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Jack Patton
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I am the son of Harry Clyde and Mary Jane Patton. I was born February 11, 1918 in Beachview, Pa. My formative years were spent on my parent's farm in Albion. We lived a simple country life, hard but simple by today’s standards. I was raised with four older brothers (James, Henry, Paul, Clyde) and two older sisters (Helen and Elizabeth). A brother, Lockwood, died at the age of 3. I was the youngest in the family.
The farm was a mile or so outside of Albion, Pa. and consisted of approximately 30 acres. The farming consisted primarily of growing vegetables, for family consumption, and corn and hay for the animals. In addition to several cows we had two horses which were used to plow and till the fields. I remember riding the horse while my brothers handled the plow and other equipment. In addition to that we had a large chicken coop and maintained a flock of about 1500 white leghorn chickens. I recall mother at the kitchen table, holding up eggs in front of a device with a candle in it, to check them.
We didn’t have the benefit of running water, however we did have an inside pump for water, no furnace or bathtub, just one wood burning stove in the living room and one in the kitchen for cooking. Saturday night was bath night in a galvanized tub with water heated on the stove. With no inside toilet we had to use the 4 holer outside. I believe I was eight or nine years old when we moved from the farm to Bellevue. Dad, being a barber, would give us all hair cuts every couple of weeks.
I attended Bellevue High School and graduated in 1936. I played two years of varsity football, two years of varsity basketball and one year of varsity track. The most enjoyable time I spent with my dad was on the golf course. He and Harry (owner of the Barbershop ) and I would trek off to North Park golf course for a fun game. I believe at this time I was about 17/18. Dad bought me a starter set of clubs for $25.00. They were plenty good enough for me as I had never played before. This is when I found out that my Dad forgot how to count (strokes that is). If he were in a sand trap, after several strokes trying to get out of the trap he would resort to the hand mashie ( picking up his ball and throwing it on to the green.) In questioning him he would say, "We don’t want to stay here all day." Our game was all for fun anyway, score wasn’t all that important.
After graduating from high school, my first job was driving an ice truck. From there I went to work for the National Supply Co. in Pittsburgh, then on to the Frigidaire Div. of GM, and then to Dravo Corp.
Then came the Army. I was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Force on June 8, 1942 in Greensburg, PA. I then went to New Cumberland, PA, then on to Miami Beach, FL for basic training, arriving there 10:00 AM on June 13, 1942. Then I was shipped to Jefferson Barracks, MO for completion of basic training. I was shipped out to England where I was attached, as a clerk, to the finance section of the 9th Air Force Command Unit. My duties included setting up accounting systems and computing enlisted men and officers' pay. During this time I was promoted through various ranks to Master Sergeant. I also spent time in France, Belgium, and Holland.
I left Holland for home on December 15, 1944 traveling over a road that was taken by the Germans the very next day. Shirley met me in New York and we decided to do some sightseeing. The Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty were high on our list. After visiting the top of the Empire State Building, we took the boat out to the Statue of Liberty. Not wanting to miss anything, we decided to go up to the top. The only way up was via a spiral staircase. About half way to the top, I got drenched. Somebody up above us got sick and vomited. Most of it landed on me! We were several blocks from our hotel which made for a very stinky taxicab ride back to the hotel.
Shirley and I were sent to Miami Beach for some R & R. We were then assigned to Seymour Johnson Field in Goldboro, NC, then to Bradley Field in CT, and finally to Mitchell Field in NY, where I received my discharge papers. I was honorably discharged on September 19, 1945.
I had been dating Miss Shirley Garver since high school. We were married on February 7, 1942, at the home of Shirley’s parents on Sprague Ave. in Bellevue, PA. This was 4 months prior to my being drafted into the Army. It was during my service that Shirley worked as a secretary for a VP at Union Trust Co. She resigned this job when I came back from overseas duty.
Upon being discharged from the service I returned to Frigidaire in Pittsburgh, later being transferred to the Dayton, OH office, and then to the Denver, CO office, at which time we purchased a home in Broomfield, CO, where Shirley and I still reside.
I left Frigidaire after a few years and secured employment as the controller with the Western Corporation. After the Western Corporation was sold, three colleagues and I formed a floor covering distributorship, R.C. Price Company, from which I retired in 1983.
Shirley and I have 3 children as follows.
Jack Garver
Our grandchildren, Jessica Shenee Patton (11-18-81) and Tyler Michael Patton (7-28-86) are Jack Garver Patton's children and Andrew Patton Sedlmayr (4-9-83) is Susan Lee Patton's son. As of 2003, all of us reside in the Denver, CO area.
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