/media/bill/Lexar/Neil Crawford Howell - history.txt ******************************** Linux : launch leafpad from filemanager, using command : leafpad --tab-width=3 %f ********************** 01Apr1927 Neil born at Holy Cross Hospital in Calgary, Dr. Francis ?lived in Sunnyside? nil memory from 1927 1928 Family still in Sunnyside Mom had a picture of me being held by a neighbor: Mrs King. She had a son named Theodore (Ted) whom later became an idol of mine. His sister "Violet" was born about 4 years later. He and violet both cultural (?block?) leaders of their society. 1929 Family at 2517 Center Street North Recall Mom patting me on the porch in my carriage on a very bright, cold (-10 degree) weary day - covered opening with a blanket Nothing specific, dog, home-made ice cream Ma (Grandmother), Uncle Steve, Uncle Albert, Auntie Rose Sunday dinner at Ma's with kinfolk and close friends. Great thoughts - happy 1932 Neil starts grades 1 to 3 Tuxedo Park Elementary School singing "Home, home on the range" in front of class - STAGE FRIGHT & TERROR Mrs. Durham (Principal) at recess - chasing all "laggards" down stairs, strap in hand Roy Hall, Tommy Sharpe, Buster Wilson - close friends for life Baseball & hockey at Tuxedo Park rink tag football 1935 School districts change, for grades 4 to 6 Neil goes to Northmount Pleasant Elementary School 27th Ave & 4th street walking to school - 25th West one block West; and three blocks East from 1st St and 25th to North Mount Pleasant school open prairie 3 blocks by 3 blocks (graduates top student and one other girl Pauline Druml, German parents) only a couple of houses to the North side of 27th Ave at that time, (that's as far West as 27th ran), No houses North of that Art ability shining in class school program was easy First "love? - Bobbie Muir later married Tom Sharpe, I never when out with her. She might not have noticed me? Tattle telling on someone at school, then a fiftenn year-old bullyat the rink chafing me me up for "tatelling". After the war he was at the rink where I bounced him all over the rink, whereas he took off his skates - left - and never came back. Became friends for life with a big guy named Roy Hall ??Close to ?someins touch? with Tom Sharpe & Bobby (nee Muir) til divorce?? ? Story of standing up for a kid being bullied by a gang? 1936-38 Northmount Pleasant Elementary School No life-long friends Very active in sports Very active in church - Tuxis movement (?what's that?), Mathene family 1938 Neil starts Balmoral Junior High 12 years old entering grade 7 Top all around student in school different classes for different subjects - French/German/Latin option, though language was a requirement new friends - Al Slater, Fred Spence, Terry Smallwood, Jim Dobbin, Joe Christie, Bill Gadsby, Bob Kremm Art * ?blademics? were easy still friend of girls: Heart Beat? Dorothy ?Margoch? - once again never dated her Bill Gadsby (played hockey for Detroit Red Winnds during Gordie Howe era) and I started dominating all sports (hockey: basketball: football: soccer: baseball) : Alberta champs - midget hockey Alberta champs - junior football Alberta champs - junior baseball North Calgary - new school basketball (??) I represent Balmoral in ?800 yard? race Also Junior High soccer, fastball Al Slater (Jewish) very close. We ate blintzes at his house. We came to school one day - we were late - climbing steps to main floor - at top of stairswas the Principal Mr. Cartwright (he was a mean disciplinarian). We got to the top of the stairs. Cartwright chided us severely! threw slater down the stairs and walked away. I clambered down to Al (he was OK physically) and asked him what the hell was that all about!? He replied "you'll learn"? Suppose Cartwright was a "racist". Dorothy Morgan puppy love, I became close friends with her older brother Bill Gadsby, ?Bill? Christie, ?? Dobin, ?? Slater : stories for a book 1941-1946 Family still at 2517 Center Street North Neil starts at Crecent Heights High School, lasts 4 years, kicked out & doesn't graduate went sports crazy - sports star [hockey, baseball, basketball] Jr hockey final of Alberta Jr football finals of Alberta 4 times Junior baseball champions of Calgary Played in pro baseball (City) at 15 years of age Played in Big Six hockey league (?what is that?) Junior basketball (city runner-up) Senior high school basketball championship Senior high school track team Coached Crescent Junior basketball team - 2nd year Received sports scholarship offers from St Rosa ?College? in Calgary, Stanford in California (didn't take - no money in sports at that time?) Winning in sports was not my aim in playing? Just outsmarting the other guy? Other sports Pool shark at Helmers pool hall Team-mates, competitors Bill Gadsby, ?? Carter, ?Ron? Southern (?later ATCO founder, CEO?), ?? Christie, ?Jim? Spence, ?? Dobbin, Bob Wylie, ?Ronny? English I was an academic nobody - marks plumment (discrepancy between report cards parents got versus school records) School staff : Ward ?Steckle , Doc Hutchinson Art was starting to enter ?my interests? - I stood out in art classes: pencil sketched "cover girls" and sold them for 10 cents, ?at a time when? 5 cents would get you into a movie plus a chocolate bar. I played hookey and went to the ?Kinema? Theatre matinee and ate an O'Henry chocolate bar. socially (outside of my world) a shy disaster taking out principle's secretary Shirley Beazley heart throb - held her hand! home life not good Brother Bob attacks me with a butcher knife! I decked him. It must have been his fault (?grin?). Didn't tattle - so I started trying to befriend him. Learned to Cook! Mom left Dad for a couple of months! I was a housekeeper, chicken raiser, cook, dishwasher, whatever... Boy I hated this place, but it was room and board FREE learnt my I.Q. at Crescent (?and later in the Calgary Fire Department?) - I could have joined the "Club" - MENSA I was crying for attention but was not was not approving of adulation final straw for high school was explaining baseball flight to physics teacher 1947-1951 Into the workforce (post Crescent Heights High School) Applied to I.A.C. (a credit card company) for a job. The manager got all excited? IQ in the 140s, too high for their requirments. Question - would you like to speak to Hitler? Answer - Yes Still playing ?Junior League? football. The Calgary Stampeders Coach and Assitant Coach wanted me to play for them. I was 120 pounds, and found my first scrimmage most, shall we say, "a little overwhelming"! Got job as "office boy"at ?20 ??/?? GasCo (gas company) ?Jack Gordon?, ?our? football club manager, was also the Assitant Office Manager at the gas company. My first major lesson on "... It's not what you know, it's WHO you know ...". I enjoyed the gas company and still have fond memories of : Hank Carmine, Lois Bennini, John Vennini - customer services, cooking; Nora Geddes Most of the company executives were Eastern Establishment English military: rather dull ?whereas the Western Canadians were sharp. The Gasco was the ultimate in working conditions and benefits Friends : Ron English, ?? Carter, and I had a very close relationship. Drinking beer, sports. English had a carand was big on girls. We'd go out on dates wherein English would supply the girls and Carter and I would buy the beer and gas. Ron would bed the girls before taking us home! Carter and I couldn't keep up with a slow week... I was offered a scholarship at Santa Rose College (USA hockey kings at that time) but E.W. Bowness (President of the GasCo at the time) and Mom&Dad discouraged me? Assholes Drove my first car - a GasCo office unit. No lessons - no deaths!? Bunch of us would hitch-hike to Banff on weekends. Slept in cars, Hotel rotundas, drank beer. Big Time, not much money. Got contract with New Westminster hockey league: Left GasCo in early 1948. I was asked to ?try-out? at the Brooklyn Dodgers camp. I wasn't selected due to ?Blow Reversing? skills! Pitched all the batting exercises, and was told to "slow it so I can see if these guys can hit"?? Played ball in Lethbridge ?during the summer? Went to New Westminster in September : I was the last cut and was farmed out to Kamloops. I played there until about 25Dec1948 and decide that pro hockey was NOT my life and went home for Christmas and a new look at life. 17Sep1951 Neil & Irene married at Cresent Heights United Church 16th Ave & 1st St NW Fire Department - 1951 got job, new many members Stanlin (Standard Oil of Indiana, later Amoco) draftsman 1951, played on company hockey team 3-4 times more money than fire department, production clerk, only trained one in Canada (kind of like accountant), got to know oilfield equipment Chief of Prodn dept fired Dad, scapegoat for Prodn boss Cochrane screw-up Sep1952 Donna born Apr1954 Kim born Fall 1955 (Laurie was 9 months old) bought first house in Thorncliff, had been living in basements, attics BP job - supposed to be landman but didn't get that, draftsman Took aerial photography, map-making but cheaper to buy from Alberta government fall 1957-1962 "Iron" Singletary of Hugley Drilling phoned Dad, recommended by Stanlin draftsman and promoted by Old Stalin Prodn boss who fired him "Iron" was American, had played football for several universities, tough, married into wealthy Slick-Ershall family by now general knowledge of drilling, production, very low-level management in oil industry, had taken many courses, was receptionist, secretary, pay clerk, boss At the time drilling companies didn't keep books, would phone Neil to ask if they had any money Learning from hockey & work that who you knew was very important, was always very interested in people Jim Hugley later became mayor of Tulsa, Philips Petroleum was close friends, became good customer BP, Shell, Exxon (Standard Oil Co), Stanlin, Gulf Socony (SO New York, owned by Standard Oil Co), Hudsons Bay, Pacific, Texaco - much smaller then Oil company people hated guts of competitors, nice people, wives very powerful - sometimes most important people Brits very class conscious, treated Dad as a peon Hugely died ~1962-63, new CEO Jennings appointed Dad Pres of Drilling Company but just a message boy ~1964-1965? went erroneously to Trinity Drilling, old Ralph Rush & wife lived in Fort Worth (Dallas?), son & son-in-law were playboys, no future for died Ralph Rush died, Billy Day (son-in-law) absconded leaving company broke, out of a job again !1965 nothing but holiday, leased Texaco service station in Canmore, thought he would fish on Kananaskis, but never worked so hard for so little in his life, servive station went to profit, left John Rudolph discovered Rainbow Lake (6 masn company), hired Dad to go to Rainbow Lake to control inventory and selected town of Rainbow with aerial photos, was there when Ron Southern built airstrip Rainbow Lake grew fast, scouting, spies, blowouts, airstrip in gumbo Bought bridge on Indian Reserve for Rudolph - to keep the majors out Alberta Governemnt countered by forcing open usage of roads, majors pissed off and pressured Dad hired in drilling as clerk, then in Production dept, made drilling programs and sent out bids 1965 Banff Oil - Tony Vandenbrink owner, hired drilling rigs then ?1966? Reading & Bates hired Dad to replace Hugh Planche (later MLA), with Dad they started making money have to watch costs and theft Jun1966 Advised going to Australia, Frank Garnett took Dad to shop to buy luggage - you're going to Australia in a few days, go or you are out of a job. enddoc