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Ralph Weller was the founder of Weller Tractor Salvage. His story is the story of thousands of men and women whose uncommon lives make our lives and businesses possible. His story takes us all over the state of Kansas - this installment finds Ralph at home in the lovely valleys of north central Kansas. It's January, 1936, and 19-year old Ralph has left college and his football scholarship behind. The end of his college (and football) career came just after an unscheduled but eventful trip to California by boxcar (you'll find that story online here). Now he's back with his Dad and brothers, Dale and Bob, on a farm near Paradise, KS. In January of 1936, Paradise, Kansas, is a sleepy, beautiful little town tucked in a valley surrounded by farms and ranches. These are not the bare, dusty Kansas plains of the Wizard of Oz - this is truly Paradise with creeks, bluffs, trees, deep valleys, and broad rolling hills.Ralph Weller lives on a farm just north of Paradise with his father, Webster. He and his dad farm - raising alfalfa for seed and hay - while his younger brothers Dale and Bob attend school in Paradise. On this day, farm chores are few and finished quickly. This week, Ralph isn't helping out Ott Eulert or Jake Reich on their farms. It's a cool, gray January day. When Floyd shows up on the front porch about 8:30 a.m., Ralph isn't surprised. Eagle Tail creek runs right behind the old frame house and Floyd likes to hunt squirrels and skunks along the heavily wooded creek. Floyd never has much to say, but Ralph puts up with the boy patiently because he knows things aren't easy for him. Floyd lives with his folks and younger brothers and sisters southwest of Paradise. He rides into town with his dad to drop off the younger kids at school and then often walks to the Weller's house to spend the day. He's 19 years old, the same as Ralph, but he looks and acts younger. They whisper about him on the Paradise grapevine "That boy's just not right." And, in the twisted genealogy only small towns truly understand, he is somehow related to the Wellers. They call his grandma "Aunt Josie" and she sometimes keeps house for the Weller men. Floyd shows Ralph an ancient 38 pistol he has tucked in his coat. "Look at this, Ralph. It's mine." They admire the old gun but pick up their 22s to go hunting. You can't shoot a skunk with a pistol. Ralph and Floyd hunt until early afternoon, walking the creek and banging in and out of the screen doors for a bite to eat or to get warm. Finally, Floyd heads for Paradise to meet his dad and the younger kids after school. Soon enough he's back on the front porch. "Ralph, my dad's really mad at me. I left my overshoes here." He's flushed and fearful. He puts the shoes on and starts for town again. Ralph sits in the front room hoping for a few minutes of peace. Pretty soon, Webster will be back from town with Bob and Dale and there will be talk about school and town and who's up to what. As it turns out, there is no peace for Ralph that afternoon. Floyd is back on the front porch. "I need a drink of water." Ralph goes out to the well on the east side of the house. Floyd follows him through the house to the well and drinks the cup of cold water Ralph gives him. He's staring at Ralph. "What's the matter with you?" Ralph asks. Theres' no answer, so Ralph turns back to the pump to finish filling the bucket and get a drink for himself. Floyd pulls the old pistol from his coat pocket and shoots. Ralph feels the bullet hit him in the back and he starts running. Another bullet burns between his ear and his head and he keeps running. He knows Floyd only had two bullets in the old 38, but he also knows there is a 12 gauge shotgun and a 22 on the porch. And Floyd knows it too. Floyd gets the guns and runs after Ralph, yelling. He's not really saying anything, just hollering and running and Ralph keeps running, too. Ralph runs north along the creek with Floyd right behind him. Ralph is running for his life now. He's not sure how badly he's hurt but he can still feel the bullet slamming into his back. And he knows it didn't come out the front because there's no blood on his shirt. He'd like to stop and take a closer look but he keeps running because he can hear Floyd yelling and breathing hard behind him. If he stops, Floyd will be able to take aim and shoot him again. Ralph is running lightly and easily. He's a big man and this is the fastest and smoothest he's ever moved. Floyd is still right behind him. They've run about a quarter of a mile and are near a neighbor's house now. The man is coming toward them in his car. He stops to see what foolery Ralph is up to. "I've been shot!" The man's eyes widen, Ralph hurls himself into the car and the neighbor guns toward Paradise. |
Ralph's dad has
just picked the kids
up from school and is heading home
when he meets the car carrying his oldest son. The frantic driver slams
to a halt on the dirt road and tells Webster that Ralph has been shot.
