Posts Tagged ‘Samuel E. Warren’
“Have A Green Christmas” by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
“Have
A
Green Christmas”
Have Yourself A Green Christmas !
If Christmas Day this year is “too close” to put the”green” in your stockings and brighten up the gifts under your Christmas Tree,then, a simple act of “saving” should be the shine on your Christmas tree and keep more bills in your wallet for next Christmas. Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
I always got my “Letter to Santa Claus” request.
Regardless of the economic conditions at the North Pole and in “The Lone Star State”, Mom and Dad always made sure I had a “Merry Christmas.
As a child, I simply came to expect that I would have a wonderful Christmas. After all, both of my parents were workaholics.
My mother left “public work” to stay at home and “raise me.” I appreciate her decision. Throughout my childhood, my dad ALWAYS worked a second job. In 1960, momma and I moved to the farm in Missouri.
My mother was one of the few “Women Hog Farmers In The United States Of America”, especially in 1960. Momma raised hogs and used the money to provide for my every need from grade school through college.
Daddy stayed on the job in Houston, Texas to “maintain his seniority” and continue working toward a retirement plan.
Like most kids, I knew, the vast majority of my toys on Christmas morning came from the money in daddy’s wallet and the cash in momma’s purse.
The Big Picture
What I never saw was “The Big Picture” of earning a living on a daily basis.
The reason the wrapped, brightly colored boxes, sporting bright bows, under the Christmas Tree made my home look like Santa Claus’ North Pole Showroom and a Toys R Us store is because my mom and dad were “bound and determined” that I would have a better childhood than they had.
I did.
Dirt Poor Childhoods
Opal M. DeLong Warren, my mother, was born in a small house in Peach Tree Holler, near Reeds Springs, Missouri. Opal’s mother, Martha, and father, Charley, loaded their personal belongings and their son, Richard, into the covered wagon and moved from Versailles, Missouri to a place, near Reeds Spring in Stone County in 1907.
All the rest of the DeLong children were born in Stone County. Richard began farming as soon as he was big enough to do the farm chores. The other boys: Willie, Hobert and Joe didn’t go to school very long.
Opal DeLong liked school and graduated from the 8th Grade. Every year, Martha, her mother ordered three dresses a year for Opal out of the Sears and Roebuck catalog to wear to school. She rode a pinto-mix horse, named,”Shorty” to the Wilson’s Creek School in Bear Den Holler.
Samuel E. Warren, my father, went to school in Perryville in east Texas. Joseph Samuel Warren, his father, was a tenant farmer, which meant J. Frank Couch, owned the land that “Papa” Warren farmed.
“Dirt Poor” is an accurate financial description of my parent’s childhood years.
To add insult to injury, Fate unleashed The Great Depression around the time of their teenager years.
Daddy’s Short Range Financial Plan
Daddy adopted the policy of “Live For Today ;Tomorrow Will Take Care Of Itself.” The major flaw in his long-range financial plan is “In Order To Spend Money – You Have To Earn Money. The More Money You Spend, The More Money You Need To Earn To Keep Your Comfortable Lifestyle Going.”
At the end of the day, Daddy’s financial plan meant, “He had to be a ‘workaholic’, in order to keep earning money to spend. The irony is you spend so much time working,you never have “any fun” spending your money.
I remember, Monday through Friday, he would arrive home from work at about 4:30 p.m. He would sit down for supper and talk about his day. He could only relax a few moments and then, he would have to start getting ready for his “night job” as a bartender or bouncer.
His gray pressed Cameron uniforms would hang in the wardrobe beside his double breasted suits and neckties. By about 6:30 or 7 p,m,, the pickup would ease down the narrow driveway to take him to his “part-time job.”
Sometimes momma would wake me up about 2:30 or 3 am, so I would be waiting for daddy to come home from work. The headlight beams would dance down the narrow driveway and in a few minutes I would smell the aroma from a box of a dozen Dunkin’ Donuts, which daddy usually would stop and pickup on the way home.
Daddy did make a lot of money. But, he met himself coming and going.
Daddy always had “a wad of bills” rolled tightly that looked like a short, fat, pill bottle, with a rubber band around them that he carried in his front jeans pocket. In addition, to the roll of bills in his front pocket, he always had several bills in his wallet.
