Within One Generation.. Social Mobility

Born 86 years ago. Today! Happy Birthday Ken Brown!

Life was certainly different from ours in a number of ways.

His father was a agriculture consultant for rich people's "hobby farms" he was always on the move and never really appreciated a family. The family became itinerant when times got tough. Surviving the depression was not easy for them. My father claims that that he he had attended more high schools than the four years of high school could accommodate. His mother was a magazine saleswoman for a garden magazine that was sold through local garden clubs. When the garden clubs had reached saturation for subscriptions his mother and family had to move on. They traveled from one end of the California gold country to the other. He remembers Sonora, and Mariposa. His last high school years were in Escondido where he worked for a dairy milking cows for his keep.

He signed up out of high school to go to war for our country in the Pacific theater on the USS Montpelier, a light cruiser. He was barely old enough.

In retrospect this decision to use the GI Bill, which was what was provided for his service and to help the infrastructure of the country after war and allowed him to go the college was the single most important economic decision that he took to move out of poverty to the middle class. Many of his ship mates did not do this. His service gave him tuition and a means of support to go to college and become a teacher. He graduated from Western State College, in Gunnison, Colorado. He also had attended Ft, Lewis college in Durango. The navy sent him to school at Iowa State to learn what he needed to know about becoming an electrician on the ship. Education was important to him and his kids.

He has always been fascinated by technology and science. He is an avid photographer. He loves taking photos of people and scenic shots with people in them. It would be pretty hard to do this without the means.

Ken Brown, member of the "greatest generation" helped organize teachers to become a viable profession rather then a "second job" for the family that it was in the 50's. In the 60's teachers were on the forefront of collective bargaining. It allowed teaching to move into the middle class. Ken Brown was a leader in that movement. Again social mobility.

Its a little ironic that we both Ken Brown and his kids have "hobby farms" on our suburban lots. We are now the owners rather than the "help."

: ) Pat