James Roland McKee

James Roland McKee was born December 29, 1925 to Howard Henry and Nina McKee. He passed away December 10, 2011 at the age of 85. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jimmie Francis Snelling McKee; brother, Howard Dee McKee. James is survived by his children, Dennis McKee and wife Barbara, Andy McKee and wife Pam, Jennifer Day and husband Darrell; grandchildren, Steve, Melissa, Jimmy, Delisa, Toni, Daniel, Andrea, Casey, Justin and John (Willie); 22 great grandchildren & 5 great great grandchildren; sister, Betty Sue Morgan; brother, Danny Ray McKee. Funeral service will be 10:00AM Wednesday December 14, 2011 at New Hope Funeral Home. Family will receive friends at the funeral home 6:00PM-8:00PM Tuesday evening. Interment will be at Laurel Oaks Memorial Park 12649 Lake June Rd. Mesquite, TX. 75180. My Life - As written by James Roland (J.R.) McKee (He got up to 1960... but there's a lot of great stories in here) Daddy (Howard) was born 6-6-1902 Mother (Nina) was born 9-10-1907 Dee (brother) was born 10-18-1923 Betty (sister) was born 11-29-1930 Danny (brother) was born 1-20-1947 I was born 12-29-1925 in Wilmer Texas, in a 3 room house, about where 45 crosses Beltline. Also lived at Patrick, Crandell, and Gravel Slew, before moving to a Rockwall farm in 1930, owned by a man named MacDonald. We farmed cotton and onions. Moved to Dallas in 1934 where Daddy worked at Farmers Market Fruit Market. He made $20 a month, and we paid $10 a month for house to live in. No water in house, no electricity. Had out house and oil lamps (like all farms did). This lasted a little over a year, then Daddy started work at the 'Pew' Dairey, milking 25-30 cows 2 times a day for $30 a month, 7 days a week, 2 to 7 or 8AM, then 2 to 7 or 8PM. House was furnished and 1 gallon of milk a day. We was sh*t'n in 'High Cotton then for 6 months. Then went to Farmers Branch on a dairy with about the same amount of cows, but $35 a month. But, had to bottle the milk every morning. Took 3 to 4 hours on top of milking the cows twice a day. We were there about 3 months. Then Daddy went to work at Fair Park in Dallas as a brick layers helper for $10 a week, 6, 10 hour days, off on Sunday, for about 15 or 16 months till the Fair opened in June of 1936 for the Texas Centinial. After that Mother and Daddy both went to work for Longhorn Restaurant, Mother waiting tables and Daddy a dish washer. Both made about $25 a week, counting Mothers tips. Cotton got taller. Ha ha! Then the Fair closed (no work). Me, Dee, and Daddy went to the river bottoms and cut wood, brought back to town, drove down where the black folks lived and sold the wood for a penny a stick, but not for very long. Hitch hiked to Gravel Slew about this time where we stayed for 4 or 5 days. Daddy worked on hay bayler for $1 a day. Me and Dee chopped cotton, 50 cents a day each. On the way down there it got to getting late and we were getting hungry. Daddy dug up some turnips that wasn't too good. Bitter. This was walking from Seagoville to Gravel Slew where Grandma and uncle Billy lived. Then we came up on a sweet potato patch and that was a lot better than turnips. Nobody knows any more about The Great Depression than we did. Now winter 1936-1937. Daddy went to work for W.P.A. (Work Project Assoc.) by government. $2 a day, but ONLY 2 days a week. No tax, no income tax. That's why so many women were 'PG' (no work, and had to do something in the winter for past time!). WPA lasted till 1937. That's when we moved to Midleothian on farm owned by (another) McDonald. (No relation to the other). It was snowing and sleeting the day we moved in the house. It was a 3 room shack with big cracks in floor and walls. Some small calves in one room. Talk about a mess. But it had a garden, best we ever had. This paid Daddy $1 a day + the house, 1 milk cow, and the garden spot, plus 1/2 of what 10 acres made in cotton. About this time gas was 7 or 8 cents a gallon. Kerasene 3 cents a gallon. We had a wood stove for heat and a karasene cook stove. It was 3 miles to uncle Billy's where we listened to his battery radio (Joe Lewis and Max Smellings). All this time frame from 1930 to 1940, our main food was biscuits, syrup, and gravy for breakfast, noon dinner was beans and cornbread, supper was cornbread and milk. Me and Daddy had buttermilk. I don't know where this dinner started in evening, we didn't know what a midnight snack was. No radio, no phone, no running water, no tv, anywhere except windmill at barn or pasture. Daddy built a platform (wood) basket type to put butter milk, butter, baloney (10 