early curfews, I wasn’t allowed to do some of the things all my friends were allowed to do​.

He always asked me a lot of questions.​

Sarah: Did that cause conflict between you two?

Renee: Yeah it did.​ ​ I was a typical teenager​.​ I didn’t like all the rules to follow and that my

friends had more freedom than I had.​

Sarah: Were you close with your dad growing up?

Renee: Yeah.​ ​ But I’d say we’re a lot closer now than we were then.​

Sarah: What was your favorite thing to do with your dad growing up?
I guess we used to go on a lot of family trips.​ ​ I guess that was good.​

Sarah: Where would you go on trips?

Renee: Well we went to Florida a lot, but we’d also go camping all around Maine and New
Hampshire.​

Sarah: Do you recall any fond memories with your dad?

Renee: I can’t think of any specific things that stand out but he was always at everything, like
sports events and school related events, and stuff, and he was just always there.​ ​ Supportive.​
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Sarah: Do you recall any conflicts between you and your dad?
Renee: Yeah I remember once I, well actually we had a lot of conflicts, but I remember once, I
had gotten in trouble for something, I don’t even remember what, but I had a cheering
competition the next day and he was so mad he told me I couldn’t go.​ ​ Which of course was
completely unreasonable because you’re letting your team down and it’s something you build
towards​.​ I just remember crying in my room for a long time, but I did end up going.​ ​ I also
remember once I was eating something I wasn’t supposed to, and he made me sit down and eat
the rest of the package of whatever it was.​ ​ He just was very very strict, he had rules and we

weren’t to break them.​ ​ We had to speak politely to our parents and it just was a different world.​

Sarah: Do you think he’s changed since you were growing up?
Renee: Oh yes, he’s softened up.​

Sarah: What do you think softened him?

Renee: I don’t know… just getting older and Lisa and I getting older​.​ Just time I guess.​ ​ I don’t

know if he thought he was supposed to be strict when we were young​.​ Or he always worked a lot,
you know, he was always very stressed… I don’t know maybe that just carried over to every
aspect of his life.​

What was he working on that stressed him out?

Renee: Well he owned his own company, so you know just trying to run a company and spend
time with family.​

Sarah: What is something that your dad taught you?

 Walker 29

Renee: Well he taught me… values.​ ​ I think that was the biggest thing I ever got from him​.​ I

remember once, we’d gone out to breakfast and the waitress gave us too much change​.​ We were
already home by the time he realized it and he got in his car and went back and gave her the five
or ten dollars, or whatever it was, that she had given us too much of.​ ​ It was just that kind of

thing all the time.​ ​ But that one sticks with me; he was just always doing the right thing.​ ​ Treating

people like he would want to be treated​.

Sarah: How has your dad influenced your life? Like your schooling, your career, your parenting?
Renee: Well my dad was always a hard worker.​ ​ He always believed in working for what you get.​

You put into it what you get out of it.​ ​ That I think affects your whole life; as a student, as a

career person… really anything you do, parenting as well.​ ​ I did know that I didn’t want to be as

strict as my parents were.​

Sarah: Is there anything else that you wish that your parents had done differently?
Renee: Not really.​ ​ When I look back I think we were pretty lucky.​ ​ Although my friends, while not
having as strict parents, they also had more money than we had, so they were able to do things
and buy things that I wasn’t.​ ​ A lot of that was because my dad was starting up his company and

when you’re starting up a company the payoff is later… further down the road.​ ​ So that was

tough​.​ We couldn’t have everything we wanted​.​ But I wouldn’t change that because there’s

nothing that can be changed about that​.​ I mean that’s how things were​.
 Walker 30

Biography Interview #3
Mildred Patterson December 12, 2018
Over the phone; myself in Gorham, Maine, and Aunt Millie in her home in Florida​.

Sarah: Were you and your brother close growing up?

Aunt Millie: Yes.​

Sarah: How would you describe your relationship with him?

