Enoch Bruner BROWN

  General Notes:

Written by Paul Brown #18 on9/8/1993

"Uncle Enoch, Dad's half-brother, was born August 10,1905, eight years earlier to the day, than I was. Uncle Enoch was the third of four children born to grandpa's second marriage. The others were Aunts Edna, Aetna and Mary. Aunt Mary was the youngest.

Uncle Enoch was a handsome man about six feet four inches tall with dark black hair and weighing 160 to 170 pounds. Because of his physique, he was nick-named Slim by his friends. Uncle Enoch was a curious man. He took such jobs as a farm hand, a lumber jack , and a cowboy, just to satisfy his curiosity as to the skills required for such work. Also he wanted to know more about the people who chose those careers.

Uncle Enoch never graduated from High School: yet he read good books and periodicals so that he kept abreast of current events and history. He was well informed of the family history.

Uncle Enoch was a clean person in body and dress and manners. I never saw him in a suit. He always wore denims and was always clean. His main mode of travel was riding the rails yet he always returned home in clean clothes and clean of body. I never know if he carried money with him on those trips or did he bum food along the way. He apparently ate well while he traveled because he always looked healthy.

..... (See #142 for Paul's thoughts about Cliff Raper)

Cliff, like Enoch, enjoyed traveling even though they used different carriers. Enoch almost always rode the rails whereas Cliff used a recreational vehicle and both criss-crossed the United States. Cliff also toured Alaska and Mexico. I'm not sure Enoch visited those nations.

Enoch was a Pool Shark, whom I always thought, was comparable to Minnesota Fats. Enoch really wasn't as good as Fats but he could play with the best amateurs and win.

Anyway, now we know Cliff was a betting man and Enoch was a very good pool player. So, in their late teens, these fellows teamed up in the pool room to ply their pool and betting skills. Cliff would hustle the bets and Enoch would shoot the game of pool. I'm sure they also made a great deal of money on side bets of the more difficult shots. I know the men never got rich from this team work, but they had fun and earned pocket money as well in doing what they enjoyed.

Enoch usually was a good natured fellow. However, in Knowlton, Iowa, Enoch was in the eighth grade when I started to school. This one day that I remember, Enoch was playing baseball and was on third base ready to dash home. I spotted him and ran up and jumped on his back. My little prank really made him mad and rightly so. I don't remember how that silly act affected the game score.

Shortly after that my family moved to Eldorado, Kansas and Enoch's family moved to Bloomington, Indiana.

The next time I met Enoch was in South Dakota. It was a late summer evening when this fellow loomed out of the dusk and asked me is this where Willie Brown lives. Willie was my dad whose real name was William; but most of the family called him Willie. Before I could answer Mom had heard the question and popped out of the house and shouted ENOCH.

Uncle Enoch stayed with us a few weeks and helped us on the farm. He also visited another half-brother, Ben, who lived nearby. Enoch soon moved farther west in South Dakota to work for the Anderson family who operated a ranch. The Anderson family was the father and, I think, four boys. The wife and mother had died before Enoch knew the family. here Encoh became a very close fried to Russell "Rusty", one of the Anderson boys. Rusty later met and married Aunt Mary.

Enoch still had the wanderlust that lasted a few years longer. Eventually he took employment in an airplane factory where he worked to retirement. He did marry and fathered two boys. He retired to a small farm in Missouri. Enoch died at age eighty-five while visiting friends in Indiana. He was buried at Solsberry, Indiana.

Newspaper clipping:

Enoch Brown promoted to Rank of Sargeant.

Enoch B. Brown local man now in Italy recently was promoted ot the grade of Sargeant. Sargeant Brown landed in England in Aug 1942 and is presently serving as a crew chief with the Mediterranean Air Transport Service in N. Africa. He wears 4 battle stars for his participation in the Tunisian Sicilian and Italian Campaigns

Enoch married Purdence ECKART.