Best of Times

Best of Times*

My early years were The Best of Times. I was born in the "Land of the Deplorable's". The period was 1937 to 1963, end of the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the roaring 50s. Times of great change, opportunity for all, rich or poor. No class warfare, no political correctness, a time of mutual respect. I experienced, from my country friends in Greenville to new wealthy east coast friends, a commonality of purpose and optimism, no class divisiveness. My life's "education" began in the Park. It then progressed through the North Enders, (I was uniquely fortunate to have Out of Greenville Experiences) to grades 7 – 11, to Princeton, the military year, and then Columbia Law and Business Schools (No cancel culture professors). The Best of Times ranged from eating frog legs from the pond in the Park to eating kosher blintzes on Central Park West. Best friends ranged from Greenville, poor "bugaboo" Lantz, to Baltimore, Hunt Valley, to the manor born, Bonsal. I have attempted to supplement my experiences with a number of stories, Game Changer's, Special Moments, etc. I especially encourage my grandchildren to read the Brumbaugh, Coppock, Sweeterman Genealogies and Family Histories.

Prologue. The Park. My life began in the Park in relative isolation. Early life experiences prepare one to deal with many of life's challenges. My early years in the Park were the best. The composite of friends and stories below illustrate from whence I came. The Park as I define it, was the land my grandfather developed as a state park, adjunct to the city Park. It comprised the land between Greenville to the east and the city Park football stadium, baseball diamonds, city swimming pool to the northwest. In the 1930's, Granddad dredged in the levees on both sides of Greenville Creek. On the city side, he built two ponds and the monument to the Greenville Peace Treaty. On the north side, he built three ponds and the Girl Scout house. To the west to North Broadway were soybean fields. Dad and Mother built our house across from the Girl Scout house in 1939. Dad and our neighbor Bill Browne owned and later developed all of the five block area (empty fields) from our house to North Broadway. There were five houses, only three families with children. The Brumbaugh's, the Brownes, and the Sayles. Children: Fred, Hilda, Martha, Bill Brown and Meredith. Billy Brown was my best friend and 14 months my senior. His mother Kay, my second mother. Parent's best friends, Meredith Sayle and Fred, classmate throughout school, wonderful friend. Total freedom to roam, to fish, gig frogs, hunt mushrooms, get in trouble. Home for lunch at noon. Home for dinner at 6 o'clock. Be good boys! The good life.. the best education. (No Cover Parents). All six children, great success stories. (See Out of Greenville Experiences), Click to: know the rest of the story:

Prologue. The Park.

My life began in the Park in relative isolation. Early life experiences prepare one to deal with many of life's challenges. My early years in the Park were the best. The composite of friends and stories below illustrate from whence I came. The Park as I define it, was the land my grandfather developed as a state park, adjunct to the city Park. It comprised the land between Greenville to the east and the city Park football stadium, baseball diamonds, city swimming pool to the northwest. In the 1930's, Granddad dredged in the levees on both sides of Greenville Creek. On the city side, he built two ponds and the monument to the Greenville Peace Treaty. On the north side, he built three ponds and the Girl Scout house. To the west to North Broadway were soybean fields. Dad and Mother built our house across from the Girl Scout house in 1939. Dad and our neighbor Bill Browne owned and later developed all of the five block area (empty fields) from our house to North Broadway. There were five houses, only three families with children. The Brumbaugh's, the Brownes, and the Sayles. Children: Fred, Hilda, Martha, Bill Brown and Meredith. Billy Brown was my best friend and 14 months my senior. His mother Kay, my second mother. Parent's best friends, Meredith Sayle and Fred, classmate throughout school, wonderful friend. Total freedom to roam, to fish, gig frogs, hunt mushrooms, get in trouble. Home for lunch at noon. Home for dinner at 6 o'clock. Be good boys! The good life.. the best education. (No Cover Parents). All six children, great success stories. (See Out of Greenville Experiences),

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Prologue: North Enders

The North End is the area where all of the elementary students went to the North School. From Grandfather Coppock's house to all West Greenville, the park, the cemetery etc. It was in many ways separate from the rest of the town. The residences ranged from the town's wealthiest to the town's poorest. From Uncle Edward Hole, Phi Beta Kappa Princeton to Herkimer Arnet who lived next to the dump and pushed a cart as he searched people's garbage. From cousin Jean Louise, Radcliffe, Harvard Business School, to JoAnn Swank Lear, my lifetime friend, who grew up in abject poverty by the railroad track, graduated from Miami of Ohio with honors. It was during the war, the years after when everybody supported everybody. All people worked together. There was no jealousy. Religion, race or economic status did not influence relationships. I came from the wealthiest family in town and my best friends are some of the poorest. The North School was great, the teachers the best. The best description is not of the geography, but of the people, the teachers, the superstars and the success stories of all my good friends.

