Price: $$9.95

Location: $Poplar

Date Posted: 05/21/12

Ad Text: Russell was born 1904 in Monon, Indiana. He lived with his grandma near Knox on a small sand farm for two years (ages 5 to 7), until she died. He was then shuffled between relatives - often strangers - to work for his room and board. At age eleven (1915) Russell was put on a train from Indiana to Poplar, Montana. By seventeen, he was a full-fledged ranch and farmhand. He could do any part of the roundups, even castration. Russ harvested fields encompassing Poplar, Montana, throughout Kansas and into Canada ( he describes the town, Indian Reservation, farm and ranch life). Introduction This is a biography of my abundant experiences, beginning when I was orphaned at the age of five in Indiana, 1909. I was shifted for several years among relatives, and, once, at around eight years old, was given to strangers who wanted me for chores. When I neared eleven years of age, one of my uncles put me on a train, alone, going far west---toward another uncle living in Montana. At twelve, I struck out on my own, working numerous farms and ranches, laboring hard from sunup until sundown. Jobs were scarce during the winters. So I rode the grub line, many times going hungry, cold and always no place to call home. If I was fortunate to find work, I labored in freezing conditions---some days twenty below. By seventeen, I was a full-fledged ranch and farmhand. I could do any part of the roundups, even castration. I harvested fields encompassing Poplar, Montana, throughout Kansas and into Canada. I burrowed deep down in copper mines at Butte, Montana, while underage; and within a year, advanced to blasting. I rode many rails and kinds of trains when roaming; wherever the locomotive stopped, I hopped off and did chores, in or near town. Usually I stayed two or three weeks before catching another freight. I traveled back to Indiana at age eighteen and worked various places: Illinois Steel Mill, Pullman Co., Gary Railways, Elgin-Joliet and Eastern Railroad, Standard Oil, Sheriff's Department, Indiana Harbor Sheet and Tub Mill, Anaconda Refining Co., and Builders of Boxcars. When the depression elevated, I was out of employment like thousands of others. I couldn't find any jobs and I didn't want handouts. So I started vending eggs and additional farm products. I was thriving until the banks closed, wiping away my small funds. Again I embarked on my own, picking up discarded bottles and peddling these at speak-easies. After saving a few greenbacks, I bought perch from the great fish markets of Chicago, scaled and washed the merchandise before selling it to taverns and stores. I began gaining and grew ambitious for something else; thus, I jumped into hauling coal, which quickly led me toward black dirt excavating. Orphan Boy by R. J. Milne, Jr. available online at Amazon.com