Aunt Millie: Um… brother and sister; like it is sister to sister.​ ​ We got along very well but we had
to have our space.​ ​ When we were teenagers I resented the fact that when I went to school and I
had the car I had to take him along or I couldn’t go.​ ​ I’m sure that you and Alison have the same
situation​.​ But it was no big deal because Mum said I couldn’t have the car if I didn’t take him
along​.

Sarah: Do you recall any fond memories with him from your childhood?

Aunt Millie: Okay now this isn’t exactly a fond memory, but I remember when we were little, I
was probably five or six and he was probably two or three​.​ I mean he was just walking, and
mother and daddy went away, I think they went deep sea fishing… so Grandma was taking care
of us.​ ​ We were playing in the backyard, and do you know what bayberries are? They have purple
berries that look like blueberries? Well we picked them.​ ​ And I got some milk and I fed them to
my brother, as blueberries, and they’re poisonous​.​ So he wound up in the hospital and had to
have his tummy pumped​.​ But I didn’t know it.​ ​ I didn’t get scolded because I was unaware of the
fact that they were poisonous.​ ​ But blueberries don’t grow in August and September​.​ So that’s
one bad thing.​

Aunt Millie: We used to go camping.​ ​ We had to take our baths in the creek​.​ You can’t do that
now.​ ​ If you do that now you’ll get in trouble.​ ​ Mother would throw in a stick of soap because it
floated, and she said okay, start scrubbing.​ ​ So we’d have to get cleaned up on a Saturday night
when we were camping​.​ You know, we didn’t have the facilities that you have nowadays when
you go camping​.​ That was our primitive camping​.​ We camped almost every weekend.​ ​ John and I
 Walker 31

would fish, we’d catch little fish like sunfish and that kind of stuff.​ ​ I don’t know all that we
caught, but they weren’t anything big​.

Aunt Millie: When we were teenagers my dad had the ice cream stand and we worked​.​ He
always got on the detail to clean the garbage can​.​ We didn’t have liners like you do now​.​ And
John had to clean them out everyday.​ ​ We didn’t like that​.​ Those weren’t the nice jobs.​ ​ But they
were the necessary jobs.​ ​ We had to sweep the pavements and stuff before we opened up, and did
all that kind of stuff​.​ We had all the chores like you and your sister probably have to clean up at
home.​ ​ But we didn’t have a swimming pool in our backyard.​

Aunt Millie: And do you wanna know what John did when he was a teenager, you know he
played on the basketball team​.​ But before they even started the season he broke his arm.​ ​ One of
the kids banged into him and he broke his arm so he was out for the season.​ ​ I have a picture of it
in my yearbook at home.​ ​ One other kid that was in his class, that I see quite often, he reminded
me that two days after John broke his arm, that same kid broke his arm​.​ They were both John
and Don Hershey, they were both on the same team.​ ​ And I think that he was suspended from the
team for a while because of horseplay or fooling off when he shouldn’t have been and that’s why
they got hurt​.​ It wasn’t during a game​.​ I think that’s the only time that John broke any bones​.

Aunt Millie: I know about his first date​.​ I don’t know if he wants me to tell you that.​ ​ He wasn’t
sixteen yet so my dad took him out on his first date and then had to drive back and pick him up.​
It was at a dance​.​ And the girl that he dated later on was runner up for Miss Pennsylvania.​ ​ A
pretty girl​.​ But when John saw her later on in life, she didn’t know him anymore​.​ He said she
was snobbish.​ ​ What else do you wanna know honey?

Sarah: Did you and Grampy fight a lot growing up?

Aunt Millie: No.​ ​ Not really.​ ​ We didn’t have a chance.​ ​ Well, when I started dating and he started
dating at the same time, we would have fights.​ ​ “Why does he have off? Why can’t I have off?”
that kind of stuff​.​ But I knew that I could only get off every other weekend because he would have
the other weekend​.​ It worked out​.​ We didn’t have fights over it, we just both wanted our space
and we just didn’t always get our way.​ ​ Which was probably the best​.​ We can’t always do all
those things that we wanna do all the time​.​ There’s rules and regulations​.
 Walker 32

Sarah: So you guys didn’t have a lot of conflicts with one another?

