This was written at the suggestion of a friend who said that how God had shaped my life could make an interesting story.
Do you ever look back on your life and marvel at what a lucky person you are? Did it seem that good fortune followed you somehow? If so, God was looking after you. Don’t forget to thank Him! We don’t know why some people have a better life than others, but many people can be thankful for what they have and what they are.
After I found Christ and became His follower, I started to think of all the blessings throughout my life. The first blessing was being born in America and to loving parents.
My Mom and Dad taught me what love is; they showered love on me even knowing that I was far from perfect. I was perhaps a typical child of that time. I never knew anyone who didn’t mind his or her parents, although at times we all did stuff for which we had to be corrected. Mom and Dad did their corrections in a gentle way that still did the job. There might have been times when if I had a choice, I would rather have a whipping than be scolded about what I had done wrong. I can remember only one whipping, and I guess my Dad had totally lost patience with me. But he didn’t display anger. We were in the front yard in summer. He simply told me to go to the willow tree and cut a switch. I did and stood still while he applied it to me. I knew I had it coming.
My Mother prayed with me each night at bedtime, the little prayer I still remember: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”. I doubt if I really knew what this meant about my soul but it was nice to spend the last few minutes of the day with Mom.
The thing that impressed me even then was how hard my parents worked. Our home had no modern conveniences like running water; we had a hand pump in the back porch to draw from a well. Mom scrubbed our clothes on a washboard and rung them out by hand until we could afford a washing machine with a ringer. Dad worked in a produce store as a clerk when we first came to Boise from SE Idaho where I was born. In time he bought a truck and hauled produce from Oregon and southern Idaho and sold it to local merchants. In the summers I often went with him. I didn’t look on my part as work as it was fun to be with him and do what I could. What love was all about was taught by my parents, and I was inspired by the life they lived.
Boy friends were good friends and we had much fun. There were also several young girls who liked to talk to me. Other boys ignored them but I found enjoyment in trying to answer their questions about many things. No I did not have all the answers but I listened and was sympathetic to whatever they wanted to talk about. I had beautiful wavy hair and two older girls often invited me to come over so they could brush and comb it. I remember pretending that I was doing them a favor, but I really enjoyed it.
We lived within walking distance of the Boise River and not far from a canal that brought water from the upper reaches of this river. The river was a favorite fishing place and just a place to hang out. I gave the fish to a Chinese family as we didn’t care for the carp. Boy friends and I swam in the canal through the summer.
Hunting was also only a bicycle ride to the fields where I could occasionally shoot a Chinese pheasant or a mallard duck for dinner. I could also ride up into the foothills which were barren except for sagebrush and shoot jack rabbits. At that time the farmers paid a bounty for these as they invaded their farms and ate whatever was growing.
So life was good and growing up was a great experience. I thank the Lord for this. But by the time I was finishing high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and WWII began. I didn’t give it much thought but a friend, Bob Wheeler came to me one day and suggested that we enlist in the Navy V-12 college training program. Otherwise we might be drafted into the armed services. I know that the Lord caused this to happen. We both enlisted and were ordered to go to Seattle for a physical exam and testing. I passed but sadly my friend Bob failed the physical.
The Navy ordered me to continue my education for a year after high school until a spot in the training program was open. I went to Boise University, then called Boise Junior College. I nearly flunked out as I was working nights in a theater and had a full-time girl friend. A kindly advisor coached me in what I must do to stay in school and this woke me up. I began to study hard and got though OK.
The next fall I was ordered to take the train to Butte Montana for training at the Montana School of Mines. This unlikely setting for Navy training had been converted to the Navy program. The student dormitory, a large building was dedicated only to Navy students. A few weeks after I got there we were all asked to undergo a routine physical exam. For me there was nothing routine about it. The doctor discovered a groin hernia that would disqualify me from the program. It may have been generic as my father suffered with one for many years. I guess that it must have enlarged since the Seattle exam which did not find it.
The training base was commanded by a Navy Commander. The Executive Officer was also a surgeon. They called me in after the exam and explained the choices. I could be discharged from the Navy and go home. However they could arrange a discharge so that I could have an operation, and then reinstate me after it was healed. I jumped at this option of course. Here again I know that God was with me and I am grateful to these kindly officers.
A few months later a flight of the Navy Blue Angels came over our base and circled around the valley. This rekindled my desire to be an aviator that had been with me for many years. It seemed a coincidence that a few months later we were told that the Naval Air cadet program was opening up and we could request a transfer to it. Thank you God as this would shape my life. I was transferred to Seattle at the end of the semester to attend the University of Washington. I had no idea what a tremendous change in my life this would bring. In the late fall some of the trainees were invited to a sorority dance. How I came to be included I have to attribute to God.
