"I was borned Aug 31, 1913 in Metropolis Ill. County Massac to Hattie and Calvin Sharp at home. I have one brother Calvin who passed away in Chico, Calif. In 1984 and one sister Inez Roby Paducha Kentucky. I have two half brothers one we lost track of and the other one is Calvin Sharp, however every one calls him “Bee” he lives in Dyersburg Tenn.” 
“My father was a sawyer in a lumber mill and this meant he had to go where his work was and that meant his family had to move also, some climates were very damp and swampy, and my mother could not live under these conditions, so this is why we could not all be a family. I lived with my mother as did my brother & sister. My dad passed away in 1962 in Henning Tenn. at the age of 82 years. My mother was a seamstress and did sewing for other people.”
"I can remember starting to school at age 6 at Central Grammer School a 3 story building and my grandfather Teague helped haul the brick to build the school. My brother was 7 years older that me, and was always quite an ( ? ), and my sister 5 years older than me attended high school and worked for the telephone co. before she married.”
“My grandmother & grandfather Sharp lived on a farm near Grantsburg Ill. He was a Baptist preacher & farmer and preached at New Hope church. I would go visit them in the summer when school was out the lived in a log house and was heated with a fire place. The things I remember about these grandparents was the times I visited them. Grandma Sharp was borned 1850 and passed away 1941 at age 91 years. And Grandpa Sharp was borned 1857 and passed away in 1936. He was 79 years. They lived in the same log house.”
“My grandmother & grandfather Teague my mother’s parents lived in New Columbia Ill. However my grandmother remarried to Jim Mac Richardson, and this is how I remember my grandmother. I spent a summer with them and helped mow hay about 10 or 15 acres with 2 wild & mean mules. I helped my Uncle put a metal roof on a big log house I was about 8 or 10 years old, helped pick up sweet potatoes and hauled them to a potato house. And for helping put on the metal roof I got paid with a pig, and I carried him to grandma’s house in a burlap sack, and after I fed the pig my grandmother bought the pig for $10.00… My Grandfather Richardson was borned ___ and passed away ___. My Grandmother Richardson was borned and died.”
“I attended Grammer school until the 3rd grade then to a new Central school and graduated from the 8th grade there. I started high school and worked after school at Cosby Grocery Store, delivered groc. on a bicycle and helped in the store on Friday eve sacking Potatoes, and sugar and things that was on sale and Sat. 7:30 A.M. – 8 P.M. for $2.00 a week.”
“I quit High school in my Sophmore year to get a job and help with the expensis as I still lived with my mother we had a big garden and mom always did a lot of canning.”
“In the mean time my brother had hit the trail to cow boy country working in wheat & grain fields, and he ended up in West Wood Calif. and was helping out by sending money to mom when he got a job.”
“After I quit school I worked for another grocery store in Metropolis almost like a chain store opperations. We had a friend that was manager of an Appt House in St. Louis, Missouri, so I thought I would give this a try. I did Papering & Painting & cleaning and a friend of mine together we contractid Painting a big 2 story brick home, the reason the friend had a Model T Ford Coupe and we could use it to haul a 60 ft. ladder and it almost tipped the coupe over. After a year and ½ in St. Louis I went with my friends to Finleyville, Ill. to a big 80 acre farm and helped on the farm for 2 ½ years and I had my mother with me there. About this time I felt I really needed to move, so I told only one person my destination West Wood Calif. to where my brother was.”
“Richard Shirk took me to Becknupville about 3 miles hanging on the back of a freight truck after dark, then I started walking. I had a leather jacket, Shirt, Pants, razar comb all rolled up and tied with a leather belt and .63¢ cents in my Pocket. I walked towards a truck stop and waited until the drivers got finished with their meals then I would get on the back of the truck and this got me to St. Louis Mo. Again. Walked out of St. Louis on Hiway 40 and was not lucky in getting rides, so I took to the trains waiting till the steam engine to take on water when it started Pulling out I got in a gondola car, I then got on top of the box car ahead of the one I was in and there I slept the rest of the night. It was the last of March and I had rain & sleet this night.”