Aunt Millie: No.​ ​ Not really.​ ​ No we got along pretty good.​ ​ I know one time we had one bicycle, a
two wheel bicycle.​ ​ We’d clean it and my dad paid ten dollars for it​.​ They had resurfaced a road
right close by, and it was not open to the public.​ ​ So John and I both got on the bicycle and we
went up Terry Lane and up to the road and when we came back they were really busy at the
stand and my dad and my mother weren’t very happy with us.​ ​ They took the bicycle away for a
while.​ ​ Because we weren’t available when they needed us​.

Aunt Millie: Do you wanna hear some stories that he did when he worked over in the farm?

Sarah: Sure​.

Aunt Millie: He worked over at a farm during tobacco cutting time.​ ​ He only lasted one or two
days​.​ He wanted to go over there and make money but that’s a sticky, dirty job.​ ​ Did you ever see
tobacco? It’s these great big huge leaves and I don’t know what John did, but he came home
very hungry because they gave him strawberries and not very much else for lunch.​ ​ So he was
starved.​ ​ The next day he went back and then that was it​.​ He couldn’t take it​.​ He wasn’t a farmer.​
And he came home with two pigeons.​ ​ A white one and a gray one​.​ Mom said, “John those
​ And he said, “But Mom, they’ll just live up in the roof in the
pigeons cannot be in the garage.​ ”
​ And she says, “No.​ ​ They’ll do their job on the car​.​ And I
rafters like they did over in the barn​.”
​ So she let him have them overnight, and the next day, he let the
don’t want them in the garage​.”
pigeons out.​ ​ The white pigeon brought a white pigeon back, and the gray pigeon just never came
back​.​ So mother said, “I don’t care what kind they are, they’re not gonna stay in the garage.​ ​”
So he had to take them back over to the farm​.​ And we had to put the garage door down for a
couple days so they didn’t try to stay in the garage​.​ So those are kind of little things that you
learn the hard way​.​ Well, what else do you wanna know honey?

Sarah: How has your brother influenced your life?

Aunt Millie: He’s a good brother.​ ​ He is the person you can go to if you have a problem.​ ​ He’s
always been there for me and he always was there for Don​.​ He and Don were really close​.​ He
 Walker 33

was a good brother​.​ He still is! He’s a wonderful brother​.​ I’m sure you and Alison are pretty
close​.​ Probably closer each year as you get older.​ ​ You appreciate each other more now than
when you were younger.​

Sarah: Yeah for sure​.​ Would you say that you guys are closer now than when you were kids?

Aunt Millie: Absolutely.​

Sarah: So do you think that your brother has changed from when he was a child, and a teenager?

Aunt Millie: Yes.​ ​ He changed for the better.​ ​ I don’t mean that he was bad.​ ​ But he is very
considerate of other people​.​ He is a very caring person.​ ​ Don’t you think your Grampy is that
way?

Sarah: I do​.​ I definitely do​.

Aunt Millie: Mhmm​.​ He is a very caring person.​ ​ He does not try to offend or upstage anybody.​
He is a genuine person.​ ​ And you have a lot of fun with him too​.

Sarah: Yeah that’s why I chose him! I’ve always admired him​.

Aunt Millie: My my, your voice sounds like your mother’s.​ ​ I’m sure you look like her too but I
don’t get to see you very often and when I do see you you’re always changing, always getting
older​.​ So what else do you want to know about the dear boy?

Sarah: Well, those were all of my questions, unless you have anything that you want to add? Any
other stories or things you think I might want to include​.

Aunt Millie: Well he’s had a rough life honey, you know that? Health wise I’m talking about​.
And he’s been severe in all of them​.​ Well, he’s a good golfer, and he’s a good person​.​ He’s a
good dad, he’s a good granddaddy.​ ​ Well, isn’t it awful that you had to make a biography on
your grandfather and have to talk to your Great Aunt?
 Walker 34

Sarah: No I was excited about it! I was excited to do this biography! Thank you so much for
being available for the interview!

Aunt Millie: Well do you need anything else darling?

Sarah: I don’t think so! Thank you again!

Aunt Millie: Did I help you at all?

