Lloyd the Super Mechanic

My father could fix anything! He did a valve job on my first bike. He souped up his Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles when he was young.

When he let me buy a 400 Horse Power Pontiac even though he knew how I was. I crashed his station wagon when I was 16. And my first car I bought at 17 with the money from 3 1/2 years of delivering newspapers.

When the three carburetors did not work right he adjusted them. I had paid a lot of money for a computer tune up. But what Lloyd did made me 1 second faster in the quarter mile.

He used to race trains to the crossing in his model T ford. Mom kept talking he was wild, when racing the train, he crossed in front of the train, it ripped the spare tire off the back of the ford. He drove York river when it was frozen over. The more times you drove the ice and not fall thru, you were the winner.

He was mechanic for his brother Mervin at the Lancaster race Track, beside the airport. A shopping center now takes the race track and where the small airport was.

When he had his trucking business, When his truck driver phoned, day or night that they were broke down, he had to go and get it running. He hauled A lot for Bachman Chocolate in Mountjoy, PA.  Now bought by Wilbur was 10 years ahead with their Wilbur Buds copied by Hershey, but named Hershey Kisses. Wilbur was bought by a bigger company.

In 2016 the Lititz plant was razed. It was a 4 story building. Too labor intensive. As World War II was gearing up LLoyd loaned one of his trailers to the Government to haul Sugar from Philly where ships unload, to the process center in central PA. They loaded it so heavy, it broke the frame. A big mess. Sugar all over the road. He never was compensated, Govt. said need their money for War.

Lloyd and my mom Edith did a lot of helping people. Lloyd had one of his drivers half fall asleep and cut the top of a van trailer off going under a low bridge. He hit an oncoming car under the bridge. Hurt them bad. Dad's driver had kids that had a lot of medical problems. Mom and another lady used to go to their house, bought them groceries and paid bills. Dad's insurance co. told him to fire the guy. Lloyd knew he needed money and said no. Lloyd put him with another driver, long hauling paid more than local.

Back then there was no net to keep sleeping driver in the bunk, so other driver can drive his shift. The guy worked extra hours because he needed the money. Yes, he fell asleep, crashed the truck, the sleeping driver in the bunk was thrown thru the windshield and died.

The insurance company cancelled Lloyds truck driving insurance. Once cancelled, no one will give you insurance! Dad lost his business, he and mon did not believe in bankruptacy either. They paid the bank $50.00 every other month for over 30 years.

He still went to Bachman Chololate every spring  for sacks of cocoa bean shells to put in the line of snowball plants. They really liked Lloyd, they knew how good he was with people. Every Christmas they gave him the big chocolate slabs they sold to places that made chocolate Christmas items for the Christmas tree.

Lloyd had high blood pressure all his life. Mary has treated mine since we got married. Lloyd had 7 strokes, over a period of 5 years. Mary, I and the kids slept at his place when he was bad. Mary is an RN, and she kept the Doctors in the know as to what was happening. One year after our last child, Jeffrey Lloyd Caldwell was born, Lloyd died.

The last visit the Doctor told him, go home, do what you want. Eat what you want. The main blood vessel to your brain stem was weakened from the high pressures all his life. In the 20's to 50's not many Doctors controlled high blood pressure. That era you did not see the Doctor unless you were close to death.

He got to play with Jeffery Lloyd Caldwell the day before he died. I got the call about 9:30 PM. I rushed into the hospital. Two days before his 8th stroke I had grabbed him, lifted him up in a hug, and said I love you, Thank you for all you do. The emergency Doc. treated me years ago, he remembered me. He said do you want to take him off life support? His brain stem has died. how long do you want his body to go on?  I spoke up, Mom, Dick and Mike our younger brother, I would take the responsibility of ending his life so they would not feel bad. The Doc.said we all must agree.

We took the machines off at about 10 pm. Doc said hold his hand and talk to him. No one knows how much he will hear. I was glad several days earlier I had let him know how much I loved him. In Lloyds day, people didn't tell each other, "I love you".

I was born in 1948. A lot of what I put here I remember from Mom and Dick my 11 year older brother. Now Dick is my only source of what happened, and he is 81.Yes, Lloyd was wild, that is where I got my Adrenalin Freak nature. Also his wanting to help, and never, ever QUIT!

No those are not tears in my eyes, as I am writing this. I am 6'2", 260 pounds. I never, ever turned away from a fight. I and another friend fought 5 guys trying to rape a young girl! My name is HOSS, I am not a softy!! Not tears, just hay fever!  WHO the heck brought hay into this house?!