Sacrifice: Living life through Uranium, Coal, and School Buses Loving life through My Son's Cerebral Palsy
Synopsis "Sacrifice: Living life through Uranium, Coal, and School Buses Loving life through My Son's Cerebral Palsy"
My story begins in Silver City, NM., at the ranch where my mom was raised. My cousin and I rode bicycles, motorcycles, and did lots of swimming. After moving to the truck yard of Anderson Development Corporation, in Ambrosia Lake NM we hauled radioactive uranium ore. I attended school and drove trucks or operated equipment in the evening. I helped build the Uranium Capital Bi-County Fair grounds and the rodeo grounds. I supervised jobs in Waco, TX., Natchez, MS., and I was superintendent of a school bus company in Thoreau, NM. After selling the school buses, I purchased a truck to haul uranium and other materials. When the uranium mining ended, I worked for Santa Fe Coal Co. for 18 years until retirement. Judy and I were married. We were blessed with Lawrence, who had Cerebral Palsy, promising we would always be there for him. I defeated diabetes for Lawrence. Walter Rollan Waldie (Rollie), born in 1949 in Silver City, NM. Growing up, he learned ranching, operating heavy equipment and driving big trucks. These talents were utilized throughout his life beginning with radioactive uranium mining in 1965 in Ambrosia Lake, NM and helping get the Uranium Capital Bi-County fair built in Prewitt, NM. He supervised jobs in Waco TX, Natchez, MS and ran a school bus company in Thoreau, NM. He farmed and raised cattle part time with his dad in Ambrosia Lake. The radioactive tailings spill in Church Rock, NM. ended the uranium industry. Rollie worked for Santa Fe Coal Company until retirement. He married Judy in 1981, they were blessed with Lawrence, who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. They built many assistive devices to help him live a full life. Rollie defeated diabetes, keeping his promise to Lawrence to always be there for him.
