All that follows is taken from "Poems My Way" By C. M. Brewer, a self-published book of poems. Everything is copied word for word as best as can be determined since the book is copies of handwritten poems as well as typewriter pages. Date that this was put together is unknown.
Introduction
- The writer of these "Poems My Way" Charlie Marion Brewer was born the third of five children to Pearl, and Arnold Brewer of Bolckow, Mo.
- At the time the family was living on a farm, north of the Bolckow junction, on highway #71, to the Andrew-Nodaway county line, then west to the second house. The house has since been torn down.
- Marion started school in the fall of 1932, when 5 years old, at the Montgomery school, located across the road from the Midway filling-station and restaurant, at the Bolckow junction.
- In March of the next spring, 1933, the family moved to another farm 2 and 3/4 miles southeast of Bolckow.
- The family lived at that location during Marion's 8 years of grade school, and 4 years of high school.
- After completing the school years he worked on the family farm a few years.
- In the fall of 1951, Marion, along with his brother, Earl, applied for work at the Swift & Company meat packing plant in South Saint Joseph, Mo.
- Earl quit to become a rural mail carrier, out of the Bolckow post office, in the spring of 1957.
- Marion stayed with Swift until the plant closure in 1970.
- All but 2 years, of his near 19, were spent in the Table Ready Meats department.
- Upon closing that dept. he transferred to the Beef Cut department, and remained 2 years until the complete plant closure.
- From Swift he went to work for the Seitz meat packing Co., later known as Seitz Foods, Inc. .
- There he completed the 20 years requirement to qualify for a company pension, retiring in October of 1990 due to health problems.
- At Seitz he worked in the Sausage Kitchen.
- Of the children in the family, three are living.
- The oldest, a Son Lester died at the age of 3 months, and the youngest, a Daughter, Alilda, lost her life to cancer in 1989.
- The Father also died in March of 1989.
- Marion has always liked poetry, but didn't start writing his poems until around 1980, when past 50 years old.