cents lb), when we had the money, let down in the well, that was our ice box. It was 54 degrees down there. Daddy would put water melon in burlap bag, let down in the well (in season). More than once I used to ride bike down to Wilmer to see uncle Emmitte and aunt Gene. Some times I would ride on down to Gravel Slew to see Grandma McKee. Before Daddy and Dee got first pay check, we was broke all the way in two (not just bent in the middle) I rode bike to South Dallas to Hatcher and 2nd Ave. to borrow 50 cents from Hubert for supper money one day, about 12 to 15 miles. First year on tha farm, the September cotton picked 3 times. We got about $200 for our part of the cotton. Daddy hitch hiked to Dallas and he bought a 1929 model Whippit, 4 door, black car, paid $100 for it. Came with 2 extra axels in case one broke. (happened often) This is Fall of 1937. I am 12, Dee 14, Betty Sue 7, Mother 30, and Daddy 35. Me, Dee, and Mother learned to drive in pasture in front of house in the Whippit (lots of fun), circles front and backward, 1/4 mile to white rock road then about 1 1/2 mile to black top, which is now 287 right to Waxahachie, 12 miles. Left to Middleothian, 5 miles. We stayed there till about May 1940, then back to Big D. This time Daddy worked for Dallas Transfer, 10 hr days (6) for 25 cents an hour. About February 1941, Dee and Daddy went to Brownwood to help build Army Base for 6 or 8 months. Back and fourth, sometimes stayed for 2 weeks at a time. When that got done, Dee went to work at Butler Brothers and Daddy back to Dallas Transfer. Later Dee went in the Army, Alution Isl., then to LA, POW Germans, then to Hearn Texas, POW Germans. In the mean time, went to Adamson High School for 3 or 4 months. Got to where I couldn't teach the teachers anything, so I quit. I went to work at Dallas Zoo (rides with live pony) for $2.50 a week. Then to Fair Park and ran all the rides there, airplane, car, tiltawhirl, ferris wheel, and Merry go round. Rode Trolly car (street car) back and forth to Fair Park for 3 cents each way. Lived on Clarendon Drive behind Zoo. Got up to $12.50 a week at 16 years old. Then started delivery for beauty supply (E.A. Fritz Co.) for $18 a week. Drove new 1841 Chevy panel and got to $20 a week. While working there, sometimes I would hurry to get through and then drive down to uncle Billy and aunt Teen in Middleothean on the farm, and then go back to Fritz whse. like I had been delivering all that time. From there, I worked for Fritz W. Glithz (Machine Shop) and learned all machines. Drill press, puch press, shears, engine, torrent, finish lathe, power saw, making oil refinery equipment. Got to 65 cents an hour. (More high cotton!) About this time I met Jimmie (the girl who bathed in buttermilk) by Grandma's. She lived across the street from her. First time I saw her was in the back yard playing 42. (she taught me how to play) I thought then... this is the girl I am going to marry! This was Spring 1943. About her birthday in Dec of 43 is when I asked her to marry me. She screamed and said OH YES! OH YES! OH YES! (haha). Next came the ring a few days later. That was my first charge account and Daddy cosigned. Then the draft called me, and turned me down because I only had 1 kidney. That's when we set the date, 16th of December, 1944. In the mean time, I changed jobs to Murray Gin Co. Making 90, 105, and 155 mm ammunition, and napalm bombs for 90 cents an hour. Cotton got even higher! We got our first car in January 1945, a 29 Model A Ford, 2 door sadan. Paid $100 cash. Then Germany surrendered, we had little money saved by then. Sold our car, went to California to get RICH! As you know, it did not happen. The bus to and from CA was $25 each way. When we got back to Dallas we had 5 cents left for a phone call to Daddy to pick us up. I think this was August of 1945. Then me and Daddy opened a garage repair at Jefferson and 10th street, in Oak Cliff. We bought and sold cars and repaired them too. Jimmie got in on the act. She took the oil pan off a 1933 Chevy and it came down on her and she couldn't move. She hollered for help. It didn't hurt her, but it was funny. Then the city shut us down. We had no permit for fixtures, tools and what not. We were not legal, had no license. 3 or 4 jobs later I went to work for Collum and Boren Co. on October 2nd, 1946 for 65 cents an hour. (Cotton got shorter). I worked my way up to Whse Manger in 3 or 4 years. (In the mean time, Daddy went back to Dallas Transfer, then to H&N T Mtr. Frt. They was bought by Trans Con. Frt. Co. where he retired from in 1964. He passed away 7-1-68... 