January to October 1967

We are back from our UK trip and into our normal routine. Things are going fairly well and we are expanding rapidly. Motel 6 has purchased three properties and built nineteen, and fourteen more are in some state of development. We have projects from Hawaii to Fort Wayne Indiana.

Hawaii was getting a lot of attention. It would have a higher room rate because of the construction and operational costs. Minimum wage States-side was $1.25 - in Hawaii, it was $2.50. Our rate there would be $8.00 in lieu of $6.00. In February the construction was nearing completion, so I needed to go check things out and set up the schedules for operational personnel, furniture and supplies. I took Margaret with me on this trip - it was short - one day to travel , day two for business, day three personal and day four travel home. This property was our first high-rise, with the 2 lower basement floors for parking and eight upper floors for office, lobby, manager's apartment and eighty units with an elevator.


With the business taken care of, day three was our day. We used it taking a motorcycle and completely circling the island of Oahu. The map showed a road which turned into a stone creek dry bed and lots of existing mud holes. Our day was (1) being pummeled with wild surf (on a private beach) (2) dumping us and the motorcycle in the biggest mud hole ever, and (3) stopping at a beach park, showering the mud off us and our clothes and (4) in the sun for an extended period of time getting a serious over-tan. We did complete the trip and I have not ridden a motorcycle since.

Motel 6's Biggest problem was lack of money, which always left them short, unable to pay bills promptly for construction, furnishings and equipment on the new motels. . Bills were running 90 to 120 days behind. The owners Paul Greene and Bill Becker expected Operations to make up their short fall on their construction costs - $150,000 to $200,000 per project. We could have handled four or five motels a year, but no way on eight or ten. My position was "slow down or obtain larger construction loans". Slowing down and improving our credit rating would have qualified us for larger loans.

I think it's time to go back and tell of events leading up to this point. After building the first nine motels and buying one existing (total ten), we came to a squeeking halt on construction. We were unable to prove our program was profitable, our lenders were waiting for us to prove we were a strong money-backer. On the other hand some of our suppliers that I had gotten to know well were very impressed with the idea of them and us buying existing motels and franchising others. They wanted to furnish the money if I would run and promote them. They were going to called Best 6 Inns - an upgraded Motel 6. The first location would have on Motel Drive in Fresno. I gave notice to Paul and Bill and they wanted to know why would I consider leaving them. I told them I had to take of my future. The statement made by both owners was "there are only three people we are interested in and you are one of the three. You will get your million". I agreed to stay based on this promise.

We mentioned that Operations was doing very well - we had generated $958,000 cash flow for the prior year and it was growing. In July 1967 Bill and Paul began trying to raise money. They did a sell-and-lease back on two original motels and they began working with Trans-American Corp, and with some of their stock company clients, i.e. Citi and Associates. As a result of our success, TransAmerica asked for my help in inspection, finding their problems and recommending changes and directions to make these properties profitable. They were aware of my success with Kirkeby-Natus problem properties. I spent about half of my time the next month or so on this and got very close with these people. There were four west coast properties involved. While this was going on I learned through my contacts that Bill and Paul were in serious negotiations with Citi on a sell-out. I asked for a meeting with them and inquired where I fitted into this picture and what I was to receive from this sale. The answer? "My job. I would receive no money as I had not made an investment".

One of Trans-America problem properties was a very nice 150 unit full service hotel in Palm Springs, and they told me that if I could come up with financial backing, they would sell it to us at a very good price. In the meantime we had been approached by the orthodontist that Margaret had worked for who said he was connected with a group that had resources and were looking to invest. On learning of this project, they expressed an interest in proceeding. I advised my contact and we began working on a deal. But unfortunately it is a small world, and one of Dr. Kuhns potential investor-partners (who incidentally was the campaign manager for Ronald Reagan when he ran for the Governorship of California) happened to go to a party, attended by representatives of Citi and Bill Becker. He had a bit too much to drink and bragged about stealing the 'head man' from Motel 6 for his project! The 'you know what' hit the proverbial fan! Citi threatened to call off the deal with Bill and Paul and provided enough pressure to Trans-America so they called off the deal with us. Nothing was ever said to me by Bill or Paul, but needless to say there was trouble brewing ahead!
Margaret and I had made plans that Fall to go to Montreal for Expo 67 (Margaret is on the boat above heading for the island where the expo was located) and also for me to meet Gordon and Irene for the first time. It was a pleasure/business trip, for after Montreal we drove back west inspecting the last three motels nearing completion and opening shortly. It was a great trip and we stopped by the office on the way up to our house. It was almost closing time. Barbara (my secretary) was crying, others avoided eye contact, and a letter of termination was on my desk..........

I'm never going to survive this man!!!!

That really was my thought for a while. Looking back on my life, I had led a very routine, orderly existence. Pretty well going to be and getting up the same time each day, eating meals about the same time, watching favorite TV shows on certain nights, etc. I can remember staying up late one week-night to watch a Montreal Canadian/Chicago Blackhawk hockey final that ran into overtime, and being exhausted the next day at work because of the two hours shortage of sleep (all in my head of course I realize now).

And now my life is one of constant change, meals when they are grabbed, sometimes missed all together, and nights with little or no sleep at all. Dick never stopped until the job was finished - and if it took you into the next day's work, so be it. That's how we put together the first class at the Motel school. I would go by his office after working with Dr. Kuhn and we would start preparing the complete lesson, the test papers, the slides for the presentation, and setting the whole thing so that Dick and Verne could conduct the class the next day. We did this for the two weeks of the class.


