by Ed Nelson
“How will the money work?”
“The Detroit Street house is worth eleven thousand dollars. We put twenty percent down and started with an eighty eight hundred dollar mortgage. At two percent interest, for thirty years, that works out as thirty two dollars for the month house payment.”
“We have checked with two local realtors and they both suggested we ask for seventy five dollars a month for the house. We would put away twenty dollars a month for repairs, insurance and it sitting empty.”
“That would give us twenty three dollars a month for the family budget. Our thinking is to get that house into shape, rent it out, and then buy others.”
“Duplexes seem to be the best bet as the cost wouldn’t be that much more and you could rent each side out for sixty dollars a month. That would be one hundred and twenty dollars a month income with a set aside of forty dollars or eighty dollars to the family for every duplex we own.”
Mum stepped in, “If we owned five units like that we would be making four hundred dollars a month which would more than replace Jacks railroad income in a good year. Seven units would allow for units sitting empty. Ten and we would be rich.”
“Let’s go for rich,” I replied.
“Dad I am big enough I now could help with home repairs and keep lawns mowed and things like that. We have enough left over that we could buy two units right now with twenty percent down.”
“Rick we can do better than that, the North Detroit house has seven thousand dollars in equity,” said Dad.
“What’s equity?”
The difference between what the house is worth and the amount we owe on it. We can take out a new loan up to eighty percent of the amount of equity we have. If we are careful on what we buy and how much money we need for repairs we can start out with five duplexes.”
“What do we have to do to start?”
“We have identified three units we would like to buy if the price and building conditions are right.”
“I am all for it!”
“Okay son, your mother and I feel that the ownership should be set up that the houses go to you if anything should happen to us. We are going to talk to a lawyer about how to make that happen.”
And that was the beginning of Jackson Housing.
My parents had one last question, “What is in that shipping box that is marked, Do Not Open?”
I told them about finding the gold and what the gold miners told me about gold being deregulated. Dad remembered everyone having to turn in their gold during the Great Depression. He remembered because it was a bitter joke in his house, they had no gold to turn in.
They agreed that we should look into that possibility because it could end up as a small fortune. In the meantime Dad would look into a safe deposit box to store it.
They also had some information for me.
Dad said, “George Weaver of the Bellefontaine Examiner will be contacting you. He was called for information on you by a James Olsen out in Colorado after the bank robbery. George did not know much other than you weren’t known as a juvenile delinquent and had been a paperboy.”
While not a loner I didn’t have any close friends in my middle school years. Those friends from my grade school days had moved away. I knew most of the kids from my grade school but didn’t get invited to their birthday parties.
That was how you knew your social status in those days. I hadn’t any social status. I wasn’t an outcast. I just wasn’t in any of the groups.
The first thing I did the next day was go to J.C. Penny and buy new school clothes. All that I had that would fit me were my cowboy outfits. Those would do for the rodeo circuit and my singing appearances, but would get me teased to death in Bellefontaine.
Even if I must say so myself I looked good with my Ivy League pants (a buckle in the back) and a Cardigan. I also splurged on a pair of dirty bucks, a brown suede shoe. I thought about blue suede shoes, but Elvis hadn’t worn them when we went out together so I figured they must just be from the song.
I had mixed feelings about the start of the school year. I couldn’t wait to try out the idea of reading ahead and working the problems in advance of the class.
I did hate the idea of going back to school because I was fourteen years old, and all fourteen year olds disliked going back to school, I think it was a rule or something. I did like the idea of being in High School instead of Middle School. This meant I would be meeting new people (girls).
I didn’t know how I would be treated once word came out on my summer vacation. I wanted to tell everyone my story, but I didn’t want to be a braggart.
Getting the story out was taken care of before school started. George Weaver of the Bellefontaine Examiner rang the doorbell of our new home and asked for me.
He knew I was due home about now and wanted to talk to me before they printed anything. When Mum and Dad told me about the interview we agreed that I should tell him about the whole summer and share all the evidence that I had that it was true.
Dad was downtown talking to a lawyer about how to set up a business so Mum sat in on the interview. Mr. Weaver asked me to tell my story.
I prepared him with, “The story is more than you know, and I hope you have some time.”
I then launched into my summer trip.
The run up to the bank robbery I covered quickly. I shared the news article written in Colorado, the reward posters for John and Ernest Johnson. I also had a carbon copy of the FBI report and deposit slip for the rewards.
I then moved onto the bull riding and winning rodeos right up to the National Championship. For that I had trophies, ribbons, silver belt buckles and prize monies receipts.
I then showed him my Screen Actors Guild card and the deposit receipts for my Mickey Mouse Club appearances. They had also given me the viewing dates which were still a month in the future. At this point I think Mr. Weaver was going to have a fit. He was bouncing around in his chair.
