HERE IS THE STORY ABOUT LEON RUSSELL!!!
My Website: leoncrussell.com
My father was born in Oohlagah , Oklahoma! (1901) (See my website for background of Leo C Russell)
My Mother was born in Sanford, Florida! (1903) (See my website for background of Dorothy M. ‘Boyd’ Russell)
You will find other people in this family there also!
I was born at Sanford City Hospital, Mon 7:00 April 15, 1940 (04/15/1940) I’m in the website too!
My adventures:
I didn’t have a choice when Mom and Dad moved to Toledo, Ohio in May of 1942! Dad needed work and the War Plants were hiring! He found Spicer Corporation building half tracks! New ones were fun to ride! Sometimes, not so much, the huge tow truck was necessary!!!
Dad also worked for Steve Bond who owned 20th Century Oil Company, 3 gasoline stations in Toledo! Each Station had a railroad siding to accept rail tankers of gasoline! Delivery trucks were not so much then! Each tanker would hold 10,000 gallons of fuel! Gasolines were much cheaper at the refineries! They brought in 89 and 94 Octane! 94 had to red when sold in the Station! When it was pumped from the railcar to the station holding tank the color was added! OOOOOH! It was so much fun jumping off the railcar and Dad would catch me!!!!!!
Yeah I went to Toledo Public Schools! Newbury Elementary School, Jones Junior High School!
Then we moved and I changed to Harvard Junior High School!! I AM A GRADUATE OF HARVARD!
THEN to Libbey High School 4 years, graduate June 1958!!!!
Since Dad purchased one of the gas stations, I kinda volunteered to work at the station! until i was 16! Needed to support my car! 1956!
Late in 1959 I went to work for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, Clerk! Still worked for Dad on weekends! or whenever!
Well I didn’t take long to do life! I married June Drudzinski (whom I met at Jones Junior high School 1952), May 23, 1959! 3 Kids, 1 boy 2 girls, and 13 years! More Life!! Divorce Final December 13, 1972!
I had attended the University of Toledo starting in 1958 for Business Management and Engineering! More Life took control! My working load and Family became a hindrance So I halted the Education plan after 2 years!! Well 4 years of working and planning worked out! 3 kids were in the family, still working on the Railroad! Then the C&O started an Employee Education Plan! I pay and earn at least a C grade, they reimbursed the cost! Yep, that was for me!
The UofT now offered a Computer Science Degree! THAT WAS FOR ME TOO! My previous points counted, But The computer courses were different, so back full time and working on the railroad! Graduated 1968 4.9/5.0 GPA! I got dinged for not being good at Physical Education, particularly the pull-ups!! The Railroad offered me a position, but I wanted a business career! I had taken an internship at Inmont Corporation Coated Fabrics Division, Computer Systems Engineer! They left me! Moved the Toledo system to Detroit! and the New York System to New Jersey! I helped build a Computerized Color Matching System, and a Bill of Material System, for inventory management and to schedule operations!
Next up: Questor Corporation, Multi Division Company! AP Auto Parts!, Spaulding Sporting Goods, Even Flo Baby Products, Dyersburg Shock Absorbers, Grand Haven Mufflers! To install in every plant a Bill of Material System for inventory management and to schedule operations! In December of 1973 I taught my juniors so well that I wasn’t needed so I was included in the blood bath! Caused by the Governments 55 mile an hour speed limit everyware! Nice hit to the Auto Industry!! ON 01/03/1974 I went to the Job Hunter!
In 2 weeks GTE Information Systems needed a Sales Systems Engineer to help with their Key To Disk System!! That was Me! Again a multi division company! KtoD, IBM Me to Terminals and Service, GTE Stock Market Instant Prices System, Restaurant OTC Sales System For McDonalds, Burger King, and others! In some way GTE had all the Fortunes, and many of the large locals as a customer!
