Sunday, January 6, 2013

Floyd Warren - Early years of working

When dad was in his early teens he worked feeding the chickens for the family.  His pay was that for every thousand chickens there were, he would get a hundred of those.  He figured out a way to neuter some of them and noticed that when he neutered the males that they would grow to be about 15 pounds when normally they would only grow to be about 3.5 pounds.  When a buyer came to buy some of the chickens he asked Dad about purchasing the bigger ones (I can't remember what he called them).  Dad said, "What are you willing to give me?" and he found out he was willing to give a dollar a pound for them.  Dad was thrilled with this new found way of earning more money.

Before Dad's mission he bought 15 piglets from the money he had earned during his other money making ventures.  I can't remember how much he said that cost him but he did say that those pigs, when they were full grown would sell for $40 each.  The cost of his mission was $40/month.  During his mission his mother took care of his pigs and would sell them when they were ready and put the money into Dad's account.  This money sustained him for his entire mission.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Floyd Warren - 8 years old

When my Dad was 8 years old, he decided he needed to purchase a big Schwinn bicycle with a basket in front.  He needed it to get to school and for his paper route.  He came up with a plan of payment and went down to the bike shop to negotiate his plan.  He told the bike owner that he would give $5 as a down payment and then would pay $5 every month until the bike was paid off.  The owner went to talk to someone and then came back and agreed to the plan.  He left with a brand new Schwinn bicycle and used that to do his paper route and get to school.  He would stack his school books in the basket and put the rolled up newspapers on top.  By the time he got to school the papers would be gone and he would go to school.  His mother later told him that the Bike shop had called her to ask if she was okay with him buying the bicycle.  She told them that if that's what Floyd decided to do, that would be fine.  This was the beginning of my Dad's cycle of work.  At this time he had no idea that his father would be in a mining accident, be injured and later die from the injuries.  At 13 year's of age he would need to help provide for his family by working.  He was always given many opportunities to earn money that helped out with the family budget.  He worked harvesting sugar beets, which was a Utah resource at the time for making sugar.  He also raised cattle, pigs and chickens.  When I have some more time I will include some more about his working experiences.