The roll of bills was one of those “Games Of Life” that when you take it out to pay a bill, people notice and they just naturally assume you are some kind of financial genius.
The stated “Big Picture” was daddy and momma were working to build their “Dream Home” on land momma bought in 1938, near her mother and father.
The Coffee Service
Daddy told me he offered the coffee service in his shop “at the plant.”
From 1960 until his death in 1978, daddy always made two trips a year to Missouri. One vacation trip always came for the Fourth of July. The second vacation trip depended on the vacation schedule at Cameron’s, which meant his two weeks began either at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Whenever he came to Missouri, he would stock up on three-pound cans of Folgers coffee. He said it was cheaper to buy the coffee in Missouri. About once a year, he would buy a huge coffee pot that could make about 50 cups of coffee. Daddy wasn’t a shopper. He went into a store, picked up what he needed and paid the cashier at the checkout register.
However, if Sammy walked past Craftsman tools, he would stop and browse slowly at all the tools. Daddy loved Craftsman tools and bought all kinds of Craftsman wrenches, vise grips and other tools.
One trip each year, daddy would “shop” for a new coffee pot to take “to the plant.” He would shop around at the different stores and compare the features of the coffee pots.
I have, no doubt, there are people who bought bass boats with less research than daddy put into buying the right coffee pot. Despite his dedicated “shopping around for the right coffee pot”, he always ended up with the same type. And, he would buy a huge cardboard box full of Styrofoam cups to take back to Texas.
I remember the huge coffee pots because their shiny silver cylindrical design made them look like huge vacuum tubes that went into the back of a radio.
“I get to the plant in the morning and I make the coffee for the shop. I have a coffee can with a slit in the lid. The guys know that coffee is 25 cents a cup. They put a quarter in the can. If they don’t have a quarter, then, they put in some change. I don’t really worry about it because the guys are honest. At the end of the week, I take the coffee can of coins home. Monday morning I always bring in a new empty coffee can for that week’s coins,” said Daddy,
In 1978, daddy was suppose to leave at the end of June for his Fourth of July trip to Missouri. He never arrived. The Houston Police Department notified momma of daddy’s death at home.
A few days after daddy’s funeral, momma and I made the trip to Houston. We found Folgers coffee cans stored in rooms around the house. Each can was filled to the plastic lid with mixed change from pennies to half dollars and a few silver dollars. The cans all had coins and none of the coins had been wrapped.
Momma asked Wanda Brinkley, a next door neighbor for help in wrapping the coins. Wanda had momma take the coins next door to her mom and dad’s house, Mr. and Mrs. Pete Pippins. Momma ordered the pizzas.
All day until after midnight, Momma, Wanda, Mr and Mrs Pete and I wrapped coins. Wanda’s two daughters, Donna and Debbie also joined the coin wrapping adventure. At this point in US history, American banks did not accept coins unless they were wrapped in bank wrappers.
Using the bank coin wrappers that daddy had on hand and some of the wrappers that Wanda had, we all wrapped coins all day and until well past midnight, It was after 2 am, when we finished.
Bank Robbery ?
The next day, Wanda, Momma and I went to the drive thru lane of the local Reagan State Bank. Wanda would put about 10 rolls of coins at a time up to the drive thru teller’s window.
“You have a lot of coins,” remarked the teller.
“My husband, Sammy had the coffee concession where he worked. He died recently. We just discovered, he never wrapped any of the coins from the coffee fund,” explained Momma.
The teller nodded. A bank guard showed up with a dolly. The teller seemed to slow,at one point, in tallying the amount of coins. We sat in the car at the drive thru for a couple of hours.
After about an hour, the bank guard emerged from a side door with the rolls of coins in the familiar purple bank sacks stacked neatly on the dolly. He pushed the dolly slowly across the several lanes of the drive thru into the rear entrance of the main bank.
The bank guard made about four more trips with his dolly from the drive thru to the bank.
A couple of days later Wanda spoke to a friend, who worked at the bank. The friend had heard about all those sacks of coins that came through the drive thru. The friend laughed and told Wanda it was not uncommon for people to drop of rolls of coins at the drive thru and she told Wanda the rest of the story.
Then, Wanda Brinkley, telephoned momma.
“When we dropped those coins off at the bank. The bank got worried and called the local office of the FBI. They told the FBI why they were calling and asked the bureau to check for recent bank robberies because they could not believe that anyone would save that amount of coins.
