Difference between revisions of "Albert Adelard Gagnon"

Revision as of 01:55, 24 February 2015

Joseph Albert Adelard Gagnon
Nationality:	American
Born:	August 3, 1922 Jay, Maine
Died:	September 27, 1995 Titusville, Florida
Father:	Onesime Gagnon (1892)
Mother:	Rosa Yvonne Michaud
Spouse:	Marie Irene Lillian Perron
Married:	February 18, 1950 St. Anne's RC Church Hartford, CT
Children:	Louise Bernadette Gagnon Michael Albert Gagnon Timothy Alan Gagnon James O’Rene Gagnon
Religion:	Roman Catholic (RC)
Residence:	Livermore Falls, Maine West Hartford, CT Hartford, CT East Hartford, CT Livermore Falls, Maine Bradenton, FL Titusville, FL
Profession:	Mill Worker Gas Station owner Chandler Evans worker Army Nat'l Guard Sargeant Federal Civil Service until Retirement Livermore Falls Dump Mgr

Albert's Childhood

We do not have baby pictures for all of siblings, but we do have these pictures of Albert, the last was taken when he was seven years old:

By the time that Albert was in the 6th grade, in Mrs. Margaret Chase's class, he was known for challenging his teachers with questions and logic. One day, he reported having seen a certain bird, and the teacher told him that it was far too early in the season for that bird to be in the area. Albert, not liking to be called a liar, always had rocks in his pockets. He also had a slingshot that he’d made himself and had gotten quite good at hitting targets. He used his slingshot and killed one of those birds. The next day, he carried the dead bird’s body in his pocket on his way to school. When he arrived, he dumped the dead bird on the teacher’s desk to prove that he had not lied. He was made to stay after school, and missed the bus. This would mean that he would arrive home late, miss his evening chores, and get scolded by his parents.

This same teacher used to keep a handkerchief the cleavage of her dress. One day during class, she went to retrieve the handkerchief and her breast popped out, too. Albert exclaimed, “Look at the milk wagon!” causing the class to erupt into peals of laughter and embarrass the teacher. Again, she kept him after school and caused him to miss the bus. Once again, he had to walk all the way home. Many years later, he would often tell the story of walking all the way to school, embellishing the details for his own children, until it was a journey of miles and miles, uphill both ways.

Albert and the other children sometimes worked for a woman in the area, named Mrs. Royce, but all the kids in the area called her "Grammy". Grammy Royce was very strict, and to hear Albert tell the story, very thrifty. She would promise to pay them for work, IF, they did a good job. No matter how hard the kids worked, she would always come and find something wrong with their work, so that she wouldn’t have to pay the whole amount. He remembers weeding her large garden (over half an acre) often, with Grammy Royce closely inspecting his work, before begrudgingly giving him a penny. Half an acre for a penny!

Now Albert was a daredevil. In the winter, he and his siblings skated on the ice. Albert had a pair of hockey skates. He practiced repeatedly jumping over obstacles on the ice. He delighted in his biggest accomplishment – jumping over three barrels placed side by side.

One time, when Christmas was approaching, was helping his father chop wood. The axe slipped, and the blade, which was very sharp, sliced through his boot and cut his foot. He never cried – it was not expected. He rushed back to the house, put a piece of salt pork on the wound and wrapped it in a bandage, and changed his bloody socks. After taping up his boot so that the snow wouldn’t get in, he went back to finish chopping the wood.

He was brave at times, but not as brave as he would like. When he had to walk home, he had to pass a little country cemetery. When he was kept after school, he ended up passing the cemetery just as it was getting dark – enough to scare many kids of his age. He often spoke of running as fast as he could when he went by the place.

Albert’s Teen Years

In 1937, when he turned fifteen, Albert got his first guitar by selling cans of Cloverine salve in the town. It was a lot of work, but he finally earned enough points. He taught himself to tune the guitar, and to play it.

Albert had always been a big strong fellow. When he was a teenager, he was often mistaken for an adult. One day when Albert was about fifteen, he heard about a traveling boxing troupe that was coming to town, to put on a boxing exhibition. Albert who was often impulsive, responded when the troupe asked for volunteer opponents. The troupe manager should not have allowed him to fight, because he was underage. But he never thought a thing about it because it didn’t occur to him that Albert was too young.

Without getting his parents permission, Albert was matched against an opponent and actually got into the ring. He was holding his own when one of the townspeople recognized him. They went to the mill to inform Onesime, who immediately left work to get the fight stopped and prevent Albert from being injured. He was too late, however, because Albert had already won his match. Albert collected his money, a strong scolding from his father, and a good deal of respect. Onesime complained to the troupe manager and threatened to report him to the authorities, and Albert was allowed to keep his money.

