Memories of John Armstrong

Submitted by Pam Streeter Wadsworth - May 29, 2005        The only Grandpa I ever knew was really my step Grandpa, John Armstrong. Growing up, I thought he got his last name because he was the strongest man I knew. I also thought he had a poor memory since he always called me"Suzy Q" & I had to remind him my name was Pam. John only had a 2nd grade education since all the kids needed to work as early as possible. When my GreatGrandma Pearl Atwood became seriously ill with asthma, the entire extended family pulled up stakes in Mi & headed south for wherever she could breath better. It was the depression & there are lots of stories about that trip, but back to Grandpa John. The family ultimately ended up in Arizona & began putting down roots when WWII broke out & John heard there was money to be made in the factories in Michigan for the war effort. So, back to Mi came John, Violet, Pauline & Dick. Grandpa heard the best wages were for tool & die makers, so he decided to become one. When he would apply at a factory, he would tell them he was a tool & die maker. 1st job lasted a matter of hrs. Next job, it took a day or 2 until they figured out he had no idea, but with each new job, he was learning to be a tool & die guy and he would last longer. Finally, he had gained enough skills on the job that he went to work for General Motors in Grand Rapids as a tool & die maker and worked in that position until the time of his death. I often thought how unfortunate it was that he never had much formal education, because I think he was brilliant to teach himself that skill. Just think what he could have accomplished! He has been gone since 1974, but I still miss his strength and miss hearing "Hi there, Suzy Q".