Webster is startled, but he's a man of action, not words. He hauls his
boy into the 1935 Ford, sends Bob and Dale home with the neighbor, and
heads for Luray and the nearest doctor (about 15 miles away). They meet
the doctor at his house. He's concerned but helpless. "There's nothing
I can do." He puts small bandages on the wounds in his back and head,
gives Ralph a shot for the pain and calls the hospital in Ellsworth, KS
to let them know Ralph is on his way with gunshot wounds. By now, a
crowd has gathered in Luray and when Webster speeds away from the
doctor's house with Ralph in the back seat, seven people follow in
their
cars. Webster pushes that Ford as hard as it will go. And he keeps
repeating, "Just hold on, Ralph." Meanwhile, Floyd runs back to the Weller's house and crosses to an island in the creek. The sheriff from Osborne County starts after him. Floyd yells across the water, "Come across the creek if you wanna get me. I'll shoot you dead." Floyd holds off law enforcement until 4:30 a.m., then slips away in the dark and walks the six miles to his home. He puts the old 38 in a closet and goes to bed. The next morning he tells his parents, "I had an accident." They find out what the accident is when the sheriff arrives to arrest him for shooting Ralph. Floyd is handcuffed and taken to the Osborne County jail. When Webster and Ralph arrive at the Ellsworth Hospital (50 miles away from Paradise), Ralph is still conscious in the back seat. Webster and the Paradise men who followed in their cars crowd in to the emergency room with Ralph. The doctor asks four of the men to hold Ralph down for shots and an examination. Ralph is struggling to get up and leave. He's convinced he isn't hurt that badly and should just go home and rest. Four big men hold his arms and legs. He takes two of them over with him as he flips off the gurney. Finally, the doctors sedate Ralph and get a good look at his wounds. They immediately send him to the operating room. "There's not much we can do," the doctor tells Webster after viewing the damage the bullet has done to Ralph's intestines and stomach. But Webster is insistent, "Operate as long as he's alive." So, while Floyd spends the night on an island in the middle of Eagle Tail Creek, Ralph spends the night on an operating table in Ellsworth, KS. Emerging from the operating room hours later, exhausted and amazed, the doctor tells Webster, "I think the operation was a success. We removed six feet of intestines, but we couldn't find the bullet. Your boy has a lot of will power. I think he's going to make it." After a week, Ralph spikes a fever and another operation locates the bullet lodged in his stomach lining. After a month, and a lot of tender loving care from his nurses - the Schuknecht sisters from Paradise who stay with him constantly - Ralph goes home. Ralph's father never doubts that his son will live ---somehow he knows and trusts the enormous spirit Ralph possesses. Ralph's family and the people of Paradise rally around him from the very first moment. They race to Luray and then to Ellsworth, hold him down as he struggles, give gallons of blood, wait with his father through the night and for days afterward, provide nursing care and visit constantly during his long convalescence. Floyd never stands trial for shooting Ralph and he never explains why he did it. His grandmother (Aunt Josie) begs the Wellers not to press charges and, incredibly, they don't. When Floyd is released from jail, feelings are running high in Paradise so the family takes Floyd to Missouri. Four or five years later, he is stopped by the highway patrol, pulls a 30.06 from the seat beside him and shoots himself. His troubled life ends. What did Ralph learn from this? "Not to let anybody shoot me." He carried scars from his shooting for the rest of his life. But the doctors at Ellsworth Hospital must have done an excellent job because he lived a healthy and active life. Even more amazing than his physical recovery was his emotional recovery. Ralph didn't hate the boy who shot him. He never said a harsh word about Floyd. In fact, he says he felt sorry for Floyd and sorry about the way the boy's life ended. We try to remember these lessons from Ralph as we run our business and live our lives: -Don't let anyone shoot you. Literally or figuratively. -Don't hate the sad and hopeless shooters you'll meet throughout your life. It's a waste of energy and probably not their fault anyway. -It is possible you could "walk off" almost any injury, no matter how serious. -Be the kind of person who has friends and family who will follow you to the hospital, hold you down while you fight them, and give their blood so you can make it through the night. |
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