A MOVE UP

During my seventh year in the Philadelphia area, I was selected for a promotion to a sales supervisory position at the Wilmington, Delaware branch of the 3M Company.

SO. . . I hit the road, traveling 35 miles a day from my New Jersey home to Wilmington, or directly to a territory to work with a salesman, that being my primary function in the job. The Wilmington branch territory included all of the state of Delaware plus five counties in southern New Jersey. It was an lot of ground to cover, but I was equal to the task.

The territory had some "hot spots," a description that defined "good for business" areas. They were Wilmington, Dover (the state capitol) with its huge air force base, and Atlantic City, the cream of the seashore area. Dover Air Force base was and is a huge complex. Its main fleet consists of the C47 cargo planes used for carrying personnel and equipment. Often, I would have the opportunity to see a plane being loaded with tanks and armored trucks that drove right into its cargo space.

What do I remember most about those years? One moment stands out. I was assisting a salesman making a demonstration in a dental office in Atlantic City, when news came over the office radio of the assassination of President Kennedy; end of demo and visit.

More, later.

SEASHORE FUN

In my previous blog (FAMILY VACATIONS) I wrote about vacation time in Surf City, N. J.

Surf City is, to my mind, an ideal family resort - small enough to be avoided by large building projects, yet complete enough for family enjoyment.
What did we do during our month-long times there? Of course, the ocean beckoned, as it always did. Yet, we were located closer to the bay and its safe-swimming beach. While I was working, the family used the bay. On weekends, we used the ocean beach and its challenges of very large waves and often tidewater that could be dangerous. I was fully aware of this and protected the family accordingly.
What else could we do? There was usually a carnival on the island, which meant weekend rides for the children, followed by cotton candy and ice cream treats. We attended a small Baptist church where a vacation Bible school was held and our children attended.

I enjoyed clamming. With a dollar permit in hand, and in the other hand, a basket fitted inside a car tire tube, I would wade into the bay until about chest high, feel for clams with my toes, then duck under to dislodge them and put them into the basket. This is the way that Native Americans clammed many years before, using reeds for the flotation device. Nothing, absolutely nothing is better than a clam chowder made with fresh-from-the-water-clams. Wow!

More, later.

FAMILY VACATIONS

When I changed to my copier job we were able to plan family vacations - the primary one being time at the New Jersey seashore.

A family in our church had a house in Surf City, New Jersey. As you might imagine, from its name, it was a seashore resort, located about sixty miles from our home. The first floor of the house was a garage, the second floor, a very large apartment, and the third floor, the owner's apartment. We began to make plans to rent the second floor apartment for one month during the summer - usually in July. The house was located one block from the bay and about three blocks from the ocean, a site that I considered ideal for our family's use.

So, on the first of July, in 1957, off to the beach we went, in our car, loaded with family, a dog and a bowl of goldfish. Once settled in, we luxuriated in the steady, cool breezes from either the ocean or the bay, and set about enjoying ourselves.

Because I was trying to establish myself in the copier business, I did not take a vacation for the first four years, but was satisfied with weekends and occasionally a Wednesday overnight with the family.

The house-owners drove to the shore every Wednesday evening for an overnight refresher and I traveled with them, returning to work early on Thursday mornings.

More, later.