Sarah: Yes! You were very helpful! I will definitely be able to use some of those stories​.

Aunt Millie: Good! Well I would love to see the finished product! Love you sweetheart​.​ Bye bye.​
 Walker 35

Biography Interview #4
John and Anne Rhoades December 16, 2018
Over the phone; myself in Gorham, Maine, my grandparents in Florida​.

Sarah: Last time, I forgot to ask you about your heart attacks, would you feel comfortable
sharing a little bit about those with me?

Grampy: Oh absolutely​.​ I had no idea that I had a heart problem​.​ I was running, your mother
was fourteen, it was 1984​.​ But any rate, I had no idea that I had a bad heart​.​ I was running, I
would go out and run in the mornings.​ ​ We were away one weekend up to Bangor, at a fraternity
reunion​.​ I had had two drinks maximum, I didn’t feel like having anything.​ ​ And at about
midnight, I told Grammy “I can’t breathe, go find Charlie Brown”, he was a schoolteacher, and
she said why? And I said “Because I know he’s not drinking and I need him to take me to the
​ So she said “I’ll take you to the hospital​.”​ So we got into the car and she drove me to
hospital​.”
the hospital and dropped me off at the emergency room and she was going to go park the car
and I walked in the door and collapsed​.​ Somebody caught me and threw me in a wheelchair and
wheeled me in and I didn’t remember anything after that, so it’s kind of like a weird movie where
you’re looking up and there are lights shining on me.​ ​ I said, “What happened?” And the doctor
said, “I think you know what happened​.​” And I said, “No I don’t.​ ​” And he said, “Well you had a
heart attack, you arrested and they brought you back with paddles and they got my heart started
​ They gave me shots of morphine and I promptly threw up on the doctor​.​ I mean the
again​.”
whole thing wasn’t funny but that was funny.​ ​ I was 41 years old, way too young.​ ​ Then I was in
the hospital for four or five days and they brought me to Portland by ambulance and we were
going 80 miles an hour down the main turnpike from the hospital in Bangor to the hospital in
Portland at Maine Medical Center.​
So I have got a story and I’m going to cry when I tell you​.​ I don’t know if you knew that your
mother and Aunt Lisa had to save half of what they got paid and they were both working at the
time, and I couldn’t work, so Lisa would come home and put her paycheck in the bank​.​ And so I
went down to the bank to put money in and I saw that she had made a recent withdrawal for $60.​
And I said, “Lisa you’re not supposed to take money out of there you’re supposed to save half of
​ and I’ll tell
it, what’s up?” And she hung her head and said “I’m sorry, we needed groceries.​ “
you she thought that I was going to be mad, and Grammy was taking care of me and we hadn’t
even thought about it.​ ​ So Lisa gets her own money and go shopping for groceries and I’m telling
 Walker 36

her that she can’t take her own money out​.​ That makes you know that you have good kids and
stuff like that happens​.
So I got better from that, and I went back to work and I went to rehab and all that stuff and I
went home to have a life and they told me that I would have 5 to 10 good years, and I’m 75 now
and I was 41 then so I’ve had more than my 5 to 10 good years​.​ But in 1999 I was playing golf
with your dad and I started having chest pains​.​ This was on a Saturday during member guest,
and that night I got home and I said to Grammy, “I got to go to the hospital I’m having another
heart attack.​ ​ “Well I didn’t have a heart attack but they took me to the hospital and they did tests
and found out that I had a blocked artery​.​ And during the next few months they decided that they
would operate and do a bypass.​ ​ That was in 1999​.​ And at that point I said I don’t want to work
anymore, so I basically retired.​
And now this is it funny, but it is funny, the night that Grammy took me to the hospital, she got
home late at night after sitting with me, and it started raining so she got up to close the window,
and trips over a stool and breaks her ankle​.​ So she calls Aunt Doris, because she didn’t want to
call 911 and she was crawling across the floor because she really did a number on her ankle.​
And David came over and so he and Doris came over and picked her up and put her in the car
and drove her to the hospital​.​ The next morning, at 6 o’clock in the morning, my phone rang,
and I’m in the hospital bed.​ ​ And it’s Grammy, and she says “How are you?” But she didn’t
sound so good so I said “How are you?” And she said, “I’m okay.​ ​” And I said “Where are
​ And I asked why and she told me she broke her ankle and
you?” And she said, “Room 604​.”
they had to operate and fix her ankle.​ ​ So the nurse came to me, put me in a wheelchair, and
brought me down so I could see her.​ ​ But there we were both in the hospital at the same time.​ ​ So
when I got out of the hospital, I couldn’t drive and neither could she​.​ But now that’s enough on
that topic, what else do you have for me?