I spent 2 months in California in school for the Key To Disk. I and 3 others were the SETeam! We were always programming in Cobol language for the clients! And always present when any of the products and the systems were down and the hardware maintenance and repair technicians were on site!!! The SETeam were there to test the system to validate the repair! I eventually built a WAR room to make sure our repair technicians had the repair parts in hand the next morning “NO EXCEPTIONS”!!! I CALLED OUT THE GTE COMPANY JET to deliver parts cross the USA!
My Salesman team (April/May 1974) partner had a girl friend in Ashtabula, Ohio! She wanted to make a blind date for me to meet her friend! My team partner didn’t want to do that! So Theresa Mauri called me to find out who this Leon Russell was???? We talked for a while and I asked what she was doing that night, that was it! We met in Ashtabula! Theresa was Divorced and so was I! We dated every night since our meeting on around April 30th! By May 20th we ran away to just have fun and came back married! May 21, 1974!! This Great GTE Job lasted until Jan 1982 When GTE closed most divisions and morphed into Verizon Wireless! I have lots of Verizon stock! I called the Head Hunter!
He convinced me to be a sales man for Cincinnati based Data Processing Sciences: Working Western Pennsylvania, and North Eastern Ohio!
I already knew the people in Firestone, Goodyear, and Ohio Edison I sold many Data Communication Testing Machines to the and Major coal, Aluminum, and Banking Companies every where in my territory! OH! My I really done good! I designed, engineered then sold and $800,000 75 audio and 75 digital channel network restoral system for Ohio Edison. This had a really special Switch! In a local computer failure throw the switch and all channels switched to different audio and digital multiplexers connected to a hot computer stand by computer in a bunkered structure in Chicago area! OH! They built a new computer center miles away from their downtown center! Yep they needed a second one! Did i tell ya? Since I engineered these extremley capable systems, I was also the one who had to install them! Coveralls and all!
Each system had Audio signal testing and Digital Data Communication Testing Machines!
Then the tragedy struck!
June 16, 1984, i was leaving Ashtabula going to a customer’s site! Route 20 had a 45 MPH speed limit. I was about 40 when I rounded the curve on slightly wet pavement from a shower that stopped! AND, there she was turning left in front of me! I smacked her at my 40 to her right rear quarter panel center dead on!! She spun around hitting the Utility pole with a square hit in the left quarter panel! My car crunched as an accordion! My left knee hit the bottom edge of the dash! Nice cut there! Band aid style! I hit the Seat Belt at 40MPH! I though I had the miracle accident! The next day i had a 4″ black and blue mark from my Left shoulder across my chest to my Right hip!!! Still didn’t hurt much, just cranky muscles because they were jerked the wrong way!!! At this point i did some research on smacking your seat belt at 40MPh and the damage it can cause! Canadian Research has determined that crashing as I did and at 45MPH will rip your heart from your aorta!
WEE OOOH! I MISSED THE big one!!!! BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU BRUISE EVERY ORGAN IN YOU CHEST! WHAT IF YOUR AORTA IS ENLARGED FROM THE STRETCHING, WHAT IF YOUR LUNGS SWELL UP BECAUSE THEY DON’T LIKE SWINGING LIKE A PENDULIM CRASHING INTO BOTH SIDES OF YOUR CHEST! WHAT IF YOUR STOMACH, JUST AFTER LUNCH, HITS THE WALL ON THE RIGHT AND SLIDES DOWN ENOUGH TO YANK ON YOUR ESOPHAGUS AND WIND PIPE TO STRETCH THE TOP OF THEM BOTH! I DO!!