“ While we were waiting in the drive thru lane and the teller seemed to be taking the time tallying up the coins, they were waiting for a call back from the FBI to tell them if there were any reports of bank robberies where a large amount of coins had been taken,” Wanda explained and laughed.
We wrapped about 20 three-pound coffee cans of coins to take to the bank. Momma also brought about 10 cans of unwrapped coins with her back to Missouri. It was two or three years before I ever wanted to wrap rolls of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters,half dollars and silver dollars.
My father died at age 52. The Harris County, Texas Corner’s Report listed the cause of death as a “possible ‘double heart attack.’” Daddy had literally “worked himself to death” through the years.
Momma’s Big Picture Financial Reality
Momma would never be a “Victim Of A Global Financial Crisis.” She had a poor childhood and realized ”Money Has To Be Managed.”
Momma always put aside a few dollars to have when she needed it. “Save” wasn’t a word, it was a philosophy and a way of life.
People would tease my mother that she probably had the “First Dollar” she ever earned. Momma would smile and shrug off the comment.
Opal M. DeLong Warren was “never broke.” Maybe, she didn’t have a lot of money in her wallet or handbag, but, Momma was “never broke” financially.
Momma loved to remind me “I bought the first car, your daddy and I ever owned. And, I paid cash for it. I bought the first home, your daddy and I ever owned. I bought the land in Missouri, under my own name with my own money, before I ever met your daddy.”
All the claims were true statements. Momma’s message was not that she was a 
suffragette or a women’s libber, but that she knew “How To Spend And Save Her Money.”
Opal M. DeLong Warren is the woman, who went to the Reagan State Bank in Houston and arranged for the money to “buy the home in Houston at 313 East 26th Street.”
Stubborn Sammy
During World War II, US Army doctors had told daddy that he had contracted “malaria in the Philippines.” In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Veterans’ Administration wasn’t always able to convince Congress to provide medical care and decent pensions to veterans.
In the early 1950s, momma found out that daddy was eligible for VA medical care payments thanks to the hard-nosed efforts of Texas Congressman and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Sam Rayburn.
Daddy told Momma, Uncle Sam had sent him into World War II and, “I don’t want nothing else to do with the ‘Damn Government.’”
Momma reminded Daddy that some days it seemed difficult for him to get out of bed to go to work. Grudgingly, Daddy did the paperwork and accepted “Uncle Sam’s Official Help”, which didn’t last that long. By then, daddy’s health had improved and he did go to work everyday.
Momma The Family Banker
Martha Lou Marcum DeLong, my grandmother, kept her coins in a coin purse and her dollar bills in a sugar bowl in a plain white dish cabinet in the living room.
Everyone knew Grandma DeLong had worked hard all her life, but, Missouri’s “old age pension” provided her the money to live out her senior citizen years.
Opal M. DeLong Warren had the reputation in the DeLong Family, Stone County, Missouri, Upshur County, Texas and among neighbors in Harris County – Houston, Texas of “Saving For A Rainy Day.”
The Burial And The Banker
When daddy died in Texas, I asked momma if we could bring his body back to Missouri for burial. I went to the bank with momma. She told the banker, “I need money to bring my husband’s body back to Missouri for burial. I don’t know, when or how I will pay you. But, you will get your money back.” I watched momma tell the banker those words.
In the 21st Century, most bankers would find a polite way to show the widow to the door out of their office.
In 1978, the banker nodded, “Okay, Opal. When you know how much you need for sure, let me know. You’ll get the money,” I heard the banker tell momma.
I was already a college student, so I was impressed that a banker would listen to a widow without demanding various forms of collateral.
The banker was not going out on a limb. He knew momma owned her “80 acres” of land and owned the other “10 acres” of land that she lived on. He knew she still “owned her home in Houston, Texas.”
The banker wasn’t gambling; he was investing.
The worst case scenario would be the bank would end up with Missouri real estate and maybe Texas real estate. Real estate in a city is usually more valuable than farm real estate,
In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was an active real estate market in Missouri and Texas.
But, everyone from Stone County, Missouri throughout southwest Missouri knew “Opal Warren always pays her bills.”
Samuel E. Warren was laid to rest in Yocum Pond Cemetery, near Reeds Spring Missouri. The financial cost of moving daddy’s body from Texas to Missouri was $7,000. The bank let momma borrow the money. Momma paid the bank off ahead of time.
