Albert Minter
In my mid teens, I lived about a block away from William Price's and Francis' ome on Butler Drive in Longview, Texas. Their son, Randy (or Dobbs as our gang of neighborhood friends called him) spent a lot of time in the Rogers' home.
I admired Price so much that he was the dominant male influence in my life in those days.
My memories of Price focus on the relationship we established. I remember Price as a quiet man around the neighborhood kids. He did not interact with them much. He was a man of few words, but when he spoke it was with intelligence, knowledge, articularity, and based upon experience. My favorite of our conversations were those we had in his garage he had converted to a workshop. He would invite me in to talk as he was working on customizing
shotguns. He showed he how to checker the stocks and forearms of the guns. My father was a skilled carpenter in woodworking, but his craftsmanship was not as delicate and intricate handwork as Price's. Price would carefully demonstrate how he created the designs and carvings in the wood and how each tool was used to best advantage. Among my favorite conversations were about his experiences in WWII. What he taught me about manhood, patriotism, loyalty, bravery, honor, and sense of duty convinced me that I wanted to join the military as soon as I graduated waited from high school, which I did.
Price impressed me as a being a patient, steady-minded man not prone to idle talk or exaggeration and a pillar of honesty and truthfulness. I learned a lot about those character traits from him.
Price and Francis provided two of my needed recommendations that allowed me to be selected by USAF Intelligence to attend the US Defense Department Language Institute at Syracuse University where I learned to speak, read, and write the Russian language and to receive a Top Secret Security Clearance. The GI Bill that Price had told me about helped me get an undergraduate education and Law Degree. Learning Russian enabled me in later life to serve as Chevron Corporation's Deputy General Counsel for Eurasia and live and work internationally for many years. I humbly say that the influence of Price and Francis on me were my greatest blessings from God and the dominant cause of my life's success and the enablement of my happiness. I am certain they were truly blessings to everyone they met.