4DAYS IT STARTED, 5 DAY OH BOY! THE RESULT OF THE INJURIES TO THE ESOPHAGUS AND WIND PIPE MANIFESTED THEMSELVES! PRODUCED AT THE VERY TOP OF THE WINDPIPE WAS PHLEM! THE TICKLE CAUSED ME TO COUGH EVERY 10 MINUTES!! 24/7 7/DAYS PER WEEK! THE ESOPHAGUS HAD TO JOIN THE FRAY AND HURT EVERY COUGH! THE ONLY THING I COULD EAT WAS A CREAM OF ANY SOUP OF ANYTHING, AND VERY CAREFULLY! THE LUNGS JOINED IN AND LOVED ASTHMA SYMPTOMS! MORE COUGHING! WHEN I PRESENTED AT THE CLEVELAND CLINIC DOCTOR HE WAS ASTOUNDED AND IMMEDIATELY SENT ME TO ULTRA SOUND AND MRI! RIGHT NOW! THE RESULTS “SLIGHTLY ENLARGED AORTA, TENSED LUNGS, BARLEY EXPANDING, THEY NEVER CAUGHT THE PRODUCTION OF THE PHLEM, AND TICKLE! THE ONLY TREATMENT OPTION WAS CORTISONE TO CALM DOWN EVERYTHING, STARTING AT 40MG PER DAY! PAA-SHAW THAT WASN’T ENOUGH DOCTOR SAID! INCREASE THE DOSE BY 5MG PER DAY EVERY 3 DAYS UNTIL THE COUGH QUIT! THAT TOOK ABOUT 3 MONTHS! OOOOHHH WHAT A RELIEF IT IS AT 85MG PER DAY (I WAS NOT TAKING ALKA SELTZER) BUT WHEN I COULD SLEEP AND WITH NO COUGH, WHAT A REAL SPECIAL FEELING!
NO, this saga isn’t over! At this point i had not worked for 6 months! Fortunately, I had income Insurance! EVERY ONE SHOULD HAVE IT! GET IT NOW!!!!! They covered 80% of my average monthly income as verified by Data Processing Sciences! WHEW!!!!!
THE MEDICAL PART OF THIS ISN’T OVER!! THE DOCTORS COULDN’T RELEASE ME FROM CARE UNTIL I COULD REDUCE RELIANCE ON THE MASSIVE AMOUT OF CORTISONE I WAS TAKING! I HAD TO REDUCE THE MG AMOUNT 5MG EVERY 3 DAYS! THE FIRST TRY WAS DOWN TO 80MG AND THE COUGHING CAME BACK, I WAITED 2 WEEKS TO TRY AGAIN! MY GOAL WAS BELOW 40MG PERDAY! 2ND TRY 75MG! 3RD TRY 70MG, AND SO ON! THE TOOK 5 MONTHS, BUT THEN I NEEDED TO HAVE 30 DAYS WITHOUT A RELAPSE! I DID!
THERE’S MORE! I CALLED MY BOSS TO SCHEDULE MY RETURN DATE!!!! IT WAS AND I ARRIVED AT 8:00 AM EXCITED! THE MEET: HE SAID THEY NO LONGER NEEDED ME BECAUSE I WAS STALE, AND THEY WERE NOT GOING TO PAY FOR MY RE-EDUCATION!
DISASTER!
WHAT DO I DO NOW!!! I KNEW THE INDUSTRY AND
I CALLED THE COMPETITOR,!! HE JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO HAVE CLEVELAND REPRESENTATION! I KNEW THE TERRITORY, I HAD MANY CLIENTS! I HAD THEY SAME PRODUCTS AND WITH EVERY PROJECT DEVELOPING IN THE OLD TERRITORY I BID ON THEM AND BEAT DPS EVERY TIME! RETALIATION AND CARMA IS THE REASON! THIS LASTED 18 MONTHS WHEN NJ COMMUNICATION HARDWARE MADE TWO INSTALLATION MISTAKES, THAT COST ENOUGH TO BANKRUPT THEM! OH WELL JUST ANOTHER CHALLENGE! THIS TIME, NOT SO MUCH!! I STARTED SELLING LARGE COPORATE TELEPHONE SYSTEMS IN TO A SATURATED MARTKET BY THE PHONE COMPANIES! INDEPENDENTS NOT SO MUCH!
