Only One Man

Joseph is getting involved with Junior Achievement as a representative of the bank where he works. Junior Achievement, at least the way he is involved, is very different than when I was in school. He is working with a third grade classroom.

I was involved in Junior Achievement during high school. At that time, it was a group of teens from various schools who met one night per week at the Junior Achievement Center to run micro businesses that we created ourselves. Executives from area companies volunteered one evening each week to be our advisers. It was a very unique environment for that time because everyone was treated like business professionals and operated on a first-name basis. I called these important executives by their first names and they called me Scott; which was convenient since that is my first name, of course.

My company designed, built and sold desk thermometers one year. While I barely recall the product; I have one memory from my time in Junior Achievement that I have never been able to shake. Our executive advisers were from Monsanto that year. I had been named Treasurer of our company, so each work night I would gather in a conference room with the treasurers of each of the other Junior Achievement businesses meeting that night. We had several key men from the accounting department at Monsanto helping us understand how to budget, monitor expenses and do all of the necessary data entry to manage and analyze the finances for our businesses.

We didn't have computers, or even calculators. We manually entered everything on columnar paper and did all of the analysis the old fashioned way; with paper and pencil. There were several adding machines available for the treasurers to share as we did our work. This particular memory revolves around one night when I had to deal with several columns of figures and all of the adding machines were in use.

I ran my pencil down the side of the column as I mentally added the numbers; writing the total at the bottom. The Monsanto accountant was shocked that I did it that way and insisted that I verify the numbers with the adding machine. He was even more shocked when the adding machine tape matched the total I had calculated in my head. He questioned me about how I was able to add five digit columns so quickly and accurately.

I explained to him that I had a system where I actually worked in blocks of tens, hundreds and thousands while separately keeping track of the drift up and down caused by the numbers that did not add up to even tens, hundreds or thousands. The system works equally well for addition, subtraction and multiplication. Division requires a few adjustments.

He was shocked and he and another of the Monsanto accountants proceeded to question me about my system and its accuracy. As we wrapped up the discussion, the lead accountant turned to the other accountant and said, "I have only ever known one other person who could do that. He was Park Lockwood's right hand man over at Banquet Foods. He died a few years ago."

Although he never mentioned a name I knew he was talking about my Dad!!!

I can still remember the look on his face when I said, "Elmer Brader was my father."

He went on to share several memories of Dad. We laughed together and we mourned together that night. When it was all said and done that evening; he put his arm around me and said, "Scott, your Dad would be so proud of you."

Now I don't remember whether Dad taught me that addition technique or if I somehow just inherited that ability from him (math abilities certainly did not come from Mom - who couldn't add single digit numbers without a calculator), but I still remember how proud I was of being compared to Dad.

Joseph has that same gift today. I'm quite certain I never taught him to do addition that way; he just does it. Each time I see him do that, I am reminded of that day nearly forty years ago.

Even when thinking back to that night today; the real thrill of his comments was not that he praised me for being able to do something; but that he remembered Dad and said I would have made him proud.