But we did settle into our little studio apartment on the hill and together were very happy.
And Katrina and I got to know each other better and start the foundation of our friendship. The above trip to Disneyland was a case in point on how Dick operated though. We had worked our usual day on a Friday and that evening driven with Katrina down to one of the Motel 6's close to Disneyland. We took Katrina out to dinner and then settled her in a room and Dick and I headed for the office to straighten out a major mess with the books. Not only had the manager not been able to balance his books in something like five or six days, but he had made no deposits either. We had to go back to when he WAS in balance and reconstruct the week's business from there, arriving at the end of each day's balanced report with an amount he needed for the deposit. He pulled the money from cupboards, under the counter and the refrigerator!. And interesting night - and it was the NIGHT. We got the whole mess sorted something like 6am, just in time to freshen up, nap for about an hour and then take Katrina out to breakfast and on to a day at Disneyland!
Being the CEO of Motel 6 did have its perks though. Motel 6 opened a motel in Hawaii, so of course Dick had to go and set up the opening and install the managers, etc. I was able to get the time off and accompany him and we spent four days and three nights that were wonderful. Actually the first and fourth day were taken up with travel, and the second day we devoted to business, but the one free day, we rented a motorcycle and drove around the island of Oahu. This was in 1967 and the road wasn't complete around the island - there was a portion that basically ran along the beach/rocky area. The whole day turned out to be one big adventure. First we stopped at a beach, changed into bathing suits and tried to swim in the water - BUT we soon learned why Hawaii is popular for surfing. The waves were HUGE and strong. We both went in the water, were sucked out and then tossed back on the beach. Ah well, maybe we had better look for calmer waters, so still wet and with our clothes bundled, we continued, coming to where the road just ran out. We thought we could see where it started again, so decided we could make it. Bouncing, slipping, splashing our way - when suddenly the bike goes one way, we go another and our clothes go flying. Now we and the bike were wet and muddy, along with our clothes. We made it to a calmer beach which fortunately had a shower area, so we were able to get ourselves cleaned up and continued on our trip, past the vast pineapple fields (I always thought they grew on trees!!!) and back to the motel. Most of the trip was done in our bathing suits waiting for our clothes to dry. Both Dick and I are fortunate to have olive skins which do not burn as easy, but we both had too much sun that day and were not feeling our greatest the next day. On the plane going home, Dick suddenly said he wasn't feeling too good and was going to the bathroom. He had no sooner left his seat, when I heard a crash and I jumped up to see two attendants looking at the space behind the last seat and the galley/rest room area. I ran back, took one look at Dick passed out on the floor and promptly passed out myself and landed on top of him! You can't say I'm not the sympathetic type!

Yes Life was different - nothing was the same, all routine had gone out the window, I learned to adapt to no sleep and at times no food, but I loved it (once I got over the shock) and loved the man. Life was good...............

Things are going well at Motel 6

and we are opening new locations. Margaret is helping me as needed (for free). They re-arranged the offices and we have larger quarters. We (meaning Operations) have our own entrance and reception area, and Jim my assistant has his own office.

We had a week with Katrina prior to school starting. I picked her up in Fresno and we drove to Santa Barbara. She is just short of being 16 and I let her practice her driving on the back road in the West Valley. She did quite well, so I came into Santa Barbara via the San Marcos pass (old road). This road is very winding with a lot of switch backs, so I thought it would be good experience. We took it slow and Katrina did fine through the first four, but #5 she froze and didn't straighten the wheel. The road straightened out, but we didn't - so up the wall, and we rolled over on its side. A brand new Ford Galaxie. I was able to get it upright and we drove off. Only light scratches, and both Katrina and I were fine!

As I said, business was good and growing. About three/four weeks before Christmas I was on a return flight (I don't recall from where) and I was listening to the stereo music. "I'll be home for Christmas" was on and I began to think about me and my family. Our family always got together some time for Christmas. I thought about Margaret not being home for Christmas for nine years. It got to me. When I got back to the office I said to Margaret, "I know we can't afford it, but you are 'going home for Christmas". She wanted to write and advise her family, but I wanted it to be a surprise.

We arrived London 9am Friday morning (Christmas was on the Sunday). We rented an auto and proceeded to Llandudno, Wales - approx. 240 miles north west. I could write a book on this trip alone - maybe some other time. We arrived approx. 9pm. Margaret's mother was home and her father came in about 10 minutes later. We had a short visit then he took me to his pub to meet his friends, and seeing as we were there we might as well have a beer. Jolly, jolly. We only had the one. The pub closed at 11pm.
We spent Christmas and a few more days touring the area and showing me the sights and visiting relatives to show me off! I was a big man - a Welsh man is approx. 5'4" to 5'7" and weights 135 to 160 lb. The above photo was taken on the Orme - boy the wind could blow there.


We took a 'memory lane' ride with Margaret's mother and father - the above was taken outside the Church they were married in.

To backtrack a bit - as you know John, Margaret's first husband, was our employee and left us on the break-up. He went to San Francisco and obtained a job with TWA and became a leader of a plane service crew. This crew was good enough that TWA sent the crew to London to demonstrate and train their crews over there. As a result he had visited Margaret's parents just a few weeks prior to our visit. John did well,married a stewardess with TWA and raised a family, retiring in the Bay Area.
Back to our trip. The next stop was Southport, England for a visit with Mair and Norman (Margaret's sister and brother in law). The above photo is taken in front of their house. We had a nice visit, got to know each other and after a couple of days we continued our trip on to Lincoln, where her brother Gerald, wife Kitty and family lived. The following photo was taken in their living room.
Lincoln is where Sherwood Forest is located and no, I didn't meet Robin, nor any of his Merry Men. Gerald was home recovering from an illness. He was doing well, & we enjoyed the family of two sons and a daughter

A couple of days there and off to London (this is Margaret at the Tower of London) for three days. Margaret's cousin and her husband Peter came into town one evening and we all went out to dinner. The rest of the time was seeing what London had to offer which was far more than we could see in three days. A lot of it had to wait for future visits.
We flew over Ireland on the way back. The weather was clear with light clouds and we got some great view from 30,000 feet.

There is so much to share about this trip, and I know I have only touched on it here. This was my first year not to be at my home for Christmas, but I was accepted into a new home and enjoyed it very much. May you always have a home to go for Christmas and love each other very much.


A little add on: Driving in Great Britain 1966: (1) the vehicles were built funny (!) - driver sat on the right side, you shift gears with your left hand, and look left for the rear view mirror. when overtaking a vehicle, to me some vehicles had no drivers (sitting on the wrong side for me). (2) you drove on the wrong side of the road. Entered roundabouts (traffic circles) the wrong way, left side and turn right. They did not believe in stop signs or traffic lights - just roundabouts - LOTS OF THEM. (3) Parking was allowed either side of street in either direction. This was even in downtown London with four lane street. If you could get there, you could park there. (4) I never saw a house with a garage (may have been), so even ones that owned a car parked on the street. Thank God only about 1/3 owned autos or the street would have been blocked. The streets in the residental areas were narrow - approx. 20 feet wide, so you to had to weave through the parked vehicles. The rules were first come had the rightaway. The problem was they applied this to the open full speed highway. If they wanted to pass and you were approaching, they would pull out to pass, and you were expected to slow down and if necessary pull off the road to let them pass. I was forced over onto the shoulder several times. (5) I assumed they thought world war II was still going on! At that time they covered the top 3/4 of the headlights for the blackouts. Now they drove with parking lights only in all cities where there were street lights. In between towns the lead car or truck would use headlights but no one following behind.
Today is different - they still drive on the left side of the road and sit on the right of the car, but otherwise the rules are more like ours.
I have to say that riding in a taxi in London was a hair-raising experience too.

One last story - we were driving from Southport to Lincoln, so to help us out Mair had obtained a route guide from the Auto Club for us to use. About halfway there, we entered this town. We checked the instructions and it told us to veer right where the old well USED TO BE! Thank you Auto Club.