Momma used money she already had saved for the associated funeral expenses and the double headstone. Uncle Sam provided the “foot marker” that was placed at daddy’s grave.
Save And Manage Your Money
Through the years, relatives would have financial issues come up in their lives. When they had no one to turn to, they would turn to “Opal.”
If a relative was out to buy a big screen TV, then, they were on their own.
But, if it was a valid emergency like a mortgage, insurance, food for their kids or medical bills then momma would “loan” the money. A few of my relatives paid Momma back. The majority did not.
Momma had a better financial plan than daddy. Momma never invested in the stock market. I had the debate with her several times and she always told me, “Son, I hang on to my money.”
Momma quit farming around 1982. The only “risky investment,” momma ever made, other than her son, was in Land.
Land That Pays For Itself
But, she always said, “Invest in Land, that will pay for itself.” Her Land did pay for itself because she “rented the pasture to other farmers for their cattle to graze on” and “loggers would cut some trees off the Land every three or four years for lumber.”
The Other Land
Through the years, momma would tell me that people had called her and tried to sell her land in Galena or elsewhere in southwest Missouri. I asked momma why she passed on the offers.
“I have the land I want. The land I have been offered isn’t land I would want to buy at any price,” Momma would answer. Momma lived on one parcel of land. She could open her front door and look across the road to see the land that she had bought back in the 1930s.
Momma is one of the few people in the world, I know of, where bankers would call her and try to persuade her to move her money to their bank. She would smile, “The Bank Of Crane has always done right by me. Until something changes, I will stay with my bank.”
At age 84, momma left “The Real World” in 2004. She had a double wide home that had central heating and air conditioning. She never went hungry and there was always food in the ice box and the pantry. She always had her coffee and cigarettes. When she went to the doctor or the hospital, she could always pay her medical bills.
Momma’s Financial Secret, “She Learned To Save Money And Manage Her Money.”
Momma and daddy made sure I always had a wonderful Christmas. I got enough toys to outfit a museum.
I was an “Only Child”, which meant I had to play by myself most of the time, but, I had a huge wooden toy box in the garage full of toys to choose from each day.
In Missouri, every other weekend or so, my Cousin Donna would be at Grandma DeLong’s and Uncle Richard’s. I would of brought toys with me or we would go off in the woods to play. In Missouri, the toys were in a big cardboard box in the garage.
Samuel E. Warren Jr., the senior citizen, realizes now, Momma’s ability to always put “The Green In My Christmas” came from her daily financial sense of saving and managing her money. Thanks to my mother, “My Merry Christmas” was always “A Green Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Momma .”
The Star Picture Frame Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
The Star Picture Frame
The glass star picture frame is an American antique from the World War II and 1940s era. Opal M. DeLong Warren and her husband, Samuel E. Warren sit at the counter of “Sammy’s”, a landmark and famous Houston, Texas restaurant. Sammy and Opal smile at the photographer.
In this photograph, Opal worked as a sales clerk at Foley’s, a major department store in Houston. Samuel E. Warren worked as a "Heat Treater" at Cameron Iron Works, In his job, molten metal was poured into dies to make tools for crescent wrenches,oil well equipment and jet plane pistons.
At the end of the day, the Warrens would often meet for supper at "Sammy’s." Both of the Warrens had a second job. Opal worked nights as the chief waitress at "Cook’s Hoedown Club." Samuel worked nights "pulling bar" as a bartender and sometimes a bouncer at "Cook’s Hoedown Club."
Mom and dad were "workaholics", but their efforts paid off they "owned" their home in Houston and they bought a farm in Missouri. Of course, they were also the proud parents of the world famous American Reporter,Writer and Photographer, Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Opal and Sammy established the foundations that guided Samuel E. Warren Jr, to join the United States Air Force and try to make a positive difference in the world. 
Samuel E. Warren Jr. married Maria Christina “Christy” Saldana at Clark Air Base Republic of the Philippines, July 19, 1990. December 19, 2011, they moved to Leyte, Republic of the Philippines to allow Christy to return to her birthplace. Nikon D 70 Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Wingman To The Angels
Wingman
To The
Angels
By Samuel E. Warren Jr.
I can die a happy man !
I don’t have a son.
