An Autobiography
~
robert blair craig
Why would someone care to spend all this time and effort to place so many
thoughts and memories into the pages of immortality? The question is ask and then the
answer quickly given: Why do this? Because it matters.
So we will start with, “It Matters!”
It matters because we cannot know until we began to sift through the mountains of
records – family traditions (Traditions mean, things passed down to us by word of mouth), these
have become a main source for us. There will be no apology for that .Some question
source and elevate it to a plane that it cannot possibly deserve. Sources, as portrayed by
the experts and self called archeologists, are often found to be flawed.
One becomes surprised at the reliability of traditional stories. That is what is sad
about doing family research. [we prefer to identify what a family tree is as more research
than ancestry]. Now, the NOUN for ‘archeologists’ is “one who studies prehistoric people
and their culture; also, archeologist and sometimes, archaeologist. Don’t you really
wonder if they know how to spell what it is that those involved in such are convinced that
this is what they do.
There is genealogy, ancestry and other names to make something simple sound
really difficult. Well, it isn’t simple. But, it is do-able.
So, knowing that, we are going to do it.
Another subject along this line is YOU, and what it is that you can do to help.
YOU are the greatest source that there is. Without you, there will be nothing.
Nothing, that is, when it comes to you as a person. A family tree database will only
contain information YOU allow to be placed there. Now, it doesn’t mean that your name
won’t be there. It doesn’t mean that some things about you won’t be included. However,
what is meant is this: only you can present you to the future in the unique manner that
will allow folk up the ladder of years and generations to have some idea of who you
where, what you did, how you felt about things and where it was that you hoped one day
to be.
Every day of life presents to Bob the fact of his own mortality. It doesn’t mean that
he feels close to the end of his days . . . exactly, but the more that he learns about his
ancestors the more apparent it becomes, in his mind, that only what is put in the record
will endure. Long after we all have moved into the next realm, those who follow will
search for and wonder long about who we were, what was it that we did, and, why did we
do it.
Think of John Craig for instance. It is thought that John was indentured, or
occupied in servitude, to his brother Henry. And that he therefore worked as a cabinet
maker in Philadelphia. This sounds like a Craig ancestor. Indentured! Bob has felt quite
like one indentured all his life.
The David Fleming family succumbed to a form of indenture ship. They owned
and worked a farm in Rayne Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania. When the early
1900's forced hard times on everyone, then the depression. David Fleming had died in
1928 and Harry Blair Fleming did everything he could to keep the farm but alas, the
income just wasn’t there and the bank took the property. Harry Blair had to move.
Through the Mentch connections (I have no idea why the Mentch & Holmes family didn’t
help Harry keep the property), Harry was offered a caretaker position at the Bennet Farm
in Indiana, PA.
The Bennet family had money. It has been told that Mr. Bennet went down into Johnstown immediately
after the great flood and looted everything he could carry. He owned a mansion on Vinigar Hill in
Indiana, PA and a large farm not far from the Indiana Fairgrounds. I think a hill that
was called "Round Top" was on his farm. There is now a 4 lane super highway that runs
right through the middle of what was his. Some have money and some
don't. Bennet (I think his first name was Ed or Edward), it is said, got his from folk that could least afford to lose it.
Because no one has written concerning
the David Fleming situation, little or nothing is known of
the circumstances. It had to be a heart-brake for the family. One can only wish that more
was known so as to fill in the blanks of history.
On the Craig side of the family, a very similar thing occurred. The Craig family, in
the early history of Armstrong County, owned a farm not far from Parkwood, PA (Then
known as Stewartsville). Indeed, if you study the Indiana County RootsWeb Site, (they
have an interactive map), it is quite telling. On this map there is not a single Craig land
owner in Parkwood. There is only one Craig owned plot of land located a bit North West
of Parkwood. This farm was also lost due to the financial hard times of the 1920's and
beyond. From a bit of news dropped at this years 18th Annual Craig Reunion (July 20,
2002) it is now confirmed that the Craigs also lost their farm during the depression. After
years of wondering about how that had come about it was finally noted to the pages of
history that this is why such a large family – 11 children – were relegated to being raised
in a small 2 bedroom house – or worse yet, in what is known today as a cottage.
These things happen. We are richer for knowing and understanding our heritage.
We should not be ashamed of things we can’t help or change. One other thing
concerning the Fleming & Craig farms: Neither would become a working farm again.
