THE KID FROM ARMOURDALE

About the Book

This is a story about a kid that was raised during the Great Depression when the word welfare was virtually unspoken. He had deep loyalties for God, country, and family. It was the custom in those days to salute the flag each school day. He attended weekday church school every Wednesday afternoon during his elementary school years. His family was poor but proud and self-reliant. Lloyd learned early in life that if he wanted something, he had to work for it. His loyalty to his country was reflected in his leaving high school and volunteering for the navy the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It’s about the struggle of two high school dropouts that fell in love. They started life together on the bottom rung, and it never occurred to them to feel sorry for themselves. They were happy in their stroll together down the rough and rocky road that lay ahead. Theirs was a love affair that lasted fifty-seven years. They were both from broken homes and determined that their children would not suffer a similar fate. It is the story of two kids willing to work hard, to study and learn, to save a penny wherever possible. It is a story of survival. They ate weeds, as some people might call them. They liked to call them spring greens. He hunted rabbit, squirrel, and quail in winter and fished during the summer. It all went into the larder. Inch by inch they elevated their lot in life, not unlike a waterlogged timber that might slowly rise to the surface and into the sunshine. They grabbed snatches of education wherever they could. Esther took typing, shorthand, and secretarial courses and later a school of cosmetology. Lloyd finished high school, took college courses, and acquired a little more than the equivalent of two years of college when the air force selected him for an engineering course at the University of Colorado. It’s about the search for Valhalla, a place and the means to retire, after a lifelong struggle by two kids so unlikely to succeed in life. Together they proved the truth of the old adage “If there is a will, there is a way.”

About the Author

Lloyd was borne February 8, 1925, in St. Joseph, Missouri (home of the Pony Express). He was reared in Armourdale, the toughest section of Kansas City, Kansas. His family was very poor. They were self-reliant during the Great Depression, at a time when welfare did not exist. He was orphaned at age thirteen. At the outset of WWII (December 7, 1942), he dropped out of high school and was in the Navy Recruiting Office early Monday, December 8, 1942. He entered Pearl Harbor March 16, 1942, where he boarded what was to become the most decorated ship in the U.S. Navy (USS Enterprise [CV-6]). He earned two silver and four bronze combat stars while aboard ship. He returned to the States after approximately three years, and married Esther Beck. Completing five years, he left the navy and later joined the new air force. He and Esther had two children (Carolyn and Gary). Lloyd retired from the air force after acquiring his education and completing twenty years military service. He worked in civil life as an engineer for such companies as Parsons Engineering, Chrysler Airtemp, Northrop Space Labs, Northrop Carolina, Olin Corp., and Northrop Corp. Aircraft Division. Lloyd and his wife returned from working five years in Saudi Arabia with the Northrop Corp in 1977 and found their Valhalla in Winter Springs, Florida, where they remained for twenty-five years. After the loss of his wife, Lloyd moved to be near his son in Melbourne, Florida.