I don’t have a grandson.
I had the honor of any father or grandfather, as I stood and walk alongside my nephew in his commencement exercise.
“What Mothers Do” – Lanail Saldana holds a graduation gown, while Marife Saldana Roa, the mother of Glen Roa, checks the precise alignment of the flower on her son, Glen’s graduation gown before commencement exercises. Canon 40 D Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
I walked alongside my nephew, Glen Roa, on the day that he underwent a monumental turning point in his life.
March 29, 2012, I strolled alongside my nephew, Glen Roa, in his formal graduation procession of the Juan Villablanca National High School, in Pastrana, in the Republic of the Philippines.
The joy inside my heart, mind and soul, I describe as, being promoted to the rank of “Seraphim” and given the opportunity to fly Combat Air Patrol off of the left wing of Saint Michael, the Archangel.
As a writer, monumental moments in my life, I always put on paper or place in my electronic journals, the “Sam I Am Blog” and my “Samuel Warren The Writer” blog.
A writer feels emotions like his fellow man and fellow woman, but, a writer has the passion to translate that emotion into words and to commit it to print for future generations.
For me, walking alongside Glen in his commencement exercise gave me a supreme sensation of pride that could only be explained as being assigned to the military ranks of the Heavenly Host.
What greater tribute could there be in the Afterlife for a military man or woman than to be designated a “Seraphim” and authorized to fly alongside the Archangels ?
I am not a religious man. I try to be a spiritual man.
This event, gave me, the Pride, to feel like I had the honor to serve: as “Wingman To The Angels.”
“The Walk” — Samuel E. Warren Jr., strolls alongside, Glen Roa, his nephew, in the formal procession on Glen’s Graduation Day. Canon EOS 40 D Photo by Christy Warren.
The nature of the ceremony, obviously, made the day a monumental moment in Glen’s life.
The day was obviously – “Glen’s Day.”
Glen Roa accepts Communion at the church, before joining his fellow students in the formal graduation procession to the auditorium. Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
However, Glen’s American uncle felt the tremendous positive energy flowing from the universe into the graduates, their parents and relatives.
A magnificent, positive energy that reminds people, you can change the world, you can move mountains. You simply need the faith in yourself and your convictions to move you along the path to greatness.
I stood next to Glen and felt like one of God’s Seraphim standing on a majestic mountain peak bathed in golden sunlight. The rays of the sun, moved along my angelic breastplate and tunic. My wings opened to the sunlight. I stood ready to serve in the immortal ranks of The Heavenly Host.”
My feet stood in the Real World on the soil of the Republic of the Philippines, but, my imagination takes flight. I draw my sword and spread my wings. At altitude, I bank in the sunlight and fly through the ranks of the seraphim. I soar and sail among the formation of the archangels and move into position to fly off the left wing of Saint Michael, the Archangel.
Today, I am Saint Michael’s Wingman.
Back in the Real World, I stand alongside Glen. The sweltering heat and sunlight reaches the point that it is uncomfortable to just be standing outside. Yet, Glen stands in the long white line of students selected to graduate.
“The Long White Line ” — boys and girls in caps and gowns move along the route of the commencement exercise procession toward the goal of graduate. Photo by Christy Warren.
I have always been a persistent, passionate writer. When I pick up my camera for a news or important photography situation, I enter my Michelangelo mindset and try to figure out how I will be able to capture a photo that will remain a moving work of art to stand the test of time. The photography mindset is never a conscious act as much as a mental urge to be in the right place, at the right time, to capture a moment of history to stand the test of time.
My calling in life had always been to be the best reporter and photographer that it is humanly possible for me to be.
My writer’s mind, tells me God and Saint Michael, took the necessary actions to move me to this point in time.
In November 1988, I reported to Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines. I was a single American G.I., in pursuit of the dream of earning a Pulitzer Prize for writing or photography. Born a Texan and raised an Ozarks country boy, my ambition in life was to be a world-renowned photojournalist.
Life is an assignment that takes a serious of missions to put you in the right position to attain success and contentment. On duty, in the Real World, the United States Air Force would issue orders that would take Christy and I to Japan, Alabama and finally to retirement in Missouri.
Mount Pinatubo’s noxious sulfur fumes had changed the blanket of air over Clark Air Base into the pungent, persistent, almost choking stench of “rotten eggs.”