(Until this day in 2002) Both pieces of land sits abandoned and unused.
Rather strange. On the same map, in the Armstrong Township area, there are
three FLEMING Districts, one Anderson, and no Craig District..
So from the 1871 Beers
Atlas published in 1880 one can determine the landowners of that day. At the extreme
North West corner of Stewartsville District No. 6, there is the one Craig property.
Conversely, the opposite seems true concerning the Fleming populated areas of
Green Township where both Flemings and Craigs dotted the landscape of that day. It
would appear that both families had crossed paths many times prior to LeRoy and
Hannah being married.
Robert LeRoy Craig married Hannah Jemima Fleming on June 22, 1933. This
began his indentured experience. It is not here recalled exactly who it was, but a lady, or
family, not far from Parkwood, close to where Ruth Craig and Tom Redinger built their
home, opened a part of her home to allow LeRoy and Hannah a place to begin. It is a
faint memory, but one can recall Hannah talking about it. Some time later, LeRoy bought
a home in Kent, PA. He worked for the McIntyre Coal Co., and often “Owed his soul to
the Company Store.”
LeRoy obviously did well working in the mines. Obviously, because not only was
he buying a home, but a new Oldsmobile as well. How smartly he looked as he posed for
his picture to be taken standing next to his new car.
A son was born into the home on December 14, 1937. Times were hard then and
to complicate the situation, LeRoy was tested positive with Black Lung Disease from his
years in the coal mines. He was told that, how long he’d live depended on how soon he
left the coal mines. This would have happened in about 1941-1942. A house to pay for. A
car to pay for and keep up. A son to provide for. And a new baby on the way. (Kenneth
Merle Craig, born September 26, 1942) All things that would place an immense amount
of pressure on a young man with these responsibilities. What would he do? Where would
they go?
About the same time Hannah’s mother, Madge Alberta Holmes (Fleming), June
15, 1945, passed away. She had an extreme case of diabetes and after a toe became
infected, she had multiple amputations to try and stay the advance of blood poisoning –
gangrene, and it eventually couldn’t be stopped at the hip, and she died. Harry Blair
Fleming, having lost his wife, decided to leave Bennet’s Farm near Indiana, PA, and work
in the woods and build a saw mill. He worked in Clearfield County for a time before
moving to Cherry Tree, and building a saw mill there with his son, Harold Blair Fleming.
In that they were working as caretaker to the large farm owned by Ed Bennet before
Madge died, that opened opportunity for LeRoy.
So the LeRoy Craig family moved into the caretaker’s home directly behind the
large Bennet Mansion. Today, it would only be considered to be a large house if it were
still there. Now Rt. 422 runs right over the property. But, to us at that time, it was a
mansion. It was huge, and as the Craigs would eventually learn, it was a place where
huge drunken parties would be held. LeRoy was presented with a fairly decent
occupation as caretaker and it seemed to be working out for the good.
One memorable experience was the time when LeRoy gave a pail of seed onions
to the boys to plant in a row he had made in the large garden behind the house. This
went well for a time, but the older of the two boys suggested that they dig a deep hole
and place all the onions in one hole and cover it up. That caused quite a stir when one
mound of onions began to sprout and the row next to it was empty.
Both boys had lots of great toys there on the farm. Mr. Bennet had provided quite
well for his son and nearly any sort of toy he could dream of was given to him. Prior to
this the toys Bob had were those that his dad had made for him. A wooden trike, a
wooden wheel barrel, a little truck and a few small toys. Actually, the most memorable
was a sleek sled as shown in photos at Kent. But, at Bennet’s Farm, he was allowed to
play with all the nicest toys a kid in the 1940's could ever dream of. A large car that the
boys could set in and peddle. A huge big red Rider Wagon, and so many other toys, it is
difficult to remember. They were even allowed to ride Sadie, a pony they kept on the
farm. There was a swimming pool that they could swim in – that is, when there were no
guest in the mansion.
The swimming pool. Fall came and there were logs placed in the pool to keep the
ice from freezing and breaking the tile. For some reason and placing logs in the water
kept the damage to a minium. When early spring arrived frogs would find their way into
the pool and perch on these logs. One day, bored with all the great toys, Bob & Ken
wondered up to the pool. They had found sticks and were reaching out to the logs and
shoving them so as to see the frogs jump into the water. One time, Ken, the youngest of
LeRoy’s sons, pushed a bit too hard and plop, he was in the water.
