The move to Ashland was easier than the move from Weston to Offut. Lillian, Al and Cliff traveled by train and it only took a day. Ashland was only 60 miles north of Paintsville, where they boarded. They knew no one in Ashland, but they were able to find a place to stay.
Lillian quickly found work in a dress shop. As she did easier in life, she quickly adapted to this line of work and was successful. She was making enough to support the three of them. They found life more pleasant then in the mining towns.
Soon she encountered a young man who had also moved to Ashland from the north, a traveling salesman. Ransom Abbott sold typewriters throughout that portion of the country for Olympia Typewriters of Topeka, Kansas. Lillian and Ransom hit it off and started to see a lot of each other. Soon they decided to make a family life together.
For the next several months, through 1927, the four of them lived in Ashland. Ransom traveled extensively through neighboring states, selling his typewriters and Lillian continued to work in the dress shop. Al and Cliff attended school.
Then Olympia offered Ransom a new territory, the home store territory, in Topeka, with living quarters over the home store. Ransom and Lillian discussed the situation. Both were individuals who suffered from wanderlust and wanted to move frequently. The offer was too good to pass on. So they decided to head for Topeka.
However, this time they would move on without Cliff. Lillian's younger brother decided he did not want to move any more. Instead, he was going to drop out of school and get a job there in Ashland and settle down. He was 15 by this time. So once again, the family was splitting up. Once again, as the family said their good-byes, it would be the last time they would see or hear from each other in their life times. Lillian, Ransom, and Al were heading to Topeka.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment