A Fight Against Tyranny

Through it all, I was determined that Annette would not miss one day of kindergarten. With the late afternoon hospital appointments and assistance from my wonderful sister-in-law, Annette kept pace with all of the other children her age.

One year later after Janet had major surgery to remove ninety-eight percent of her tongue and portions of the roof of her mouth, throat and jawbone, Annette had passed her sixth birthday and was ready to enter the first grade of school. Getting her ready for school brought back memories of my childhood.

When I was six years old, 'Uncle Will' Finfrock took me back to Kentucky so I would be baptized in the same church where he was baptized.

Mr. William Finfrock was the Butler Country Humane Officer and he came into my life when I was six months old. He was the only father figure I ever knew. I credit him, more than anyone else, with keeping me on the right path in life. He is in my earliest memories as a child, and his unwavering love and guidance inspired me to live a better life than that which was common on Market Street.

Uncle Will helped our family survive by making certain my mother received assistance under the newly enacted Aid to Families with Dependent Children provision and he took my grandfather to enroll for work with the new Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935. Mom would get me cleaned up and let me sit on the front doorstep on market Street to wait for Uncle Will to drive up in his Willy's Knight automobile. He would come without fail and take me to his house on Sixth Street to eat supper with him and his wife. This daily reprieve from Market Street gave me something positive in my life and was instrumental in keeping me out of trouble.