Unfortunately Ken was too young to know how to swim. Bob tried to reach him
with his hand, and then the stick, but to no avail. Kenny was going under and Bob
panicked and bolted for the house. It was a good thing that dad was there. In a flash he
ran to the pool, jumped in, and rescued Kenny. He wasn’t doing very well and it was
decided to rush him to the hospital. Indiana Hospital was just up the road from Bennet’s
Farm. One could almost see the back of the hospital from the farm. Hannah kept Ken
from going to sleep and after a brief hospital visit, things got back to normal. Oh, yes,
Bob took the blame, as with the onions, for not knowing better.
You know, Bob just couldn’t keep himself out of trouble. If Ken did it, Bob got the
blame. If Bob did it, Bob got the blame. Bob got a double dose of the blame all the time.
Another occasion of trouble. It was decided one summer that Bob could spend a
week with Richard Barclay, Eugene and Edna CRAIG Barclay. They lived in Apollo, PA.
The summer was memorable. Three things stand out. Someone in Eugene’s family
owned a farm near-by and we were invited to help (?) in making hay. Bob was very
young but do recall the horse drawn wagon, a hay bailer, and men on both sides of the
wagon throwing the bails of hay up to other men placing them on the wagon. Bobby
didn’t do much work, but he can recall his first real bad case of hay fever. He sneezed all
day and the next.
There was also the case of the pile of lime. Someone had dumped a huge pile of
lime next door to the Barclays’s and Dick and Bob decided it was a great place to play
with the toy trucks. No one realized, or even thought of it, but the lime would burn both of
our arms and hands really bad. They were both very sore for a couple of days. Then,
there was the trip to town in the Model T Ford. Dick was privileged to ride in the rumble
seat at the back of the car. Bob wasn’t allowed to for fear he would fall out. Dick amused
everyone that day with his whistling at the girls on the street in Apollo His mother, Edna
laughed about it, saying something like, Richard will never change.
Then, Bob’s mom and dad and his brother arrived to bring him back home. It was
a joyous occasion. Ken and Bob had never been apart since Ken was born and they
were really excited when re-united. On the trip back to Indiana, PA, as they joyfully
played in the back seat, Ken fell up against the door handle, and it being a door that
opened to the front of the Olds, the wind caught the door and it swung open. Ken went
out the door. Bob can recall looking back and seeing his brother tumble head over heals
on the side of the road. In those days one didn’t drive very fast, and that is a good thing
for Ken. After he was picked up, rolled into a blanked, we once again rushed toward
Indiana Hospital. All the time, Hannah kept jostling Ken to keep him awake. She feared
that if he were to dose off, he might go into a comma. Ken got better and that was a
memorable summer.
The caretaker position at the farm began to be more demanding on Hannah and
LeRoy than they had bargained for. When it was discovered that Hannah was a great
cook, she was given the additional task of cooking and looking after the Big House next
door. It was placing a great strain on Hannah. There was a time when a party turned out
to be a week long ordeal. As she was picking up things through the house one day, she
went into a bed room and there was a couple there that was said to be sick. It turned out
that they were drunk. They had bottles of whisky hid under the bed. When no one was
looking they would continue the week-long-binge – they just never stopped drinking.
Hannah & LeRoy had not long been attending a little church in Altman, PA. Rev.
Hess was the pastor. The drinking thing didn’t set well with Hannah and it began to
tarnish the relationship with Mr. Bennet. When she told him outright that she no longer
would take care of the big house, and that it wasn’t in the agreement, Mr Bennet came to
the house and read the riot act. He decided, in that Hannah’s mind couldn’t be changed
that the Craigs had to move out immediately.
LeRoy Craig’s brother, Merle Craig, worked at the R&P Coal Company as an
executive and had contacts. Upon hearing of LeRoy’s predicament, he talked to Mr.
Beuheight, owner of Beuheight Pyrofax Gas Co. Mr. Beuheight came to the house and
offered LeRoy a job. Merle Craig had informed Mr. Beuheight of LeRoy’s expertise as a
chief electrician and mechanic at the McIntyre Coal Company. Evidently he did a good
job of selling his brother because Mr. Beuheight persuaded LeRoy to come work for him.
Merle never told LeRoy of the connection and he never knew.