Sarah: So after, looking back at our last interview I just have some follow up questions​.​ You said
that you moved around a lot in your early childhood, how did that affect your schooling,
friendships, and family?

Grampy: Well I had no friendships.​ ​ We moved when I was in third grade, we moved to
Lancaster, and so I went a year and a half there at a Lancaster school​.​ We didn’t live in a good
part of the city, so my parents hurried up and built the house behind the tasty freeze.​ ​ So they
moved us out there, and I went to a more rural stool, which was Conestoga Valley high school.​
 Walker 37

So I made friends when I got to junior high school​.​ We lived rural, so our closest friends was
probably a half a mile away.​ ​ And my sister and I worked after school every day, so we didn’t
have time to socialize​.​ When I played basketball and played soccer we had practice​.​ Then we
would come home and do the chores and do the work and get our homework done.​ ​ Now most of
the time in the fall, we weren’t very busy.​ ​ So we could get our homework done while we were
working​.​ I started making real friends when I was in high school.​ ​ My best friend was Jerry
Furlaw and he still is​.​ He lives out in Montana now​.

Sarah: So how do you think that the way that your parents raised you affected the way that you
raised my mom and Aunt Lisa?

Grampy: Different.​ ​ We didn’t have a very warm and fuzzy house.​ ​ I guess my dad using negative
reverse psychology with my sister and I, and told us we wouldn’t amount to anything​.​ So I made
up my mind that wasn’t going to happen​.​ And hopefully that we did our best, but you know being
a parent isn’t an easy process.​ ​ Every kid is different and you don’t know what’s going to happen.​
You have no idea what that kid is going to turn out to be or what that kid is going to do or what
kind of grief that kid is going to give you or what kind of love that kid is going to give you​.​ So
you just go with it and you know obviously with your mother and Aunt Lisa we had our ups and
downs​.​ There were certainly more ups.​ ​ And we try to do as much as we could with them.​ ​ We had
a limited income​.​ We really didn’t start having a decent income until the kids grew up​.​ Before
that, it was you make money, and you spend the money.​ ​ But you try to put it away for retirement,
and here we are retired​.​ So I don’t know if that is the answer you wanted? But I watch your
parents raised you guys, and your family is a very very close family.​ ​ Your mother and Lisa, we
tried but we weren’t as close as you guys are​.​ I don’t know it evolves I guess.​

Sarah: How would you describe yourself as a parent?

Grampy: As a parent, you always second-guess yourself​.​ I tried to be fair, Grammy tried to be
fair.​ ​ When there was a problem between Lisa and Renee, we would generally send them to their
rooms and say don’t come down until you settle it​.​ So they will go upstairs and we would hear
them discussing​.​ So then finally they would come down and say we figured it out.​ ​ I think
sometimes we were to straight, but sometimes we weren’t strict enough​.​ Again you just don’t
know​.​ We tried​.​ And I’d like to think we did a good job​.​ Your mom is awesome, and your Aunt
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Lisa is awesome​.​ And the guys that they chose to marry are awesome.​ ​ I tell everybody, that I
could’ve hand-picked my son in law’s I couldn’t have done better.​

Sarah: How do you think you were different as a grandparent versus a parent?