This was Anita’s sorority and my roommate and I were paired with two lovely ladies. I had no say in the matter but Anita who would become my wife was my date for the night. I was immediately attracted to her as an enjoyable person. I was surprised that she was also attracted to me and she invited me to be a guest at her parents’ home in nearby Tacoma. I must have always had just a bit of maverick in my blood and I had bought an old Chevrolet sedan. We weren’t supposed to own a car but it allowed us to travel to Tacoma. Almost every weekend after that, Anita and I drove to her home. Her parents welcomed me and treated me almost like a son. I had no plans then to make this come true.
I was most attracted to Anita’s Dad. He was a wonderful person to be with. He could tell you about a trip to the grocery store and make you feel that you were with him, and he had many stories about his adventures in the great outdoors. So I really fell in love with him. Anita’s mother was also most kind and always had a cup of cocoa ready when we arrived on Friday night. I didn’t mind the cocktail hour we had before dinner. Later I learned from Anita that her Dad was frustrated when the third girl was born after Anita. He so wanted a boy. So I became his son.
One Saturday while we were in Tacoma Anita asked me to teach her to drive. After dinner I let her drive and she headed for the next little settlement called Dash Point. Her parents’ home was at Brown’s Point where she grew up. It got dark after we started out but her driving was just fine. The road overlooks Puget Sound with steel guard rails on the water side. We spotted what we thought was a motorcycle heading toward us but it was a car with only one light on its right side. That driver wandered into our lane and before we realized it he crashed into us. Our car spun out of control and only stopped by hitting the guard rail and hanging over the 200-foot bank above the Sound. We were not hurt and neither was the other driver, but our car was totaled. Evidently he had no insurance so we were left without a car and no money for another.
It was only a few weeks until I was transferred to the Naval Aviation training base in California. Anita began sending money to pay for the car that she thought was her responsibility. I didn’t want her to do this and told her the accident was not her fault. But she insisted and I put the money in the bank for a future car. The summer was spent at the Alameda Naval Air Station and while there, WWII ended. I happened to be on Market Street in San Francisco that day. It was a riot of joy. A few weeks later i went to the Navy Preflight training base at St. Mary’s, California. I have written about experiences there. After being at St. Mary’s for a few weeks, we were called in and given the choice to sign for four more years in the Navy and continue flight training or be discharged.
It was an agonizing decision for me as I had always wanted to fly and the Navy flight program is a tremendous way to learn. I finally decided to return to the University of Washington and finish engineering training. Also, I could picture Anita in my mind waiting for me as her letters had indicated. I had by then become attached to her as a wonderful companion and a loving person. I am also sure that God had a hand in this knowing what a great marriage we would have and how much she would contribute to it. I know that her sending the money also convinced me of her integrity. So I returned to Seattle in my Aviation Cadet uniform, no longer in the Navy blues that Anita had known.
It was a warm greeting when I saw Anita. I enrolled at the U but being summer decided to spend it in Boise. My parents were glad to see me and my life resumed much as it was before leaving for the Navy. I was offered my job back at the theater where I had worked but decided to do something else. I got a summer job at the Idaho Creamery where I had all the cream and ice cream I could use. Friendship with several of my boy chums was renewed and we had fun together. But my heart was back in Seattle. My Dad at that time had a used car business and he gave me a good deal on a two-door Dodge with a rumble seat. At the end of summer, I drove it to Seattle and took up residence at a fraternity that had recruited me. One of my fraternity brothers had a going real estate business and I worked there one summer as a salesman.
With the car Anita and I could travel to her parents’ home and roam around the area. As I had already found, she is a wonderful companion but became more than that. Our evening rides ended with what we used to call ‘heavy petting’. She would only let me go so far but it was still a thrill to be intimate with her. On one of our dates I finally asked her to marry me. I waited for one or two seconds for her answer. We were married the following August 31 at the Methodist Church in Tacoma. In other writings I have chronicled a little more of our fun together including a trip to Boise to meet my parents. I attribute to God my meeting with Anita, attraction to her and her parents. God knew what He was doing. Anita helped shape much of our lives thereafter.
Another of the great gifts from God was ability to express myself in writing. It was honed all my life starting with thank you letters to my grandmother. Then after leaving Boise I wrote long letters to my parents and to girl friends. I learned to describe my experiences in what they said was an interesting way. Wherever we traveled I also wrote a story about the adventure. This writing ability came in great stead in my career.
After we were married and a degree in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Engineering (including business courses) was received, I started work at Boeing in Seattle. After three years a college friend and my Engineering professor encouraged me to get into the chemical industry. I became Plant Engineer at a chemical plant in Seattle. After five years I talked my boss into giving me a chance as a salesman.
