The open road and a toy stick horse
My toy stick horse - circa 1952 San Antonio, Texas
I have often wondered how I ended up spending the last 45 years in international trade. With time to reflect these days, I have decided it had to do with a toy stick horse.
On my frequent visits to Dad’s place of work, the Harry Keeton Supply warehouse in Fort Worth, I was fascinated by the number of people busy moving around rolls of fabrics, making brooms, mops and mattress covers along with unloading and loading bales of cotton and sisal.….all packed to the high ceilings. A dreamer of far away places I was beyond excited when my dad invited me to go on my first business trip with him in the early 50's when I was aged 5 or 6. It had always seemed so romantic to me that Dad was travelling for work selling fabric, meeting new clients and sourcing new suppliers.
This trip was just going to be me and my Dad. Yea! Most important we were going to Old Mexico! My first trip out of the USA. As we began going south to the border, I was to find out that my Dad's business was really kind of fun.
We had two calls to make. First up was a broom manufacturer in San Antonio, a loyal customer of the company. Dad explained the company bought broom handles, broom corn, wire and interestingly, fabric and extra small mop handles to make toy stick horses. The owner gave me one made with my Dads fabric stuffed with his cotton. I still remember the small factory to this day and have treasured my stick horse ever since for some reason.
Moving on to the next meeting, we headed further south to McAllen and after easily crossing the border, ended up in a Mexican hacienda with fields of broom corn. My Dad was there to negotiate with the farmers and buy "carloads" of broom corn that would end up in a railroad car pulled up next to the warehouse. To me this was an incredible concept of business. Coupled with the excitement of visiting another country and meeting new people different from me, this trip stayed with me for many years to come.
I really think it was from then on I decided that wanted to spend my life traveling to other countries doing business. Driving home with my Dad, I nurtured my first lessons on sales of fabrics and supplies, negotiating for buying and importing, and the sweet smell of the road. I left wearing a cowboy hat and returned wearing a Mexican sombrero….what an adventure!
Reflection by Johnny Keeton - Sales Coordinator, North America