Grampy: Oh it’s much easier being a grandparent​.​ We can do what we want, we have a better
grasp on life being a lot older.​ ​ We don’t have to discipline, and when you guys were younger
and we used to spend more time with you, we would just tell you to do something and you would
do it​.​ You didn’t give us any grief.​ ​ And I know that you’re being kids when you were little and
you give your parents some grief.​
I have a funny story about you, I know I’ve told you hundred times but I love it.​ ​ It’s the time that
the turkeys were in the yard and I picked you up and carried you out, and there were a dozen
turkeys in the yard and I said you got to be quiet.​ ​ So we went up there and of course you
shrieked​.​ And they ran down over the hill​.​ How do you said to me, “Do it again Grampy.​ ”
​ We
weren’t in that house for many years because we built our dream house, and then we just found
out it was way too big​.​ Grammy couldn’t keep up with it​.​ So that’s why we sold that and moved
into the condo.​

Sarah: what was your goal as a parent and as a grandparent?

Grampy: my goal was to see my kids be happy​.​ I wanted to see them graduate from high school,
and I wanted to see them graduate from college.​ ​ That was very very important to me.​ ​ I wanted to
see them very happy in their life​.​ As far as I can see they are.​ ​ And as a grandparent, I just keep
setting new goals.​ ​ At first I wanted to see grandchildren, and now I want to see my
grandchildren grow up next I want to see my grandchildren graduate from high school and I
want to see them graduate from college.​ ​ And I want to see great grandkids​.​ But sooner or later
the line ends.​ ​ We are just ecstatic with what we see and what we have​.​ I truly don’t see how it
could’ve turned out any better.​ ​ I had no real thought of what we were going to do after we
retired, we knew we would come down to Florida because my folks have been coming down here
since 1951​.​ They died in 89 and 90​.​ But we just kept coming down, and it’s a great place to
spend the winter​.​ That’s the only reason we’re down here, and the only bad part about it is we
don’t get to see you guys​.​ We don’t get to see all your extracurriculars and stuff​.​ We are really
excited for you guys to come down in March​.
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Sarah: So are we! The last question I have is about high school​.​ What kind of things did you
focus on in high school? What did you spend a lot of your time doing?

Grampy: ​Chasing girls​.​ No I’m just kidding, but again I’m not feeling sorry for myself, but from
April through October, I worked seven days a week​.​ That’s because we were open every day.​
The only social life I had, was I was allowed to go on dates after I turned 16 and could drive a
car​.​ As a matter fact I think my dad took me on my first date.​ ​ Did your Aunt Millie tell you who I
went on a date with? The girl turned out to be Miss Pennsylvania​.​ We went to a reunion
afterwards, I mean we were going together it was just a date to a dance, we were both 15, and
that was it after the dance she didn’t want anything to do with me.​ ​ But that’s still on my resume
though​.​ As far as friends, I made friends because I play basketball, and I wasn’t very good I was
a good practice player.​ ​ And I started at the JV team.​ ​ We consolidated high school‘s when I was
a sophomore, we moved three high schools together and I actually was surprised that I could
even make the JV team​.​ So I made the team and I started.​ ​ I started for half the year and I
basically was a feeder of the ball​.​ I didn’t do much shooting​.​ My favorite sport is soccer, I
thought I was pretty good at that​.​ I was a Boy Scout, I was a Cub Scout when I was little and
when I was a freshman in high school my parents paid for me to have a trip to a scout ranch in
New Mexico​.​ And I have never been out of the state of Pennsylvania other than going to Florida
with my parents.​ ​ But I got on the bus and I had three weeks and I went out and hike in the
mountains, the southern Rockies.​ ​ It was fantastic.​ ​ Was a little bit of time for me to grow up, not
being around my parents.​ ​ My parents were very strict.​ ​ They told us what to do and when to do it.​
So that’s all I can think of but if I think of anymore I’ll send you a call​.

Sarah: Okay thank you so much!

Grampy: Okay, here’s Grammy​.

Grammy: Hi Sarah.​

Sarah: Hi! I just have a few questions for you, my first one is, how did you and Grampy meet?