Photos......

I forgot the photos on the last blog. Above is the West Shore of Llandudno - taken from the Orme that we went up with my parents.
The above is my mother and father and Dick on the same trip - on the other side of the Orme where there is a cemetery that my father's parents are buried.
Dick with Mair and Norman taken outside their home in Southport, England
Myself with my brother Gerald, his wife Kitty and three of his four children - Martyn, Ian and Sarah. Gareth was born a couple of years later.

Meeting the Thomas'

Some time early December, I can remember leaving my job with Dr. Kuhn and going over to the Motel 6 offices to help with whatever I could with Dick's job. This was something I always did, but when I walked in, Dick's assistant and his wife were there and they were obviously excited about something. Dick waited until everyone else had gone home except Jim and Betty and told me he was giving me a trip home for Christmas. I had not been home in nine years and had only seen my parents the one time during that period when they visited me in Canada. I was speechless. It was quite a deal to get my passport that quickly, but we made it and a couple of days before Christmas we arrived in London. Dick had wanted me to surprise my family and not tell them in advance. I had reservations about this, but went along with it and in retrospect it probably wasn't the best idea we ever had.

We rented a car in London and Dick drove to Llandudno. That was an experience in itself, driving on the wrong side of the road, in the dark, with narrow roads, heavy traffic and the somewhat scary rules of the road there (first come first served attitude), it's a wonder we made it in one piece. Dick actually did a remarkable job, except for bumping the sidewalk often (hard to judge the car when you are sitting on the wrong side of it). And to make matters worse, it was standard shift - they didn't have automatic in those days.

I'm sure a lot of you have seen the series of movies about a man meeting his future wife's family (in fact I think there is a sequel coming out this coming week) - but poor Dick had his own version of this!!! We called my sister from London and she was really upset at the lack of notice and I could hear her floundering on the phone.
Mair had 'protected' her 'little sister' over the nine years and had not told her of the conditions with various members of my family. I would love to be able to write this part of my 'history' telling of the fun we had with Dick meeting the various members of my family and my first return after nine years and Dick's first visit to Britain. We DID have some great memories to take back with us and a lot of private things to laugh about, like how cold my parent's house was and our sleeping in a feather bed with sagging springs so that we both slipped to the middle of the bed and remained there. We kept our heads under the mounds of bedclothes just to keep warm. Dick said it was the first time he had ever experienced going to the bathroom inside a house and see the steam rising!! We laughed at his driving round the infamous British roundabouts the wrong way (fortunately late one evening and no other car around). We laughed at my sister asking him what time he wanted to be knocked up in the morning (in Britain, this means what time do you want me to wake you). We laughed with my father sitting in the back seat of the car giving Dick directions and having never driven a car himself never learned that you tell someone to turn left BEFORE you get to the corner, not when you are in the middle of the intersection.
We laughed at my father telling every relative we visited that Dick ate a pork chop while he was cooking the rest of them. My Dad never had never had more than one pork chop at a meal. We laughed at Norman (Mair's husband) taking Dick down to the pub and walking his usual amazingly fast pace. Dick came back, ten paces behind normal, panting! And we laughed at my sister-in-law Kitty who had to leave occasionally during the visit as she was the local 'bookie' and had to collect the bets (a perfectly legal occupation there).

But the tears came with the discovery of not only my mother's alcoholism, but also my brother's; to my sister being ailing and in a depression after surgery; and other family issues that I'm sure made Dick think he had married into the most dis-functional family. Thank goodness the years and many more visits did a lot of erase the bad memories of this visit - but it was certainly a growing experience for this 'little sister'.

Thanksgiving Weel

Digressing from our 'history' for a moment, we just wanted to share the Thanksgiving week we had.

Thanksgiving is all about family and being grateful for what we have and the people in our lives. It was really lived out this week.

Tricia and her friend Belinda kicked off the week for us with dinner at Belinda's on Sunday - a wonderful salmon dish!
Monday, Denise, Jill and Jamie took us out to lunch and then visited most of the afternoon. What a sweetie little Jamie is!
Monday evening Frances and Patrick arrived from California and they stayed with us until Friday morning.
Tuesday was Frances' actual 80th birthday, so we met Jerry and Bev in Casa Grande where Jerry treated us all to buffet at Golden Corral. We had a great visit at their place afterwards.
Wednesday we spent the day at home - Grandpa barbecued his good chicken, and we ate early as Karen and Ashley came and spent the evening with us. Karen is Jerry and Bev's second daughter, and Ashley is her daughter.
Thursday, Tricia joined Frances, Patrick, Dick and I and we had a really great day together. We ate out in a small family restaurant Dick and I like in Florence and they really did serve an excellent meal. Jerry and Bev stopped by on the way home from dinner with their family.

So at the end of the week, we are quietly alone, reflecting on what a warm, loving week it was. We are truly grateful for all who came to see us. Our only regret?
I forgot to take any photos!!!! What a dummy!

Love you all out there........................

Here we go again

While Margaret was in Las Vegas obtaining her divorce, Sue and I came to an agreement regarding terms of our divorce. The agreement was I would assume all liabilities and she would take the assets (auto, furniture, etc) with the exception of our home. It would be sold later and we would split any equity from the sale. I agreed to give her one half of my net salary, tax free to her and Katrina. This figure was approx. $550. Sue's share would end on her marriage and Katrina's would end at 18 years of age or completion of her education. My half left me $40 a month SHORT of paying the payments that were due. While Margaret was in Las Vegas, Sue stayed in Santa Barbara and took a job. This didn't work our for her, so I moved her and Katrina to Fresno and put the house up for sale.

Back to Motel 6, Ralph my first assistant had been promoted and was controlling our furniture and supply warehouse and I had hired a new assistant - Jim Campbell. Jim and his wife Betty and their 17 year old daughter were needing somewhere to live. He was newly retired military as a major. He had been involved with the Nuremburg trials of German officers for war crimes (World War 2). With several of us having housing needs (Jim and his family, myself and Margaret) I managed to hustle up some furniture and we all moved in waiting its sale. Thank goodness the home had four bedrooms and 2 baths. That way we each had a bedroom and no one had to sleep in the living room. We shared foot costs and utilities, so that helped.
When Margaret came back from Vegas, she went job hunting and went to work for a Doctor Kuhn (orthodontis). He called me prior to hiring her and asked about her ability. I told him she was the best I had ever had and I would recomment her for any job. With Margaret working - the financial picture improved considerably and we could afford to eat! We were able to sell the house that Fall after we were married.In the meantime, after work, Margaret would come by my office and help me with whatever I needed. We had decided to set up a motel manager training school, and advertise it as a free course. The whole course had to be set up , organized completely and submitted to the State of California. I roughly laid out the training format and schedule and Margaret took it from there, typing up all the instructions including the tests on each phase. We received full accreditation from the State of California for our school.
Margaret and the Mustang I got her, and below in the studio apartment we moved into after selling the house.
We ran a class a month at the school, ranging from 6 to 10 couples. We were able to pick the best and offer them jobs.

