I really wasn't sure if I should post some of the very personal things that Hank Moorman shared with Kathy and I in 1976, but I know that he wanted other people to be helped by what he had experienced in life. Some people have very fond memories of Hank, some never knew him at all, and some do not have fond memories of him. Most of my posts about Hank were written many years ago and I have just begun to share them.
Here is another:
During the summer of 1976 my wife, Kathy, and I had a few taped conversations with Hank. I had come up with the idea of writing something about him. Hank approved of the idea and was very aware that others could read it some day. The stories about Hank were legendary and I thought they would make for a great story, a good book. The interviews were not legendary, though. We found out that Hank Moorman had a fairly normal but troubled life. Hank had always wanted to live ‘like a man is supposed to live ‘.
The first memory Hank had was from 1927, he was three years old, he had fallen out of a buggy, and one of the wheels ran over him. This was a trip to his grandmother’s.
His youth, according to Hank, started out on the wrong side. In 1929, at the age of 5, he was called Gene. Hank’s real name was Ira Eugene Moorman. He was called Gene in his youth. He had known all the bootlegging joints in Hamilton County; his father had taken him to all of them. Gene would drink and drink, just like his father.
His home life was a little less than desirable for a child to grow up with a sound mind. Hank's father was a drunken, sarcastic, gambling man who earned a good living but couldn’t please his wife. Constant arguing filled Hank's ears from his parents. He was constantly being yelled at and beaten.
One thing that always stuck with Hank his whole life was his mother telling his father that she wished he were dead. This happened one night after his father had come home drunk and filthy. That had stuck with him and would hurt him very much every time he thought of it.
Home wasn’t the only place he was yelled at and beaten. At school Gene had a teacher, Gleason Hart, "Who would just as soon knock you over a table as to look at you," Hank said. Gleason and Hank's father traveled, gambled, and drank together. Hank would receive ‘old hickory’ for not getting his lessons. Inman Moore was another teacher. He was a nice quiet man, but Hank still got two whippings from him.
At home his chores included milking the cows, gathering eggs, and working in the orchard and watermelon patch. He was always walking some place. He would use an old rag or string ball, that wasn’t so heavy, and could throw it like a bullet. Everyone practiced and played ball everyday.
While Hank was in high school his family had a good car and he was never out of money. Hank shot pool plenty of nights but wishes he had gone to a lake somewhere instead.
He thought high school was worthless. He thought that softball was invented about that time. Mr. Nation was the coach and would hand them a softball and bat and tell the kids to go and play and get lost. Anyway, he thought that softball had started in the schools around this time. He spoke of Mr. Nation and his coaching ability, “He could sure coach basketball but he sure couldn’t coach baseball!"
During his senior year he was fed up with life and was suicidal, it was constantly on his mind. School was not enjoyable. He wanted to quit and go to the Navy, but his father wouldn’t go for it.
“A lot of people had nothin’ in those days. In 1936, a drought caused crops to be lost and in 1937 we had too much water,” Hank pointed out in the interview. He came to town, McLeansboro, at the age of 12 and stayed with an old lady and her daughter.
He served 6 years, 1942 – 1948, in the Navy. And he served 5 years, 1948 – 1953, in the Army. He wanted to be a petty officer. Somehow he found out the questions to the mechanic’s exam. He passed and had to do mechanic’s work, which he claimed to know nothing about.
Hank got shanghaied into going to Augusta, Georgia. They didn’t like him there. He had lost his personal initiative. The old captain had asked if he wanted a discharge and he argued with him. As a result, he was transferred to Germany as an interpreter. But, he didn’t speak German. He got along with everyone there, they liked him. Then one day, they found that he had done work as a mechanic, so they sent him to marine school.
He was married to a WAC in Germany. Then he was transferred to France and he and his wife had a baby girl, Cathy. It was there that he got fed up with the Army and quit.
Hank’s father had died in 1945 and his grandmother had passed away, so in 1948 in between stints with the Navy and Army, he sold his farm. Later, he could never forgive himself for selling it.
In 1953 he came back to the States with his wife and baby to no home. Hank traveled all over the state of Illinois looking for work, but they would always find out about his not so honorable discharge.
He attended SIU and studied Forestry for 2 years. He couldn’t cut the chemistry, so he dropped out. Hank took a job in the penitentiary at Sheridan. The Colonel, as Hank called him, was warden and the Colonel didn’t want anyone with nerve trouble working for him. And by now, Hank’s nerves were shot. So, the Colonel fired him one day.
Hank was disabled because of his nerves. He didn’t have the stability to take on problems. Everything he tried was wrong. Hank felt that what made him disabled was not the service but being yelled and screamed at as a kid and knowing nothing but a bar and booze. He had an unhappy home as a child and now as an adult he was disabled.
Without a job or money, Hank wrote the VA in Marion. They wanted him to go to Danville to be evaluated psychologically. They locked him up. Over the years, Hank would return to Danville. We always thought he went there to act like he was crazy so he would be able to receive a pension for disability. It was between these visits to Danville that we saw Hank and knew him.
During our interview, Hank confirmed that he had cancer. We had heard it around town but hadn’t believed it. What could we really believe about Hank? There were so many stories about him.
Even before he died, we heard another story about how he had purchased a life insurance policy just before he died. Carl Mauck had visited Hank to show him some game films of Carl playing professional football. Hank had always wanted Carl to play professional baseball, and Carl wanted to show Hank what he did for a living. I think Carl wanted Hank’s approval before Hank died. Hank did tell him that he guessed football was okay. It was during that visit that Hank showed the life insurance policy to Carl. Carl had experience in the insurance business and found that the policy looked legit. He was a true friend to Hank, and there aren’t too many of them to come by in a lifetime. Carl had always made sure that Hank had a ride to every ball game when Carl played during high school. And now he was still showing his friendship and appreciation for Hank.
More later..........
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