There was a Haddin family selling a home in Dixonville, PA. Hannah had found
this out through the Indiana Savings & Loan Bank, next to the Old Court House, Indiana,
PA. It seems that the bank officer Hannah talked to was an ancestor of the Holmes and
Mentch family of Cookport & Clymer, PA areas. There is no doubt that Hannah’s family
connection helped secure the loan to cover the mortgage and the deal was finalized. The
LeRoy Craigs moved to Dixonville, PA. Things were really tight financially. Hannah took
care of paying the bills and it was not infrequent that Hannah and LeRoy could be heard
loudly arguing about the money. Yet, Leroy did have a job, and, it was steady work. But
the pay was less than that of the coal mines. One could tell that it hurt LeRoy really bad
when these arguments occurred.
LeRoy was a warm and tender man. Hannah was a forceful woman. There was
one time when the argument got so loud and fierce that LeRoy did take Hannah to the
floor, and had to sit on Hannah to keep her from beating on him. One can look at the
photograph of Harry Blair & Madge Alberta HOLMES Fleming and see that she had
come from a forceful female home. Madge was a tough pioneer of a woman and it is
obvious when one looks at the photograph.
Something Bob is very ashamed of, among many things. One day while looking at
his father’s coveralls, he loved dad’s coveralls, Bob found some money in his father’s
wallet. Mr. Beuheight always saw to it that LeRoy had at least $20.00 to make change on
the job. LeRoy’s work consisted of delivering one hundred pound cylinders of LP Gas
and doing repairs or installations of gas stoves. For some inexpiable reason, Bob felt that
he needed the money . . . needed it enough to reach into LeRoy’s coverall pocket and
take out the wallet, stealing a twenty dollar bill.
This was the sadist day of Bob Craig’s life. Not just in that the $20.00 had been
stolen. It was much more than that. It was an accumulation of many sins all boiled down
into one. First, there was the theft. Then, the heartache when Bob’s dad, LeRoy,
discovered that it was missing. Bob had already spent the money on candy and roller
skates down at the Dixonville Hardware. It was gone. It couldn’t be put back. Bob felt the
guilt begin to build larger and larger – until it almost choked him. When ask about the
money, Bob denied knowing anything about it.
The next morning LeRoy left for work, worried about what he would tell Mr.
Beuheight. Hannah, suspecting Bob from the beginning, began an intensive questioning
about the money. Bob denied over and over, knowing anything about the twenty dollars.
Hannah told Bob to take the butcher knife and go down to the Weeping Willow Tree and
cut off twelve stout branches. This was the usual way of punishment back home in
Dixonville, PA. About two times a year, Bob had to be punished for something or another,
and rather harshly at that.
This was going to be the harshest of any in memory. Cutting the branches one
was going to be whipped with was bad enough, but, on this occasion, it broke all records
in memory. The day came when Hannah reached back to slap at Bob and he would
catch her arm and say, “No more, mom!” However, on this day Bob sat in the cellar
awaiting the return of his mother. Soon she arrived back home and brought with her a
playmate of Bob’s. She ask Bob again about the twenty-dollars and he continued to deny
any knowledge of it. Bob continued to deny as the playmate admitted to Hannah that he
and him had spent the twenty-dollars at the hardware store. Hannah had also talked to
the store owner and he had confirmed to her that Bob had spent twenty dollars in his
place of business. Yet, Bob, entrenched in the pit he had dug for himself, continued to lie
and deny knowing anything about the twenty-dollars.
To back-track a bit: – Hannah had went to the Hardware Store first and found out
about the money. She then took Bob, made him walk up the stairs, lay face down on the
bed, tied him like an X to the head post and foot post, began to use the rods on his back
and drew blood. After continued denials, even with the punishment, she then brought in
the play-mate that had told her about the Hardware Store purchases. She brought the
young lad to the bed room where Bob was tied down, and in front of her and Bob the boy
told what was done with the money. Bob continued to deny.
It was only after about four hours of this punishment that Bob began to brake and
admit that he had indeed stolen the money from his father’s wallet. This story is nearly as
difficult to retrieve from memory as it was that day – to admit, after so much lying, that he
did indeed steal the money. It would almost appear that this incident would be indicative
of incidents to come in the life of Bob Craig.