The slight shudder of the earth beneath your feet in February had grown to an intensity that seemed Mother Earth was being racked with strong contractions like a woman in labor by the month of May.
Before the rebirth of Mount Pinatubo into a volcano, Christy and I had taken the military orders and landed in Japan.
Mount Pinatubo had been nature’s “bunker buster bomb blast” that severed all Real World communications between Christy and her family in the Republic of the Philippines.
The status of all Christy’s relatives were “Unknown” – Missing In Action.
In a matter of days, Mount Pinatubo had devastated a section of a nation with a force usually displayed by nations at war.
And, the aftermath of Mount Pinatubo’s action, took 21 years for Christy to finally locate and determine the fate of her family in the Philippines. Marife and Ramon had had their own families.
With communications reestablished the Warrens in the United States and the Saldanas in the Philippines were becoming a family separated by a body of water called the Pacific Ocean.
Like United States Army General Douglas MacArthur, Christy Warren was determined to “Return To The Philippines.” General MacArthur had a mission. Christy Warren had family in the Philippines.
Glen adjusts his robe and straightens his mortarboard graduation cap, I smile and realize that at last Life had brought us to this point.
Glen, the young man, had grown up hearing stories about his “Tita Christy and Tito Sam.” Since our return to the Philippines, he had seen we were not fictional characters, but real people.
My grandfather, Joseph Samuel Warren, had been an East Texas farmer. My father, Samuel E. Warren, had served in the European Theater of Operations and the Pacific Theater of Operations, during World War II. Dad had earned two Silver Stars and assigned to the United States Army Signal Corps had installed some of the first telephone lines through the jungles of the Republic of the Philippines, during the war.
Glen had told his mom, he wanted to join the military. I hope the stories of my dad’s military service had inspired Glen to understand that military service is a calling of patriotism and compassionate devotion to one’s fellow citizens.
Glen’s confident smile reminded me of my exciting days at Clark Air Base back in the late 1980s. I looked at Glen and was reminded of General Fidel V. Ramos. I had been fortunate enough to take a photo of General Ramos on one of his visits to Clark.
When I arrived at Clark in the 1980s, I landed in the Philippines in the aftermath of the EDSA People Power Revolution and it was an exciting time.
The Global News Media had labeled former President Ferdinand Marcos an “evil dictatorial strongman.” Since President Marcos had always been a reliable and devoted ally to the United States Government in the Pacific and Asia, people in the Philippines were suspicious of the United States Government and most all Americans.
Life in the Philippines had became a constant topic for the global news media. Since the revolution in 1986, the world watched to see what would happen in the Philippines.
Corazon Aquino, a housewife and widow, had become the President of the Republic of the Philippines. While President Aquino had been educated for a few years in the United States, Americans as a rule, really knew nothing about the new president.
At Clark, we performed out military duties and wondered if we would get orders to pack up and head for “home” – the United States. In 1988 and 1989, I went to work each day in a country that was in transition as a new government established itself. It seemed everyday the international news media had stories of political intrigue originating from the Philippines. Americans back home in the United States were confused about the news coming out of the Philippines.
Every couple of weeks I would call my mother back in the United States, who would usually be upset because she had seen television coverage about the actions of the New People’s Army and had seen on television and in newspapers the coverage of protests demanding “Get US troops out of the Philippines” and, of course, the television footage was always shot outside of Clark or Subic on the days that protestors showed up, a few minutes before the global news media arrived with their television cameras and radio microphones.
I remember seeing a photo of General Juan Ponce Enrile, in uniform, on the cover of “Time” magazine. Despite the news going on around us at Clark, the names of two prominent Filipino generals always seemed to emerge in a positive light: General Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos.
I looked at my nephew, Glen and wondered if he would rise in life to have the admiration and respect of his comrades in arms like General Fidel Ramos. Then, we began walking in the procession toward the auditorium.
In my writer’s mind I had been elevated to the position of “Wingman To The Angels.” In the Real World, my nephew, Glen walked the symbolic pathway that led him through the doorway to decide which path he would take in life.
Glen Roa, steps to center stage, during his commencement exercises to accept his diploma. Samuel E. Warren Jr., his uncle. crosses behind him to stand beside him on the stage. Canon EOS 40 D Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
He stepped on to the stage and bowed to the audience.
I stood at his side and bowed.
