Tag Archives: Mississippi

Genealogy

James Warren Hale

James Warren Hale
James Warren Hale

James Warren Hale (1886 – 1966), my grandfather, was, primarily, a laborer on the railroad but he was also an aspiring writer.  Beginning in 1942, and likely earlier, he wrote a total of 28 short stories, plays or novels –5916 pages — in 35 journals.  The journals are a mix of hard cover “Record” books and spiral bound notebooks.  Most of his stories are very simple and written in ink with a small but neat cursive handwriting.

I recall seeing a few of these stories along with a typewriter on a table in the bedroom he used at the Askew Farm near Meridian, Mississippi.  This would have been in the late 1950s.  I thought there were only a few stories.  After his death in 1966, his daughter, Jeannette Hill, kept the manuscripts.  Jeannette died in 2004.  After the death of her husband John in 2018, I asked their son, John if he was aware of the stories and if they were anywhere to be found.  John eventually found the manuscripts in an old suitcase.  John gave the manuscripts to me and I began to study them.

I typed three of his stories, including his autobiographical “Railroad Man” and have now put them in a book, “The Times, Life and Stories of J. W. Hale” along with some genealogical information.  The book also includes a short autobiography about growing up in the late 1800s that was written by Dr. R. E. Hale, brother of J. W. Hale as well as a history of the Elizabeth Presbyterian Church that they attended.  I’ve self-published this book on Amazon in both paperback and ebook format so others have access to it.

Frankly, these are not good stories but I’m pleased to have them.  They tell a little more about the grandfather that I barely knew.  In particular, his autobiographical sketch, “Railroad Man”, provides a lot of background information. 

My grandfather may not have actually intended for his stories to be read but I’m pleased to make him a published author.

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My Craftsman Tool Box

When I was a Junior in high school, my parents gave me a set of Craftsman tools. I still have them; in fact, I still have all of them.  One day my dad put my young son up to asking me how many of those tools I had lost.  I replied, “Well, none” and my dad just laughed – says something or other about me, I suppose.  Until recently, I’d never lost a pocketknife either but that’s another story.

The story behind my Craftsman tools is that we had an old Chevy, my dad’s “work car” that needed an engine overhaul. When my dad was not using the car, I considered to be my car.  Of course, my sister considered it her car but, again, another story.

With the new tools, my dad’s guidance and funding, my friend David Ayers and I went to work on the old Chevy. We didn’t have a garage so the overhaul was done in the front yard.  We didn’t have a means for removing the engine so we removed the hood and left the engine in place.  Our primary objective was to replace the piston rings and re-seat the valves.  Soon the engine was completely disassembled – and that’s when the weather turned cold and the snow began to fall.

South Mississippi does not get much snow but David and I had the bad luck to schedule an outdoor overhaul during a record snowfall.   The snowfall was 5 to 12 inches in South Mississippi and temperatures were in the low 20s.

My dad needed the car to return to work but, more importantly, David and I had arranged for a “double date”. We needed that car – and soon.  My mother still laughs about the memory of David and I working in the snow for a while then coming into the house, standing over the floor furnace to warm up, drinking hot chocolate and then returning to the job.   We did manage to get the car working in time for my dad to use it but without a car and with heavy snow on the ground the dates were cancelled.

That set of Craftsman tools is a box full of memories.