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| Page 19 |
Every Step Of The Way
by Teresa Coffman
Nevada, USA
My grandmother's cousin Ken graduated from high school in the
Midwest during the worst of the depression. Farm country was
particularly hard hit, and Ken had few prospects. A tall, gangly
boy from a large, cheerful family, Ken tried not to worry about
the future.
He worked that summer for his uncle, who owned a traveling
carnival. Ken manned the "Pony Ride," where ponies
walked a circle inside a pen. Because Ken was good with children,
he received the job of lifting little boys and girls onto the
ponies.
When fall arrived, bringing chill air and the bleak promise of
winter, Ken faced the harsh reality of his time. The carnival only
operated in summer, so he could no longer help his struggling
parents keep food on the table. Jobs were non-existent; many a
good man drifted from town to town searching for work.
One day Ken's friend said, "The John Deere factory is hiring.
Go right now!" Ken was skeptical. They hadn't hired in years.
This news should've been everywhere.
"How many men?" "Only one," said his friend.
Ken hurried to the factory, hoping word hadn't spread far. He
crowded into a large room where a hundred men waited to apply for
that single job. His heart sank, but he decided to stay. He had
nowhere else to go.
The foreman entered the room, mounted a small platform, and
surveyed the crowd. An expectant hush fell over the men. The
foreman stayed silent for a long moment, and then his gaze fell
upon Ken, in the back.
"You there. With the yellow hair," he said. Ken looked
around. Yes, the man meant him. He saw no other blonds. Stunned,
he nodded, his mouth dry.
"Come up here." Ken pushed forward through the crowd of
scowling men. When he reached the front, the foreman said,
"Come with me." He led Ken into a sunny room and
directed him to sit at a wooden desk.
"Name? Address? Previous employment?" Dazed, Ken
answered his questions, then signed the paper the foreman shoved
across the desk. "Report to me at 7:00 tomorrow morning. I'll
show you where you work."
It took two paychecks before Ken believed his good fortune. Yet he
let some time pass before he worked up the courage to ask why he'd
been chosen. The foreman smiled, as if he'd been waiting for the
question. "You worked at a carnival last summer, at the Pony
Ride." "Yes." Ken remained baffled.
"I remembered you. My little girl wanted a ride, but then she
got scared. You held her in the saddle every step of the way,
walking around and around with her until she started to like it.
By the end of the ride she was laughing. I thought, I wish I could
do something for that boy."
Ken worked for John Deere for 40 years. He always said he had
comforted many frightened children that summer, and didn't even
remember the one whose father changed his life.
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