Choose a link below to visit an area of interest. On a phone? Tap the three-line menu to view the links.”
The Path Leads Onward and Upward
Prelude to College and Beyond
Dr. Milton A Lites
9/8/20262 min read
My post content
After graduation from High School, I did a job for my brother Charles. Since his interest was in forestry, he intended to grow pine trees in the forest behind our house. He purchased a device that loaded a liquid that would poison the oak trees so the pine trees would grow. I would jab the point into the tree and squirt the poison in the tree. After working several days, I suppose that I either finished the job or gave up on it. Then my cousin Herman asked if I would work for him in cutting down the pine trees that grew in the pasture where he hoped to have a herd of cattle. What a switch!! From poisoning oak trees so pine trees would grow to chopping down pine trees so cattle could grow.
At this point, I was strongly considering enlisting in the military because my real job possibilities had not materialized. My Dad did his best to talk me out of it. Then one afternoon as I was slaving away cutting down pine trees, my Dad came hurrying over to tell me that my sister Dee was on the phone about a job in Ft Worth. And just like that, I was on my way to Fort Worth to work at Hobbs Manufacturing Company. Austin, my sister Dee's husband was the personnel manager for the trailer manufacturing company and I would be working in the parts department. It was an easy job, as my responsibility was to keep each bin of parts adequately supplied. Dee and Austin lived in a tiny apartment near an intersection of University and 7th Street. With only one bedroom I slept on a mat in the living room. After they went to bed, I began watching the Tonight Show with Steve Allen, and of course with no air conditioning they left their door open and they could hear the TV no matter how low I turned the volume. One night they invited me to join them at a local restaurant where they ordered beer and offered to buy me one. Being new to the freedom I was enjoying, I accepted and had my first taste of liquor. They asked me if I had ever had it before and I lied because I was embarassed to admit that it was a first for me. It would be my last adventure with spirits, On a positive note, I began attending Connell Baptist Church on Dee's recommendation, and enjoyed the music and services there. The music director asked me to sing in a mixed quartet, something I was glad to do. There was another first, a shock for me. One of the young people called me and during the conversation told me he was deeply in love with me. It was all I could do to continue attending the church. I also began dating one of the young female members of the church. That lasted until I went home to Louisiana for college and Louisiana Polytechnic Institute. I had a girl friend there, but she was going steady with another boy, so that did not last long. So I returned home to Mt Zion with all the money I had earned during the summer and made plans to enroll in La Tech along with my neighborhood friend Rudolph. He had a car which made it convenient for the trip to Ruston. My college adventure began there.