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Prologue, 7-12. The class comprised of 150 students. About one quarter of the students were from the farms. The majority of families were middle-class laborers, factory workers and shopkeeper’s children. Some very poor families, a few black and hispanic families. It was a great diversity of religion, Catholic, all varieties of Protestant, a few Jewish families and a few Holy Rollers. Everybody got along. Regardless of background, so many success stories. Great teachers. Great coaches. Great summer jobs. For so many the sky was the limit. (Greenville High School, 2021. Second rate teachers. Few, if any, students admitted to top colleges. Drugs an issue. Unsafe neighborhoods.) Click to: know the rest of the story:	Add Photo of Hall

Prologue, 7-12.

The class comprised of 150 students. About one quarter of the students were from the farms. The majority of families were middle-class laborers, factory workers and shopkeeper’s children. Some very poor families, a few black and hispanic families. It was a great diversity of religion, Catholic, all varieties of Protestant, a few Jewish families and a few Holy Rollers. Everybody got along. Regardless of background, so many success stories. Great teachers. Great coaches. Great summer jobs. For so many the sky was the limit. (Greenville High School, 2021. Second rate teachers. Few, if any, students admitted to top colleges. Drugs an issue. Unsafe neighborhoods.)

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Prologue. Princeton: The Quantum Leap – from Bugaboo to Bonsal

Senior year, my advisor, Mr. Mehan suggested that with some tutoring for my college SAT’s, I could go to the school of my choice. I visited both Princeton and Harvard. I much preferred Princeton. It proved to be one of my best choices. First day at Princeton, white suit and blue suede shoes, I did not know one student. Four years later, tweed coat and dozens of my life’s best friends. Great courses, great teachers, great experiences. It was a Quantum Leap from the North End. The academic environment at Princeton was very different then now. Awful things happened. They posted our grades, humiliating, (1 the best 7 the worst, 5 failures first semester, 4 failures second semester) for all to see on the doors of Alexander Hall. Sociology and Economic courses were not politicized; not courses like “Indonesian Studies of Oppression” or Destruction of White Supremacy 104, or Economics 804. Castro Economics at Work. Art department the best. Great history courses! Students could say pretty much anything without being corrected. No speech codes. No rewriting history. However, I did hear Alger Hiss, communist spy WWII, speak freshman year and Fidel Castro speak senior year. I wonder how many professors from the Hoover Institute would be allowed to speak today. Those were the best of times. Now freedom of speech? Woodrow Wilson?

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Prologue. Military Year In 1959, military service was mandatory. I elected to go to the Air Force Reserve. Immediately after graduation, construction work in Greenville. September, Lackland Air Force Base San Antonio, basic training. March, back to Columbus, Ohio for a brief job at Huntington Bank Trust Department. The summer Marine construction work for grandfather Coppock’s Miami, Bone Shultz. Click to: know the rest of the story:

Prologue. Military Year

In 1959, military service was mandatory. I elected to go to the Air Force Reserve. Immediately after graduation, construction work in Greenville. September, Lackland Air Force Base San Antonio, basic training. March, back to Columbus, Ohio for a brief job at Huntington Bank Trust Department. The summer Marine construction work for grandfather Coppock’s Miami, Bone Shultz.

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Prologue: Columbia Law and Business School

Manhattan’s Upper West Side was a life-changing experience. The other side of the planet from the North End. Not the Manhattan I knew as a child or at Princeton. From 59th St. to 85th St., it was mostly white, some very wealthy and very left wing with “attitudes”. First year, 123rd St. and Morningside Drive two blocks from 125th, the center of Harlem. Second year, 100 Street and Central Park West. No go zones, mixed bag neighborhood. Third and fourth-year married Carol. Kapok St. in Riverdale overlooking Harlem River. Three very different venues, experiences. I learned the way of the Westside, great diversity, people, food and culture. From kosher food at the 85th St. Deli to jazz at the Club Prelude, 125th St. and Broadway. Most Exciting! Made lifelong friends, married and started new chapter. (The sad Westside Story. The area north of 85th St., 1960, rats, crime, trash in the streets. The 2020 virus, rats, crime, trash in the streets. Full cycle!)

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