Margaret worked more free hours for me and Motel 6 than she did at her regular job.

Sue was to go to Nevada for our divorce but she started to resist the six week resident requirement. So I checked out the infamous Mexico divorce and the State would accept it if both parties signed and had it notarized in the State of California. So to make it easier on Sue, this is what we did.
I got a phone call one Friday afternoon (August 5th) saying the judge had approved it. I called Margaret at work and asked her when? This weekend or next? She said Now, Now! I said Yes! Yes!. Margaret, Jim, Betty and I left late Friday afternoon for Law Vegas. We were wed August 6, 1966 in the Little Chapel of the Flowers and became 'One Forever".
Margaret told you about our problem with the Palm Desert motel and how we handled that the next day, but she didn't tell you about her boss Doc Kuhn when she asked for the Monday off to get married. He said yes - and who are you marrying. She told him. He stated "No wonder you got such a good recommendation!".
We took a few short trips so I won't add to that, except the photo of her with the Mustang.
We got lucky and sold the house, so Sue and I got a little money and I got a lot of the debt removed. We found this small apartment over a garage consisting of a bath, kitchen and one large room (living, dining and bedroom) with a walk out deck on the hillside 900 feet above the city of Santa Barbara, the ocean and the offshore islands. We loved it. Total cost with utilities and cable TV was $95 a month. With my reduced payments and Margaret working we were doing better.

I'm going to back up a bit here and write a little about myself and Bill Ripley. My brother Bill and Don Ripley were buddies and I was close to both Cecil and Bill Ripley. While in school Billie would come by and we would go to sporting events together. After Sue and I were married and had Katrina, Billie would visit. We got along fine. When we were out of town, about once a year, during a work break, Billie would show up and usually stay a day or so. he watched Katrina grow up. He was part of our family. Right after Margaret and I married, one Saturday afternoon he showed up in Santa Barbara. He came in, we were talking and Margaret entered the room. I said, Billie I would like you to meet my new wife Margaret. I thought I would have to hold him up. Apparently no one had told him. He was truly shaken. He stayed overnight and the three of us went out to dinner and finished the evening off by bowling a few lines. This was Margaret's first ten-pin bowling attempt. He was working on the dam at Los Banos and was living up there but still bowling in a league in Fresno weekly.
I suggested he top by and visit with Sue and Katy. I was sure they would enjoy it.
In October we were at the Caruther Fair and looked up and saw Billie and Sue walking hand-in-hand laughing. I said to myself "God Bless you Both".

My memories of our beginning......

I loved my job - every day brought something new and I found I loved all the ins and out of the motel business. I looked forward to going to work each day and was never in a hurry to leave at night. Listening to Dick interview the managers was amazing - he would somehow manager to bring out the 'real' person and get to the core of whether they would make good managers or not. But as the unemployment figure got less and less, his screening system didn't seem to matter so much - it was just a matter of getting the bodies! I can remember one time his saying - "I'm to the point that I'll even hire someone with a wart on his nose". Within a few minutes, Mary ushered in the newest applicants and in walks this man with the biggest wart I have ever seen on his nose. Dick and I didn't dare look at each other!

I can remember when Dick called me dear, but have to be honest that I simply thought he had absentmindedly said it - like one calls someone by the wrong name. But when the day came for me to leave for Monterey, I was beginning to question some things. But to go back briefly to the event leading up to that - Dick told you how we were suddenly out of managers and the problem came up in Monterey. I always remember his saying - "Well it looks like I'm down to me or thee - and it aint going to be me!". This was in the morning, lunch time I headed down to the local motel and had a two-hour mini-training session on how to rent a room and run the front office! Fortunately I knew the bookkeeping system, so just needed to know how to manage the rest.

As told, Dick drove me to the airport and there was an outside area at the Santa Barbara airport in those days where one could go outside and see the planes leave. That's where Dick was so as we took off, I could look down and see him. I felt awful, which made me very confused. I hadn't seen John in almost two weeks and yet here I was sad at leaving Dick. After the motel bit, we returned to Santa Barbara for a few days and then John and I went to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada to be with his family for the holidays. I think my ex-mother-in-law picked up on a strain that even I didn't realize was there with John. She said something when we left about staying close which I didn't quite know where she was coming from. I do know that my conversation during that holiday was work, Mr. Topper, work, Mr. Topper.......

I have often been amazed how strong 'denial' can be and when we came back, routine took over with John gone, my working life being my whole being, until the infamous Palm Desert trip. Dick and John had arrived ahead of Sue, Katrina and I, and when we checked into the motel we were told that Mr. Topper and Mr. Marsh were in the restaurant. We walked over there and sure enough, across the restaurant sat Mr. Topper and Mr. Marsh (John). My heart leapt - but for the wrong person.

There are now words that can express the emotions, the pain, the turmoil when I got home. I didn't sleep that night, wept and wept, and made the decision to call John. Regardless of anything else, I could not disrespect him by staying with him when I loved another person. It was not an easy time for any of us. The rest is history. That was 44 years ago and both Sue and John went on to very happy marriages and I know that Dick and I have been the soul-mates that fate intended us to be.


We sealed it with a kiss - In Las Vegas on August 6, 1966. I had left Motel 6 and was working in an orthodontist's office (Dr. Kuhn).
Dick's assistant Jim Campbell and his wife Betty went to Las Vegas with us and stood with us.
We were married in the Little Chapel of the Flowers. We went to the Aku-Aku restaurant for our wedding dinner - all very Hawaiian. When we went back to the motel it was to learn that there has been a big problem at the Palm Desert motel - apparently the motel manager and the restaurant manager had gotten into a big fight and one of them had thrown the other one in the pool. We were needed there asap.
Early the next morning (Sunday) the four of us drove there and put out that fire. My boss had given me the Monday off, so we were able to stay there overnight and then drove home on the Monday. What a honeymoon!!
We did manage to take a short belated honeymoon a little later. Dick had bought me this 1966 Mustang that I loved and we took a quick trip up the coast and spent one day in San Franciso. There was a little bit of Motel 6 business along the way, but mostly just fun time for us.

Sue and Katrina had moved to Fresno, but we would try to get over there when possible and spend time with Katrina. She and I always got along well and I always remember being really touched when she said to me that she had a hard time thinking of me as a step-mother, but thought of me as the big sister she had always wanted.
Looks like Katrina was a lot braver than I was in this picture - I look as if I'm afraid to get too close!

