I Survived

Thomas Trawick Jr. went from being a city boy to a country boy when his family moved out of Philadelphia to Washington County, Pennsylvania. It was like moving to a new world: One day, he stood on the porch, and to his surprise, saw two hens and about ten chicks coming from under the house. He grabbed a broom and went out to the yard to chase them around. A series of illnesses left him behind in school, and so he dropped out, which was a mistake. His father, however, taught him the art of making white lightning liquor deep in the woods, which became his job for the next four years. After Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Roosevelt requested that all men twenty-one years of age join the army. When 1943 came around, he was inducted into the U.S. military. With a strong working knowledge of construction equipment, he began working for Pennsylvania. He worked for the state thirty-five years before retiring and starting his own construction company. Join the author as he shares his accomplishments, regrets, and his will to survive no matter what.