Return to the Land

The Journey Begins

Fulfilling his military obligation Stafford was Honorably Discharged and with what little money he had accumulated from the service he returned home to Kimberling. Recapturing his youth on the creek was no longer a viable option and the farm was not capable of offering him a reasonable income. However, until he readjusted to civilian life he helped his father farm and also gained work on Henry Helvey ’s farm just west of his home. The war had robbed him of the desire to return to college and the financial resources to do this were meager at best. Dad was good with math and could quickly calculate long lines of numbers. With this talent he became interested in the business world and soon found work in North Fork, West Virginia as a bookkeeper. There he met a friend, Maury Newton, who encouraged him to make plans to return to college with him to prepare for the field of medicine. For reasons not clear, but probably primarily financial, these plans did not materialize. In those days military veteran’s educational benefits were nonexistent as I was able to take advantage of later in my own education. Newton, however, completed his plans and became a physician practicing in Narrows, Virginia. Looking for a better life and scenery other than the coalfields Stafford now found himself in Lynchburg, Virginia where major changes would occur in his life. He found a comfortable paying job at Wilson & Company Meat Packaging as a bookkeeper. Being an eligible bachelor and now with a steady income it wasn’t long before a young lady caught his eye. I don’t know the names on Dad’s dating list but this particular girl struck his fancy and soon he became engaged to my mother, Clara Engledove Watson. She had gainful employment as a bookkeeper in a clothing store and with two incomes they now made plans for matrimony. In Clara’s home, in a private ceremony, Reverend W. Twyman Williams married them on December 22, 1923 in Lynchburg. A small apartment sufficed for their living needs but soon my father was transferred to Highpoint, North Carolina with the Wilson Company and my mother found work as a secretary.

Marriage Certificate December 21, 1923

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