4 years later.) Lets back up - Jimmie started at C&B in 1948 in the office and stayed there till Jennifer got here. Then I told her and she agreed to stay home with all 3 kids until Jennifer got out of high school. She helped Andy paint for a few years and then went to work for Strawn and retired in Sept 84. We ate lots of fried baloney, pork and beans, and gravy and chicken backs (10 cents lb). Chicken was 19 cents a lb at that time. Once in a while we would splurge and buy a whole chicken. All the 38 years I worked for C&B, we got paid every 2 weeks which = 26 times a year. That left one check for vacation and one check for Christmas with no bills coming out. In 1959 we went to Washington DC on vacation. Ronald was playing ball there. We left home with $37 one night. On the way up, the motel was $6. Drove straight through on the way back. We bought our first house Jan 1947 for $5000 ($50 mo.) A 2 bedroom frame with 1 car garage. I bought 100 baby chickens to raise to eat. Cut a hole in the garage, and made pen outside. Chickens are dumbest things on earth. We got home one day when they were 12 to 15 days old and it had came a heavy rain. About 90 of them was laying in the water puddles, about drowned. We started picking chickens up, took all inside house, turned oven on and revived all of them. We raised 97 out of the hundred. They were supposed to be all roosters, but 10 or 12 turned out to be hens. About that time frame we bought a 1940 Buick Convertable. It was a honey! The house was at 3623 Jefferson, almost to Cockrell Hill Road. Next house was 1003 Zeb St. where Dennis was born. We bought that house in late Fall 1948. Sold Buick and traded house on Jefferson and money from Buick for the Down payment. Paid $10,000 for that house $68.75 mo. 2 bed room grandbury stone. Good size front porch and rear porch about same size. We road bus to and from work for about 3 months. Then bought 1930 Model A Ford Coupe for $100. Kept about 6 months, then 1936 4 door Plymouth sadan. Real good car, went all over Carlsbad, Oklahoma, and all over Texas. While I had it, Donald and Viola came down from Oregon. While here one day he said, I am going to trade cars with you for 3 or 4 days. (he had a 39 coupe plymouth) That kind of floored me and I said NO, I can't do that. Two things I don't loan out: My wife #1 and car #2. At that time he had Barbra and Thomas Earl. He wanted more room than his coupe had for a trip to the Jones farm. Then about late 1949 I bought a 47 Hudson Tearaplane, straight eight motor, 4 door. Talk about a road hog. It would really 'Hank Snow' (movin on). Me, Daddy, Dee, and Pinky went to lake Whitney in the Hudson. On the way down, I blew a tire (front) going across a long bridge about 90 mph. No problem at all. After about 2 years I got a 1949 Dodge 4 door. It was s good car. Had a flathead 6 motor. Then in Feb 1952 is when (all Hell) broke loose. That is when Dennis was born. That put both Jimmie and myself on TOP OF THE WORLD. I MEAN to the arctic circle! It took 8 years and 1 month to do that!. That is when our life really started. About this time me and Daddy built a 8 ft by 20 ft barge out of 20 gal oil drums, with a wood floor. Grapevine lake had just opened. It took us 8 or 10 months to build that barge. We was planning on a 3 day 4th of July weekend. We took it out about a week or 10 days before the 4th. Chained it to a tree in about 8 foot of water. Daddy gave me a big push, then with a paddle I got it to the tree, then I had a tire tube I got in and got back to shore with the paddle. We went out for our big weekend and the barge was no where to be found. After all that day and most of the next day looking for it, turned out that the corp of engineers had pulled it over to their dock They didn't allow barges on the lake. So we took it to lake Whitney after 2 or 3 months. Some one shot the rear end full of holes. There was 8 barrels on each side. Only 2 on each side was out of the water. It was a good thing we didn't find out who did all that. I would still be in the pokey! Spring of 1953, we bought a 52 Buick 4 dr Special straight 8 - overhead valve. Had only 17,000 miles from Orand Buick. We went on vacation that year, Dennis was about 18 months old. We stopped at road side park had sandwiches and fed him baby food. Jimmie sat him on the fender and he was a fiesty little sh!t. All of a sudden he stood up on the hood then crawled up on top of the car. Jimmie on one side and me on the other, and couldn't get to him. Funny after it was all over. This trip took us to Ft. Mead, MD, where Harland and Tommy was stationed