Week 48-Strength: Tom Johnston’s Recommendation Letters

In papers I received from my grandmother, there were several letters of recommendation written for my grandfather.[1] These letters date in April 1944, just shortly after he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.[2] Likely, he was trying for a specialization in carpentry and needed these recommendations. Reading about what these important people wrote about my grandfather’s character and abilities is very interesting and also helpful in filling in his timeline.

R. Y. Anderson, manager of the Clay Building Material Company of Stephenville, Texas, wrote on 8 April 1944:

“This is to state that I have known Tom Johnston, Jr. for the past five years, and have had quite a lot of dealings with this boy in line of our business; and I have found him to be A-1 in every respect. He is a mechanic above average and is an especially good finish and trim man as well as an expert cabinet workman. Any favors or consideration shown this boy will be appreciated by him very much, and I am sure that you will not regret any responsibility you might place on him.”

It is strange that Mr. Anderson referred to Tom as a boy. In 1944, Tom was thirty-one years old, and married with a ten-year-old daughter.

Paul Higginbotham, of Higginbotham Bros. & Co., wrote a quick recommendation on 8 April 1944:

“This will introduce to you Tom Johnston, Jr. whom we have known for the past 20 years. He is a good carpenter, hard worker, and we have found him to be honest in every respect. We feel sure you will make no mistake in any trust you place in this young man.”

Tom’s father, Thomas N. Johnston, worked for the Higginbotham Bros. for many years, which would explain how Paul Higginbotham could have known him for twenty years.

Another letter was written on 12 April 1944 by John Rideout, the Area Superintendent for J.H. Pomeroy & Co, general contractors out of San Francisco, California:

“Mr. Thomas Johnson Jr. has worked on jobs under my supervision for the last five years. Our work has been on both steel and wood in hangers, bridges, and general construction. Mr. Johnson has acted in the capacity of pusher both on carpenter and rigger gangs. He has shown his ability to handle men in a marked degree and has proven extremely valuable in every capacity in which he has served. I have always found Mr. Johnson to be both ambitious and trustworthy and believe that he will prove an equally good man for your purposes.”

The mistakes in this letter makes me wonder if Mr. Rideout even knew Tom. He was never called Thomas and his surname was misspelled throughout the letter. I tried to find a definition of pusher (it is not selling drugs, as is the current meaning) and I found it seems to be someone who oversees and supervises others.

J.S. Tait, the project construction superintendent for the Austin Company, wrote on 11 April 1944:

“The Austin Company, engineer and builders of defense facilities for the War Department, Fort Worth, Texas. [Tom Johnston] worked there as a carpenter from August 15, 1941 through December 16, 1941 on the construction of the Fort Worth Aircraft Plant No. 4.”

The Austin Company is still in business (https://theaustin.com/). Here is a photo of carpenters working on the construction. I could image my grandfather among them.

United States Army Quartermaster Depot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, no. 20051458, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections, Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Another letter was written by Harry B. Friedman, Building Construction, at 1510 West Tenth Street in Fort Worth, Texas and dated 18 April 1944:

“We are advised by Tom Johnston, Jr., that he is now in the Naval Service and we wish to take this opportunity to advise that Mr. Johnston has previously worked for us as a carpenter on one [of] our large construction projects, the Fort Worth Quartermaster Depot. We found Johnston to be an energetic worker and his services were entirely satisfactory and we believe he will make you a valuable man if given work which he is capable of doing.”

According to the Texas Handbook, the construction on the depot began in the winter of 1941-42. Completed by summer of 1942, the eighty-four-building depot became a distribution center for the armed forces.[3]

Finally, Ernest Belcher, the district judge of Erath, Hood, and Palo Pinto counties of the 29th Judicial District wrote a letter:

“This letter is in regard to Tom Johnston, Jr., of Stephenville, Erath County, Texas. This is to certify that I have known this young man for several years, and that I have had opportunity to observe his actions and the nature of his work; that I know him to be honest, upright and trustworthy; that he bears an excellent reputation for being a peaceful and law-abiding citizen; that he is punctual, energetic and efficient; that he is strong mentally and physically and that he is intelligent and has good sound judgment. He is a good Loyal American Citizen.”

This letter prompted me to write about Tom’s letters of recommendation. Judge Belcher wrote that he was “strong mentally and physically” and strong is a synonym of strength, which fits this theme. Being a carpenter, one needs to have strength to saw and hammer in the days before electric & battery powered tools.

Tom enlisted with special assignment and was immediately sent to the United States Naval Training Station in Farragut, Idaho. He had been working there previously as a civilian carpenter and when his draft board called him up, he was able to be reassigned to the station. He did not last long, as he received a medical discharge due to ulcers.

However, he made a contribution to the war effort by working on military construction projects throughout the west.

This is my fourth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] Johnston Family Collection; privately held by Lisa S. Gorrell.                                                          

[2] Compiled service record, Tom (n) Johnston, Jr., S2c, service no. 9386900 (discharged 1944); Official Military Personnel Files, U.S. Navy; National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

[3] “Fort Worth Quartermaster Depot,” Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas (https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/fort-worth-quartermaster-depot : accessed 2 Dec 2021).

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