That incident told revealed to Bob one thing in no uncertain ways. Bob would not
steal again. Bob would tell the truth. But even more than those very important lesions,
and more distressing than the two, the punishment handed down by one’s own mother
would affect the mother-son-relationship forever. It was indeed very, very wrong of Bobby
to steal the money. It was even more sad that Bob would lie so vigorously, and
continuously. But from that day on, Bob had a different awareness of the kind of woman,
Hannah, his mother, was.
Bob could recall one occasion when he walked into the up-stair guest bedroom to
see what the confusion and commotion was all about. The time when he found LeRoy,
his father, sitting on top of Hannah, his mother, to hold her down. She was out of control
then and he had to do it.
On another occasion Bob could recall the time he walked into the cellar and found
his father sitting at the foot of the steps that led to the kitchen, his head in his hands and
bawling like a child. LeRoy told his son at that time, “You really want to be sure about a
woman before you ever think about marriage.” Bob was quite young at the time, but
indeed that statement was seared as though branded on his forehead and brain, deep
into his mind and memory.
Indeed, Bob was affected in many ways by the actions of his mother. She could be
sweet and warm and gracious. In seconds, like a flash of light, she could be brutal, bitter,
hateful and scornful. She could mouth words that would cut deep and leave unhealed
wounds. For years Bob would be cautious and wary of women and their intentions,
aspirations and their purpose in life. It was not fear of woman, but a cautious awareness
of them.
The question was, how would this experience effect Bob in the later years of his
life? Would this experience cause Bob to fear women? Will this cause him psychological
difficulties during his life? Although this wasn’t the purpose of this document, it would
only be prudent to look at this subject for a moment. Again, this is why history and family
traditions need to be handed down. How can we learn how to face the future if we are
unable to face the past?
When one analyzes this discipline, especially in the year 2002, one would only
view this as an example of a brutal child abuse incident. However, more important than
that is this, what was it that caused Bob to be so belligerent, so determined not to admit
the wrong that he had done?
Could it be that Bob had more on his mind and then can be seen at first light?
Bob may simply have endured this punishment as a sort of statement of determination
that he wasn’t going to give into his mother’s whim. Yes, it can be said that this definitely
had an impact on Bob’s adult life. Looking back over the years one can correlate many
actions that seem strange at the time. That they happen suddenly – seemingly no reason
for them to have occurred. How does a doctor or psychologists draw things together and
come up with explanations to things have happened over the years and how one is
influenced by earlier happenings in one’s life?
One can look back over a lifetime and imagine all sorts of influences that have
swayed things in one way or another. However, as Bob looks back he can not honestly
say that he wasn’t negatively influenced emotionally in any way by the activities that
happened that day. Oh yes, he will never forget it. He can’t say why he was so
obstinate, stubborn or belligerent. It would have seemed to have made sense for him to
have admitted early on what he had done. Did he do what he did more in rebellion to
Hannah’s aggressive form of discipline. For instance – it would have hurt him far more if
she had just said, “you just wait to your dad gets home.” He would’ve been more
concerned about that by far more than he would have been concerned about cutting the
rods from the weeping willow tree down below the house. One must pose the question,
“Did he display his obstinate actions as a revolt against his mother?”
Out in public Hannah was always kind, sweet and gentle in the presence of
others. But at home, if one stepped out of line she could be very brutal. The day Bob
graduated from Green Township High School he began to packing to go to Philadelphia
and prepare to attend classes in the fall of 1959, Philadelphia College of the Bible. It
almost seems as though he couldn’t wait to get out of the house. And that was the fact.
Bob’s regrets that he was leaving dad. He had a deep abiding love for his father and will
always remember him in a good lite.
Occasion of the 56 Ford Thunderbird.
In 1956, after the Philadelphia College of the Bible didn’t work out for Bob, he
joined the U.S. Navy. This was done with out consultation with LeRoy or Hannah.
Because of his dad’s meager income they were unable to support Bob in College. The
Cavalry Baptist Church in Buck Run, PA, also was unable to provide any assistance.
Therefore, unwilling to return back to Dixonville a wash-out of College, the lesser of the
two difficulties was accomplished by entering the service. It was a sudden move and Bob
found himself in the middle of January, 1956, in Chicago, IL., and the Great Lakes Naval
Training Center.