WE STARTED LOSING EVERY THING! THERESA AND I DECIDED TO GO TO FLORIDA! WE SOLD EVERY GOOD THINGS IN OUR HOUSE! THEY WERN’T THE CHEAP STUFF! EXAMPLE: CHERRY WOOD DINING TABLE AND CHAIRS, COST $2400 STILL SOLD FOR $2400!
IN FLORIDA I LANDED A JOB WITH BOCA COLLECTIONS AS THEIR DATA PROCESSING MANAGER! A TOP PROGRAMMER UNTIL THE HARDWARE WAS INSTALLED! WE CAUGHT 90% OF THE PRINCIPALS THAT ABSCONDED WITHOUT PAYING THEIR RESTAURANT FOOD BILLS! THEY ALWAYS STARTED IN ANOTHER CITY BECAUSE FLORIDA IS SO BIG AND SNOWBIRDS ARE FLOCKING! OUR BOCA COLLECTIONS WERE NOT HONEST ALSO: THEY SPENT OUR CLIENTS COLLECTION MONEY TO BUILD BOCA COLLECTIONS! WHEN THE CLIENTS FOUND OUT: KABOOM THE NOISE WAS HEARD ALL OVER FLORIDA! THEY OFFERED TO TAKE OVER OPERATIONS OF BC BECAUSE WE HAD THE TALENT NEEDED TO DO WHAT THEY NEEDED FOR COLLECTIONS!
SOMEONE THROUGH IN THE WRENCH AND BC CLOSED!
WHEN WE CAME TO FLORIDA IN 2006 WE RENTED AN ATTACHED APARTMENT FOR 350.00 PER MONTH. THIS COMPANY SAW THAT WE WERE STABLE, PAID EVERY MONTH ON TIME, AND THERESA FOUND OUT THE THEY OWNED GEORGIAN PARK TOWNHOUSE COMMUNITY! THEY OFFERED US A PURCHASE OF ONE UNIT, THEY BUILT THEM AND THEY WERN’T SELLING WELL, NO MONEY DOWN AND GREAT INTEREST RATE! WE HAD BEEN THERE 3 YEARS! IN ASHTABULA, OHIO
WE WERE WELL ESTABLISHED, BECAUSE: WE ALSO HAD OWNED A JEWELRY STORE IN ASHTABULA, OH AND HAD INVENTORY LEFT TO SELL! IN FLORIDA THERE ARE MANY FLEA MARKETS! SOME WITH GREAT REPUTATIONS: WE CHOSE LUCKY’S IN STUART, FL. WE EVENTUALLY MADE ABOUT $800.00 PER WEEKEND! OUR 8 FT STAND GREW TO SMALL, AND WE RENTED A 16 X 20 FOOT SPACE NEAR THE OLD STAND! NECESSARY FOR CUSTOMER CONTINUNITY! THE STAND NEXT TO US WAS RENTED BY A PERSON THAT WOULD DRIVE AROUND JUPITER TO FT PIERCE LOOKING FOR SELLABLE CURB SIDE DISCARDS, HE SOLD ON THE WEEKENDS! I STARTED ADVERTISING COMPUTERS BUILT BY RUSSELL! THIS WAS THE PERSONALING OF THE COMPUTER ERA! THERE WERE SOME THAT NEEDED THEM AND RECOGNISED A BARGAIN! NEW, NOT USED, GREAT FLEA MARKET PRICE! I LOST MORE THAN 10 SALES, ONE DAY, I CHASED THEM DOWN THE MIDWAY, AND THATS WHAT I LEARNED! SO I LOOKED FOR A STORE FRONT, THAT’S NOT DIFFICULT IN FLORIDA! WE HAD MOVED TO A ROLLUP CLOSED STAND IN THE STUART FLEA MARKET ACROSS THE STREET! ROGER THE COLLECTOR AND I SPLIT THE ROLLUP RENT OF $380. SO NOT DIFFICULT TO GO TO $500 FOR A STORE FRONT WITH A RESTAURANT NEXT DOOR WITH BUILT IN TRAFFIC! I USED 1000SF FOR THE BUSINESS COMPUTER CENTER, SELLING COMPUTERS, BUSINESS COMPUTER NETWORKS, MAINTENANCE, AND INSTALLATION!!! THERESA’S AND ROGER’S 2ND TIME AROUND STORE USING 3500SF FOR THEIR DISPLAY! LEAVING 500SF FOR TOILET AND HEATING AND COOLING EQUIPMENT! DOING BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THERESA DID THE SELLING ROGER DID THE HUNTING! WE ALL HAD GOOD INCOMES!