The next leg of the journey by Grandpa

Six months since Margaret joined us. We have grown from 14 to 20 operating motels. She is doing an excellent job and has developed into more of an assistant than a secretary. She is basically running my office when I am gone, which is at least half the time. I always thought that Bill's wife Frances was very sharp. I now knew she had serious competition.
We were hiring manager couples so that we could have two to three couples being trained. This gave us some backup in case they were needed as temporary replacement managers in case of death in the family, illness or multiple reasons. All interview usually consisted of two hours plus. I had an image of the manager I wanted, but at this time the unemployment figure was 2.4% - poor quality and only about 50% made it through training (usually four weeks). Our better managers did the training and it gave them extra help for a while.
I had developed a sense of appreciation for Margaret in her work and her being a nice person. This is what I thought, until one day, late November or early December, she brought over something to check if it was right. I looked it over and answered "Yes Dear". I sat at my desk dumbfounded. What am I doing? I say yes dear to Sue, not Margaret. I tried to put it out of my mind. Shortly after that, a problem arose with our coverage of our motels with managers. We had only one couple trained and available. My assistant Ralph Playle was tied up and unavailable. We had one set of managers walk out on us. This used up our trainees. Then the Monterey managers advised us that one of their parents had died and they had to go out of town for a funeral and would be gone four or five days. There was no one but me or Margaret. I chose her and called John who was doing a job in Sacramento for us, to meet her at the motel and help her so she wouldn't be there 24 hours/day with no other help except the maids. Since John had a company vehicle and was driving to Monterey, that gave them transportation. The company flew her there and I offered to take her to the airport so she wouldn't have to leave her car out there. At the gate, I told her goodbye and 'call if you need any help'. I stayed at the gate, watched her board, watched the plane taxi to the runway and I watched it take off and fly away. I stood there and felt a heatache like as if my wife had left!!
Margaret and John completed that job and after a few days in the office when I was away on business, they went to Canada to be with his family for the holidays. Sue and I spent Christmas in Fresno with our families. Margaret and John returned after New Years.
I don't know about Margaret but I was living with a troubled heart, not knowing what to think, or what to do. I knew I had lots of problems. At this time I had no idea what her feelings were. I had not knowingly indicated my thoughts or feelings.
We worked closely together and showed no signs of anything.
The first week in February, a problem arose at the Palm Desert location. We were operating the motel/bar/dinner house for the lenders and the managers had major bookkeeping problems. I was going down to take care of this over the weekend. John's company car was in the repairs and had driven to Long Beach on a job with my assistant Ralph. I needed to get a car to him so Ralph could leave him. I was juggling these issues and invited Margaret and John to spend the weekend in Palm Desert. This way I could drive a vehicle to John and he and I could drive to Palm Desert. He would then have transportation for his work. Sue, Katrina and
Margaret drove down after work on Friday. This gave me her help on the books, which we did on the Saturday morning and part of the afternoon. That evening all five of us went out for a fancy dinner. We came back around midnight and both couples spent about an hour in the heated Jacuzzi. Sunday afternoon, John returned to Long Beach and I drove Sue, Katrina and Margaret back to Santa Barbara.
After spending that weekend with Margaret away from the office, I knew where my love was and who I wanted to live the rest of my life with. This was the biggest problem I had ever faced and I was severely torn up. After work Monday, Margaret and I met and acknowledged our feelings and problems. Margaret told me she had already asked John to come home, she needed to talk with him. She had done this before knowing my thoughts or decision.
The next morning I drove to L.A., flew to Phoenix where we were operating a motel. I went to my room, was torn up and was beside myself. I couldn't stay and work. So I flew back to L.A., got my vehicle and drove back to Santa Barbara. During this return trip, at almost every roadside barrier and embankment, I fought a strong urge to solve my problems all at once. But I realized what that would do to Sue, Katrina and Margaret. I couldn't take the easy way out.
I saw Margaret and she had already advised John, I went home and advised Sue. Margaret left her position with me and went to Las Vegas to become a resident for her divorce. I moved into Margaret's house and shared it with my food and beverage Manager, Ron.
Margaret was granted her divorce early spring of 1966. I was to receive my divorce mid summer as agreed upon with Sue.

When I first went to work for Mr. Topper....

Back in those days, employees always referred to their bosses and called them by the formal name. Dick was Mr. Topper to me and I would never have considered calling him Richard or Dick. I can remember my interview and it's a wonder that I came across in any positive manner at all, considering how badly I wanted the other job with the diving company ( contacts for John), but I couldn't wait for the man to return from his vacation, so accepted the position when offered with Motel 6. I can remember that during the interview Dick asked me how I would respond to a letter he had received - giving me an idea of what he wanted to say. How I passed this part I have no idea, as I was not then nor have ever been good at coming up with 'composition' in my head. I am much better with a keyboard under my fingers where my thoughts can run free while the fingers just do the mechanics. I've also found out about myself is that if I want to write a speech (or a blog), or an important letter or instruction, I first 'write' it in my mind. I end up with a firm plan of what I want to say, then can run with it when I get to the typewriter (or computer now). So I know I mumble-fumbled my way through an answer for him - but apparently it was good enough.

Dick was gone pretty well most of the time the first couple of weeks I worked there and my training came from a gal called Terry (I think) who showed me how to process the daily reports when they came in and how to balance them and confirm the deposits etc. The job grew from there as I worked side by side with Dick in the same office. The two strongest impressions I formed about him were that he was (a) brilliant and (b) a little vulgar at times for my taste. I tried to take care of the latter once, but that went over like a lead balloon and if I had not needed the job so badly, or been such a wimp in those days, I might have quit. BUT, brilliant he was - his ability to handle all the responsibilities, problems, pressures was quite awesome, and it was fun to watch him take care of the major overall problem of Motel 6 growing too fast, constantly running out of money on the construction and expecting Operations to take up the slack. It seemed that Dick spent half his time, calming down the unpaid suppliers, making deals with them and basically keeping Motel 6 going. It's the behind the scenes story that will never be known about that 'household word' now. I admired his creativity also - always coming up with new ideas and ways to attack different problems.

We eventually were moved out of our joint office and Dick was given an office by himself and I had a separate reception area just outside. This was the view from the window - you can see the clock on the Santa Barbara courthouse. At five o clock each evening, Dick and I along with receptionist Mary would meet after every one else had left and have a cup of coffee together and just relax and talk. Along with the admiration for the brain, came the liking of the person and his outlooks and philosophies. We became good friends. Any of you who have been in my house and noticed the first cross-stitch I ever did, you will see it is of the Santa Barbara courthouse, the clock is set at 5pm.

Dick did many favors for John and I - gave John a job when the abalone adventure was over, made it possible for us to move into a house instead of the studio we rented. He was (and is) a good man. I remember one Christmas he took some groceries and dropped them off at Terry's doorstep. She was having a rough time then and she never knew where it came from.

