9/7/2019
Another birthday come and gone. I had a great day and many well wishers on FB and by mail. I don’t know how many, but it seems to get to be more each year because of FaceBook, I suppose. Now, on with a new year—I’ve never been what I now am. That’s always somewhat true, isn’t it? Birthday and answering the question of age just sort of makes it seem more real. At the moment, 77 is no more difficult than 51 or 28 or 19. Just a new number to attach to a storyline.
This morning’s sun is heating up a little quicker than the last two days. The morning of my birthday was a cool 58 degrees on our mountain, love that. Today, not so cool. But, it shall not deter me from mowing, just gonna do what makes me get hot, then I’ll put off the rest for a couple of days. Grass isn’t growing as fast now, late Summer days the grass does get tired of growing, I think. (Some of the weeds in our lawn do not take notice, however.)
Personal history is creeping into my mind as I begin to write, hope it’s not boring. One of my first good jobs was with a company called Hamilton Cosco. I was told by the “Personnel Dept.” (now called HR—Human Resources??) that the COSCO was short for the Columbus Company (it was in Columbus, IN.) When Mr. Hamilton started his company in the late 30s that’s what he named it. He manufactured, boxed and sold what was then called “safety matches”—little match sticks in little thin wooden boxes which would strike only on the sandy edge of their box. Safer than the old kitchen matches which were larger and could be struck on anything but water and would light. (Barb’s dead could strike them on his pants leg.)
Somewhere after the War, which had changed what Mr. Hamilton had manufactured to supply-room shelving, Mr. H met a neighboring factory owner named Q.G. Noblitt. Mr. Noblitt, with a partner named Frank Sparks owned a factory which had gone through several name changes (then being known as Arvin Industries.) In 2011, Arvin was dropped and the company today is called Meritor—a meaningless name.
When Mr. Noblitt and Mr. Hamilton became friends, Mr. Noblitt once told Mr. Hamilton the one thing he regretted more than anything about his industry was that he allowed his name to be taken off the company officially. Mr. Hamilton, after due diligence of study, musing that all three of his sons were coming into his business, decided on the name HAMILTON Cosco, honoring his name and still honoring the city. When I worked there, January, 1962 thru July, 1964, that’s what the company name was. About 8 years later, in Chicago, I ran into one of the older men in the company who told me about the last of the three Hamilton sons to retire and the stockholders changed the name of the company. I related to him what Personnel had told me about the family name preservation and he said, yes, but none of the Hamiltons had ever stipulated that legally and the company had taken another big directional turn and the stockholders demanded the name change. COSCO is still in the name.
It is a strange loss to me, though. I knew all three of the sons, though they were a lot older than me, and liked all three (Bill, especially.) I’m sorry for the name loss, though I don’t even have one piece of stock—can’t vote.
Bill Hamilton took a liking to me, even expressed it to me when I left the company. He took notice once, when the factory went on strike, that their strike meant nothing to me and I came to work in the office without regard to the name calling, etc., when I crossed the picket line. (One picketer said to me, “How dare you, bud!” I answered, “How dare YOU, bud! You gonna pay me to stand out here?” He just stared and I went on in.) Bill Hamilton was standing at the door with a smile on his face and shook my hand as I went in to work and asked me what my first name was. From then till the day I left, I would say Hi, Bill and he would say, Hi, Jerry. Not a big deal? It was peaceful. Never got me any favors, but it was peaceful.
One of my department bosses in that office once said, chastisingly, “That’s Mr. Hamilton to you, Jerry.” Bill heard that, stopped and said “It’s alright, Jerry and I know each other.” I liked that—never did like that department head, though.
Oh, the stories life brings to us and our minds can recall. Sort of indicative of what might be. After I was saved (shortly after leaving the Hamilton COSCO company) I took a look back at all those people from there in my mind and wonder still yet, how many of them will be with me in eternity. Only our Lord Jesus Christ knows that answer. I think there’s some I’ll look for, if I’m free to go look.
Thanks for reading, the Elder
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