Well almost wordless . . . Can someone say GQ?! Yes indeed, I now know where mydad got his sense of style and love for hats!
Grandfather, Willie Taylor
He got it from his father, Willie Taylor, another man of impeccable style in my family tree! Special THANKS to my Aunt Frances Taylor Marshall for sharing this very special photo of her father (my grandfather) with me. I must say when I pulled this photo out of the envelope, all I could do was grin. My grandfather was a very handsome man and I can only imagine his swag was smooth as the man he was too! Now I understand why his wife (my step-grandmother) was so “fiercely” jealous where he was concerned. Yep, Willie was quite dapper in his day. What say you about this man of impeccable style in my family tree?
“On this Veterans Day 2013 and beyond, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.” – Dan Lipinski
Sergeant John W. Taylor, served with the 169 2nd Engineer Battalion, Masiwa, Japan from 1945-1947
Special THANKS to my dad’s sister for sending me a few military photos she had of my dad in her collection which allowed me to create this great military collage of him for Veterans Day 2013!
Family and friends, be sure to check out my discoveries about the military life of my father over the past couple of years by reading some of the related blog post below:
This is one of my favorite photos of my grandfather with his beloved great-grandchildren!
Great-grandchildren featured (l. to r.) are Nichelle Taylor, Nia Taylor, Marcus Bowie, and Nicole Taylor. Photo taken by John W. Taylor, 1981
The two great-grandsons who were not at his home the day this picture was taken were — Victor Taylor and Michael Baker.
Willie Taylor definitely enjoyed visits with his great-grandchildren! He especially liked teasing those great-granddaughters by calling them little boys. Of course whenever they would strongly object to being called boys, he would start a playful argument with them about why they were most definitely little boys. Being his only grand-daughter, I know how they felt. When I was their age, he called me a little boy too! I tell you those playful arguments with him about your gender could last for hours, which was exactly why he started this argument with you in the first place — LOL!
Retirement bliss is exactly what I call that smile on my grandfather’s face as he holds his first retirement check from Maxwell House in his hands in the photo below.
I’m not sure of his exact retirement date, but I do know he put in over 45+ years at the Houston Plant. Below is a brief write-up about my grandfather’s work experience through the years at Maxwell House that I found with the photo above. When and where was this information published? I have no idea. But if I consider the number of years he worked at the plant, I would say his retirement occurred during the mid to late 1970’s. As I look at some of the information printed on the back of this clipping, it appears to have been cut out of a company publication.
[Transcription]
Retirement Bliss
Retired Plant Services Foreman Willie Taylor (l.) accepts his first retirement check from Houston Plant Mgr. Russ Cox. Willie began working in the R&S Dept. in 1930 for 35¢ an hour. He worked his way up to a shipper with a merit increase to 40¢ an hour, but a cost of living increase brought his salary to 45¢ an hour in 1941. Willie recalls that the wages were good for a job that was “all muscle and manpower.” Willie, like many other MH employees, worked his way through the Depression, a world war, recession and inflationary cycles. After all that, he feels retirement is a time to do “nothing — just nothing.”
After 45+ years of hard work at some of the pay rates listed above, I agree wholeheartedly . . . doing “nothing — just nothing” sounds mighty good to me too– LOL!
If you have my grandfather, Willie Taylor, in your family research, let me hear from you because . . .
I’m claiming kin!
It’s Treasure Chest Thursday and from my digital collection is a photo featuring an employee celebration for Willie Taylor!
My grandfather began working at the Maxwell House Coffee Plant in Houston around the same time that my Uncle Jesse started working there in 1930. His first job was in the Receiving & Shipping (R&S) Department and by the time he retired in the late 1970’s, he was a Plant Services Foreman in addition to being the head coach of the company’s all-black baseball team. He was well liked and a very respected employee on and off the job. His hard work and dedication to the coffee industry was definitely a time to celebrate —
Congratulations!
3/4 million man hours without a lost time accident
Claiming Kin Genealogy 