Dad would have reached 100 in November

This year, my father, James C. Wade, would have reached his 100th birthday on November 25. He was born on November 25, 1924, to Milton Albert Wade (1888-1948) and Maudie Larene Debus Wade (1898-1979) in Herington, Dickenson County, Kansas. He was the youngest of six children–four boys and two girls. Herington was a town constructed by the Rock Island Railroad to work as the service depot for the trains traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles. Grandpa Wade was a boiler mechanic for the railroad.

When Dad was born, the family home was down by the river. In the spring of 1928 a torrential rain caused the river to flood. Dad’s oldest brother, Clyde, carried Dad on his shoulders through waist deep water to get Dad out of the house. Later that year, Grandpa Wade bought several lots on the edge of town and had the house moved to one of these lots. Dad’s sister, Mildred was sick with the measles and was in her bed upstairs as the house was moved.

At about the age of ten, Dad wanted to visit her sister, Bernadine, who was living in Denver. He played Hobo and hopped a west bound freight train. He got all the way to Hugo, Colorado before being discovered. Hugo was a supply station (water and coal). The personnel at Hugo telegraphed back to Herington to inform them that Dad would be on the next freight train headed east. After returning, the workers at the Roundhouse where Grandpa Wade worked called Dad the “Hugo Kid”.

In 1936, Grandma Wade took Dad and Mildred to San Antonio to visit her sister, Nellie Berdella, and her family. One evening, Dad and several of the boys from the neighborhood walked downtown to the Alamo. Grandma had to go to the police station to pick up Dad. The boys had been taken to the station because they were trying to dig musket balls out of the side of the Alamo. Grandma took Dad and Mildred home the next day.

At thirteen, he went through confirmation classes to become a member of the church. As they neared the end of the classes, the minister asked what name they wanted to be entered onto the Church’s roll. Every member of the class had a middle name except Dad. His birth certificate showed his name as “James Wade”. Dad decided to use his Uncle Clarence’s name as his middle name so the entry would be “James Clarence Wade”. This was a decision he would later regret. For years he would not tell anyone for what the “C” stood.

That same year, after school Dad began working for the Rock Island Railroad as a messenger. He took messages between the depot and the roundhouse. When a train needed to be repaired, the passengers were housed at the hotel in downtown Herington while the repairs occurred. When telegraph messages came in for the passengers, Dad would take them to the hotel and would usually be tipped for the service. He would also take messages back to the telegraph office if the passengers need a telegraph sent.

This train route often had Hollywood stars riding the train. Dad saw Clarke Gable and Carol Lombard. The train also transported the Notre Dame and University of Southern California football teams for their annual end of year game. When reaching Herington, the traveling team’s train would have a lay-over of a couple of hours. The team would go to the high school and have a practice before getting back on the train to continue their travels. Over the years, Dad got to see Knute Rockne and all the All-Americans on both teams.

In 1939 when Dad was 14, he could get his driver’s license. Between his wages from Rock Island and the tips he received, he was able to buy a 1928 Ford roadster fifth wheel for $20. The roadster was a two-seater with a “rumble seat” with the fifth wheel mounted to the rumble seat’s lid. For another $20 he bought five 16 inch rims and tires and he spent another $2 on a new battery and $2 on an oversized steering wheel. He had what he considered a “cool” ride.

To be able to cruise town with a couple of his buddies they needed fuel. After the gas stations closed, they would go around and check to see if any gas was left in the gravity-feed hoses, which got them enough fuel to cruise town.

One evening as he was returning home, Dad drove over a railroad track at a high rate of speed. The car actually flew coming off the tracks and Dad had a problem getting the car under control after he landed. He had done this before and thought nothing of it. However, his brother Clyde and his wife, Millie, were walking along the sidewalk by the track. Shortly after Dad got home, Clyde stopped by to remind Dad about what happened when Dad had dumped his motorcycle. Grandpa Wade took a sledge hammer and smashed the cycle’s engine block. Dad’s driving improved, at least where anyone in the family could see him.

During high school, Dad played trumpet in the band and ran track. He was too little to play football and too short to play basketball. He graduated in 1942 and went to work for Rock Island as a telegrapher. During the early stage of World War II, railroad personnel were not drafted into the military. However, in early 1943, that policy was changed. He was drafted into the Army in July 1943.

He was sent to Illinois to go through basic training. Instead, he was sent to the University of Illinois to attend college. However, a week after starting the program, the program was cancelled, and he then went through basic training.

After completing basic training, he was assigned to a communication unit that was posted at Camp Luna located outside Roswell, New Mexico. Camp Luna was the communication hub between the Pentagon in Washington, D. C. and the White Sands Proving Ground. White Sands was the home of the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb. It wasn’t until several years after the war that Dad knew that the messages he handled considered the development of the atomic bomb.

In 1944, Dad’s unit was transferred to Washington State to handle communications with the forces in the Pacific. On the trip from New Mexico to Washington, Dad and Mom met.

After the fighting ended in Europe, he was sent to Bremen, Germany to manage the return and/or disposal of war materials. Upon returning to the States he was discharged. Shortly after, Dad and Mom married in St. Clair, Michigan.

Copies of the Almont Historical Society’s various books can be purchased by contacting Jim Wade at 810-796-3355 or jrwade49@ gmail.com or stopping by the museum on Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.