Over time, I learned to admire the boss, enjoy the friend, and love the man.

Motel 6, Nain (close to 10!) & Grandpa

We stated earlier that when we arrived at this point we would write it jointly, but it actually is going to be two people's perspective of a shared time.

First a little backup prior to Nain becoming part of the team. I had started my flying lesson and had maybe 15 hours flying time. I soloed at 9 hours. No cross country or license yet, only student license. My training had been with a Cessna 150 twin seater and a Piper Cherokee 150 4 seater. To be licensed I must get 35 plus hours and have two solo cross country flights. I chose Las Vegas & Tucson as mine. I obtained my license Spring of 1967 (and my twin rating at Mt. Vernon, Ill in Spring 73). My last flight was in 1980. I am still licensed, but can no longer pass my physical. I had logged 1700 hrs flying, or over 300,000 miles, or equal to 12 trips around the world. FYI planes flown: Cessnas 150, 172, 180, 210, 336, 340, 421; Piper Cherokee 150, 160; Comanche 180; Twin Comanche & Twin Aztec, Of the above listed planes most were rentals except 1/2 ownership twin Comanche. 336 & 421 Cessnas were owned by Regal 8 Inns. We will be referring or telling about flying trips in our future writings.

The above is the Cessna 172 and below is 180 Comanche.
This is the twin Comanche.
The Cessna 421 was a 1969 twin engine, 7 passenger (with potty) pressurized plane with ceiling limit 24,000 feet. This allowed us to get above most weather. Speed 260 knots, 2-360 c.i. Lycoming Engines. The 336 Cessna was a new 1975 push-pull twin in-line engine, also presurized. Speed around 230.

It is Spring of 1965, Motel 6 has 14 motels in operation and 5 under construction. We are also operating and remodeling 3 motels for a lender (Kirkerby Natus (not sure of the spelling on this) Las Vegas, Palm Desert and Long Beach, which r4equired separate set of books, banks, controls and accounting.

Motel 6 had built a new two-story office building at 222 East Anapamu, Santa Barbara. We occupied one floor. We were split into three divisions (1) bookkeeping with 5 employees (2) Operations with 4 employees & (3) Drafting & Construction with 3 employees. My duties and responsibilities: With Construction:
1. Approve prints for building placement and useable flow for guest and operational problems.
2. Inspect building twice during construction to see compliance with plans.
3. Purchase and install furniture and equipment.
With Operations:
1. Interview and hire managers
2. Train managers
3. Control and approve all expenditures
4. Maintain cost control
5. Monthly motel inspections
6. Control maintenance at each motel
7. Take care of any local problems
8. Checking all daily reports from the motels and verifying bank deposits.
As a result of the duties I was desperate for help, so we put an ad in the Santa Barbara Press for a secretary. We had two applicants, one of which was Margaret Marsh. She was our second interview. Her duties were to assist me with typing, phone work, scheduling, foot work and to obtain full assistant status. The job was offered and she accepted. As I recall her wages was $425/mth. This was fair to good at that time. My impression? She was knowledgeable, nice, attractive, a little stiff and nervous. She did not emit sex - had she done so she would not have been hired. We already had one of those in the construction department!. We didn't need any more.
My office was about 16 x 16, my desk was one corner, the other corner we had a work table and back bar. This was Margaret's work area. The office was just off the reception area.
Work went on in the usual manner. Margaret turned out to be more than capable of her duties except phone work. I would give her calls to make and she would wait until the office closed then shakily make them.
The office closed at 5.00pm but our receptionist Mary worked till 6pm with Out-going mail, etc. We fell into the habit of a fresh cup of coffee after every one left, except Mary, Margaret and I. We relaxed and unwound.
Margaret learned fast and was soon able to handle most everything, proofing reports and making corrections by phone and mail, and sometime going to the local motels.
One day approx. 3 months into her employment we were in the office; I had a bad phone call and after hanging up I said (SOB or Gd......it). Margaret came marching over to me and stated "I am a lady, and I don't appreciate that kind of language". My answer was "this is a business world and if you want to be a lady I would suggest you go home have a baby and be a lady". I heard no more.
Margaret had been with us a short time and her husband John had not found work so I hired him to replace our chain major-job maintenance man. They needed a place to live and the company owned a house that Sue and I had used. It was empty and furnished. This was rented to John and Margaret.
Sue and I were living in our first owned home at 910 San Marcos Rd. One night we were in bed and I get a call from Mrs. Davis at the Beach location. Mr. Davis had been shot. I threw some clothes on and sped down there - approx. 6 miles. I got there right behind the police. It was an attempted robbery. Mr. Davis disarmed him but got shot in the arm in doing it. But he had the robber subdued and choked down. The robber's girlfriend, the lookout and driver, was taken in with the rubber. The police tested his gun. It had been used to kill a desk clerk in San Francisco about three months earlier. A trial was to the jury on this murder charge, with another suspect, when they learned of this. We received a letter from the city of San Francisco because it cleared their man and got the killer. It's a small world after all..... .......to be continued

Jan. '57 to Mar. '61 ......

....a short recap of my years on the patrol. Stories about this time could fill a book on their own. That's me on the left, taking the cycle training at the academy. After the academy I was assigned to Bakersfield area. My first thirty days were riding with an experienced officer, then I was turned loose and worked alone. This area was experimenting with one man cars on patrol 24 hours a day. Elsewhere patrols from 1800 to 0700 hours were always 2-man cars. I opted for the 2300 to 0700 shift as this allowed Sue to work and I could be home for Katy during the day. We were required to maintain a 415 report in duplicate and turn it in monthly. This report documented all hours worked, number of miles driven, accidents worked, citations and stops and were a complete record of your activity. One copy was turned in and you retained the other one.
During my tenure with the CHP, I recorded 327,000 patrol miles, with speeds in excess of 125 mph 50% of the time. I had two or three 'cliff-hanger episodes', but I was either lucky or someone upstairs was watching over me as I didn't even put a dent on any car.
I covered up to 50 fatal accidents. These were not pleasant and I try not to remember that part of the job.
I arrested over 100 cases of drunk driving. All were convicted with the exception of one. Her blood alcohol was .13 and in those days it took .15 for a violation.
I was shot by my fellow officer in an armed robbery stop. They turned out to not be the guilty ones, but the bullet ricoched off the roadway and struck me in the left arm. It wasn't serious, needed minor medical attention but no loss of work.
I was eligible for the sergeant promotion written test in my third year and I passed, but left the force before the oral test and final raiting to make sergeant. I was given several special assignments that my fellow officers didn't get.
A routine day would start with checking the schedule to see what area you were assigned to, pick up your camera (for accident shots), get the vehicle key for the one assigned to you and advise the radio operator you were on duty. From then on you worked your area and responded to radio calls. We had over 100 officers, one captain, one lieutenant and 3 sergeants - this was to cover 24 hours a day/seven days a week. We seldom had a sergeant even assigned to the graveyard shift I worked.
We had monthly squad meetings, and target range practice. These were on split days and everyone had to attend.
After a period of time I started to be pressured by about 1/3 of the officers. They didn't want to work and their attitude was that 'you had better not write over one ticket a shift' or they were all over you. I was called names, I found feathers in my locker and other harassment. I was not cut out for that way of doing things - my attitude was that if I was a ditch digger, I would be the best ditch digger I could be.
I tried to curtail my citing and started writing more warnings.
Our policy on speed was a ten mph leeway so 55mph was not written until 65mph. Kern County actually instructed us to loosen it up to 70mph. I used to issue tickets at 85 and warnings on the others. This was fine until one day, I was working 99 north. I turned around on a north bound vehicle just south of Formosa and got a speed check of 73 mph. I decided to look the other way. I followed at a distance and about a mile up the road this vehicle ran off into the divider and rolled over twice and wound up on its wheels on the other side of a bank. Both right hand doors were open and four bloody young ladies were hanging half in and half out of the vehicle. I had a real mess on my hands, giving first aid to all four while waiting 20 miles for medical help to arrive. They all survived, but I felt the accident was my fault - not theirs. They were speeding, yes. They lost control, yes. But I was being paid not to raise revenue, but enforce the law to save lives and injury. My duty wasn't to please my fellow officers.

