I tell people my Dad was on a State Champion basketball team in Nevada, 1939. This was in his annual when he graduated. I put the 2 photos together. I like how it looks. He is back row 2nd from the right, if you are unable to tell.
If you look at the year Dad was born you notice he was 19, almost 20, at this time. Why? You may ask. More information about Dad. I should write a book to chronically cover his growing up.
Dad was born in Maumee, Ohio, near Toledo, a strong Polish community. His parents were separated and in the early to mid 20's this was a tough time. He had 3 sisters, Val and Dorothy (who I share a birthday with) both older, and a younger sister Helen. They were placed in an orphanage during this time. Dad told me that there was a lot of discrimination going on and not just towards Black people but Polish as well. (We have all heard nearly every Polish joke out there). Well, due to this Dad was interestingly forced to box the Black kids during there recreational time. He became a very good boxer. (Personally I have felt the back side of his hand and fist but that is a total other story. (You should have seen me at the Texas DPS Academy during boxing. Only a few wanted to go against me.)
Finally when he was 16 he was forced to leave the orphanage and went back with his mother. (Some of this is not fully clear in my mind but it is close.) After a time living with his mother and turning 18 he made a big move. During the FDR Presidency and the Great Depression the Civillian Conservation Corp was formed giving jobs to young men between the ages of 18-25. He jumped on a train and went west to Nevada. Ending up in or near Lincoln County and the 3 towns in the area, Pioche, Caliente, and Panaca.
While there he worked at State Parks building whatever was needed to keep them in good order. He took me to the area and showed me some of the things they did. The CCC was loosely military based in organization I believe. Dad stated that he became the enforcer, that is understandable. Now please know that all, or most of this was told to me during a nearly 3 hour drive from Las Vegas to Panaca in 1989. He stated one time that one of the other guys was bad mouthing either him or someone and once they got off the bus Dad knocked some sense into him. He gained this reputation throughout and no one messed with him. Remember the boxing in the orphanage!! There was a story of one of the commanders at the time that was not too thrilled with the circumstances he was in and decided to take his life. Dad had to clean up the mess, dang that is some dark $#!+ !!
So to move forward Dad made another choice, he was going to get his high school diploma. That is how he came to go to Lincoln County High School in Panaca. He excelled in both football and basketball all while doing his classwork to graduate and work at the CCC.
One final mention of his time in Nevada is after graduation he went on to Reno and competed in what was a precursor to the Golden Gloves boxing. Yes he won his weight class. I had his trophy at one time but lost it somewhere in a move. From there he made another life choice and joined the Army Air Corp, later to be designated the US Air Force.
I have left out a few details that are private and for family only but this explains so much concerning my father and his disposition. This also allows you to understand why he was 20 years old at the time he graduated high school.
