Thinking of Jesse Buttermore shipping her sons off to war… All eight boys would have sat at the crystal set on December 8, 1941 to hear President F. D. Roosevelt declare war on the Axis powers that had just brutally attacked Pearl Harbor.
I don’t know the dates nor the order but within a year or so, Vernie joined the Army, Paul joined the Navy, John joined the Marines, and Marcell, a recent Woodston graduate, joined the Army. When Charles graduated, 1942 or ’43, he too joined the Army.
Leon graduated in ’45, just 17 (He was 16 nearly all his senior year). He moved about for a year then when 18 in May of ’46, he joined the Marines. His folks took him to Wichita to board the train for San Diego and his mother said to him, “Now, Leon, you be a good boy.” As WWII was not officially over until December of ’46, he is a WWII veteran having never seen combat. (Jack, #8, joined the Marines and served in the Korean conflict. Alvin, the oldest, was exempted to stay and work the land.)
The spring of ’47 Leon was discharged from Great Lakes Naval Station and rode a bus home – standing the first hours as the bus was full.
The summer of ’47 he scooped wheat west of Stockton. One day the Woodston boys were in Stockton to look at the girls and the Stockton boys took exception to the visitors. Little did they realize that the Woodston guy but 5’9″ and 175 lb had just been in the Marines and was scooping wheat long hours every day. The fight that ensued was not much, for the Stockton boys were overmatched. Dad, with help, cleaned house.
That fall of ’47 Dad trekked off to York College following the lead of older brother Vernie and sister Mary. It was but a few weeks and some girl threw a paper airplane his direction. Little did she know that he was a Marine and had scooped wheat all summer and was more than ready for a fight. And this time she won!!!
The summer of ’48 Dad went with Marcel Myers on the wheat harvest to TX, OK, and KS. Sometime around mid-July, he was sent to NE and SD to scout out more work. Returning to KS he stopped in Grand Island, NE and bought a ring and went to Central City to ask Lois Jean to marry him. She agreed and aren’t we so ever glad!
That fall (’48) Lois had a teaching job in Brighton, CO and Dad took a job at Gates Hose and Clamp nearby. They were married December 22, 1948. The ceremony was at 5:00 in the pastor’s office with about 6 in attendance and then they went to a steak house for the reception and it was snowing. The next morning the snow was pretty deep but that did not stop them from striking out for Woodston and then to Central City before returning to Brighton.
A few weeks later Dad moved to KC to go to mechanic school on the G.I. Bill (early ’49). A few weeks later Mom was released from her teaching contract and moved to KC also.
Sometime in the fall of ’49 they moved to North Platte taking up residence at Elms Lodge and Dad found work at Hailer’s Buick garage on East 4th. December or January they moved to N. Adams where I was born, then to N. Hayes where Karen was born, then 1406 West 6th where Steve was born, and then 1314 West 6th where Jane was born. They moved to 2102 in June of ’59.
OK, Dad, you can clean up the errors!
a PK Musing 
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