Biography of Wayne Alfred Chambers

Wayne Alfred Chambers was born in 1917 in Williamsburg, Blair Co. PA, the 4th child and second son of Ross A. & Emma Anderson Chambers. Wayne said that his father had named him for his boss, Alfred W. Cook, "not that it ever did me any good". (However we note that Ross A. Chambers' middle name was Althard, so perhaps Wayne was named for his father.)
Wayne finished the 3rd grade of school, skipped 4th grade, and was starting 5th grade when a family disaster required him to drop out of school and begin working to help support the family.
His brother Roland had been working away from home on a farm. Roland went to watch a ballgame somewhere and climbed a pole for a better view. He was shocked severely by electrical wires. The farm family became concerned when he didn't bring the cows home on time. Eventually Roland came in, and immediately passed out; he required hospitalization for several months. Their father, Ross A. Chambers, signed working papers, which under hardship conditions permitted a child to be absent from school. (Wayne said Roland had finished 8th grade, and of all his siblings, only Charlotte finished high school.)
As a teenager Wayne worked digging coal. In 1933 he worked at Pitchpine, Clarion Co., for John White. In 1934 he worked for Danny Lechner. In 1935 his family moved to Clarion Co. PA. Wayne's adult occupation was carpentry.
In the spring of 1942 he joined the Army, and he was shipped to Europe on the Queen Mary, to serve as a tank driver in Germany, Belgium, Holland and near the Russian line. He also served as a truck driver (ration trucks, mail trucks) in the rear.
At some point he met Bertha Irene Beals. He had attended a church service or concert where Bertha was singing with a chorus, and Wayne said she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. They married in September of 1943. They first rented a house at Fern, PA. Their second residence was at Van, 1/2 mile south of the intersection of PA Rt. 38 and U.S. Rt. 322, "past the (present day)Snack Shack". Then they purchased a property in Kossuth. He built a 12 ft. x 24 ft. "shanty" where he, Bertha, and their son born in June 1944 could live until he completed building their house. The house was apparently completed before 1947 when a daughter was born; Wayne said that only the 3 of them lived in the shanty. Two more children were born, a son in 1950 and a daughter in 1954. In 1968 two additional rooms were added, the present-day kitchen and living room. In the 1970's Wayne decided to brick the house, but to utilize the same foundation, he moved each wall back 4 inches, one wall at a time.
Wayne was a constable for Ashland Township for 36 years. He and Bertha drove school buses for Keystone School District. Wayne worked for C&K Coal Co., as a foreman running dozers, doing mostly back fill, but also stripped coal at Ridgeway and New Bethlehem. From 1972-1979 Wayne worked for Carl Wagner at Wagner & Hartle. In 1979 C&K laid him off, and he retired from Wagner & Hartle the same year. In the 1980's he and Bertha did commission upholstery work. Wayne constructed and sold miniature vehicles (trains, cars, trucks, dune buggies, a fork lift) using golf cart motors. These were featured at a variety of parades around the area, and were sold to buyers from various states. In 2003, the year of Wayne & Bertha's 60th wedding anniversary, their extended family included their four children, 10 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. At the time of his death in 2009, there were 10 great-grandchildren.
This biography is compiled from a 2008 interview, the 2003 anniversary announcement, and the 2009 obituary of Wayne A. Chambers.