Other factors started to figure into my decision to leave the Force. Wages in 1957 for construction was about $520/mth. CHP starting wage with 4 step increases of 1 a year was $345/month less 11% retirement. Net pay $310. By the spring of '61, with all the raises, I had topped out at $510 less 11% for a net of around $455. All this before taxes - by this time construction was up to about $675/month. While I worked CHP it was necessary for Sue to work and help make up the gap. She worked at Brook's department store in Bakersfield - a locally owned dress shop. This was the first time that Sue had worked outside the home since our marriage. Had I been allowed to perform the job I was paid to do without peer pressure, and if we could have afforded to have Sue stay at home, I would have stayed. It was the real job I loved.


The photo of Sue and Katrina was taken outside a trailer we lived in when we first went to Bakersfield. The one above - with our dog Mike, was taken outside a house we rented.

California Here we come...

Before John and I left Canada, we bought a brand new Ford Galaxie convertible, and in October 1964 we crossed the border from Ontario into the US late in the afternoon and made it to Green Bay Wisconsin the first night. Day One as a legal resident of the US, we stopped in Springfield, Illinois to see the Lincoln memorial and who should be there but President Johnson. He ended up shaking hands with us - so how many people can say they shook the hand of the President their first day. We were heading for the Bay area in California where John's diving school was, but had given ourselves plenty of time so that we could sightsee along the way. Highlights of the trip were the White Sands in Colorado, the Mesa cliffdwellers , seeing the men in their cowboy hats in Texas, seeing the Indians and crossing the reservations (the women looked like our image of Indian women, but the men looked like the cowboys with long black hair!
Grand Canyon was on our list of must-sees and we rode the mules down the canyon (that's me the second gal from the front). We went into LA and couldn't believe seven lanes of traffic each way. Went to Hollywood, saw the stars in the street, saw Santa Monica and went up the coast road to Santa Barbara. Fell in love with the town, but continued on up to the bay area, arriving on a Tuesday evening.
Wednesday we went house-hunting and found a furnished apartment we could afford in San Lorenzo and moved in on the Wednesday. Thursday I headed for the unemployment office, Friday went out on two interview and on the Monday started my job with Standard Register Company. John started his schooling the same day.

I loved my job there, but when John graduated and we started trying to find jobs for deep sea divers, we found that the school's brochure was less than honest in their promise of help in getting those magnificent jobs. After a month of beating our heads against a brick wall, we made the decision to go into the abalone business with a fellow graduate called Jack who was married with two children. We got a loan on our wonderful Galaxie and bought an old fishing boat in Santa Barbara - the area with the best abalone. We all moved down there, and found homes quickly

We had half the upstairs in this complex (a furnished studio) just a block from the beach. Jack's wife got a part time job in a dress store and I immediately hit the ads for a job for me. First interview was with a deep sea diving company (would have been perfect we thought - I could work John into the company!). Unfortunately the man who was to make the decision wouldn't be back for a week and I needed a job NOW.
Jack and his family couldn't survive on part time work for his wife and we needed my money to help out.

The abalone venture proved to be less than successful. We all worked on the boat, painting and repairing and pooling the last of our resources, sent Jack and John off on their first abalone run. They were to be gone for five days. The abalone brought $1 each on the market, and there was really big money that could be made, so Jack's wife (wish I could remember her name), the two kids and I excitedly waiting on the dock for their return on the 5th night. Here came the boat - we helped moor it. The total catch was ONE ABALONE. We tossed a coin for it and we lost.

My second interview that day was Motel 6 - working as secretary/assistant to the Operations Director - one Richard Topper!

(Dick has one more blog he wants to write about his CHP days), but after that we will join forces and ramble on about our life together......

Lowney May Topper

As I stated before, we were never told that we were loved, but my mother showed it every day in what she did and how hard she worked for us. No words were needed.
She not only performed all the housework, sewing, laundry, cooking, but also tended to the chickens and always had a beautiful yard full of flowers. Her days were never done, she just quit and went to bed.She was very serious about her Lord. We were taught our prayers and all the bible story book events. We prayed to bless the food, bedtime prayers to bless everyone and attended all church services - Sunday morning, Sunday evening and also Wednesday and Friday evenings - and any extra events that came up. Church was serious but also our entertainment. Movies were not allowed, so that only left radio (when we had one).
I was converted to her faith and baptized. I attended every service at church for a period of 18 months. Lowney's choice of church was the Church of God. She broke away from this and started her own small group. This idea didn't work out and she selected some independent churches.
My mother would never speak badly about anyone. Regardless of what they had done. Regarding me and religion. I was hooked. I assumed I would become a minister and I preached some of my best sermons at the age of 13-14 years while driving the tractor, plowing, etc. You would not believe how many services you could do in 8 to 10 hours on a tractor. I believed, but I had questions. These were answered to my satisfaction in later life and I now have a very strong belief and it is between me and God, not a man made church.
I thank my mother very much for this because of her teaching, it got me going in the right direction. Mom lived to the age of 82 years and 11 months and three weeks. I loved her and will always remember her part of my life.
The first photo above was taken on Kentucky Lake on a boat we rented. Photo number 2 is with Margaret and her mother, when Mam Thomas visited us in Illinois.
#3 is with Suzanne and Becky when they were quite young. #4 was taken at one of her birthdays, but I'm not sure of the age - and the last is one of our favorites.

