Hank Catron
Julia Pond
English 1020
21 April 2015
Research Paper: The Time of Struggle and Pain
What makes a person appreciate the small things in life or when they look at a troubling
situation, they are able to see the good and overcome? This is a person who grew up on hard
times, a person that never had anything given to them but always had to climb that unclimbable
mountain, that person who always had to overcome the naysayers and silence the people that
questioned his goals. Who was this person? The man that came from nothing and turned it into
everything was Frank Catron, my Papaw. Since the time that my Father passed away I had
missed that guidance in my life and I needed someone to talk to about our family, this was not to
talk about the sad times but to find out more about our family. How did we get to this point? So
we sat down one afternoon and talked. We talked about where he came from and his life journey
up to present day. By the time he had finished his story I had something in my mind telling me
this, “What are you waiting for, go after your goals and don’t be afraid to fail.” My Papaw was a
man that grew up in one of the most difficult times in US history and he was able to overcome,
be successful and have a family. He explained to me in detail what life was like as a child in
Williamsburg, Kentucky; why his family moved to San Francisco when he was a child; what
made him move back to Kentucky later in life; and how he spends his days now. It is my honor
for me to share this inspirational story with you about a man with no direction finding his home.
The earliest memory that my papaw remembers during this time was when he was five
years old and his mother had his picture taken in 1938. While he was telling his stories about his
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early childhood experiences during this time I took a hard look at the picture. He eventually told
me that his mother was so proud of this picture because that was the only outfit that he had
during this time. The picture was taken by his father and my papaw has used this photograph to
tell people his story to show how far people can come and be successful.
During this time he and his family still lived in the Appalachian Mountains in a small
