Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife
While awaiting his turn to be drafted into the Army during the UN’s “Korean Police action,” Grandfather took advantage of a friend’s neon sign business.
The friend pumped and sealed leaking neon sign tubing Grandfather took off defunct signs for repair and re-installation.
Grandfather designed a business card and got them printed …
… painted “Lite Rite Neon Signs” on the doors of his ’36 Chevrolet sedan, tied some ladders on top and set out doing business.
Grandfather had to be careful, because the Teamsters Union, under Dave Beck in those days, was running a legalized protection racket in Detroit, whereby small businesses, often sole proprietors like grandfather, had to purchase a Union card or suffer the consequences (the cards weren’t cheap either!)
Anyway … Grandfather made a few bucks for a few months and Grandmother-to-be had to ride in that old car with the ladders on top when we went roller skate dancing. We were plush, with Chicago Precision roller skates in carrying cases with “Riverside Rollerdrome” painted on them – a favorite hangout, in 1951.
***
About the Author: RD Blakeslee is a nonagenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family
This old man occasionally dreams he’s driving that ’36 Chevrolet. Nothing in the dream about ladders on top, though, and the road is unfamiliar.
Someday, Dave, you need to make us a list of all the different jobs you did. I realize this will take a great deal of time and space, but I think we’d all be interested. (You can mark today’s off your list.) 🙂
Thank you for the beautiful story Mr. Dave. In my mind, I see you and your girlfriend laughing as you drive to the skating rink.
You brought back some of my own happy memories. I thank you.
Well Bill, we did laugh some on those rides – as long as it wasn’t raining or snowing, because if it was, m’love was too busy working the windshield wipers.
Here you go, Gee:
Newspaper delivery boy.
Wound the silk wrappings on bamboo flyrods.
Repaired toy electric trains returned under warranty in a hobby store.
Built solid balsa models of prospective manufactured products.
Bagged groceries in a supermarket.
Bagged powdered soap for a janitorial service company.
Department store window dresser.
Helped harvest and place loose hay in a barn loft.
Assembly line worker at Ford and Chrysler.
Inspector at Cadillac.
Loaded fenders in boxcars at a Fisher Body plant.
Licensed real estate salesman in Michigan.
Painted signs on business buildings.
Bought, and rented a out, a house and parking spaces.
Bought, repaired and sold used 1950s SAAB automobiles.
U.S Patent Examiner 1957-1974.
Farmed hard red winter wheat in Minnesota.
Built the family house and outbuildings.
Built a classically bred Angus cow-calf herd.
Restored a derelict building for a piano teaching studio.
Served on the founding boards of the Monroe County Health Center and Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, WV.
Participated in the Restoration of that Carnegie Hall.
(probably) lastly, writing for Len Penzo’s blog.
Woops! Forgot one:
For awhile after I retired from the Patent Office, I repaired old wooden furniture for an antique dealer.