I was successful in this and also was able to satisfy my longtime dream of flying. My territory out of Seattle included six states plus northern California. The first year I did my best to cover this large area by driving, commercial airlines, and occasionally train and bus. Then it dawned on me that I could be more efficient and it would be less tiring if I could fly. So I took flying lessons at Boeing Field in Seattle. Even before getting a pilot’s license I had my instructor go with me on a long cross country flight to call on accounts in Utah. He was satisfied and said I could go on my own. Later, with the pilot’s license I could take passengers and Anita accompanied me on a few of the trips.
Anywhere I headed out of Seattle except south, rugged mountains would be encountered. After moving to Vancouver it was even more hazardous as there was 300 miles of mountainous terrain to the east. If the engine had failed while flying single engine aircraft, there would be no place safe to land. But in flying for twenty years and covering 400,000 miles including all over Mexico, I never had a problem. Ultimately twin-engine planes were acquired and I got an instrument license so could fly over the mountains instead of threading my way through canyons under a blanket of clouds. I write much more about this elsewhere. But the point here is that on any of these flights there could have been trouble. Though I made sure the airplanes were in good condition before flying, you read of accidents regularly in small planes. There is only one explanation; it is that God was my co-pilot all the time.
After five years in sales my boss asked me to go to Vancouver, Canada as western division manager. This was one of the three divisions of the Canadian company. It was not doing well and it took a lot of work to make it the leading profit center for the company. On the way to achieving this I wrote several letters to the American head office in New York outlining plans for improvement. Evidently these letters were read by the head of the company and I received a note that they were impressed at the plans. The plans worked well.
Then I was asked to become the Executive VP and travel to Toronto, the head office. A year later I was made President to replace the American who held the job. It was his idea and I know that God had a hand in this.
The people who had a major influence on my life during this period need to be mentioned. Harold Warner was my first boss at the chemical company. He was a controversial man always stirring up politics when he wasn’t busy enough. He didn’t have an engineering education but he was self-trained and an excellent practical engineer. He taught me to use my education but also to use my head to accomplish what seemed at first impractical but turned out great. With his tutelage I was able to accomplish many things that were beyond what I learned in college.
After I designed my first chemical plant, and with a small budget the basic plant was constructed. It needed additional work and the head office in New York sent Bill Blesee to help. Bill became a good friend and taught me detail planning. Often an engineer could overlook incidentals in getting all the needed materials together. Bill taught me to visualize each step of the assembly and to write down what would be needed. I could have easily forgotten to order minor parts without which plant construction would be delayed, sometimes by weeks. But by conceptualizing the finished plant and then working backwards to the beginning, each step became known and all needed materials were ordered.
The greatest thing that Bill did for me was to get me to plan my future career. One evening after dinner Bill told me to get a yellow pad. We both sprawled on our living room carpet and he started questioning what I wanted out of life. My answers at first were not well thought out. Bill persisted until I finally said that I would like to be the head of a large company some day. Bill insisted that a date be put down when this would be achieved, and I said in ten years. Bill said “great”, put down “president in 1966”. Then he asked me what I would have to be prior to this. During the rest of the evening we talked about the steps and I wrote down each one. The first step was to get into sales as this was the swiftest path to management in those days. It was amazing that this plan came true at the dates set down. The last step though, becoming President was a year later.
So the day after our plan was made, I went to the division manager Ernie Skytta and told him I would like to get into sales. Ernie was skeptical since I was a shy person and he had seen no evidence of ability to sway people as required in sales. But somehow selling had been in my mind for many years without putting it together as part of a career path. In college instead of reading novels for recreation I had read every book that I could lay my hands on about salesmanship and how to influence others. God knew this knowledge was needed. So with the planning skills that Bill had taught me, I put together a plan to convince Ernie that I could sell. Taking every opportunity to talk to him, I would weave in some thoughts about salesmanship. It so happened that the man who had been selling some of the chemicals decided to leave for another job. Thanks God. So I went to Ernie and asked for this man’s job. Ernie was still unsure but took me to lunch weekly at his club.
I knew that if I could not sell him, he would not believe I could sell anyone. So I began to tell him some details that had been learned by reading and in observing sales people who called on us to sell materials. I outlined their good points and discussed what opportunities some had missed by failing to make a convincing argument. We bought from a competitor. Ernie warmed up to the idea that I could sell but gave me one final test. We usually had one cocktail during lunch at his club. One day Ernie said there was no hurry in getting back to the office, so we could have a few more drinks.
I had never had a craving for alcohol so I nursed my second (or third) cocktail while we talked more about ideas for a successful sales program. Ernie was not a heavy drinker but being a big man, he could take on more alcohol without it seeming to affect him. He was used to spending evenings with customers many of whom were heavy drinkers. He knew that I would face people like these in my sales job. But I passed this test to his satisfaction. He gave me the job and I did well. I found it a pleasure to get to know key potential customers and get their confidence. Some of these became family friends.
