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thedrifter
06-14-09, 09:00 AM
A Life Well Lived: James Golden Tells A Story Of Hard Work And Dedication
By JOYCE TURNER
Community Editor



Perhaps the best way to tell James Golden's story about his book, "Traveling the Golden Road," is to start at the end, instead of the beginning.

Life is quiet now on Golden Pond, his old home place, situated east of Edom, deep in the tall pines, oak trees and rolling hills of rural East Texas.


Golden and his wife, Kitzy, sit on their back porch and view the sloping, green lawn and the pier and gazebo built over one of the three ponds on the property.

An American flag whips in the summer breeze.

"Even in the heat, we get a breeze on the porch, nearly all of the time," Mrs. Golden said.

They are retired - but busy.

"We do what we want for the most part," Golden said. "We're pretty active people."

Although he jokes about his retirement, saying, "I don't do anything - and I don't do that until about 11 o'clock in the morning," Golden also admits to building trailers, "when I get bored."

But in 1951, Golden left home, a 17-year-old farm boy seeking his fortune, and he found it - as a Marine, educator, preacher, welder, hunter and rancher.

These days, he appreciates the silence.

The days of marching to the cadence of a Marine drill instructor are gone, along with the howitzers and rice paddies of Korea, and the thrill of sailing safely home under the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco Bay. He's free to reminisce about city council meetings, school administration and school board meetings - if he wants to do so.

"My work was enjoyable but nothing I can't live without," he said, in the final chapter of his book.


FAMILY ROOTS
"Dogs were sleeping on the porch and chickens were roosting under the two-room 'shotgun' house when the doctor arrived to deliver a baby boy. Cracks in the wall and open windows provided no relief from the summer heat."

Golden said he is "eternally grateful" to have been born in the United States to humble parents. ..." But it wasn't easy.

His mother, Vera Lee Alexander Golden, was a cotton picker, and his father, Jessie Leon Golden, was a roust-about in the oil fields, and was killed on a rig in 1939. Although his mother tried to teach him to pick cotton like she did - with both hands - he never mastered the technique - and that was OK with him. He never wanted to be a cotton picker.

"Poor people had little when I grew up," Golden said.

Numerous 10-grade schools were in the area, including Ben Wheeler, Willow Springs, Chapel Hill, Dixie, Edom and Fruitvale. Students from these schools moved on to a high school, and Golden did likewise, completing his high school education in Van as a "Vandal," under the tutelage of Coach G.T. Stagner, who became a father figure to him.

"That relationship would remain until I spoke at his memorial service many years later," Golden said.


THE CORPS
"Little did I know that my life was going to change forever. The security of home and family was gone and a new world was before me. The train trip was to Los Angeles and down the coast to San Diego. Traveling along the coast and viewing the ocean for the first time was an experience to be remembered by a country boy from Edom, Texas."

When Golden graduated from Van High School, Stagner arranged for a basketball scholarship at the University of Corpus Christi.

"But I did not know where Corpus Christi was and had no way to get there. One thing I knew, I could not get where I wanted to go from Edom, Texas," Golden said in his book.

However, his uncle had been a Marine, and he heard about the G.I. Bill, which could assist him in getting a college education. So, he said goodbye to his mother and headed for boot camp in San Diego, Calif., as a Marine recruit. That decision eventually took him to Inchon, Korea, in 1952, as part of the so-called "police action."

"I served five years as a Marine and had some close calls, but the experience has made me better in every way," Golden said.


HIGHER EDUCATION
"Folks in my family had never placed much emphasis on school, let alone college. I was told that I could not be successful out of the Marine Corps, but one night I made the decision to return to Texas and enter college as a lowly freshman."

Golden's plan was to graduate from college as soon as possible. To that end, he enrolled in Henderson County Junior College, where he received a bachelor's degree with a double major in the summer of 1959 - two years and eight months later.

"This feat was based on hard work and perseverance," Golden said.

Later, he enrolled in Hardin-Simmons University and earned a master's degree in school administration in 1966. He also completed some course work at East Texas State University in Commerce.


MR. 'G'
"During my teaching career, I continued to take college courses to keep up-to-date in my teaching fields. Evidences of my 'book learning' are framed and collecting dust on the wall, but I treasure them with much pride."

Paint Rock High School was Golden's first teaching assignment in 1959.

"I had a B.A. degree and my teaching certification and was ready to eliminate all ignorance in my path," he wrote.

In 1963, Golden was asked to interview for a speech and drama position in Van. He was hired and taught English, history, speech, drama and debate. He also drove a Van ISD school bus for 21 years and served as director of transportation for two years.

But after 25 years with Van schools, he went to be principal at Alba-Golden Independent School District in 1988, retiring as superintendent of Alba-Golden schools in 1992. At that time, he had spent 38 years in public service, 33 years in education and five in Marine Corps.

"My intentions at 58 years of age were to be away from school and smell the roses," he said.


PREACHING THE WORD
"I surrendered to preach in the summer of 1949, after I was thoroughly convinced that God had called me."

Ordination services were held for Golden in 1951, before he became a Marine. There were no opportunities to preach during his years as a Marine, but "there were times for me to do personal witnessing," he said.

Golden was both a teacher and preacher in Paint Rock, but a teaching position in Van brought an end to his pastoral work in Paint Rock. During his 25 years in Van schools, he served churches in an interim capacity. Now, Golden is a member of the New Beginning Baptist Church of Edom, where he preaches as a guest speaker.


ON GOLDEN POND
"I anticipate and feel somewhat deserving of the 'Silence on Golden Pond.'"

Golden still loves sports, and still hunts, and has an assortment of trophies on the wall to prove it.

"I hunt mostly with the grandkids now," he said.

And he's a builder.

"I built everything on this place," he said. "A poor man can't have anything unless he builds it himself."

Mrs. Golden, who married her husband in 1982, said he bought some of the land when he was in the 10th grade.

"He's always worked hard," she said.

And Golden said he had great motivation to work hard.

"We had to earn our way," he said. "If you had extra, you worked extra."

Growing up poor taught him many lessons.

"What I didn't have, I substituted with hard work. It's in our genes. My mother was a hard worker," he said. "My fear of failure was the greatest motivating factor in my life. I didn't want to fail, be friendless or poor."

As for "Traveling the Golden Road," Golden said he had three reasons for committing his memories to the pages of a book.

"First, I want my family to know something of their heritage and that each can achieve their dreams through hard work and dedication. Second, my Christian testimony, while not perfect, might influence others to become a Christian. Third, a scholarship fund has been established to assist worthy students. All proceeds from the book will go toward this scholarship fund."

Donations may be sent to: James L. Golden Scholarship Fund, 643 VZCR 4811, Chandler, Texas 75758. For more information, e-mail jgoldenpond@embarqmail.com.

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Ellie