Grammy: Okay it’s kind of cute.​ ​ We were at the freshman dance, he was a sophomore.​ ​ I had
seen him driving around town, big town, he was there early because he played soccer so he came
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early​.​ So I thought I’ve got to go to know this guy, I’m going to get a date with him​.​ So you were
at the freshman dance and I saw him live there and I was talking to a local townie​.​ He said “We
having a good time girls?” And I said yeah and he said “Anything interesting yet?” And I said,
“ well I would kind of like to dance with that guy over there.​ ​” But it turns out he was dating a
girl from another town.​ ​ And this townie I knew and was talking to, was dating Grampy’s
girlfriend’s sister​.​ So he knew grampy and he went over and told him that I wanted to dance with
him​.​ And that was it.​ ​ He handed to know if I wanted to go out to eat after at Al’s Place.​ ​ So I said
maybe, and I asked my girlfriend if they would follow us​.​ They did, and then after he took me
home and my girls followed again; good girlfriends.​ ​ So we went out the next two nights, we
really really clicked​.​ And that was it.​ ​ What else you got?

Sarah: What was he like when you first met him?

Grammy: I told him on our third date, when he kept taking his glasses off when he was done
driving, that he was vain because he didn’t wear his glasses.​ ​ Anyways, I was giving him a hard
time and he told me that he can’t see with the glasses on, but he needs them to drive.​ ​ But yeah.​ ​ I
thought he was a lot of fun.​ ​ He was easy to talk to​.

Sarah: So how has he changed throughout the years that you’ve known him?

Grammy: well, I discovered when we had kids how devoted he can be.​ ​ But I also have to say that
he’s been very devoted to me.​ ​ Then you grandkids came along and he just truly loves you guys
like you can’t believe.​ ​ And I wouldn’t have known that when I met him.​ ​ So he has become a very
loyal, devoted person I think.​ ​ Anything else?
Sarah: When he left for the war he was gone for a while, was that hard for you guys?

Grammy: Oh my.​ ​ I can’t tell you.​ ​ It truly was awful.​ ​ It was very very hard.​ ​ But, I was lucky.​ ​ I
went home to my parents and I was pregnant but I could still work and my dad gave me a job in
the store.​ ​ So I was making money, and I was seeing some of my old friends back in my
hometown​.​ It was tough though​.​ But you know, you have to know that you can get through
sometimes.​ ​ Yeah I felt sorry for myself and I’m sure he did too.​ ​ Does that answer your question?

Sarah: Yes​.​ So what was he like as a parent?

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Grammy: Very patient​.​ Very caring.​ ​ Oh he loved playing softball with the girls after dinner​.​ And
this is a going joke, we would all take our napkin and roll it in a ball and shoot it into the
wastebasket when we were done eating​.​ Whoever lost had to clear up, and I am very good at that
but I purposely lost because I knew how much they enjoyed that time together​.​ I could watch
them from the kitchen so I was just as happy watching them.​ ​ And he really loved that​.​ We really
loved going to the games, and we love going to your games.​ ​ I guess that’s it​.

Sarah: What qualities do you admire or like in Grampy?

Grammy: Well, he’s very loyal to his family and friends​.​ He’s very truthful.​ ​ He tells it like it is,
he is admirable.​ ​ I am proud of him​.​ He is fun​.​ He makes friends very nicely and he’s very loyal
to his friends​.​ He really is so proud of you​.​ He is so pleased that you asked for this from him.​ ​ So
we do thank you.​

Sarah: Well thank you for taking the time to let me interview you guys!
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Works Cited

Patterson, Mildred​.​ Personal Interview​.​ 12 Dec 2018​.

Rhoades, Anne​.​ Personal Interview​.​ 16 Dec 2018​.

Rhoades, John​.​ Personal Interview​.​ 4 Dec 2018​.

---​.​ Personal Interview​.​ 16 Dec 2018​.

“Ricker Classical Institute​.​” ​Lost Colleges, 1​ 6 Oct 2017​.

http://www​.​lostcolleges​.​com/ricker-classical-institute​.​ Accessed 19 Dec 2018​.

Walker, Renee​.​ Personal Interview​.​ 5 Dec 2018​.

“WW2 Key Events​.​”​ British Pathe, h​ ttps://www​.​britishpathe​.​com/blog/ww2-key-events/​.

Accessed 17 Dec 2018​.