My Canadian Years

I lived in Canada from June 1957 to the Fall of 1964. St. Paul l'Ermite, where Gordon and Irene lived was outside Montreal - a wonderful city that I am glad I had the opportunity of living near. If anyone ever has the chance to visit this city, I would strongly recommend it. The mood of Montreal, or I probably should say the province of Quebec, changed while I was there. The French and the English were friends and most French Canadians were fluent in both languages, so the language barrier presented no problem. But as the years went on, the French resentment against the English grew, and people who would talk to you in English suddenly said they didn't know English and the tension grew. It got much worse after I left, with all street signs converting to French only, and Quebec trying to pull away from the rest of Canada.
John Marsh and I married the day after Christmas 1959 and rented an apartment in Montreal first, then moved to St. Paul l'ermite living upstairs in a duplex.
Look at my photos over that time it looks like there was always snow - but I guess I just found that the prettiest time. Montreal was in a 'snow belt' and winters would bring up to 20 feet of snow on a regular basis. I loved everything about it.
I was able to bring my parents out for a month's visit while there and they played like a couple of kids in the snow. It was all magic to them.

I worked for Canadian Steel when I first went to Canada, commuting to Montreal, but was able to get into Canadian Arsenals later which was in St. Paul l'ermite. Gordon worked there also in the engineering department. If first worked in the Safety Department (somewhat boring), but was later promoted into the engineering department where I was the typist for 13 engineers. I found that fascinating and had to have security clearance to work in this department. Canadian Arsenals was the 'filling' plant for bombs and other ammunition. There were various 'secret' projects which required special clearance to be in on, and the engineering department was the most 'protected' department of all. The supervisor was promoted a couple of years before I left to a liason between the buyers (mostly in the US) and the actual production work. He asked for me to be transferred with him and we became a department by ourselves. I loved that job as it required my being involved in all phases of the manufacturing and there was never a dull moment.

They say that you never forget where you were when certain major events happen - and I was standing in my boss's office when someone stuck their head in and said "Kennedy's been shot".
There was a number of reasons that John and I decided to leave Canada and move to the US. It was mostly me - John was easily influenced and would go along with my ideas. He had a relatively good job, but it didn't have much of a future and he had a dream to be a deep sea diver. I did the research and found that there were two schools in the US - one in Florida and one in Alameda, California. I sent away for the newspapers for both places so I could get an idea of (a) how much it cost to rent apartments and (b) what the job market was as it was imperative that I got a job immediately. The Bay area far outdid Fort Lauderdale, Fla. so that became our destination. My reason for wanting to move to the US instead of living in Canada, might sound strange to many people, but I had lived in Canada long enough to become a citizen and I believed that people should become citizens if they were going to take the benefits of a country. But I just couldn't get the idea of becoming a citizen on Canada. I was always 'political' and used to enjoy the heated debates and discussions we used to have work during breaks and lunch, but I was also picking on the fact that the division came from those quoting the British point of view and those quoting the American point of view. I used to say "what about the Canadian point of view". Also at that time Canada didn't have a flag or a national anthem - they used the British flag and sang God Save the Queen. I could not see myself becoming a citizen of a country that didn't think of itself as a country - so after six months of paperwork, physicals, security clearances and proving our financial ability - we were bound for the United States of America........................

Motel 6 Operations

When I wrote before, I told how I ended up with Motel 6, but to continue from there. Sue and I were given a free apartment and utilities and a salary of $400/month. For this we ran the motel - covered the front office, rented the rooms, maintained the property, pool, grounds; hired and trained the maids, did the book keeping and record keeping and banking. The only help was the maids themselves. One of us had to be at the motel at all times, we were unable to leave the motel together. This continued for five months until we reached the point where we were training managers for the other motels and were able to get away for short periods when they could manage on their own and before they went to their own motel.

The 'bookkeeping' in those days consisted of an 8-1/2 x 11 mimeographed piece of paper with a diagram of the motel on it with squares for each room. The number of the room was printed on it and when we rented it we would write the name of the person staying. All rooms were $6.00 and there was no tax, no phone and no extra charges. To close the books at night, we added up the number of rooms with names, multiplied it by $6 and that was the bank deposit. We made the deposit, attached it to the sheet and submitted it to the main office. We did not have a cash register, so our change was kept in a coffee can. The guests had to pay on a daily basis even if they stayed a week. I couldn't stand this method, so I developed a system which could handle paid advance reservations, and direct billing and keep a running tab of the business for the whole month. We balanced to the penny each day. The standard existing system on advance reservation pay at that time was to take the money and put it in an envelope until the people checked in and then use it to pay for their room!! I showed my system to the owners and they weren't really too impressed but agreed to let me submit two reports each day for thirty days to see how it went, and they agreed to continue with it after that. A point of interest on this was that we were using a little machine that printed receipts for the guests, this was put out by NCR. The salesmen (reps) for NCR kept pushing me to patent my system as they said it was a breakthrough for the industry. They pushed me for about three months and I just laughed and said "you're kidding"!. I guess they weren't. They must have passed it up their company, for the Chicago motel supply company that handled the usual forms for motels, started printing and selling my system and it became the standard for the industry!

During the first 60 days I wrote a complete operation, policy and training manual for the motels (I used the method and approach I had learned from the CHP manual). With no experience you could take the manual and rent rooms, clean rooms, maintain the room, hire the maids, train the maids, maintain the premises and handle all phases of public relations. The owners accepted this manual from me and as we opened the next four motels, I was promoted to Operations Director with an increase in wages to $600/month, plus a new car and a new home with furniture, rent free. I had it made! And Sue had no daily duties at this time, she only had to be available to assist me when we covered time off for the other managers.

The main office was moved to a new fancy building next to the court house at Santa Barbara. It was a two story building with parking on the lower level and the offices above. The office was split into three areas - the owners and basic bookkeeping section, the construction and drafting section, and the Operations Department. My department grew with two assistants and a chain maintenance man. Sue and I were offered and we accepted the chance to purchase one of their new homes, a four bedroom/3 bath home with furniture. They had adjusted my salary several times and I was now making $17,000 a year with automatic increases every time a new motel was opened. I was well pleased with that wage - it was slightly above what an university professor received.

I was also operating three non-company owned motels for one of our future lenders. This was on a manager fee basis. We used their money, had a separate accounting system and our company got 5% of gross for my efforts. One was in Las Vegas on the strip (120 unit with bar and restaurant), one in Palm Desert (60 units) and one in Long Beach (right on the beach with 62 units and bar and restaurant). The lenders were able to sell all three properties after the we redid them and put them into a profit situation.