As we stepped off the stage, I was confident, that Glen would be a young man, who would make a name for himself, and serve his fellow citizens.
To the reporters of “USA Today,” the “New York Times,” the “Washington Post,” “Time,” “Newsweek,” the “Manila Bulletin,” the “Philippine Daily Inquirer” the “Philippine Star,” Reuters and the Associated Press, I would suggest, “Get your cameras ready,” my nephew, Glen Roa, is a young man, who will make headlines and history.
Congratulation, Glen !
Grandfathers, grandmothers, historians, antique dealers, toy dealers,
Grandfathers, grandmothers, historians, antique dealers, toy dealers,
Daddy’s Little Wagon
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
We all have items that help us to identify who we are. Usually Death and The Grave are the only forces that will ever part us from these cherished items.
A couple of weeks ago, when, my wife, Christy convinced me that sometimes our house felt more like a museum than a home, I reluctantly agreed to search through the storage sheds and see if there was anything that I could absolutely “live without” or that the future civilizations of humankind would not miss as a Smithsonian Institution exhibit. For now, I’m keeping my Star Trek dolls.
My Star Trek Dolls - I was a "Trekker" from the first episode of "Star Trek." Stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana , in the early 1980s, I bought these Star Trek dolls in the Base Exchange. This crew ended up in my U.S. Air Force household goods from my days as a single "buck" sergeant through my career as a married staff sergeant and had other ports of call from Kadena Air Base Okinawa, Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines, Misawa Air Base, Japan, Gunter Air Force Station, Alabama and finally went on my version of active reserve status at Warren Land,Galena, Missouri. Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
In my personal, cloistered, secure “Area 51” sector of storage there stood Daddy’s Little Wagon. The brown paint of rust had long ago removed any traces of the traditional red color you would expect to find on a child’s wagon. A Real World symbol of my late father, I had never considered “parting with” the wagon.
Looking in the mirror each morning, I realize there is more salt than pepper in my once jet black hair. I must admit I am looking “long in the tooth,” even with a close shave to remove the daily whiskers of a man’s age.
The Three Samuel’s Presence in The Real World is winding down. Joseph Samuel “Mr. Sam” Warren of east Texas, “The First Samuel” of the Warren clan, left this life back in the late 1960s or early 1970s.
The Second Samuel of the Warren clan: Samuel E. Warren, known as “Sammy,” a World War II U.S. Army veteran, of Houston, Texas, left this life in the mid-1970s.
The Third Samuel of this Warren clan is me – Samuel E. Warren Jr., of Galena, Missouri. And, “Sam.” “I ain’t gettin’ any younger.” Someday, the sun will rise, and I will no longer be in The Land Of The Living.
I looked at Daddy’s wagon and wished that there was another Samuel Warren to pass it along to in our clan or at least a child, who would play with it until the wheels fell off and the pieces faded into the earth.
I have no biological grand children. Therefore, a grandfather, grandmother, historian, antique dealer or toy dealer will have to contact me via email for more information about the legacy and possible future of this antique toy.
My Daddy’s Little Wagon – In the field of yellow dog fennel, in southwest Missouri, on Warren Land, sits the childhood wagon of my father Samuel E. Warren. My father had this wagon as a boy in the 1920s in east Texas and the wagon served to help out with yard work at 313 East 26th Street in Houston, Texas in the 1950s before being brought to Galena, Missouri in the early 1960s. By the 1970s, the wagon was retired from active duty on the farm and placed in storage to await service to future generations of Warrens. Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Estate Jewelry Ruby Masonic Ring
Estate Jewelry
Ruby
Masonic
Ring
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
The Ring
Samuel E. Warren — Mason– Reagan Lodge — Houston, Texas —
This is a front view of a ruby Masonic ring that was owned by Samuel E. Warren of the Reagan Lodge in Houston, Texas. It is an estate jewelry item offered on Jewelry by Christy on Etsy.
Photo by Christy Warren
The Masonic ring contains a ruby set in a ten karat yellow gold band. My father, Samuel E. Warren owned this Masonic ring. During a work related accident, his first Masonic ring got hung up in some equipment and had to be cut off his finger.
This is a profile view of a ruby Masonic ring that was owned by Samuel E. Warren of the Reagan Lodge in Houston, Texas. It is an estate jewelry item offered on Jewelry by Christy on Etsy. Photo by Christy Warren.