Bob had never known what it was to earn or have money. What little he had made
in Philadelphia, PA, prior to the school year beginning, was barely enough to meet his
meager needs. In fact, it was cheaper for him to pack his dirty clothes in a case made for
postal mailing and send them home to be washed and returned. Very little was saved for
the fall semester, however, Bob felt it was worth it just being away from Dixonville, PA,
and all the grief he had witnessed over the years.
The Navy was the best thing that had ever happened for Bob. After completing
basic training he was again home on leave. While at home Bob found that the car, the 48
Chivy he had learned to drive in, was in bad disrepair. Bob felt responsible for that. While
in his last year of school he had put that poor little white car through some rough paces.
Weather it was a sense of responsibility, embarrassment in that he felt it was his
fault, or whatever . . . Bob felt he had to do something to help his mom and dad obtain
dependable transportation. Bob talked his mother and father into trading the old Chivy for
a brand new 1956 Ford Customized Thunderbird automobile. Bob promised to send
home enough to make most of the payment each month out of his $99.00 monthly pay
check from the Navy. He should have known better. His mother and father should have
known better. None of the three did. So the deal was made and the Craigs were owners
of the most modern looking automobile in town – indeed, the Township or County for that
matter.
The new car was a dream Bob would live over and over during the next 4 years
while traveling the world (48 different countries in 3+ years). It was Bob’s understanding
that during the 4 years his parents would do what they could to purchase a car of their
own, and when Bob got out the 56 Ford would be his.
As things worked out, Bob wasn’t able to send home as much as he had agreed to
– but it still was a considerable amount figuring what his total income was. As well, when
Bob came home after three years over seas, and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, neither his
mother or father were prepared to obtain a car of their own. Bob had a picture of the
green 1956 T Bird taped to the inside of his locker door on board ship. Every day he
would look at that photo and yearn for the day he could drive it once again. Neither Bob,
nor his parents showed a lot of maturity when it came to the automobile agreement. First
of all, they should have never agreed to such a thing from a mere 18 year old child. Bob
should have never agreed to pay more than 80% of his monthly income of $99.00 to pay
for the car.
The time of arrival occurred when the U.S. Pocono docked in Norfolk, VA, and dad
and Ken were there to welcome Bob home. They were quite noticeable standing there on
the dock next to that shiny, and yes, to Bob, brand new car. The car was then about 4
years old. But, to Bob, it was as new as though just driven off the show room floor.
Bob drove most of the way back to Dixonville, PA, and was full of pride and joy at
being behind the wheel again. He didn’t even think about the shadow of heartaches that
lay ahead – only that he was back home, and he was driving his new car, and that he
would soon get to meet the girl (one that he’d known all through his childhood) that he
had been corresponding with for the last year or so. Little did Bob consider anything
about what affect his actions and expiations would have on his mother and father.
It is difficult to say what it was that happened in Bob’s life which caused him and
others around him so much grief when it came to money. Every dollar Bob touched his
entire life seemed to shrink and disappear. Bob & money, or lack thereof, seemed to be
nothing but painful experiences for him and others around him – time after time.
Bob was home on leave and would spend the couple of weeks with the family, and
yes, driving that car. In a matter of just a couple of weeks Bob put more miles on that car
than his parents had the 3 years prior to his return. Not just the miles. His dad had
agreed for him to be able to fill the car with gasolene at the Exxon Station in Indiana, PA.
Bob used more gas in a short couple of weeks than his dad did in the previous year. The
bill came due and not known to Bob, his father was not able to pay the bill. Bob only
became aware of it when told that he could no longer charge gas at the Exxon Station.
Leave was over, and Bob announced he was driving the car back to Norfolk,
Virginia. There was still money owed on the car and the payments would then all have to
be paid by Bob. Also, that left the folks without a car. Bob paid little attention to the
hardship he was causing and that bill for the car haunted him, and his new wife, for years
to come. It was re-financed by Household Finance several times before he was able to
completely pay it off. In fact, the car was run into the ground, figuratively, and the engine
blew up before the payment ran its course.
NOTE: A complete search of the computer hard drive has provided an earlier document
entitled, "The Walking Man." It was a abbreviated journal of some of life’s moments that
are memorable to Glenda and Bob. Some of it is a repeat of subjects noted to this point.
'The Walking Man'
The title of a song recently heard on the radio best describes the life experiences
of Robert Blair Craig. The day following his graduation from Green Township High
School he left for Philadelphia, PA. His intentions were to work the summer and begin
classes at Philadelphia Bible Institute. At the time he felt a sincere calling to the ministry.