After five years in sales, Ernie called me in one day and asked if I was interested in moving to Vancouver Canada to be in charge of the western division of the Canadian company. At that time this division was under Ernie’s care. He said that I was his second choice but the star salesman in Oregon did not want to move. I jumped at the chance and Anita went along with it.
This division was not doing well under the existing manager. Taking this job would be a challenge as many of the duties would be foreign to me. But this fit well into the plan to be head of a company so I tackled it with gusto. Using the sales skills that had been honed in five years I was able to gain the confidence of the heads of major forest product companies, and ultimately much of their business. Then as previously mentioned my skills at writing came to good use. After the first year and we had made good progress, I had to have the blessing of the New York head office to expand further. I saw the need of a formaldehyde plant to produce one of the main ingredients in the forest product resins, and money was needed. At that time, the president of the Canadian company was in New York. I wrote a letter outlining the whole plan of how much more business could be won if we could become more competitive.
The letter was directed to Jay Myers, the president. But Jay passed it on to the higher ups and I received a letter from a top executive that the letter really impressed him. We were given the money to build the plant and much more later. We put in facilities for other resin products which we were bringing from Seattle and Toronto. Sales begin to build and a year later our division was the most profitable in the company. Jay visited us several times to get acquainted and to lend help. On one of the trips he said I would be the next president of the company as he felt resident leadership was needed. He told the Canadian Board to appoint me as Executive Vice President. This did not sit well with one man who had his eye on this job, but eventually he accepted it and we became friends. You can see how God was guiding me all through this.
I was asked to travel each month to Toronto and Montreal to help coordinate the overall affairs. After a few months of this I was elected President. Not wanting to uproot our family again since they had become attached to Vancouver, I commuted for a year more. One Saturday morning after a grueling week in the east and the journey back, I asked Anita what she would think of moving to Toronto. She surprised me as she often does and said, let’s do it.
What this career did for me was enable financial security and accumulation of wealth. I was guided by God I am sure to invest with brokers who knew what they were doing. A man in Vancouver who closely followed our company stock invested for me and from a modest amount I gave him he created a substantial portfolio. Merrill Lynch in Toronto invested in commodities for me and made a great deal of money. I worked diligently to invest and did well also on my own. What did I ever do to deserve this good fortune? Nothing, it was a gift from God.
Although this was nice, I didn’t need a fortune, but I found later that God had a plan for it. I had not been particularly generous with our money but after my conversion to love Jesus, we began to give in depth to charities and to help spread His Word in the world. The majority of the wealth was given away by 2009. Was it given with joy? Not at first. As my original incentive to pledge my life to Jesus was the fear of hell, I was concerned that a rich person would never make it to Heaven. But soon I found the joy of giving. I loved God mightily and wanted to help the needy and enhance the spreading of the Good News of Salvation.
And how I found Christ after 79 years of barely knowing who He is was an act of God. A dear friend tried for fifty years to get me interested in spiritual matters. She sent Bibles, tapes, and other things to try to whet an interest. But when she sent the book “Heaven Is So Real” that did it. I read the first six chapters one night at bedtime, went to sleep and was awakened by being shaken. As I got out of bed and tried to stop shaking, I couldn’t see. A brilliant light blinded me. I realized that there was a message from God in the book and there really was. In reading the book I came to know what Jesus had in store for us if we believed and obeyed. This was a changing point in my life, at first beyond my comprehension.
Since then many minor but great miracles have been experienced. Many of these were healing after all else failed. Also I have been put in touch with hundreds of people who are helpful to me in their faith, and many more who I have found ways to help. My ministry if you can call it that is to try to light a fire in the minds of many and then hope that God brings them to Himself. Hundreds of emails have been received from people expressing their faith, or asking for help. Requests are for both spiritual help and often also for assistance in their lives. I do nothing on my own but always ask the Holy Spirit for help. I know from what people have told me, there has been some success. If someone told me before 2004 that I would be helping people with faith, I would have wondered whom they were talking about. But that is what God does; He takes unlikely candidates and molds them into something useful to Him.
Also in the last six years I have written over a hundred articles on faith. Many were sent by email to friends and to others who had written to me. It is enjoyable to do this. Just when I think I have run dry of subjects on which to write, something new comes to mind. Friends make some suggestions and others come from reading and the Holy Spirit. Faith articles continue to be written each week. Often I have no plans for the use of something written until it is done and prayed about. I might send it to several friends to get their ideas, and finally release it to wider audiences in some form. Something prompted me to set up a website and put these articles on it. The result is http://hagen.viviti.com/. As new articles are written they are added. Websites can be viewed all over the world so people I have never heard of might be influenced.
I have no idea how God will use me or help me next. I am ready and available to Him. He has done so much in my life that I will do anything He asks. I never deserved any of this; it was solely a gift from God.