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Ed and Bernie Start Their New Life Together
After his marriage to Bernie in Meno, Oklahoma, Ed returned to Chicago to tender his resignation to Neumann, Buslee & Wolfe. He would then head to Atlanta where his new bride would join him.
Bernie gave notice to Montgomery Ward in Enid, where she did office work and payroll. She packed up all her worldly possessions and was excited about her move to the big city of Atlanta, Georgia.
My aunt Beverly, Ed’s youngest sister, remembers going with her mother to the train station to greet her new sister-in-law. She was instructed to “look for the pretty redhead.” After Bernie arrived on the train and met her new mother-in-law and sister-in-law for the first time, she was escorted back to the Farrar family home in Atlanta.
Once back in Atlanta, Ed applied for a job with Oakite Products, Inc., self-described in 1949 as “originators of specialized cleaning materials and methods for every industry.” He travelled to New York City on September 26, 1949 for his final interview. He was officially hired by Oakite that day and began his training that same day.
Ed Farrar’s First Oakite Company Photo (1949)
With his training completed, on November 14, 1949, he was assigned to the Columbia-Spartanburg, South Carolina territory. Ed and Bernie moved to Greenville, South Carolina and rented an apartment in a beautiful large stone home. Bernie took a job doing office work with an insurance company as Ed began his Oakite career.
Home in Greenville, SC where Ed and Bernie rented an apartment, 1949 to 1950 (photographed in 2010)
Ed succeeded as an Oakite salesman in South Carolina, but his dream was to move back to Atlanta. On November 13, 1950, he received a letter from Oakite that told him the news he longed to hear. He was being reassigned to the Atlanta territory as of December 1.
After only about a year in South Carolina, Ed and Bernie made the move to Atlanta. Ed was happy to be back home. Ed and Bernie bought their first home and dreamed of starting a family, but it would take many years before their first child (that would be me) was born in 1957. Three and a half years later, my sister, Nancy, was born, completing our family.
Over the years, Ed was offered opportunities for promotion that would have necessitated him moving away again, but he would never entertain any offer that meant moving away from Atlanta, Georgia.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
Ed and Bernie Marry
On June 30, 1949, George Edwin Farrar and Bernice Jane Chase married in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a small ceremony with just Ed and Bernie standing in front of the Justice of the Peace. No family. No photos. Even though I don’t have a wedding photo, I do have a photo from early in their marriage.
Bernie and Ed Farrar
My mother, Bernice Jane Chase, was raised on a wheat farm in Meno, Oklahoma. She was the middle of three daughters of Louis Albert and Mary Selina Chase. Bethel was the oldest, Bernice in the middle, and Beatrice the youngest. Mary Chase called them her “three little B’s.”
Left to right: Beatrice Chase, Bernice Chase, and Bethel Chase
At some point in the future, I will explore my mother’s life growing up in Meno, Oklahoma.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
Safety in Flying
My dad, George Edwin Farrar, saved his life with a parachute after the mid-air collision of Lead Banana and Lazy Daisy on September 28, 1944. This feat granted him admittance to the Caterpillar Club, whose sole requirement of members was that they had to bail out of a disabled aircraft and were able to save their lives with a parachute. Note the term “disabled.” Parachuting from an aircraft for recreational purposes did not make one eligible for membership.
Four and a half years after his bail out, Ed Farrar was still thinking about the parachute that saved his life when he wrote this letter to H. B. Lyon of the Caterpillar Club with an idea.
April 16, 1949
Chicago, Ill.
Caterpillar Club
Attn: Mr. H. B. Lyon, Executive Secretary
Broad Street Bank Bldg.
Trenton, N.J.Dear Sirs:
As a member of the Caterpillar Club, I naturally have an interest in the furthering of its program, safety in flying. The only way to accomplish this feat is to set up a definite program. That is, let the public hear our ideas. Of course this will take money, more than the club can afford at present I understand.
In the files of the club, I am sure are the largest collection of true, spectacular, and amazing escapes, that could ever be told. This in my opinion would make a wonderful radio program for a national hook-up of about 15 or 30 minutes a week, if presented right. There should be many prospective sponsors for such a program, that would pay well, for this information. The money the club received could be used to further the safety of flying. We could set up a safety school, so problems could be worked out, or at least determine some of the hazards in flying. There would be many details involved, but I will not try to elaborate on any at this time.
I must confess, I haven’t been a very good member. As a traveling salesman on the road most of the time, I haven’t had the opportunity to attend meetings. This idea may have been brought up before, but thought it wouldn’t hurt to mention it.
Will appreciate your reply, at your convenience, am looking forward to seeing all the fellows at a national convention one of these days.
Sincerely,
G. E. Farrar
c/o N.B.W.
224 W. Huron St.
Chicago 10, Ill.
My dad must have thought it important enough to save a copy of this letter he wrote, but to my knowledge, did not receive a reply. If he did, he did not save it.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
The Arrowhead Club 