The Last Leg of the Circumnavigation: West Virginia at night in 1955/56: a Wild Ride! And more car trouble! But first: A Lesson in Labor Relations and Other Complications During that second week at Ford, we started to work one morning and the car would not start. Maybe, it was the battery. It just wouldn’tContinue reading “HOME — Trip 7: Closing the Circle — Back to Tennessee”
Author Archives: kathrynhayeslangley
Cheyenne and a Thousand Lights — Only It Was Cattle
Things were pretty uneventful for a while. Although once in the middle of the night we were sailing along and came upon what looked like a million lights glowing in the highway ahead. A herd of cattle were strung out across the highway. That is one of the traffic hazards common to this area —Continue reading “Cheyenne and a Thousand Lights — Only It Was Cattle”
Texas-California and north, including the Hitchhiker
Texas Next, we headed for Texas. Now, you are probably beginning to think, ‘Don’t you ever stop at a motel and sleep?’ The answer is: no. First, we didn’t have enough money to afford a bed every night. At that rate we have burned through our cash in a week. So, we pretty much keptContinue reading “Texas-California and north, including the Hitchhiker”
On the Road, Again- includes brief first trip through Athens, Georgia
The lecture/interrogation probably didn’t take long, but given my state of anxiety it seemed to last half the night. After the lecture, he handed me a ticket the size of which wiped out all the funds for college tuition and books for the next school term. I had worked hard every day after class forContinue reading “On the Road, Again- includes brief first trip through Athens, Georgia”
Creede back to Valley Forge
Memoirs of a Young Wanderer — Part Two Trip 4 (Continued) New Trip: Creede, The Sawmill It took us a half day to unbolt the differential on my car, pull it out, and bolt in the new “used” one. By early afternoon we were on the road again — heading into the big “D” (Dallas)Continue reading “Creede back to Valley Forge”
Copperhill-Creede
Parts of this section are a repeat after a long hiatus. Memoirs of a Young Wanderer The Copperhill Gang Tennessee, the views from the high mountain peaks, and the woods just across the back pasture with all its mysterious trails and glades kept calling — memories of childhood, constantly rumbling, kept calling. The electric streetcarsContinue reading “Copperhill-Creede”
Detroit 2 cont- Copperhill Gang
Now on top of all of this came my introduction to the Copperhill Gang. Lou was from the Copperhill/Ducktown part of Tennessee so it was natural for others from Copperhill to look him up when they arrived in town. As a result, I gradually became connected with the small community of Copperhill people of myContinue reading “Detroit 2 cont- Copperhill Gang”
Detroit 2 (continued)
The Street Scene, Woodward Avenue Snow. Beautifully decorated Christmas trees and storefronts. Electric streetcars. Crowds of shoppers, wealthy ladies, chauffer-driven limousines, beautiful Christmas music, and my boss driving down Grand River in his new Lincoln-my envy. All of these sensations and more from 60, some now 70 years ago, continue to flood my consciousness whenContinue reading “Detroit 2 (continued)”
Detroit 2: The Second Round
Rambler post 3, Trip #2 Prelude: I hitched a ride with some Southerner searching for the promised land, i.e. a job that paid “real” money. For southerners of the mountain south that meant Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, etc. High school was behind me. Now I had to face the world. I had to find out whatContinue reading “Detroit 2: The Second Round”
College: first try- Fall 1954
Rambler section 2 With my Uncle Jim’s help (generosity) I was able to acquire a motorcycle that provided my transportation from Valley Forge into town to work. It was another risk. I never carried insurance of any type, I never even thought of it. I was able to get a job at a service stationContinue reading “College: first try- Fall 1954”
Map of a Mountain Man 