Excerpts of 57 Years

(Ed and Sue)

Part One

Once upon a time, a long time ago in 1947, Ed New and I married. We left our families in north LA, for a job in Texas City. We made the trip in a 1932 Chevrolet without a sign of a brake, and we made it safely although there was one small scare. That is authentic proof that the Lord was with us from the very first, and continued to be the Protector of our home and family to this good day. Going over 400 miles without brakes showed our very young ages, which was 18 and 16.  He had graduated high school and I quit the 12^th grade. My double first cousin, my age, married, and he was Ed’s age. The car belonged to him.

Because the ships exploded in April 1947, the little coastal town of Texas City was devastated, with over 600 deaths and 3,500 injured. That is how Ed had come to be there. A friend of his older brother told Ed jobs were plentiful there and so, after graduating in May 1947, he left and immediately found work in a Pay Roll Office. He had a place to stay by renting a room in the house of his brother’s friend. He wrote me every day and when school started in September; the Post Office was on the way home from school. I picked up our mail and read my letter as I continued, much more slowly in a dream world all my own. In October, his father became ill and Ed returned home to see about his parents. The down side of that was, his job could not manage without someone, so he had to quit. It was under those conditions we married and headed back to Texas City.

However, due to the influx of countless families, houses were scarce. People poured in to the tiny town to help in repairing, rebuilding and helping survivors, thus Ed and I lived in a hotel the first three weeks there. We ate all our meals in a restaurant, as did many others until a house was available. Ed and the other couple with us, found a small, but very nice, two-bedroom house and the four of us moved in. Maxine and I knew the basics of cleaning, laundry and cooking but the ‘basics’ left much to be desired. For example, we washed clothes in the bathtub with a rub board. The weather was humid, sometimes our clothes did not dry on the line, and we would have to bring them in and finish drying in the house. We both knew how to iron.

Ed went to Ford Bacon and Davis Construction Company and put in his application. When the man asked him had he ever done millwright work, he told him no, but he had taken his bicycle apart and put it back together and kept it running well. The man then said they really didn’t need anyone and why did he (Ed), want to work there. Ed replied, ‘I got married and I need a job.’ The man said, ‘Yes, you do and come in tomorrow as third year journeyman.’ He loved the job. My cousin’s husband, also, found a job.

In the mornings, Maxine and I made breakfast and got the boys off to work. Their places of work were close so they went together. After they left, we made the beds, cleaned the kitchen and then played paper dolls on the living room floor. At times, the property owner would drop by to check on her house she rented us. If one blemish was on the lovely hardwood floor, she would insist we clean it up as she supervised. In later years, it was a comical memory but at the time, it was very serious business. Ed and I attended church the first Sunday after we arrived never took our blessings for granted.

Therefore, once upon a time, many years ago, Ed and I began life together. This song and lyrics are indicative of the life we began in 1947 and the life we maintained all those years:

I am a sailor and you’re my first mate
We signed on together, we coupled our fate
We hauled up our anchor determined not to fail
For the hearts treasure together we set sail

With no maps to guide us we steered our own course
We rode out the storms when the winds were gale force
We sat out the doldrums in patience and hope
Working together we learned how to cope

Life is an ocean, love is a boat
In troubled waters it keeps us afloat
When we started the voyage
There was just me and you
Now gathered around us we have our own crew

Together we’re in this relationship
We’ve built it with care to last the whole trip
Our true destination is not marked on any chart
We’re navigating for the shores of the heart

(lyrics written by Johnny Duhan)

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