After my grandfather and the family moved to Port Arthur, TX in the early 1920s, he was a construction foreman that helped construct the first refineries in Port Arthur, TX to refine the oil coming from the Spindletop oil fields.

He died when he fell from a tall wooden scaffold erected to weld the refining tower, when the scaffolding collapsed.

Leaving his wife with five kids to raise alone. No insurance of any kind or "Social Security" back then.

The company that he was working for just paid for his funeral.

All of the kids then went to work as teenagers to support the family.