“This took me to the railroad yard in Kansas City Mo. Now I had to find a freight there going to Cal. So I ask a train master if this freight was going to Pueblo Col. He said yes it was, but if I would wait about 20 min they were making up another train and it would pass this one on the way, so I hoped he was telling me the truth, and he did. I sat on the walk way arround the tank car, and I was once again on the road and to Pueblo Col. It was getting dark when we pulled in to the yard and I heard some one say “Go to the court house and they will give you a meal ticket” and I was truly ready for this, so I went and got my ticket along with another fellow and we went to the resturant for a big meal. After we eat we walked up and down the streets a while and back to the court house where a lot of the fellows were sleeping, but I did not stay it was to buggy for me those guys were scratching all over, so back to the railroad yard looking for a freight to Grande junction Col. And I was lucky, it was there ready to pull out and I took my place in a freight car and got to Grand Junction, And was lucky to stay on this freight. I was on my way to Salt Lak City Utah- we were getting ready to go over the Continental Devide and the train stopped, but lucky for me they were just changeing crew. I fell asleep and I thought I heard some body say this is where you get off, so I jumped off the train and found out different, so I jumped back on then. Pulled in the rail road yards in Salt Lake City Utah, and now to get a train to Ogdon Utah, there was one out this same day, but they didn’t want anyone to ride, so we knew we had to get out of town before we could ride, so three of us were the only ones to catch this train it was moving so fast, then it started to slow down and we knew why, they were going to kick us off, so I jumped off. I cut across a field to a highway and I walked to Ogdon about thirty or thirty-five miles. I got a train out of Ogdon to Reno Nevada. I rode all the way to Reno however we got off at Sparks thinking it was Reno and I had to get back on and stood on the back of a mally engine. (It was not very far from the Reno station) We got off in front of the Reno station.”
“I found the highway going north to Susanville Calif. and there was another fellow going to Sact. Calif. so we were together a short time and I started walking to Susanville Calif. The other fellow tried to talk me in to going to where you could walk down the sidewalks and pick Oranges, however I didn’t want to pick Oranges. I walked about 5 miles and a fellow stopped he was a salesman for Standard Oil Co. and he was going to Doyle Calif. and I rode that far with him. I walked arround awhile. They were working on the high-way I was to leave on. A man in a car who turned out to be a Gold Prospector in a 1927 Red Bird Overland Touring car offered me a ride, he had this tent and prospecting tools in the back seat along with his dog, the had gas cans and water can arround the car on the running boards. He said I have a sack of bannas in the back seat help your self and I eat one later. On our way the right rear tire popped open, so I changed the tire for him and we headed on to Susanville Calif. He had to turn North (before long) he was on his way to Washington State, so I got out and started walking down the main st. in Susanville, and I started out of Susanville and it was up grade on my way to Westwood Calif. and about a quarter of a mile out of Susanville I heard a honking-honking and the same fellow had taken the wrong turn in Susanville, but he didn’t want to stop on that grade, so I ran & jumped on, but another mile and he had to turn again, so I started walking again, but I did ride up that grade.”
“I walked about half a mile and a couple of fellows had been to Susanville to get groceries and they were in 1928 Jewett car and I got in the back seat, and there I saw round glass milk bottles for the first time. They ask me where I was going and I said Westwood and asked my name and after I told them the one fellow asked if I was kin to Cal Sharp and I told them that’s my brother and he said I knew it. I knew it. He was Charley Melvin and a good friend of Cals, now this was my lucky day he drove me up to Cals front door and he said this is where Cal lives, and I looked up and Cal was standing on the front porch and his address was 321 Delwood St. Charley called out to Cal and said “I brought you something.”
“Cals wife Lenora was in the hospital and Cals little son three or four years old name Bradford “Brad” for short was staying with Lindrow family while she was in the hospital. Well here I am at my destination April 1932 with two or three cents in my pocket Westwood Calif. Westwood was owned by Red River Lumber Co., a big lumber mill and Cal worked as foreman for the Power line Crew. I stayed with Cal awhile. My first job in Westwood was in the box factory tailing off on a saw, hourly wage was .23¢. My Second job was night watchman for the Plant, 10 hr. shifts .23¢ hour. One of the main reasons I got this job was the person had to have a railroad watch and Cal had one. I had this in my pocket and I had been to the store for Lenora to get a lb. Butter and I looked across the street and I saw the crowd arround the Employment office, so I thought I would see what jobs were open and they needed a night watchman so out of thirty or forty people I was the only one with the watch. I then transferred from night watchmen to Plant Supply Dept. I worked Counter and drove truck the supply Dept. supplied materials for the entire plant, machine shop, plumbing also for the Diesel shop. Parts of all kind. This was where I wanted to get into the Diesel shop. The Diesel had it’s own supply shop. I serviced and over hauled all the logging tractors and Diesel locomotives and electric locomotives. This was the way to learn all the Parts. Every part had to be charged out and we had ninety logging tractors, two electric locomotives and one straight Diesel locomotive. My salary for this new experience was 32¢ hr., then up to .42¢ hr.”