Summer over and he began classes but soon felt uncomfortable with the extreme
fundamental teaching and before the end of the 2nd semester left school and joined the
US Navy.
The Navy provided him with the 'Walking Man' transportation that started his long
journey across the world. Boot Camp at Great Lakes, IL, communication school at
Imperial Beach, CA, First stationed at Bremahaven, Germany, then Istanbul, Turkey; then
on to the US Pocono for an extensive Mediterranean cruse. This Med. Cruse took him to
Beirut, Lebanon, Naples & Rome, Italy, Tripoli, North Africa, the French Rivieri, back to
Istanbul, Turkey, Spain (some that I don’t recall) & two Atlantic Ocean crossings by ship
and 3 in US Air Force Planes.
He got to see the Statue of Liberty and spent a couple of weeks in New York City.
All at the expense of the USN. This 'Walking Man' infection was complete and his
wonders did not stop with leaving the Navy. Glenda and Bob were married just three
months prior to his discharge and they soon left Norfolk, VA, for Pennsylvania.
Work was scarce in Norfolk as well as in PA, but after a time Bob’s dad got him a
job with H.J. Beuheight, Pyrofax Gas, Indiana, PA. Wages were small and life was
meager there. Bob, Glenda, Jeff & Roger survived then on about $10.00 a week for all
groceries and toiletries. Not long after Jeff was born they were encouraged by word that
work might be available in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Uncle SW Craig's encouragement was
appreciated as they moved to Ft Wayne and started work at Wayne Pharmaceutical
Supply Co, Ft Wayne, IN.
It wasn't very long though that Bob’s imaginations and dreams provoked him to
move his family to St. Peterburg, FL. Glenda and he found work there at the Dutch
Pantry. It wasn’t long until they both began to get homesick for family and Virginia. So, it
was back to VA, then back to PA. In Pa there was much family distress and they soon
packed up again and left for the West. They ran out of money in Sulpulpa, OK, and he
found temporary work at Liberty Glass.
A friend Bob worked with had a garage apartment to live in. This friend was very
persuasive about certain job possibilities in Colorado and after about 3 months they left
for Climax, Colorado – to work in the mineral mines there. The money was good, but the
winter severe. Roger, their youngest son, came down with an acute sickness that the
Company Doctor said would only get better at lower altitudes. They literally left that day
for Phoenix, AR. With no planning, they were in the hands of providence. Uncle John
Learn, a relative on Bob’s mother's side, Fleming, came to their aid and allowed them to
stay with him until they could get work and a place to stay. It was about 3 weeks. Bob
soon found work (earnings were about 1/3 of what he had earned in the mines) and the
family lived in Phoenix about a year. It was then back to Virginia.
Prices Inc., an appliance retailer in Norfolk, VA became Bob’s real income job. He
did quite well there and soon became manager of a retail outlet in Great Bridge, VA. They
bought a home there and settled down for several years. One day he received a great job
offer from the WT Grant Co. in Great Bridge and took it.
It was a wonderful experience to be able to feel as though achievement and
advancement was finally in his grasp after so many different job changes. The WT Grant
Co. then transferred him to Punxetawney, PA, to help set up and open a new store there.
Bob’s dad had passed away and his mother was living alone in Dixonville, PA. Bob made
arrangements to buy and live in the old home place there – commuting to Punxey. After
a couple of years there he was again transferred to a new opening WT Grant Store in
Richmond, VA. Bob worked there until WT Grant Co. went out of business.
Ironically, after leaving Richmond, they returned back to the Norfolk, VA area,
where Prices Inc., re-hired him. It was at this time Bob began to have a deepening sense
of his calling to the ministry that took him to Philadelphia so many year before. He
attended several different community colleges and after accumulating about 2 years of
credits Bob attended the Southeaster Baptist Theological Seminary and received his
degree, license and ordination there in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
While a Southern Baptist Minister Bob was blessed to serve three pastorates, start
Trinity Baptist Mission in Hollister, NC, accepted a call to travel to Fort Collins, CO to
begin a mission work there, Perarie Mountain Baptist Mission, and then another Baptist
Church in South Carolina.
Bob began to be discouraged by the lack of support of the Southern Baptist
Convention for the mission endeavors in Colorado and therefore left the SBC for the
United Methodist Church. While serving pastorates in North Carolina he continued his
education and graduated from the Duke Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC.
