My Memorial to My Grandfather: part 2

             Also at this time, the first automobiles began to dent the rural Kansas marketplace, capturing more of Oscar’s fertile curiosity.  How was it possible for this smaller beast of iron and metal, these four wheels supporting an internal combustion engine, filled with gasoline as a fuel, rather than the coal he knew as a train’s fireman, how was it possible for this automobile to propel its smaller carriage down the road?

The man charged with the responsibility of training Oscar, a coworker who observed his steadfast inquisitive nature and diligent work ethic introduced him to a young man he knew, a young man a few years older than Oscar himself, who was planning on opening a garage in Greeley Colorado.  All this young man needed was a partner to help see things established.  It would pay little at first – most likely, nothing beyond living expenses – yet if Oscar sought a means through which to learn how automobiles functioned, what caused the internal combustion engine to propel these wheeled motorcars down the road, no better way existed for him than to follow this new friend.

It was a decision which took no deciding whatsoever.  It was a solid go all the way around, as Oscar’s life, up to the point of working as a fireman, had been nothing but farming.  He had grown up on farms.  He had watched his father and brothers farm.  All his uncles and cousins were farmers.  Every female relation he knew of, with the exception of his sister Lillian, married farmers.  Farming was a trait in the Sexton family brand he knew backwards and forwards, asleep and awake.  Yet never did it excite his senses, nor stir the passion of his fervent curiosity, like the mechanical workings of an engine complicated, yet capable of bringing an inanimate object to life.

Downtown Greeley Colorado was lined with mechanic shops, car dealerships, and cafes.  It was a small town metropolis bustling with enough activity and work for any young man to learn all he could possibly learn of these new internal combustion engines.  Oscar worked at a distinct advantage over those plying their trade since automobiles came to be.  When a car was brought into the garage, he not only viewed it as an opportunity to further his understanding of what made that vehicle run; but, even more so, he used it as a chance to dig into its framework and clearly diagnose why it was not performing as it should.    His diligence and incessant curiosity made the garage a success.

Oscar’s partner discovered a location for the garage which was both ideal and convenient.  While most of the other garages in Greeley situated themselves in the same general downtown area, he found a building next to a café they fashioned into a workable garage.  It was at this café, a place he and his partner took all their lunch and coffee breaks, Oscar first met Anna Jane Welch.

Four years the younger, Anna Jane was the daughter of a farmer from nearby Weld County.  Her time at the café began only a few short months prior to Oscar arriving in Greeley.  It was a decision of her father’s in an attempt to alleviate some of the family’s financial problems.  The farm was not producing as well as he needed; and his work as a brick mason was highly irregular.  He thought moving to northern Colorado from the south where they homesteaded would show signs of improvement.   It did not.  Thus, with Anna Jane now of age, this open job at the café was a perfect fit.  She was pretty.  She was friendly.  She knew how to cook and serve food.  It seemed a simple way to bring in some extra money the family needed.