in the Army. Stayed there 2 or 3 days. Harland and I played a round of Golf there and we let Eisenhour (Big Brass) go around us at one of the holes. (4 of them, 2 of us). I didn't know what the hell I was doing. This was August 1953. Harland and Tommy went to NY City with us. From there we went to Niagra Falls and down through Canada to Detroit, and followed Hwy around lake to Chicago. There we had a 'pow-wow', checked our money and time left. Went from there to Minniapolis, where Ronald was playing ball. Stayed there 2 days and headed home. All this distance and time at all places in 11 days. (1 1/2 week) All the vacation we had. 5700 miles. We worked 48 hours a week. Your vacation started when you got off work on Wednesday at 5:30 or Saturday at 1:00. By now I got up to 88 cents an hour. I got a 3 cent raise is reason for the odd 3 cents. Times were still bad. In this time frame me, Dennis, and Jimmie was going home from Mother and Daddy's one evening, and Dennis was playing in the front seat. Jimmie one side and I was driving. All of a sudden Dennis grabbed the keys out of the switch, whitch you could do then with out turning the key off. He threw them out the window on Loop 12, almost to Marsalis Ave. All this before we could stop him. It was dusk/dark and we had a little trouble finding the keys but we did. Next thing, we had a house built on Kushla St. It was a 2 BR, big rooms all over and we had a good size den. This is where we lived when Andy was born. That was Dec 25th, 1954. The next year about September, some one stole the Buick out of our driveway one Saturday night. Police found it in river bottom with a few scratches on both sides and inside dome light was broke out with a couple wrappers on floor. They just wanted a motel for a while I guess. Then in May 1956 I bought a gravel truck and left C&B. Was doing pretty good then I got a contract from government to hall rice down in Houston. So sold gravel truck and bought a truck and trailer. 36 foot grain type. First load blew engine in truck, then got to making pretty good money. Next thing tore ring gear and pinion out of rear end on truck. Got that fixed, then the government cancelled the contract. All this time Donald was doing same thing. There we was, all we had was tied up in the truck and traler rigs. So we started what they called 'Wildcat Trucking', which is hauling anything from anywhere to anywhere. We was green at this so we lost our shirt and all that goes with it. So after 17 months I went back to C&B, Labor Day weekend, 1957, same thing I did when I left. Jimmie went back a little before I did. About May or June, I bought a 57 Buick 2 door hard top, blue and white. Uptown merchandise! We now got 2 weeks vacation a year, so in August we went to LA, CA where Betty Sue and Pinky lived at tht time. Gas was 17 to 19 cents a gal. This is before unleaded. It was Regular or Ethel. I remember motel was $7.50 a night. 2 nights out, and 2 nights back. Disney Land had opened about 2 years before. We went to Knotts Berry Farm and a game show while there. It was 'Queen for a Day'. Came back through San Bernadena Mts to Santa's Village. This is where a goat butted Jimmie in the butt. We have 8mm movie of it. We also went through Las Vegas, Petrified Forest, and Painted Desert. Some where along this time Andy had his mind made up the phrase 'Cowboy on a horse' was 'Pow Taw on a Yack Yack'. We had tried to teach him the correct way to say the right words. (the whole family). One night we was down at Mother and Daddy's. I was trying to teach him how to say it right, took him out side, scolded him, telling him how, and he started crying, and I repeated: "Cowboy on a horsey". He looked me in the eye with tears in both eyes, grabbed me around the neck, and said: "POW - TAW - ON - YACK YACK!". And I said "you damn right, that's right". Thats when a few tears came to 'my' eyes. Then 1959 we bought a new Vaxhaul, 4 door, 4 cyl, O.H. valve. One of the the best cars we ever had. This was the year the Co. (C&B) quit letting employees draw on their check. So I went into the loan business, which I made 1 dollar on 5, or 2 dollars on 10, and so on. I had people in retail and Toy World was getting money every week. Plus the Whse people. I made enough for our first cruise in 1960. We drove to Miami, took Carol with us. The girls in the office gave Jimmie a Bon Voyage party. No body in the company had ever been on a cruise. (This was a BIG deal). Everybody in my family worked for me at one time or another at C&B (except for Mother). Dee, Jimmie, Betty Sue, Daddy, Danny Ray, and all 3 kids.