In many ways Bob began to "burn-out." In 1992 Bob shared his feelings with the General
Board of Pensions of the UMC and they agreed to retire him on disability. To begin the
road to recovery Bob & Glenda left NC for Texas. They worked one year at Lake
Colorado City State Park, Texas. One of the very best years of their lives together. Bob
was somewhat able to get back in touch a bit with himself and mostly with his God.
They returned to VA were they have now lived for about8 years. They enjoy their
two boys, their families - their grandchildren!
Back to the Memories
The death of LeRoy Craig, the day after Christmas in 1968, was a devastating
experience for Bob. Yet, when his mother died, July 21, 1982, it was a moment of
acceptance with little grief. It wasn’t that Bob didn’t care. It was more about the memories.
It would be just that – memories. When LeRoy died, all that Bob had known over the
years that was good seemed to be on the verge of dying with his father.
While in the Navy Bob had written his mother every week. There was one letter in
which he ask Hannah if there was a girl she knew that would be willing to write to Bob.
Hannah knew of a girl and a letter writing campaign was begun. A relationship soon
developed. When Bob received his discharge from the Navy it was assumed that he
would eventually marry Hannah’s choice of a women in his life. The girl she had picked
out, it was learned, had a disposition not unlike Hannah’s and Bob soon chose another.
The one he chose was unlike any girl Bob had ever known. She was not
submissive. She was not demanding. In fact, in 1959, Glenda was everything Bob had
hoped to find in a mate for life. He fell deeply in love with Glenda and that abiding love
has endured the edges of Hell itself. That abiding love has seen both Bob & Glenda
through the dreariest of days, and helped make most days the best-of-days! He could not
have ask for a better choice in life.
When Hannah found out about Bob’s choice she was distraught. She called
Glenda every negative word in and out of the English Dictionary – on more than one
occasion. Glenda was stronger than her. That helped ease tensions as financial
difficulties in the early 1960s necessitated that Bob, Glenda and the boys return back to
Dixonville. The relationship was always strained but because of Glenda’s strength, it
never caused a rift in Bob’s relationship with her. Glenda stood up to Hannah and
Hannah knew that she was a tough kid. It was the ride to and from work in Indiana with
Hannah & LeRoy that eventually made it necessary for Bob to pack up and during the
night slip his family out of town. It was the same old story over, and over, and over that
drove Bob away from his parents. With a little less than $100.00 in his pocket, and
driving an old 1949 Dodge Station Wagon, that Bob, Glenda, Jeff & Roger rode out of
town and eventually ended up in Sulpulpa, OK, and then Leadville, CO. Bob simply
could not stand the hypocrisy and the nagging.
It can not be said that everything was perfect in the Bob Craig family all the time.
There were rough edges. However, the family relationship until this day has been that of
love and consideration for each other. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians
about the meaning of Love, it is well represented in the life of Bob, his wife Glenda, and
his two sons, Jeffrey & Roger.
As the years were added to the life of Bob Craig there became relationships with
his brother, Ken, that would draw the two brothers apart from each other. Oh, no, there
have been no words between them that would sour a brother relationship. It was more
circumstances. Glenda, Myrna, our boys and their girls, have always got along real well.
There were several summers that would be spent together in Virginia and the shores of
North Carolina as we would spend vacations together. During those early years, when
the kids were young, we got along wonderfully.
As the children got older and began to live their own lives, Bob’s boys moved on
to their own lives. Ken and Myrna had another child. There are times as one grows older
that an adult conversation, absent the interruptions of children, is much desired. This is
something that was never a problem when Bob was a child. He was taught manners. He
was taught that when adults are holding a conversation, children were to be seen and not
heard. A child never interrupts a person when they are speaking. Somewhere, that art of
rasing children has been lost in the dust of humanity.
Manners changed seriously in the 1960-1970s. And today, if one is around
children, the adults are to be seen and not heard. They can’t be heard because of the
noise and interruptions of the children. In fact, if an adult does not cease and desist any
conversation when a child want’s noticed that adult stands the possibility of being
chastised, right there in public, by both the parents and children.
Again, above – This is the reason that tradition needs to be put into words and
placed where future generations can read it and learn from it.
It is often said, “As the
pendulum swings . . .
THIS ARTICLE IN CONSTRUCTION MODE. More to be added to
"It Matters"