In October of 1939 when Albert was 17, Albert went into the C.C.C.’s (Civiliam Conservation Corps) for six months, in a forestry company. His acting company commander was Archie Littlejohn. He returned to the CCC’s for a second time as a laborer in the 1130th Company on October 29, 1940 and was honorably discharged on March 19, 1941, when he got a job. This time, the company commander who signed the discharge papers was Stephen Gaffney.

Following his older brother Wilfred, Albert went to Lewiston with several of his friends in town to enlist in the Marines. Albert’s eyesight was not quite sharp enough, so he was refused. Only one or two of his friends were accepted. Undaunted, they went over to the Army recruiter, whose requirements were a little more lenient.

World War II

Albert successfully enlisted in the army on September 19, 1942, as Serial# 11097328. We still have his dog tags, which list him as Joseph A Gagnon. In addition to serial number, dog tags also listed the father’s name and address. This was presumably to know where to send the body, in case of death or serious injury. In the war, he was posted to 3747th QM Truck Company, Base A, APO 928, in the South Pacific as a member of the truck company. One time, during the war, Albert and another guy in his crew were sent to unload a truck off of an LST (vehicle carrier) during active enemy fire. There were bullets flying past his head, in between he and his buddy while they were moving this truck for use. Albert was so nervous that he grabbed the other guy’s leg with such a strong grip that he left fingerprints and bruises on the guy’s leg that lasted for weeks.

Albert was stationed for a time in Papua, New Guinea. He remembers some of the natives there went topless. He made friends with everyone. He also got advice from an older native woman, “Two women, one roof, no good!” which he quoted many times after he married and had a daughter. He also spent some time in Manila, in the Philippines, where he was sent for R&R (Rest & Relaxation).

Another time, his unit had made camp near the enemy. That night, Albert was in a two man tent, and had to go to the latrine. He got pinned into a corner of the latrine by a huge poisonous snake. Because of the proximity of the enemy, he could not call out for help. He froze in place, and eventually the snake made its way out of the latrine. When Albert finally got back to his tent, he found that the enemy had slashed his buddy’s throat, and he was dead. Clearly, the snake had actually saved his life.

These incidents and others caused him to be very jumpy when he returned from the war. Loud, unexpected noises would startle him, and he would react defensively, by instinctively throwing a punch or kicking with his foot. His buddies liked to tease him, and make him jump. Sometimes, someone would get seriously hurt in the midst of Albert’s lightning-fast reactions. One time his buddies at the mill dropped something behind him, and he automatically lashed out with his fist. Unfortunately, an attractive young woman was innocently walking by, and Albert accidentally broke her jaw. The instigators were fined by their boss, and nearly fired.

We have several pictures taken of him during the war, including some taken on R&R in Australia. He enjoyed Australia very much – loved the country, the accent and the happy-go-lucky attitude of the people. He met and began courting a young woman by the name of Margaret, and must have mentioned her in his letters home. Later, when he met Irene, his family informed her that he had had a girlfriend in Australia. Margaret’s father was not too happy about her going out with an American soldier. He warned her about the fact that they only had one thing on their minds. Not that Albert would have been like that! Margaret’s father had good reason to worry – he himself had been an American soldier during World War I, and had settled in Australia.

Late in the war, Albert contracted malaria. He got so sick that he had to spend time in a MASH hospital. In the course of recovering from the disease, he had lost a lot of weight, and ended up less than 140 lbs. The records of the hospital were later destroyed, when the hospital itself was under attack and severely damaged. As a result, Albert’s service records never reflected that he had contracted malaria during the war. It was an ongoing struggle to get VA benefits after the war, for recurrences of the disease.

According to the paperwork we have, Albert was promoted to Private First Class on January 1, 1945. Actually, this was the second time that he was promoted to PFC. Previously, he had been on guard duty, overseeing several prisoners of war. He was on duty when one of the prisoners tried to escape, and Albert was forced to shoot and wound him. Although he followed procedure, he was immediately demoted and transferred to another base, to avoid enemy retaliation. He had to re-earn his PFC promotion once again.

