by Debra L. Ness | Sep 3, 2014 | stories
Amable Alvarez grew up in a poor, rural village in Spain. As a child, he never got the chance to attend school because his family couldn’t afford to be without his help on the farm. But, every once in a while, Amable would slip away to listen outside the village schoolhouse, following along with the lessons and learning how to read and write using a stick and dirt. As a teenager, Amable’s drive inspired him to take a boat to the United States in order to work in the steel mills of Ohio, where he put in long days and saved all his money. He eventually returned to Spain to try and start a small business, but the strains of the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship led him to return to the United States — this time with his wife, Isolina. Because he had no formal education, Amable worked as a laborer and eventually became a building superintendent in New York City. He was bright, handy and could do it all when it came to building maintenance — despite being self-taught. He learned English by reading the Encyclopedia Britannica and The New York Times. In a short time, he was managing several buildings and making a decent living during tough economic times. Isolina was right there with him. She never learned to read or write, but she raised their three children, and did the traditional work of a man to protect the family’s livelihood. Amable and Isolina were a team. Isolina didn’t get paid, but her contributions made Amable’s job and success possible. And she raised their children...
by Rebecca Gillispie (VanFossan) | Sep 3, 2014 | stories
Roger Mack VanFossan was my father’s name. He was my children’s grandfather. My friends and family knew how much he meant to me, I want my children to know also. “Mack” is what most people called him and that name described him very well. When I think of The name Mack, I think of a truck. Mack trucks label their trucks to be ” born ready for the toughest road conditions and long haul”. Quoted from their website. That was my dad. He was born in the small town of Beaver , Ohio. My great grandmother and grandfather raised him. At the age of 13, he worked at the gas station in town. He washed car windshields and pumped gas. He grew older and raced cars with his buddies winning several trophies. I loved to hear those racing stories. Raven Rock and the old Atomic Speedway were his favorites. He loved rock n roll,as did most teens in the 50’s. Elvis, Chuck Berry,etc. Yes ,before segregation, kids, music knew no color. He loved gospel music. He said that ” Grandma Kate was going to make sure that he was saved…even if he was kicking and screaming the whole way to church.” He loved your grandmother, my mom. He had a car accident and his left arm was shattered. He said that he prayed to God that he could keep his arm. Luckily for dad, his friend Doc decided to scrape bone from his hip and rebuild the bone in his arm with it. To my knowledge , this had never been done before. Dad’s arm healed with only minimal...
by Mr Charles W Johnston | Sep 3, 2014 | stories
My Grandfather managed a nice uptown hotel. When it closed, he was forced to take a job as a janitor. He taught me to never think that any job was below me.
by Anne Hart | Sep 2, 2014 | stories
I’m a grandparent of three medical students. I am retired now, but for the past 50 years, I worked at home writing books, 87 paperback books of mine are still in print. I also wrote lots of articles. Many of them are still online. In fact, many of my-same-age classmates are great grand parents now. I began writing June 17, 1959. You’re welcome to join my Facebook group on writing at home at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthresearchnews/ My paperback books are listed at amazon.com under the titles. What I taught my grandchildren about work was stay in medical school because it’s the only game in town where you won’t be fired due to old age discrimination alone, assuming you’re healthy enough as a senior to do your job well. I’m still writing, listening to music, and illustrating. And my great grandparents had to beat the quotas to get into medical school…,.Honoring my dad’s sister’s son, Jack, an M.D. who went to a U.S. medical school when it cost an affordable price in the 1920s. My dad’s sister was born in the 1870s. Her parents both were born in 1854. Dad was born in 1894, the youngest of 8...
by dooner | Sep 2, 2014 | stories
My Grandfather was a Union man. But not every Union campaign can be successful. So after 19 years, when the Union ignored the workers and management, and pushed too far, seeing the shop close and move to another state, he lost everything he worked for. There was no more Union job to ensure a retirement or the welfare of his family. When he died at a mere 57 years of age, my grandmother was left to fend for herself. Fortunately, my father was able to take her in and support her through her many years of elderly life (with many more to come). Because those Union benefits were gone. 19 years of work meant nothing. So, as a proud Union member (much to my father’s dismay) in a heavily Union industry, I have dedicated myself to working for my brothers and sisters, and those we seek to organize, to ensure the same NEVER happens to them. In short, the “bad old days” are the past and this ain’t your grand daddy’s Union movement but rather a new breed of workers helping workers fighting to improve the plight of those who labor every day. Sure bad things happened in the past. There were in fact some despicable people involved in this thing years ago. But don’t judge me on then. Judge me on what the Labor Movement is doing NOW and trying to do for TOMORROW. We won’t win every campaign. But we’ll fight like hell, listen to the workers, and be there to help them in their times of...
