Article September 3, 2018 Issue

Integrity—we all have it!

Martha Lemasters

One of my favorite words is integrity—not the word itself but what it stands for.

My dad was a humble man of few words, unencumbered by a sense of ego. He owned an awning and canvas company that he operated with one employee, who helped him with sewing duties.

In the 1940s and ’50s in South Florida, whenever a hurricane approached, we usually had about a day’s notice to “button up” our homes. We would gather around the radio, staring at its wooden veneer and awaiting the latest information. My dad would keep working up until the last minutes before a hurricane struck. He filled those precious minutes taking down the awnings of his customers, a job that he performed for free. “They’re my customers,” he explained to my mother. “I don’t charge my customers. They’ve already paid for their awnings.” After the hurricane passed, he would return to their houses and rehang all the awnings, also at no charge.

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