GAIL WHITE At 96, Youngstown man still full of life
Charles Martin turns 96 today.
"When you were little, did you like having a birthday the day after Christmas?" I ask him.
"I got one present for two days," he says, laughing.
Sitting in Charles' room at Shepherd of the Valley on Western Reserve Road in Boardman, I feel like I want to stay all day. Indeed, he has more than enough stories to tell to fill a day.
It is something I think more of us need to do -- spend a day with someone a generation or two older than ourselves. Every one of them has a story to tell. Each has life lessons to share.
Charles' life lesson to me is of the rewards of hard work. He didn't lecture me about his philosophy on the subject, he simply told me the story of his 96 years on this earth.
His life is better than any lecture could ever be.
"I was born in Lanycony, Md.," he begins. "Funny name, huh?"
Upbringing: His father farmed in the summer and worked in the coal mines in the winter. One winter, the mine caved in on him. He could not work for a year.
"We tried to get along," recalls Charles, then a boy of 6. He and his 11 brothers and sisters worked the family farm.
When his father recovered, he heard of jobs in Youngstown. He and one of Charles' brothers moved to the Valley and worked at the Mazda Lamp Works. "They made light bulbs," Charles explains.
A year later, his father sent for the rest of the family. Charles, his mother and five brothers and sisters moved to Youngstown.
"We lived in a two-bedroom house on the North Side," Charles remembers. "The four boys slept in one bedroom and Mom and Dad and my two sisters slept in the other."
Charles experienced a new phenomenon in Youngstown -- school. He, his brother and a sister attended. "They put us all in the first grade," he smiles. They all learned quickly and were moved ahead.
Working boy: Around 9 or 10 years of age, Charles got his first job.
"I started peddlin' papers," he says, still smiling. The Vindicator cost 3 cents in 1915.
"Some people wanted their paper in the paper box," he explains. "Some wanted it behind the screen door. Others just wanted me to throw it on their porch. I had to remember what each customer wanted."
After fifth grade, Charles stopped peddlin' papers. He started working at the Automatic Sprinkler Co.
He also stopped going to school. "I had to help the family," he says.
He worked making sprinklers for many years.
During the Depression, he and his brother opened an auto repair shop.
For 30 years, Charles ran Martin Brothers Garage on South Avenue.
"We called on grocery stores and small businesses and told them we would repair their car for groceries," Charles says about the early years in the business.
His stories continue of cars he owned and houses he built, including one house that he cranked up and put a basement under.
Love: His voice becomes soft as he tells of falling in love with a young lady who would become his bride of 75 years.
Dorothy died a year and a half ago. She was 94.
"I still dream of her being here," Charles says, almost to himself. "It seems so real. But then I wake up and she is not here."
From his voice alone, I learn about the sweet joy of spending a lifetime with someone -- another benefit of hard work.
Sitting in an easy chair in his room, he says, "All you have to do here is eat and sleep. They cook. They clean ... "
I smile as I listen to the tone in his voice and see him fidget in his chair. "You don't like that, do you," I ask.
Charles shakes his head, but there is a sheepish grin on his face. At 96, he may just be ready to relax.
Happy Birthday, Charles. May you have many more years enjoying the fruits of your labor.
gwhite@vindy.com