| Giles Orton Smith | |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
My full name is Giles Orton Smith. I suppose I was named after Dad. Giles was the name of Dad's cousin, Giles Campbell. As a child, my nickname was "Red" because I had really red hair. As an adult I've been called "Red" and "Smitty". I was born on March 29, 1918 in Victory Township, Mason County, Michigan. I only had one grandmother who was living, my Grandma Larson. I loved her as a child. My Grandma Larson was the oldest person I can remember. She used to speak Swedish with my mom and her other kids.
I don't think there was a chore that I really hated doing as a child. We always had enough to eat as we lived on a farm. As a child we didn't have a lot of toys so we played make-believe or make-shift. I also loved playing softball. I used to walk to school. My favorite subjects were reading and history. Reading was always the easiest for me. After school we used to play in our yard or one of the other kids' yards. I went to Diamond School in Victory Township, it only went to the eighth grade, so after I graduated from there I was all through with school. That was 1932 and I was fourteen years old. I'd always gotten good grades and I liked going to school because there were other kids to play with. When I was a child, I wanted to be a singer.
The summer after I graduated, I worked for some people named Vivian on a fruit farm just south of Ludington, (many years later that farm was bought by cousin Phyllis and her husband Dave.) I worked for the Vivians two summers. They had a tent set up outside the house for me. I probably smelled bad. Had a nice two holler at that time.
One or two summers, I can't remember what I did, I probably stayed at home. In 1935 I lied about my age to get into the Civil Conservation Corps. They paid very little, but half of what they did pay went to your parents. We built roads, planted trees, and built parks. Ludington State Park was mostly the work of the C.C.C.s. I was in the upper penninsula for part of the winter. One time a bunch of us from Ludington were going home, we took the boat across to Mackinac City, no bridge in those days, we couldn't find a place to stay so we went to the jail. They put us in a cell and locked us in until the morning. I don't remember them giving us anything to eat, but at least we were warm. So I can't say I never spent a night in jail. Later that winter we were sent to Green Bay Peninsula Sturgeon Bay Camp. It was very cold. I froze my toes.
Sometime in those years I spent a few months in Marshall stocking shelves in the A&P store. How or why I got there is a mystery to me.
I spent another year in the C.C.C.s at Walhalla and learned alot about landscaping. If you go by the ranger station in Baldwin you can see some of my work. I was there when my sister died. Those years I worked summers on a fruit farm for people named Meisenheimer. I fell in love with their daughter Marian. I still try to see Bud Meisenheimer when we come to Ludington.
After that there were some major changes. Harold was instrumental in getting me a job as deckhand on the Morton Salt boat Covalt. This was much different than anything I had ever done. Suddenly I was a sailor. Then I worked on the Pere Marquette carferries as a coal passer.
Another big change, in April 1941. Greetings! My first posting in the U.S. Army was to Fort Custer in Battle Creek. I was there, fully expecting to get out in about three months, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, so that was me stuck in the army until October 1945, in the 5th Infantry. I went to Iceland for nearly a year. My outfit went to England in the spring of "43". On a weekend pass to London I met this skinny blonde kid, we had a few dates, and darn it, I was sent to Ireland. I managed to get back to London a few more times before the war got back into high gear. Molly was lovely, cute and smart. Our first date was in a pub in London. I went in there to wait while my buddy went to meet his girlfriends mother. Molly and I got engaged in the upstairs balcony of the Hammersmith Palace in London when I said, "Honey, let's get engaged." In June "44" I landed in France. For the next year I had the grand tour of Europe, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, etc. After the war in Europe ended I got a leave and went to London where Molly and I were married July 29, 1945 in St. Andrew's Church. We had dated for two years. I had to go back to France, but not for long, and in October came back to the United States and Uncle Sam let me come home.
A civilian again, I started working for Allen Calculators in Grand Rapids for a short time. I moved to Battle Creek and stayed with my brother Frank for awhile until I got settled working for Oliver Corporation.
Molly arrived in Battle Creek in March of "46" and Jimmy was born in December. I didn't waste any time! I entered into a partnership, sewing machine and vacuum cleaner repair. In "49" we moved back to Ludington and opened a sewing machine business, couldn't make a living at that, I then went to work at the foundry. Alan was born in April 1950. That summer we rented Uncle Emil's old place just south of the home place.
January "51" we came back to the Battle Creek area, once again staying with Frank until we got an apartment and I went to work for Grand Trunk Railroad. Later I went to work for Eaton Corporation, where I stayed until I retired in 1980.
Jimmy died in Tennessee on September 18th 1974 as a result of a motorcycle accident. He was buried September 23rd and that night we got the call that mom had died. A bad time for all of us.
The longest trip I've ever been on on was to Texas in 1980 and to England and Spain in 1986. My favorite vacation was each time we went to Florida for three or more months (1981 - 1995). The one thing I've always wanted to do is to live to be old. My favorite season is spring and my favorite color is blue. I am 79 years old. The second son of Orton and Teckla and darn proud of it... I'm 5'11" tall, I used to have red hair but now it's white, and I have blue eyes. I have good general health, although I have a balance problem and can't walk very well. I also have weak legs and stomach ulcers. I don't attend church, although I believe in God and the hereafter. I play the harmonica and I love my garden. I belong to the VFW and the Masons. I would describe myself as a darn good Democrat, but I'm conservative as well. The wise advice I would give to a grandchild is to have lots of kids so that they will take care of you when you get old.
Most of these times, dates, and places are accurate as I remember them, but if I made mistakes --- I'll take the fifth amendment.
| Marion Kirk Adair | |
|
|
Return to Smith Home Page
Return to Genealogy Home Page