When I got to the John Wayne and Elvis parts he couldn’t sit anymore. He kept notes while walking around the room. I showed him my pay receipts for “It Never Happened” and “Hell Fighters” along with my John Wayne autographed copy of Variety.
There was also my Oil Workers union card and paycheck stub for being a roughneck.
I thought he was going to have a heart attack when he learned about the rustling episode and my Texas Ranger badge.
We actually had to stop the interview for a while in fear of Mr. Weaver’s health. Apparently this was the biggest story he ever had. Mum offered him tea but he declined saying he had an ulcer. She then brought him a glass of milk for which he was grateful.
The last news I had to tell him was about, “Rock and Roll Cowboy” and being on bandstand. By now I think he was numb because he just kept taking notes. When I finally finished he asked if he could use the phone.
He called his office and had them send a photographer out. He then proceeded to spend the next three hours going over my story for the fine details. He was professional and I didn’t feel pressured.
After the pictures were taken of trophies, ribbons, badge etc. he told us that the story was long enough that it would be spread out several days next week or even the week after. He wanted to get this one right as he thought it might go national.
Chapter 12
The first school week was a short week as Labor Day fell on a Monday. So on Tuesday September 2, 1958 I started my High School career. The previous Friday I had gone to the school office and picked up my class schedule, and paid my school fees.
These were for Biology and some poor frog I would have to cut up, a Biology workbook and two locks. The locks were for my coat locker and gym locker.
I also took the time to check out where my class rooms and home room were. Since my Middle School was attached to the High School I knew the building fairly well.
After that I walked downtown to G.C. Murphy Five and Dime and bought a three ring binder for my homework, pencils, paper and a fountain pen. I splurged
on the paper; they now had it in a green tint and with narrow lines instead of the boring white paper with wide lines. I soon regretted that purchase the first time my assignment was, “Write one full page on…”
The first day was taking attendance, getting seating assignments straight. Some teachers didn’t care where you sat. Others wanted you in alphabetical order. Books were handed out and we wrote our names on the pasted in book slip on the inside cover. I also got the soon to be famous, “What did you do on your summer vacation,” English assignment.
I ran into several kids I knew at lunch time and it was amazing how much some of them had grown over the summer. The boys up, and the girls out. Well many of the girls were taller, but that isn’t what I noticed. I was surprised when my growth got the most comments.
Not only my growing taller, but by being in shape. My friend Tom Pew wanted to know what I had been doing. I went all mysterious on him and told him he would have to read about it in the newspaper like everyone else.
He laughed and moved on with a, “See you later alligator.”
I brilliantly rejoined with, “After while crocodile.”
He came back with, “Don’t get wise beady eyes.”
Then I gave the conversation topper, “Understand Rubber Band.” We were such wits.
My growth was really brought home to me in gym class. Coach Crowley gave us the rules of the road. We were told what type of shorts, shirts and shoes we had to buy. It was made clear we had to shower after class, and to bring a clean towel from home. We might even want to buy a gym bag!
He then went around and talked to some of the freshman. I knew this was to talk to the kids going out for sports. I was surprised when he came up to me and asked if I was going to try out for football.
The regular varsity team had been practicing for two weeks but they had freshman try outs after the school year had started. They did this because of the growth spurts that teenagers had between the eighth and ninth grade.
“I never thought about it.”
“Did you grow a lot this summer?”
“I did, Coach.”
“I thought so, or I would’ve noticed you before. You are of a size you could be a running back or even a quarterback if you have the arm.”
“When are tryouts?’
“After school this Thursday, come on out to the football field if you are interested. We could really use some new players this year. We lost most of our first string Varsity to graduation last year.”
“I will give it serious thought, I never thought I would be big enough to play so haven’t given it any thought.”
Coach laughed, “You know I teach one of the English classes. You might want to think about how many times you used “thought” in that sentence.”
“After I said it, I thought it might be a problem.”
Coach gave me a swat on the arm and moved on.
When I got home that afternoon about 3:45 I had brought all my school books with me, a first. My first duty was to wrap all my school books in book covers. I used the ones sold by the band club.
They were expensive at fifteen cents each but they were in the red and black school colors and had BHS with a bell on the front.
I then proceeded to get ahead. I read the first chapter in the English book. It was the start of diagraming sentences. It took about half an hour to read the lesson and diagram the practice sentences at the end of the chapter.
I found that the correct answers were at the back of the book and that I had them all right. I could see where this would work out well. I was going to English class tomorrow and would understand what Miss Bales was talking about.
She was known as a tough grader and I needed every break I could get to make an A in her class.
