Advoken's Blog

The death on July 7 of my old friend and mentor, Tony Ingrassia, at age 93 in Virginia got me to reminisce about people who have influenced me most in my life.  It’s something, I think, that we should all do from time-to-time.  We are who we are largely thanks to the guidance and friendship of others.

Tony moved away 65 years ago and we had only rare visits and exchanges of Christmas cards since.  Yet, I credit him with inspiring me into a long, satisfying career in the labor movement.  When I knew him, he was one of the best sportswriters in Milwaukee and, more importantly, the leader of our Newspaper Guild unit at the old Milwaukee Sentinel.  I learned from watching him in negotiating labor contracts and in making sure we did our homework so that we were smarter than the other side.  I was inspired with how he juggled his sportswriting job with his union work and being the father of close, tight-knit family with 10 children. 

Tony is one of many people who helped me to grow and learn how to navigate through the struggles of life and to have enough sense to enjoy moments of satisfying happiness.

Now let me tell you about Miss Wolf, my 4^th Grade teacher at Roosevelt Grade School in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.  Frankly, she was never one of my favorite teachers and I forget her first name; yet, though she may never have realized it, she is likely responsible for my lifelong need to write . . . and to keep writing about anything and everything.  In a sense, perhaps you can blame her for this blog.

In the 4^th Grade, I was enamored with prize-fighting, particularly Joe Louis who was a glorious sight with a well-proportioned, muscular body, a disciplined style of boxing and a gentle, warm demeanor.  And he never seemed to lose, though he came close to doing so on June 28, 1939 in Yankee Stadium when an unlikely overweight contender, Tony “Two-Ton” Galento, lasted four rounds in a bloody battle in which Galento actually floored Louis, only to lose when the fight was stopped in the fourth round.

I wrote about that fight and submitted it to our grade school paper, “The Golden Star,” where it was published – my first story to see print.  And Miss Wolf was so impressed she induced me to write more.  By 6^th Grade I was editor of the grade school paper – and I never looked back.

Thanks, Miss Wolf, for recognizing something in me about which I could take pride.  It must have been a liberating event in my young life, helping to free me from my early years of shyness and self-doubt.  How much we all need such inspiration to help us feel our own personal worth.

Then there was this stuttering problem.  I still stutter, though not so you’ve noticed, I hope.  But until my young manhood, I felt terribly stifled by my severe stutter; it cropped up in nearly every encounter, the ordering of a pack of Phillip Morris cigarettes (I had trouble saying the “Ph”), calling up my high school girlfriend (N – N – N – N – ancy) or even picking up the phone and answering (H – H – H – H – ello).

Every time I had to engage in such situations, I was terrified that I would never get the needed word out of my mouth.

I thank many persons for helping me overcome this fear of speaking out, starting with numerous speech therapists through the years, my parents for seeking help and my friends for accepting me, stutters and all. 

There are several persons whose guidance are most memorable.  I worked most of my high school years in Whipp’s Drugstore in Wauwatosa as a soda jerk and clerk.  There, I had to answer the phone and oh! how I stuttered in trying to answer “Wh – Wh – Wh – Wh – ipp Drugs.”  It was then Waldemar Whipp, the druggist, advised me, “Look, Ken, the people who are calling don’t care if you stutter or not.  All they want is to order their ice cream or prescription.  They don’t care how you talk.” 

Also, there was Gordon Lewis, editor and publisher of the prize-winning weekly South Milwaukee Voice-Journal, where I held my first newspaper job after graduating college.  In my job interview, I warned him that I had hoped my stuttering wouldn’t be a problem for him.  He answered, truthfully, I think, “Stutter? I hadn’t noticed.”

These are just a few examples of how various persons have helped me throughout my life; I could name many others.  It’s just proof that to navigate this world, we can’t do it alone; we need the guidance and counsel of others.

Just think back into your life and make a list of those who deserve your everlasting thanks. Ken Germanson, July 20, 2020