John Evert
Johnny, 22, was the oldest of the three. Born in Kansas, he lived in many places in the Midwest before his family settled in Denver. As a boy, Johnny loved spending summers at the family cabin in Silver Plume, a small mining town in the Rockies. There he fished in the stream with blasting caps and walked two miles down the mountain to the nearest library in Georgetown. Johnny’s first job was in a butcher shop when he was 12. In his teens, he worked in the mines near Silver Plume. Before he finished high school, he spent a season as a gandydancer (a railroad worker who lays track) in the Rockies, though he soon became the crew’s cook. During Johnny’s senior year of high school, the United States was still fighting World War II. Johnny tried to enlist in the various branches of the military, but was turned away so often it became a joke. Once a week he went to the Denver Marine offices, but he couldn't pass the eye test. He even skipped school and tried to enlist in the the Navy, but they confirmed he was too near-sighted. Then on his 18th birthday, he received a diploma and a letter: he was drafted. By this time he had memorized the eye chart, so he got in. He learned to drive tanks and use machine guns, bazookas and dynamite, and served in Korea. After his discharge, Johnny went to Denver University on the GI Bill, where he studied engineering. When he wasn't studying, Johnny when skiing. A hot shot ski bum, he worked with the ski patrol and taught skiing lessons.
Johnny, 22, was the oldest of the three. Born in Kansas, he lived in many places in the Midwest before his family settled in Denver. As a boy, Johnny loved spending summers at the family cabin in Silver Plume, a small mining town in the Rockies. There he fished in the stream with blasting caps and walked two miles down the mountain to the nearest library in Georgetown. Johnny’s first job was in a butcher shop when he was 12. In his teens, he worked in the mines near Silver Plume. Before he finished high school, he spent a season as a gandydancer (a railroad worker who lays track) in the Rockies, though he soon became the crew’s cook. During Johnny’s senior year of high school, the United States was still fighting World War II. Johnny tried to enlist in the various branches of the military, but was turned away so often it became a joke. Once a week he went to the Denver Marine offices, but he couldn't pass the eye test. He even skipped school and tried to enlist in the the Navy, but they confirmed he was too near-sighted. Then on his 18th birthday, he received a diploma and a letter: he was drafted. By this time he had memorized the eye chart, so he got in. He learned to drive tanks and use machine guns, bazookas and dynamite, and served in Korea. After his discharge, Johnny went to Denver University on the GI Bill, where he studied engineering. When he wasn't studying, Johnny when skiing. A hot shot ski bum, he worked with the ski patrol and taught skiing lessons.