Algebra was easy after I got it through my head that subtracting a negative number turns that number to a positive. Does that mean two wrongs make a right? Anyway it only took about twenty minutes to get the problems worked. The correct answers being in the back of the book sure helped.
Latin was easy but tedious; I wrote out each vocabulary word ten times while saying it out loud along with its meaning. Then I had to translate the simple sentences in the back of the chapter. Again the back of the book helped a lot.
Biology took a while because I had to read the first chapter; then do the first chapter in the workbook. The workbook questions were filling in the blank so I did them as I went. I had no correct answers for those so I would have to wait and see.
World history was not so easy, after reading the chapter the questions at the end required writing a paragraph about each event covered in the book. It also referred to other references that I didn’t have.
We did have an Encyclopedia Americana so I used that as my basic reference. It took about ten minutes to write about each question. I wrote each out on a separate sheet of paper so I could turn in what was requested.
I got everything done in time to watch the Mickey Mouse Club with my two brothers. After that I helped Mum by setting the table for dinner. After dinner I told her I would wash the dishes.
She wanted to know who I was and what had I done with her son! This did not stop her from letting me do the dishes. When I was done Dad asked to speak with me.
We went down to the basement and he closed the door behind us after telling Mum to keep the children upstairs.
I was beginning to wonder what was going on! It came out quickly.
“Rick, let’s talk about that bank robbery. You killed two men. How do you feel about that?”
“Dad I really don’t know how I feel. It all happened so fast it didn’t feel like I did anything. All of a sudden they were dead.”
“How did you react after the shooting was finished?”
I proceeded to tell him how I just stood there almost in shock and felt numb for several hours.
“Have you had dreams or intense memories of what has happened?”
“How intense of memories are you talking about because I do think about it at times?”
“Do you all of a sudden feel like you are there again and it is happening all over again?”
“No.”
“Good let me tell you why I am asking. I saw some fighting during the War but not like some people. You know Bill Samson who always sat on the wall down by the court house?”
“Yes, he would be there every day, if he wasn’t on his front porch drinking a beer.”
“Well Bill and I got drunk one night and he told me about his war. He was on the second wave of landings that hit Omaha Beach on D-Day. He was with the 29th Division, a group from Virginia. He told me how he could hear the bullets rattle off the front of their landing craft and knowing that when the front was lowered to let them out, that most of them would die.
He was lucky; he was one of the last off. He had to climb over his dead friends to get out. They had landed in the wrong spot because of the wind and tide. With very little cover they had to scale a cliff rather than the smooth beach they were supposed to be at. All day long his friends were killed and he had to keep going.”
“Today almost fifteen years later he still can’t sleep a complete night. He wakes up screaming not wanting that landing door to open. That is why he never was able to hold a job”
“Was? What happened?”
“He committed suicide last month. He stuck his pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger. He left a note saying he was leaving to visit some old friends.”
“Anytime death is involved it can affect people, especially if it is by violence. Your mother and I were concerned about how you were handling this.”
“Dad I haven’t felt anything like you are describing.”
“I am so glad to hear that, I think that it was so fast that it didn’t really register with you. If you do start to have flashbacks about the shootings, please let us know.”
“I will.”
Dad then changed the subject. “I had a talk with Eugene Burke an attorney. He suggested that we form a corporati
on. It will be expensive, two hundred dollars, but will protect the family from general lawsuits from the business and split everything between your Mother, you and me.
“That sounds like it sets us up like you talked about. Do I have to do anything?”
“No, as a minor we sign for you. The corporation will be split three ways with a third for each of us.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
That night in bed I thought about Bill Samson. We kids had joked about the town drunk for years. If only we had known. Another thought that kept running around my mind was that I thought I was a tough guy after the bank shootings.
The thought of sitting in that boat waiting for the door to drop and let in all those bullets was frightening beyond belief. I wasn’t a tough guy.
Chapter 13
The next morning after going through my exercise routine I had pretty well shaken off the dark thoughts of the night before and was looking forward to the school day. From our new home it only took about ten minutes to walk to school.
When I came out the front door there were several kids going towards school, so it was natural to join them. We kept picking up kids along the way till about ten or twelve of us arrived at school.
We had casual conversation on the way to school. After we went through the front door of the school house I couldn’t tell you about anything we discussed.
School on Wednesday proved interesting in several ways. First of all I have never felt so on top of things as in my classwork. I quickly learned that I only had to pay half attention to the lecture as they were going over material that I had studied the night before and felt comfortable with. I started reading the next chapter ahead. That worked very well.
At the end of Algebra class I realized there was something I didn’t understand in the next chapter. Mr. Buckley our teacher gave out that night’s assignment in the last fifteen minutes of our forty five minute class session and told us to get to work.
