After running unsupervised for more than a year in Oregon, Davey and Harold were about to be sent home. The next step was: how to get George Ransom Owen’s young sons back to Detroit.
It was warm enough for a cross-country drive so Edward, the
boys’ oldest brother, went to retrieve the little scoundrels. Some other
family members went along for the drive, but I cannot recall who. It was about
1946.
On the road they were, once again, camping sometimes along
the way, Edward using his Army issued (or so I was told) dual coffee-maker-water
heater-maybe cookstove at picnic tables. If I find that old relic in my camping
gear, I’ll snap a photo and share it. I also thought that it belonged to my
Grammaw Farmer.
It was quite the journey for two young boys. Unlike their
bus trip, they got to tour places like Strawberry Reservoir and the Kodachrome
Basin. More than likely, those iconic destinations were off the beaten path as
the saying goes, but for a man who just got out of the US Army, it was a pleasure
for Edward to take his young brothers to see the country for which he served.
One eventful day, a convertible passed them on the highway. The
young teen drivers waved and acted like they wanted to race. They’d slow down,
then speed up repeatedly. The sun was bright. The girls wore sunglasses and
scarves. Edward just grinned but would not take the bait. Finally the driver in the other car waved then
sped off, going over a hill. Only a few moments passed as Edward’s car crept
over the ridge to a horrific scene: The convertible had sped into a truck
carrying new sewer pipes. The front of the sportscar was folded into itself. Edward
slowed his vehicle and the boys saw something that my father, Davey, never
forgot – a young woman’s head tumbled out from one of the cracked pipes, still
wearing the scarf, landing on what remained of the convertible’s crumpled hood.
There was nothing that could be done. If not for Edward
refusing the challenge, perhaps my father could have died.
I don’t know how to end this story. Nothing else eventful
happened along the road home to Michigan after that accident, but two things can be
learned A. No matter how cock-sure you are of your driving abilities and
vehicle, don’t drive recklessly; and B. It’s wiser to keep a cool head in every
situation and just smile.
