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One of the government buildings in Washington, D.C., contains an inscription, "The Past is Prologue." It is said that a passenger in a taxi asked the driver what that meant and he replied, "That means you ain't seen nothin' yet."'
The dictionary defines a prologue as the lines introducing a discourse or play; an introductory act or event. The years of my boyhood were, in a sense, the prologue to the main event that was to follow. After leaving the Eastern Shore and spending the next four years in college, then having a career of forty-two years in public education, combined with numerous other types of employment during the summers, and various types of other activities all the while, the description of the boyhood experiences that I have recalled here leads me to agree with the taxi driver - this was only the prologue and "you ain't seen nothin' yet'." The experiences and activities during theseyears beyond my boyhood were so varied than they would make another story.
In this book, the pronouns “I” and “my” have been used often and will probably have even more extensive use in this chapter. I have always been conscious of the use of these pronouns when another person is talking or writing, usually because they are used in a boastful manner. My intentions are not to be boastful; I simply am not able to find other ways of recording the events in which I participated. The reader has my apologies.
As a conclusion to this book, I would like to evaluate the contributions that the experiences of the first quarter of my life made to the remainder. Thus, it would seem appropriate to briefly describe the experiences that I have had since my boyhood days on the Choptank River and then to list the contributions made by the earlier experiences...
Just what contributions did the experiences of my boyhood days make to the fulfillment of my life's work? A few of these contributions, along with some comments, follow, but these are surely not the exhaustive list.
Hard Work. Most of what I did in later years required hard work, some of it physical hard work, especially in the summers and on our small farm. Many of the experiences in my teenage years involved hard work handling large bags of fertilizer1 working in the truck patches and the cannery, and some chores around the home and store. I'm glad that I did not shirk those responsibilities or quit because they were hard.
Endurance. So often during my life a task required long hours and muchendurance until completed, especially reports due by a certain date, or physical tasks that took hours to complete. I had plenty of opportunity to learn "to hang in there" until completion time in my dad's store in the cannery, in unloading boats, and in other jobs during my teenage years, and I really believe that these experiences resulted in developing a pattern of staying with a job until completed.
Skills. In later years I was to further develop and use many of the skills that I learned in manual training in high school, in the blacksmith shop, in working on the Model T, in painting at the oil yards and in many other tasks. The starting of the shop program at Craigsville was a direct result of the few skills that I knew I had developed in manual training. These were further developed through additional advanced training later in my career.
Specific Learnings. I had to have a knowledge of many different tools, equipment, and supplies when approving lists for funding in the vocationalprograms under my supervision. Becoming acquainted with the many hardware items and small tools in my dad's store, in the blacksmith shop, and in school helped me considerably to have a knowledge of these items. Of course, the general education received in school was of value also because had it not been for this I would not have been able to enter college or to pursue the advanced education in later years necessary for my career.
Agricultural Skills. I know that the work on our small farm and in our gardens was made much easier by the things learned and the skills developed while working in the truck patches on the Eastern Shore. It also helped me to have a better rapport with my colleagues in vocational education who were in the field of agricultural education.
Understanding People. Many times during my career it became necessary to make a decision about employing or recommending a person for a position. First impressions of people can be deceptive, but sometimes only one chance is all you have. I believe that my association with many people of all types in my early years helped me to understand people and to evaluate the potential of many of them upon first contact, as well as to understand that underneath some people are different from what they appear to be on the surface.
Honesty, Integrity, Responsibility, Reliability. These are but a few of the attributes that were learned in my dad's store, the oil storage yards, working for Mr. Harry T. Moore, working in the principal's office at school, the truck patches, fertilizer warehouses, and in the canneries. I have been grateful for the moral values taught to me through which I learned and developed these attributes early in my life. They were responsible for my success experience in later life.
Moral Values. The influence of my parents, my church, and the leaders at our church youth camp enabled me to develop moral values that I have cherished and honored throughout my life.
Finally, credit must be given to my family for caring, loving, and giving me the feeling of belonging. Too many youth today are allowed to grow up on their own without reviewing the love and care of their parents. In the matter of providing a wholesome and caring home life for the offspring it would appear that our society as a whole has definitely and regrettably regressed
Recreation. Unfortunately, in later life I never seemed to have the time to enjoy the type of recreation that I experienced in boyhood days. Associates of mine who traveled all over the state just as I did managed to keep fishing tackle and gear in the trunks of their cars so that they could stop at a mountain stream and fish for an hour or so. I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have gone fishing, boating, or hunting since my teenage years. I regret this and I believe that everyone, regardless of how much responsibility they feel toward their work, should find some time to get away from it all and "smell the roses" for just a little while.
I want to direct my final thought toward the young who may chance to read this book. It seems fashionable today to do as little work as possible and to get by with as little study or learning experience as you can. This attitude will only lead you down a path of false security. Make use of your teenage years to learn all that you can, to experience many things, and to do some really hard work. My experience proved that it will pay off in later years.
THE OLD CHOPTANK
Flow gently, Old Choptank, among thy green braes;
Flow gently, Old Choptank, I'll sing thee thy praise
Three score years ago, and a little more,
I worked, and played along thy shore
The memories of those days are still quite clear and will remain forever dear.
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