About The Author
Donald West
Donald West’s first real job was “delivery boy” on his bicycle for Stewart and Wood Pharmacy, within two blocks of his home. He had mowed yards and sacked groceries but now, 1943, with a Social Security number he had a real job. His Boston Bulldog would often run alongside on deliveries.
Author Biography
Early Life
Donald West was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on October 10, 1932, at the family home, 319 South East 43rd Street, where he lived until the family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1949 because his father, an oil derrick safety engineer, experienced a job transfer.
Schooling
Donald attended Oklahoma City public schools: Shields Heights Elementary, Capitol Hill Junior High, and Capitol Hill High School, through the eleventh grade, when the family moved to Little Rock. For his senior year he attended the most beautiful high school in America, selected in 1927: Little Rock High School.
Joining the U.S. Navy
On his seventeenth birthday, having lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, for three months, he asked his father to accompany him to the United States Navy Reserve Armory and witness his taking the oath of duty in the U.S. Navy. After his high school graduation, Donald attended the Navy Boot Camp in Great Lakes, near North Chicago. On his third day in training, he learned that on June 25, 1950, the Korean War had erupted.
Coming Home to an Empty House
Returning to Little Rock by train, he learned his family was on vacation in Oklahoma, so he prepared for his naval cruise out of New Orleans, Louisiana, and boarded a train. After the cruise to Haiti and Cuba, with a heavy sunburn, he arrived back in Little Rock and learned that everything in the house was gone. His parents, his little brother, the family dog, and all the furniture were gone too; the house was empty of everything. There was no note, but he had planned to attend a summer church camp near the Oklahoma border called Siloam Springs, so he headed there.
Donald West Introduced to the Author’s World
A Early Interest in Photography
It may have begun in the eighth grade, when Donald became interested in photography, spurred on by the Polaroid camera his parents purchased for him. In high school he took photography classes and journalism. Upon transferring to Little Rock High School, he was put in the leadership role for the new photography darkroom, working with the journalism department.
Photography in the Navy
In his Navy career, he was often called to photograph ships conducting illicit fishing, whaling operations in forbidden waters, and other clandestine operations, which required supportive descriptions.
Author Biography
Early Life
Donald West was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on October 10, 1932, at the family home, 319 South East 43rd Street, where he lived until the family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1949 because his father, an oil derrick safety engineer, experienced a job transfer.
Schooling
Donald attended Oklahoma City public schools: Shields Heights Elementary, Capitol Hill Junior High, and Capitol Hill High School, through the eleventh grade, when the family moved to Little Rock. For his senior year he attended the most beautiful high school in America, selected in 1927: Little Rock High School.
Joining the U.S. Navy
On his seventeenth birthday, having lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, for three months, he asked his father to accompany him to the United States Navy Reserve Armory and witness his taking the oath of duty in the U.S. Navy. After his high school graduation, Donald attended the Navy Boot Camp in Great Lakes, near North Chicago. On his third day in training, he learned that on June 25, 1950, the Korean War had erupted.
Coming Home to an Empty House
Returning to Little Rock by train, he learned his family was on vacation in Oklahoma, so he prepared for his naval cruise out of New Orleans, Louisiana, and boarded a train. After the cruise to Haiti and Cuba, with a heavy sunburn, he arrived back in Little Rock and learned that everything in the house was gone. His parents, his little brother, the family dog, and all the furniture were gone too; the house was empty of everything. There was no note, but he had planned to attend a summer church camp near the Oklahoma border called Siloam Springs, so he headed there.
Donald West Introduced to the Author’s World
A Early Interest in Photography
It may have begun in the eighth grade, when Donald became interested in photography, spurred on by the Polaroid camera his parents purchased for him. In high school he took photography classes and journalism. Upon transferring to Little Rock High School, he was put in the leadership role for the new photography darkroom, working with the journalism department.
Photography in the Navy
In his Navy career, he was often called to photograph ships conducting illicit fishing, whaling operations in forbidden waters, and other clandestine operations, which required supportive descriptions.