THE RESTAURANT TRAFFIC BROUGHT TRUEL BROWN TO MY STORE! HE WAS OPENING A COMPANY IN RIVERA BEACH! HE NEEDED THOUSANDS OF COMPUTERS CUSTOMISED TO CONNECT TO THE IVS AUTO TESTING DEVICE! THE TWO COMPONENTS WERE THE IVS MARKETING AUTO ERROR TESTING MACHINE! MECHANICS ONLY HAD THEIR HAND HELD ERROR CODE DIAGNOSING ATTACHMENT!
THE IVS MACHINE COLD MONITOR TIMING, EACH SPARKPUG OERATION INDIVIDUALY, THE FUEL COMSUMPTION, THE 3 GAS EXHAUST CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, AND WITCH OF THE GROUND STRAPS IS OPEN OR CORRODED! I BUILT OVER 5000 COMPUTERS, SHIPPED ALL OVER THE WORLD! I WENT TO WORK FOR IVS AS THEIR COMPUTER AND DATA PROCESSING MANAGER!
i NEEDED SOME ONE TO OPERATE THE COMPUTER CENTER WHEN I COULDN’T! WELL, FRANK JOHNSON WALKED THRU THE DOOR! HE HAD A BOAT PROPELLER REPAIR SHOP IN PUERTO RICO! HIS OTHER FAMILY TOOK OVER! FRANK HAD A HOUSE HE NEEDE TO SUPPORT IN STUART AND NEEDED SOME INCOME! HE WAS THE MAN! HE COULD SELL AND CONFIGUE COMPUTERS, BUILD THEM, REPAIR THEM, AND WHAT HE COULDN’T, HE LEFT TO ME IN THE EVENING! HE BUILT SEVERAL THOUSAND RUSSELL COMPUTERS!
NOW!
THERESA WITH HER JEWELRY BUSINESS MET RON EDMUNDS! FROM ENGLAND! HE WAS GOING TO MARRY HIS GIRL FRIEND, AND WANTED A SUPERBLY DESIGNED ENGAGEMENT RING! JUST WHAT THERESA DOES! SHE DID AND IT WAS MAGNIFICENT BECAUSE WE WORKED WITH A SUPERB MANUFACTURING JEWLER! SEND HIM A DESIGN AND HE COULD BUILD IT!
WHEN SHE CLOSED HER STORE, MY INCOME WAS DOING WELL, SO SHE DECIDED TO VOLUNTEER WITH THE JUPITER HOSPITAL, AND THE JUPITER HOSPITAL THRIFT STORE! THIS IS WHERE WE MET DOM DELIUISE, AND BURT REYNOLDS! THESE TWO TOGETHER WILL SPLIT YOU RIBS!! TERESA HAD TO GO TO DOM’S ROOM AT JUPITER HOSPITAL TO CHEER HIM UP! THERESA HAD BEEN A SHOW PERSON SINCE SHE DANCED ON HER DAD’S RESTAURANT BAR AT 5 YEARS OLD! SHE NEW HOW TO BE THE SIDE KICK, ANSWERING HIS COMENTS FOR THE DOUBLE LAUGH! WE ALL HAD A BALL AT BURT REYNOLDS PLAY HOUSE IN JUPITER!