Back from the War

When Albert returned from the war, he bought a 1930 Model A Ford. He paid $15 for it. When returned to Livermore Falls from the war, he re-applied at the mill for his job. Initially, they refused. Albert did not take no for an answer. The fact was, that the mill had promised all of the workers who went away to the war that their jobs would be held for them. Albert threatened to go to the Veteran’s Administration in Lewiston and report the problem. His finely tuned negotiating skills resulted in him getting his job back immediately. With his discharge money and the money he was making in the mill, Albert went to Lewiston with his cousin Robert LaPlante and purchased a car. Uncle Jim, his mother’s younger brother, was visiting shortly after and asked to borrow Albert’s car for a day. Albert, always a generous person, of course allowed his uncle to borrow his new car. His brothers and sisters reproached him for his foolishness. Unfortunately, Uncle Jim was not very responsible. He managed to disappear with the car, load it up with all kinds of junk, horse equipment, bridles, saddles, etc. and went on an extended drinking binge, doing nothing to care for the car except perhaps to put gas in it. He ruined the engine by running it dry of oil and when he finally returned the car, it no longer ran. Albert lost everything he’d put into the car, and was never reimbursed. Not surprisingly, he also heard the expected choruses of “I told you so’s” from those who had advised against it. Eventually, around 1948, his brother Bill contacted him about a business proposition. It seemed that Bill had found a gas station for sale in an excellent area on the Hartford & West Hartford CT border that he wanted to purchase, and have Albert be a partner. Albert, who was never fond of working in the mill and being an adventurer at heart, jumped at the chance. Together, they purchased what was at the time an Atlantic-Richfield station, on the corner of Prospect Ave. and Farmington Ave. At first, he moved in with Wilfred and Rena. Jeannie, who was Albert’s godchild, was a baby. Wilfred and Rena had a small house in Newington, and Albert rented a room from them in their unfinished, unheated attic. At the time, Albert did not own a car, and because he and Wilfred worked different shifts, Albert took a bus to and from work. These were memorable times for Albert. He enjoyed working at the station. He was the salesman and mechanic, and Wilfred ran the books, and did the ordering of supplies and equipment. Wilfred was quiet and serious, but Albert turned on the charm, and attracted many new customers. One technique he used was to paint a sign, and set it up at the sidewalk, where it was visible from all sides when approaching the intersection. He would often deliberately misspell words on the signs, causing customers to come in, buy a gallon or more of gas, so they could tell him privately that he had made a mistake on the sign. Of course, once they came in, he turned on his natural exuberance. He struck up a conversation, checked their car’s oil levels and other fluids, and asked where they had work done. They would invariably return and become regular customers. Albert also made a lot of friends. He met Charlie Amarillo and Jesse Campbell when they drove in on their motorcycles. Albert gave them mechanical assistance, and they would often let him borrow one of their motorcycles if he had a date. He bought himself a leather jacket, and a wide leather belt, studded with large fake jewels. Albert planned on purchasing a motorcycle of his own, when he saved up enough money. Although he never did own a motorcycle, he kept the jacket and belt for many years. One of his regular customers was Mrs. Auerbach, who owned G. Fox & Company, a local high-end department store. Albert was always a strikingly handsome man, and very muscular. Mrs. Auerbach offered Albert a job as a male model, which he promptly refused, as not being a manly enough profession. After a while, Albert began to have problems living at Wilfred’s. Rena was moody, and Albert, who had no real diplomatic skills, had little patience for tantrums. Albert would come down for breakfast, and say good morning, and would get a sarcastic response. Bi;; never liked confrontation, and always encouraged Albert to “let it go, it’ll blow over”. This, of course, was not Albert’s style. If asked for his opinion, he freely gave it – no holds barred.

Over several months, it became apparent that there were growing tensions at Bill and Rena’s. For one thing, Rena did not like the business – she thought it was dirty and smelly. She hated the laundry generated at the gas station. Bill was also a father with a young daughter, and Albert was single. It soon became apparent that the shifts were unequally divided. Albert would draw many more evening and weekend shifts. Albert, who was not seriously dating anyone at the time, usually accommodated them, to help Bill keep the peace with Rena.

In addition to Albert as a boarder in their house, Rena’s girlfriend also roomed with them. The final straw occurred one day at dinner, when a comment was made about Rena’s friend. Albert shared his opinion, which was not very flattering. Bill visibly cringed, anticipating Rena’s reaction. Albert was asked to apologize. He refused. Bill drew Albert aside and tried to get him to recant. Albert would not. Bill asked him why he would say that, and Albert said “Because it’s true, and you know it, but won’t say so yourself”. The next day, Albert decided to move out of Bill’s, and find his own accommodations. That was fine with Rena. Albert moved into a rooming house on Prospect Ave. owned by Mr. & Mrs. Roy. His friends Charlie and Jesse lived there, too, and they all had adjoining rooms. This worked out great, because he also could now walk to work, instead of being stuck on the bus. He started taking his meals at the luncheonette on the opposite corner. This turned out well, because one day, he met Irene who worked behind the counter on Sundays as a fill-in cashier. Can’t you just see the sparks flying?

==Albert and Irene==