Richard Darnell

East Tipp High School

Class of 1965

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Richard Darnell - Class of 1965 - East Tipp High School

First Name	Richard
Last Name	Darnell
Graduation Year	Class of 1965
Gender	Male
Current Location	Santa Clarita, California
Hometown	Lafayette, Indiana
Relationship Status	Widowed
About Me	Grew up away from the city of Lafayette near a small airport on Rd 25 north. Had full run of the country side it was our playground. Wabash river,to Heath rd. Spent entire summers in Wildcat creek. Saved an 8 year old girl going down the rapids there .Worked at the airport(Aretz) on and off painting hangers, caring for the sod runways,plowing the snow,mowing the grass. I even helped re- fabricate a Piper Cub.We use to play in the old planes in the rear area, stepped on a nest of Bumble Bees,stung 27 times. Couldn't hear,talk,see 17 were on my head. Lucky to be alive. Work at local gas station(Wades) on and off pumping gas fixing flats mowing their yard and just helping out. Helped the Kolps at a chicken farm.catch and load on trucks after dark til bout 3 am, then go to Wildcat for a swim and wash the crap off,then sleep all day.paid good money. $30.00 for about 5 or6 hours,when the normal pay was .50 to .75 cents an hour. Helped a couple farmers(Chathams) out plowing,discing planting fields.sunup to sunset. Helped bale hay during summer time. Once, while riding to deliver a load to a family (Bonnets) out on what we called " the Tarvey" we had no body to watch traffic to make a wide turn into drive. I baled off just in time to catch a 1958 Buick heading east bound! Brakes were screaming, I remember sliding down the asphalt road at about 40 to 50 mph(that was his approximate speed) on my keester and I was using my hands to stop. Well I had serious road rash on hands,butt and the worst was, I hit that large bumper guard with the Calf of my right leg boy it hurt! I remember hobbling back and asking the driver if he was all right. He couldn't answer, he was busy throwing up all over the place. He had a little to drink. Again, I'm lucky to be alive. One snowy day my friend(Howard Smith) called to say he was bored and ask if I wanted to go hunting. "Sure I said ,come on over. I was getting dressed and sitting on the the couch,I had just bent over to tie my boots when all of a sudden "Boom!! I remember Howard was wiping his 12 gauge down, I looked over,his eyes were wide open ,his mouth was wide open in disbelief! I felt the whoosh go over my back and now my ears were ringing. The blast peppered the wall,and blew the back off of an over stuff chair and took out a floor lamp. We spent the rest of the day trying to hide the event from my dad,which we failed miserably. Yep, real lucky to be alive. Another episode happened out on the "Tarvey" was with a family named Germains. I use to hang with Bill Germain. They were farmers, I helped Bill throw hay and straw down from the loft to the cows during winter. My dad had just bought a pair of Ice Skates and I told Bill about them. He said they had a pond that froze over about a mile from the house . He suggested we go skating. The next day I brought the skates. We walked back through a corn field to the pond. It was about three hundred feet in diameter with a clump of bushes sticking up at the far end.we tested the ice for thickness and figured it was safe to go on. The skates didn't fit that well but I tried to skate the best I could. I couldn't steer them very well and after a few minutes I was headed strait for the clump of bushes ,I could not stop! I hit the bushes,the ice crumpled and I went in. I had several layers of clothing on and started sinking fast.Within seconds I realized just how cold "freezing water really was. I was trying to break through the ice without luck! I was starting to panic and freeze at the same time. Then I remembered the bushes. I swam back over and Bill was there to pull me out. By the time we got back to the house my clothes were frozen solid. It was almost impossible to walk any more. We got inside,they had a small pot bellied stove the dad fired up! I sat there stinging with pain and wondering if I was going to pull through this ordeal. After a while my clothes were thawing out. Ice chunks were falling from my jacket and after a while they gave me dry clothes to put on. My body was still trying to thaw, it felt like tiny needles poking me all over. I was starting to be able to bend my fingers and arms. This was my first and last time to skate on ice! I was lucky to not suff...(read more)