Shortly after his honeymoon he started his own business, Tony's Trenching Service. He bought the first hydraulic backhoe in the area and the locals laughed at him. They thought the sand would destroy the hydraulic lines. Tony knew better after learning all about hydraulics on the B24 bombers. In 1962 he decided there was a need for a golf course in the area because he loved the game and opened a 9 hole course, Maple Leaf Golf Course. While he was alive, the course grew to be 27 holes and it is still our families business.
Dad didn't do too much with other Veterans, but he had met a fellow airman from Michigan while a POW at Stalug Luft IV. Dad & John Beacon had grown up only 12 miles apart and never knew each other. Then they started talking at the prison camp and found out how close they lived to each other. They did stay in touch a little and we had the opportunity to meet John and an article was written in our local paper about the 2 of them.
Dad was very proud to have defended our country. He always talked about how joining the air force had taught him so much. He would always say "If you don't know how it works, then you can not fix it!" and "Knowledge is Power" both learned from the Air Force. Plus he would say "You can search the world for the bluebird, only to find it in your own back yard" and a few others that he learned from books that he read while a prisoner of war. My father only had an 8th grade education, but the knowledge he had gotten from the Air Force and self taught from all his reading was amazing. Tony was a great business man and a great Father.
