After my first year at Fordham University, and
as two months of summer had gone by, a great deal of angst and dismay was
beginning to well up in me over the prospect of returning to school again
in New York City. Jean, (Yarnall), and I had long had an unverbalized understanding,
it seemed, that some day we would marry. So, when we began discussing marriage
it did not take much time to conclude that we would marry that summer and
that I would not resume my education. In retrospect it was an obviously dumb
decision but we were beyond logic and common sense.
Jean and I were both 19, that summer, and at that time it was necessary
to be 21 to obtain a marriage license without parental approval. We recognized
that Jean would have no problem getting her parents to approve but, we agreed,
it was unlikely that I would get the necessary approval. So, we decided to
go to a small town in Maryland where, we were told, a marriage license could be obtained,
illegally, from a sympathetic, and perhaps greedy, official. we bought weddings
bands and were heady with the prospect of marriage. With about fifty dollars
between us we took a bus to the Philadelphia suburbs to stay with one of
Jean's married friends as the first leg of our journey. Discussions there
convinced us that we only need alter our year of birth on our birth certificates
and obtain a license locally. we altered the birth certificates. It was alarmingly
obvious that they were altered. To our amazement a Justice of the Peace
issued our license.
After a fast trip to a doctor for our blood tests we decided we would go
to the home of Jean's married older sister, Evelyn Petroski, who lived in
West Fairview across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg. After our first
day at Evelyn's home, with Evelyn and her husband Pete as witnesses, we were
married by a Justice of the Peace in Enola, Pa. It wasn't until the midst
of the ceremony that the enormity of what we were doing hit me. Afterwards,
we four then returned to Evelyn's home and celebrated with a cake.
Now it was panic time. We had no money, no job and no place to call our
own. Evelyn and Pete were wonderful however. They graciously suggested we
stay with then until our situation improved. We quickly accepted and made
their attic our first "home". The day after our marriage I was off looking
for a job and was lucky to land one in a hurry. I became a Laborer for the
Pennsylvania Railroad. I worked in the diesel locomotive maintenance shop
at Cameron and Maclay Streets in Harrisburg. I cleaned the diesel engines
inside the locomotives. We sprayed a chemical solvent on those engines, which
were still hot after their run, and before long were enveloped with its vapor.
After several minutes in that enclosed environment, a solvent induced high
forced us out of those locomotives in order to sufficiently recover in fresh
air. I still wonder if that chemical exposure had, or will have some impact,
on my physical well being.
My Pennsylvania Railroad experiences also included:
- Mechanics Helper. I greased the gear boxes on locomotive drive wheels.
- Worked in the Harrisburg railroad station as a mail handler.
- At the Enola Car Shop where they took apart coal cars, refurbished the
parts, and then reassembled them. I sorted metal parts.
- In Downingtown, Pa., for a very brief time, I was a Gandy Dancer, (look
that up if you're curious).
- At the Enola Diesel Shop as a laborer. This was the 11:00 PM to 7:00
AM shift. By 3:30 AM, with metabolic slowdown, the chill, in Winter, could
not be overcome. It was common to take refuge in the nearby roundhouse, in
a steam locomotive with it's fire still giving off some warmth. That shift
was one of the most reprehensible of my working life.
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In order to beef up our income I took a part time job at a Food Fair supermarket.
The store was on either Reilly Street or Muench Street, (I can't remember),
just off Third Street. This included working all night on Friday, stocking
shelves, and then early Saturday morning unloading a truck full of grocery
items. I remember well my complete exhaustion by the time I got home. I would
also help out in the Deli or Fish departments when needed.
Because of an economic recession and the railroad industry's gradual decline,
I lost my job. It was lucky that we were able get approval for a residence
in the Harrisburg Hoverter Homes, a federal housing project on 13th Street.
The reduced rent helped immeasurably. But, conditions in that project made
one immediately aspire to get out. Our first daughter Carolyn was born when
we lived on Susquehanna Street. Our next two daughters, Gale and Judy, were
born when we lived in the Hoverter Homes. WE had two bedrooms so we were
a bit cramped. There was a kitchen and living room downstairs. All floors
were made of concrete. When we moved in, the downstairs was overrun with
waterbugs. It took several months to get them under control.
I was able to get another job at the Farm Bureau Insurance Company, on
Derry Street, in their stockroom. During my first year the company changed
its name to Nationwide Insurance. The stockroom maintained all paper products,
forms, and office supplies required by the local office and all claims adjusters
and agents. Nationwide Insurance was a great company to work for. They valued
their employees and worked at developing employee skills at all levels. Nationwide
was a paternalistic organization and encouraged employee participation in
all kinds of activities. I flourished in this environment and worked hard
to earn solid evaluations and to learn. Before long I was offered a job in
their Statistics Department. This was a unit with IBM Electric Accounting
Machines, (EAM). Thus began a lifelong career in data or information processing.
I loved the technical component of this work and studied manuals at home
seemingly every night. I soon became quite knowledgeable and was not bashful
about obnoxiously flaunting my skills, particularly with my boss. My dismal
interpersonal capabilities led to an average evaluation by my boss which
infuriated me and caused me to thereafter continuously seek a transfer. In
little time I was offered a position in Nationwide's White Plains, NY regional
office as a technician in their Statistics department.
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