DOM BOUGHT LOTS OF STUFF FROM THERESA TO FURNISH HIS INCOME HOUSES IN JUPITER!
YOU SEE: WHILE THE COMPUTER STORE WAS OPEN AND IVS CLOSED TWO FRIENDS JOINED ME IN OPERATING THE COMPUTER CENTER: TRUEL BROWN, AND JIM BASKER! WE REALLY HAD A GREAT TEAM MAKING THE COMPUTER CENTER HUMM!! WHO CAME IN LOOKING FOR ME? RON EDMUNDS!
HIS FRIEND IN ENGLAND HAD A PRODUCT THAT HE WANTED TO BRING INTO THE UNITED STATES! A MEETING HAPPENED!
RON HAD A PRODUCT THAT NEEDED COMPUTERS TO OPERATE! COINCIDENTALLY THE MEETING DISCLOSED THE TRUEL BROWN KNEW THE TWO LARGEST PARTICIPANTS THAT COULD AND WOULD USE THIS PRODUCT! FRED WAS THE BUSINESS PARTNER WHO COULD MANAGE THE OFFICE WHEN WE HAD HUNDREDS OF THESE INSTALLED IN THE FIELD!
TRUEL PUT HIS SALES FACE AND HAT ON GATHERED ALL THE DETAILS AND PICTURES THAT WOULD SELLTHE PRODUCT! THEN WENT TO FORT LAUDERDALE! HE CAME BACK WITH AN ORDER FROM JACK NICKLAS GOLFING CENTERS!
100 OF THE GOLF BALL DISPENSING MACHINES!
THEN HE STUNNED ME WITH AN ORDER FROM FAMILY GOLF CENTERS!
200 OF THE GOLF BALL DISPENSING MACHINES!
ALL THREE US GOT ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE STUFF DONE TO GET THESE MACHINES INSTALLED!!!
ABOUT 50 TO 60!
THEN THE ONES INSTALLED IN KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS STARTED FAILING IN THE HEAT! THE COMPONENTS ON THE MAIN BOARD WERE BURNING, DESTROYING THEM SELVES! THE MACHINE MAIN BOARDS COMPONENTS WERE NOT HARDENED TO WORK IN THE USA! THEY ALL WORKED IN EUROPE!!!!!!!!! THE USA HAS A HOTTER CLIMATE!
NEITHER RON’S PARTNER NOR WE COULD OFFORD THE RE-ENGENEERING AND PRODUCING THE NEW BOARDS COST!
WHAT A REAL DISAPOITMENT!!!!!
ABOUT 6 MONTHS PASSED!
JIM LEFT, AND
TRUEL BROWN BECAME AS A SECOND FATHER TO ME! HE REALLY CARED FOR ME AND I HIM! HE VISITED THE STORE ALMOST EVERY DAY OR SO! HE LIKED THE RESTAURANT NEVT DOOR! HE LIVED IN STUART AND BROUGHT HIS WIFE WITH HIM!! UNTIL WE LOST HIM TO QUICK CANCER!! 2 WEEKS!!! AND GONE!
THIS WAS THE LAST BUSINESS I HAD IN FLORIDA! AROUND 2001
I HAVE BEEN A COMPUTERIST ALL MY LIFE!
THE REASON WE RETURNED TO ASHTABULA!
iN FACT IT WAS LATTER IN 2001 THAT WE TOOK A TRIP BACK TO ASHTABULA VISITING FAMILY!
I HAVE BEEN A COMPUTERIST ALL MY LIFE!
YEP THERE IS MORE, MUCH MORE
I’M TIRED. I’LL TRY TO DO THIS EARLIER TOMMOROW! I NEED TO FINISH!
I HAVE MORE CANS OF WORMS TO OPEN!!!!