“I met and married Jeanette Stewart then came Janice our daughter, this day we had snow knee deep and Icycles hanging from the window of the hospital room was 4 ft. long, but after seeing my little girl it was worth it all.”“The Diesel Shop was not big enough so we moved the Diesel Shop to the Old Electric Steel and Foundry building. Then it was changed to the Truck & Tractor Shop.”
"We lived at 104 Delwood St. when we were married and this is where Janice was borned… Beverly was borned on Cedar St., and she to was a welcome part of our life.”
“My first car was a 1927 2 door Chevy. Cal was divorced and he harried Goldie in 1945.”
“In 1933 Cal was burned quite bad and we sent for mom to come out, and when Cal was better Mom went to work as manager of the Blue Ox Inn. And as usual she had her flowers…”
“I was working at the Shop, and decided to build a cabin at Clear Creek about (?) miles out of Westwood. I rented the land from Westwood Auto Club for $1.00 per year, and I drew my own Plan to scale right on the ground and started building, I have always liked to be arround lumber, it was 2 bedroom, large living room with the fireplace I built and kitchen, the inside was Knotty Pine. I did all the labor on this cabin and I had a good feeling of satisfaction when it was done. We lived here about one year and I was transferred to Paul Bunyon logging camp, and Jeanette didn’t want to be left alone that far out of town, so we rented the cabin to a Plumber and his wife, and he moved his daughter and 6 children in to the cabin, so needless to say it was pretty well worked over, so we sold it for $750.00. We were living in town in a one room steam treated cabin in Westwood then later we got a 3 room cabin. I went to work in Susanville, Cal still with Paul Bunyon and the family then moved to Susanville. I heard of a job in Sacramento, Cal as a mechanic (truck) with F.B. General Motor Truck and went to work there. Bob Stewart (Jeanette’s Father) sold his place in Falon Nevada and bought a chicken ranch in Rio Linda and we found a 3 room house that was not finished inside, but we moved in there. This was about 1945 and this is where we bought 2 pigs for Janice & Bev, the pigs were growing so fast and would get out in other peoples yards and flowers, so we sold them to a packing co. That was the only way to get rid of them, because we could not butcher them.”
“Then we moved in to Sacramento. We came to an understanding that Jeanette and I could do better going our separate ways with our lives. I went back to Westwood for awhile then to San Francisco to work for General Truck Sales. I met Pauline (Pat) Akins in 1953 and we were married in 1955 in Carson City Nevada with Cal and Goldie Sharpe. We moved to Marysville Cal. Where we have been for 35 years. I went to work as Shop Foreman for A.W. Holtman Buick and GMC. Later I decided to open a music teaching studio on all Instruments and Sales and Services mostly Piano & Organs. I did all the service work and Pat took charge of the teachers and students. We opened in 1967 and sold our business in 1972 because of the long hours and could not get efficient help. Pat kept teaching at home and I still did some service work, then I went to work for an oil co., Morrison Petrolane and worked there untill I retired in 1977. We own our home in Marysville as of this date Feb 19, 1988.”
(Ralph added this to the last page)
"There are so many things I think of now that should have gone in to this resume of my life such as the following:
"My mother married Raymond Smith who had lost his wife thru illness and he owned a large farm in Belknap. This was in 1950 and mom had her garden and chickens and they grew corn, oats, wheat. After Raymond passed away mom could not handle the big house or farm, so every thing was passed on to his son and mom moved to a duplex in Metropolis and became very ill and passed away in a convalescent hospital in 1974 and is buried in New Hope Cemetery. She was 88 when she passed away. "
"I can remember Grandma Richardson from Tenn. (my mothers mother) would send a chicken already baked and cake I can remember the 3 layer cakes and this same every Christmas.
"I didn’t go to church to often, however my grandfather Sharp was a Baptist preacher as was my Uncle Calvin Smith he was my Dads sister husband. And my mother attended church regularly.
"The reason there is an e added to Sharpe was because my sister as a teanager thought the name looked better with the e on it, so she and my mother and myself added the e. It never caused a problem and my children the Sharpe spelling growing up."
Ink drawing, abt 10"x 12", unsigned, undated, attributed to Ralph Sharpe by daughter, Janice. 
Folks- would you like me to divide up this lengthy narrative into the appropriate persons' postings, attributing it all to Ralph, or do you like reading it through in it's entirety?
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