The Journey continued

In 1918, Charles Brandon moved the entire family, which now included a little sister named Alley Elizabeth ("Lizzie") up to Illinois, to look for better work. Although the young Willie could have gone further with his schooling in the North, the lure of helping the family's financial situation was strong and he immediately took a job at a laundry facility.

A few years later (and much to his parents' dismay) at the age of nineteen he married a childhood sweetheart, Lilly Mae. In 1927, his daughter Anne was born. He chuckles now, when he speaks of Anne, who is up in years herself. "You know, she's over eighty now…she's getting old!"

In 1933, all of the Brandons returned to Murfreesboro, from Illinois. Young Willie found work as a dishwasher at the James K. Polk Hotel on East Main Street. He worked seven days a week, twelve hours a day, at $7.00 a week. And that was "right good money."

In 1935, he and Lilly Mae divorced. A custody battle ensued and after two years of paying a lawyer $1.00 a week, Mr. Brandon won custody of their daughter, Anne. A year later, in 1936, he married Martha, a young woman with a three-year old son named Herbert.

Still working as a dishwasher and very dissatisfied, he was intrigued by ads in the paper for cooking classes. A new career was in the making! With the purchase of cookbooks and guidance from his wife, he learned the fine art of making biscuits, cobblers, cakes, pies, rolls and hotcakes. Soon after, the Polk Hotel manager found himself without a cook and reluctantly gave Mr. Brandon a chance to show off his new skills. Although he was an immediate success, he continued to receive the wages of a dishwasher. Resigned but undaunted, he continued to cook. Soon opportunity presented itself at the City Café. He was hired as a cook, making $10.00 a week and all he could eat. He was still working seven days a week, twelve hours a day, but felt great satisfaction in this turn of events.

The Journey continues