James Warren Hale (1886 – 1966), my grandfather, was, primarily, a laborer on the railroad but he was also an aspiring writer.  Beginning in 1942, and likely earlier, he wrote a total of 28 short stories, plays or novels –5916 pages — in 35 journals.  The journals are a mix of hard cover “Record” books and spiral bound notebooks.  Most of his stories are very simple and written in ink with a small but neat cursive handwriting.

I recall seeing a few of these stories along with a typewriter on a table in the bedroom he used at the Askew Farm near Meridian, Mississippi.  This would have been in the late 1950s.  I thought there were only a few stories.  After his death in 1966, his daughter, Jeannette Hill, kept the manuscripts.  Jeannette died in 2004.  After the death of her husband John in 2018, I asked their son, John if he was aware of the stories and if they were anywhere to be found.  John eventually found the manuscripts in an old suitcase.  John gave the manuscripts to me and I began to study them.

I typed three of his stories, including his autobiographical “Railroad Man” and have now put them in a book, “The Times, Life and Stories of J. W. Hale” along with some genealogical information.  The book also includes a short autobiography about growing up in the late 1800s that was written by Dr. R. E. Hale, brother of J. W. Hale as well as a history of the Elizabeth Presbyterian Church that they attended.  I’ve self-published this book on Amazon in both paperback and ebook format so others have access to it.

Frankly, these are not good stories but I’m pleased to have them.  They tell a little more about the grandfather that I barely knew.  In particular, his autobiographical sketch, “Railroad Man”, provides a lot of background information. 

My grandfather may not have actually intended for his stories to be read but I’m pleased to make him a published author.