This ring is his second ring. The ring is circa 1945 to 1960.
The ring size is unknown – possibly a 10 – it is a big ring that looks as though it could be sized to fit.
Daddy was a member of the Reagan Lodge in Houston, Texas, so the ring may have been ordered through the lodge or purchased from a jeweler in Houston or Gilmer, Texas.
According to family history, he joined the Masons after he returned to the United States from World War II.
He followed in the footsteps of his father, Joseph Samuel Warren, who was a Mason of the Bethesda Lodge of Gilmer, Texas.
This is a profile view of a ruby Masonic ring that was owned by Samuel E. Warren of the Reagan Lodge in Houston, Texas. In this photograph, Samuel E. Warren Jr., wears his father's ring to show this profile view. The size of the ring is obviously too large for the wearer's hand. It is an estate jewelry item offered on Jewelry by Christy on Etsy. Photo by Christy Warren.
The Man – Samuel E. Warren
Samuel E. Warren was born January 20, 1920 in Simpsonville, Texas. He grew up on a farm, the little brother of two sisters: Georgia and Agnes.
The son of Joseph Samuel and Elizabeth Warren, he worked as a short haul truck driver making cargo deliveries to Tyler, Kilgore, Gladewater, Mount Pleasant and Gilmer, Texas.
In 1945, Sam’s “Uncle Sam” called. He got “drafted.” After boot camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, he served in combat in the European Theater of Operations, which involved a tour of duty in Italy.
Once the war in Europe ended, Sam was sent into the Pacific Theater of Operations. As a noncommissioned officer in the United States Army Signal Corps, he served tours of duty in Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. He is one of the Army linemen who strung telephone lines into the rural areas of the Philippines.
This Cameron Iron Works 20 Years Service pin was awarded to Samuel E. Warren, who worked as a "heat treater" at the company in Houston, Texas. Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
After the war, Sam got a job at Cameron Iron Works in Houston, Texas. He worked in the area where hot, molten metal was poured to create tools. He was a workaholic.
After work, he would come home and freshen up before going to his night job.
He was a bartender and part time bouncer at Cook’s Hoedown night club in Houston for years. When Cook’s finally closed their doors, he went to work at the Dome Shadow, near the famous Astrodome in Houston.
Sam, a Capricorn, was always a quite man, who spoke in an even tempered voice. He owned Chevrolet trucks, usually in a two tone color pattern of light blue and white.
On the job, he wore a starched and pressed light blue uniform with the white circular patch and the red embroidered name: Sam.
Away from the job, Sam’s blond crew cut found rest under his gray stockman’s Stetson. His view of casual, everyday attire was a western shirt, and black shined cowboy boots.
Whether he wore khaki pants or denim jeans they had to be starched and have a crease ironed in – down the center of both legs. Uncle Sam and Samuel E. Warren may not have always seen eye to eye – Daddy didn’t like President LBJ. Nonetheless, Samuel E. Warren’s civilian clothes always had a military appearance.
His Liberty Head Silver Dollar buckle created an unmistakeable military gig line. He wore a traditional brown leather western belt — but, the name: WARREN — was stamped in the leather on the back of the belt.
Samuel E. Warren was a husband and a father, who worked hard all his life. He complained about politics and was always ready to help out a friend or a neighbor. He survived The Great Depression and the combat of World War II. He was kind to kids and liked animals. He was proud, when as a teenager, I joined the Ozarks Chapter of the Order of De Molay. He took pride in being a Mason.
The Legacy
The kind of man, Samuel E. Warren – Daddy – was, I believe, he would of wanted his ruby Masonic ring to be on the hand of a young Mason ready and willing to make a difference in his community and the world.
Thus, hopefully, whoever buys the ring will be a young Mason or a family member who will give it to a young Mason. If you are interested in the ring, you will find it and the price listed in my wife’s Etsy shop Jewelry by Christy http://www.etsy.com/listing/76511556/vintage-estate-jewelry-ruby-masonic-ring
This is a profile view of a ruby Masonic ring that was owned by Samuel E. Warren of the Reagan Lodge in Houston, Texas. In this photograph, the 10K designation is obvious on the inside of the yellow gold band. It is an estate jewelry item offered on Jewelry by Christy on Etsy. Photo by Christy Warren.
Sam
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