I was born September 13,1912 in Coraopolis Pa.<friday>. At my age of 18 months my father and mother were divorced. My sister went to live with our mother. They took up residence in Pittsburgh, Pa. My brother <Joseph> and I moved to New Castle, Pa. to live with our father. At the time, my father had a fine business. One side of the store was kind of a general store. His merchandise consisted of medical goods, fresh fruit, a soda counter and stools and tables, cakes of all kinds, <my favorites were the moonbeams with the marshmallow topping on a cookie, and cookie topped with chocolate marshmallow and a nut> and there was a "penny" show case of delicious candy <again my favorite was the maple drops>. There was also the normal type of drugs such as aspirins, laxatives, skin creams, etc. Of course there was also canned goods normally carried in all grocery stores. On the side of the store was a meat market, run by one of my uncles. Another uncle drove the delivery truck.

I believe that my next is probably my starting school. Normally a prospective student would start at the age of six. My father, in order to be rid of me being under foot, started me at the age of five, telling the school supervisors that I was born in 1911 rather than 1912. This came to haunt me in later life. This was the only time that my birth was recorded as 1911. My history from that time on was recorded as 1912, as you will see later on how the year 1911 caused me much trouble. I did very well in school until the fourth year in high school, when my father forced me to quit in order to go to work, that because of the depression which started late in 1929.

In order to make a job for me, my father bought six chickens for the superintendent of the Shenango Pottery Co. While waiting for him to assign me to my job, the manager of the company store came into the super's office and asked him if he could have me to work in the company store. The super was glad to be relieved of needing to find an assignment for me. So for the next five years I spent sweeping the store's wooden floor, cleaning a bushel of onions and a bushel of potatoes, stocking the shelves with canned goods and waiting on the customers. After my five year stint, since the manager had to retire because of tuberculosis, the job was assigned to one of the women clerks. However, the job was too much for her, so the company closed the store.

At the closing of the store I needed to look for another job. I don't know how my mother knew about my predicament, but she called and invited me to Pittsburgh to attend a business school. I accepted. It turned out to be a very good school. I took the executive secretarial course ,which I knew nothing about, especially short hand. The one course that I took to was accounting. It was to be my lifetime's work. My movement in this area was from Union Steel <prior to a very short time as a steel chipper on the midnight shift. Brother was I glad to get out of this> as a payroll accountant. Then I went to several short time jobs, and finally to Dravo where I spent the rest of my working years <31>. I retired February 1st, 1974. At the moment, March 6, 1994, I am now 81 years and 5 months. AND THIS IS MY LIFE TO DATE ! There is one thing I have failed to mention, ie. On September 13,1937 I married a pretty little girl of 18 years old. Subsequently we were blessed with three of the best sons that can be given to a pair of human beings. They are called Kenneth, Melvin and Clyde.