The Year Between.

A). Greenville Construction. June through August. I got a job with Dale Rissmiller, Greenville homebuilder. Worked for carpenters building a house, North Greenville. That is demanding work. Wonderful crew, beers after work on Fridays. Best part of summer at Eldora Speedway, Friday night. Dance halls, Crystal Ball, Wednesday night, Frenchtown Friday night etc. much fun.

B). US Air Force. San Antonio basic training was no harder than Culver Military Academy. Mostly college grad students. Not a terribly interesting time. Old San Antonio Riverwalk was the high point. Transferred to Amarillo, Texas, where I finished six months tour of duty.

Stories:

1). Amarilla, Texas. Joe Strom, my Princton roommate, and I were transferred to Amarillo Air Force Base. Because we were older, we were made barracks chiefs. (Special privileges, Saturday and Saturday nights off.) We went to town and checked into the main hotel in downtown. This hotel was having a convention. In order to purchase liquor, you had to go to a drugstore, located in the basement of the hotel. We went to our rooms, it was noon. We then got an elevator on the eighth floor to go down to the drugstore. The people filling up the elevator were mostly intoxicated. The door opened on the mezzanine; a big convention sign, Welcome West Texas Alcoholics Anonymous Association!!

2). Another time hitchhiked from downtown Amarillo back to base. Rancher picked me up in an old pickup truck. He said I am a very poor rancher. I asked "How many acres?". He said 4000. If you saw that country with nothing but tumbleweeds. 200 acres would not support one head of cattle. He was right!

3). Mission Impossible. After Air Force service, Grandfather Coppock arranged for me to have a job at the Trust Department of Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio. I wanted to be in Columbus, because Susie Vietor, the one that got away, had transferred from University of Colorado to Otterbein College. Mission impossible; Struck out. Off to Miami, Fl to work on Granddad’s new Marine company Bone Schultz.(There were benefits. First my roommate, a friend from Greenville, Bill McGreevy, Ohio State student, fascinating. Later, Prof. at Berkeley and then top economist for World Bank. My boss, Mr. Herman, Trust Department, later President of National Bank of Ohio and later my banker for Nelson.)

4). "I Think They Is Indians". Driving to Florida through South Carolina, the very deep South, I had remembered reading about my Mother's Quaker family. They had been abolitionists and had fought against slavery. They were forced to leave Newberry, South Carolina in 1798. They moved to Pleasant Hill, Ohio, an area for settlers. I knew the approximate location of their South Carolina village. I drove down a back country road and there was a general store. Two old geezers were sitting on the porch in rocking chairs. I asked them if they knew of any of my family in the area. I gave Clem the names. Clem said, "Jonah, you know any Miles families in the area?" Jonah said "Can't say that I do". Clem said, "Jonah, You know any Coates families in the area?" Jonah replied "Can't say that I do.". Clem then asked Jonah," Do you know any people named Furnas around here?" Jonah said, "Can't say that I do". Finally, Clem asked if he ever heard of any Coppocks around here? Jonah then scratched his head awhile and said "Well Clem, there are some that I've heard about. Young man, if you go down this road about 6 miles you will cross over a bridge. Right after that there's a dirt road to the right going up about 6 miles into the hill country.. There are a few old shacks up there. The people up there the "Coppocks ", says they is Indians, but I think they is "N's". I said, thanks, and jumped in the car and took off full speed ahead for Miami.

5). At Bones, Schultz. I worked as a deckhand on a barge with a huge crane. We drove pilings and built docks. The crane had a long cable that came down to the deck and had a large iron attachment on it. It was secured by two ropes. Another worker was 30 years or so and had been a minor officer in the US Navy. He always bragged about his skills and seamanship etc. We were being towed through Bear Cut, a narrow channel that separates South Miami Beach from Fishers Island. Extremely heavy waves. The rope snapped and the iron attachment kept swinging back and forth across the deck. Extremely dangerous. The ex-Navy guy jumped overboard. I was able to get another rope around it and secure it. From that moment on, I was one of the guys!

6). Fort Lauderdale. Home, while working at Bone Schultz, I stayed at a little motel in Fort Lauderdale. The Teafords, good friends from Greenville who had moved to Fort Lauderdale By the Sea. I visited them a number of times. It was a new development with houses and condos, first-class. They had a lovely house. Years later, seeing Peter and Lynn, totally different world! High-rises!!