Elbert with red Willys Jeep
seeing mom in Denver
at Colorado Women's College
Dad gave this detail of events from his meeting mom on March 25, 1950 to his move to Sterling, Illinois on August 14, 1954. In the fall of 1950, while Dad was working for the Burton-Lingo Lumber Yard in Merkel, Dad's brother-in-law, Buster Hester, was giving up his newspaper route, throwing the twice daily Abilene Reporter-News in Merkel. Driving an old Model A, Dad soon decided to buy a jeep. The dealership in Abilene had agreed to finance the $1,500 jeep, but terms hadn't been explained. So bank president Booth Warren agreed to loan the money with a third down. When Dad showed up with Mrs. Porter, the landlady of the family farm who had agreed to sign for the third down, Booth Warren said, "I'm sorry, Elbert, but the downpayment must be your own money." The dealer was very unhappy with Dad but agreed to hold the jeep for 30 days.
So Dad began the following routine for 30 straight days: He threw his 800-900 afternoon papers, and then pulled cotton till dark at brother-in-law John Rister's farm for 10 cents per hundred pounds. After sundown, he tied off cotton bales for perhaps $1 an hour all night at the Merkel cotton gin. About 4:00 in the morning, he threw the morning papers, and then went home for a few hours sleep. The cycle started again each afternoon with papers.
At the end of 30 days, dad had saved the $500 and drove his jeep home. Dad drove his jeep over 100,000 miles on the paper route before he traded it for a new 1954 Plymouth.
Interestingly, by the time I knew Dad, he detested payments and always saved ahead for everything. He once remarked to me he had learned how to manage money from his father-in-law, my Grandpa Hey.
Dad and Mom
with the Willys Jeep
