In response to my prior post (Leaving Venezuela — 1966) my friend, Mike Ashe, emailed me his own take about the same subject, as he also left at an early age.

I appreciated his recollections and thoughts and asked his permission to post, which he generously granted.

Hi Richard

I guess if we kids stayed in El Pao long enough, we ended up going solo to schooling elsewhere.

My dad left by train at age 14 traveling from Chuqicamata, Chile, to a high school in Buenos Aires. The Chilean Rail Line ran from Arica to La Paz. I don’t think that the train stopped in Chuqui; they had to flag the train down to board. 

He would travel by train to Santiago and by taxi to Cordoba and take a train to Buenos Aires.

My grandpa worked for Anaconda Copper and spent 40 years in mining camps in Chile and Mexico.

In my case I shipped out at age 12 and spent two years at Admiral Farragut Academy. I did go back home to El Pao one summer. Holidays were spent in the school dorm or visiting friends

In those days there was no communication except by mail which most of the time was late or lost in transit.

A lot of my classmates were from South America so I had plenty of company that could relate.  Also, I must say that my El Pao education served me well in transitioning into a different educational system. Admiral Farragut was a top-notch military school with high academics and an over-the-top discipline standard. 

Seventy five percent of the graduates received appointments to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis Md.  The most notable Farragut graduates are Astronauts Charles Duke and the first US Astronaut in space, Alan Shepard.

Actually, getting out of El Pao was a good thing since boarding school provided me with an opportunity to socialize with many boys from different backgrounds around my age.  Cubans (great athletes), Colombians, a few Brazilians, and mostly US students.

The transition from being the oldest two or three boys in a mining camp to a school with hundreds of students mostly older and a lot more worldly, was bracing. 

I was fortunate to have Chuck Gould as my roommate for two years (Chuck later played football at Michigan State).  Chuck actually became my best friend, and nobody messed with Chuck. Or his friend!  At age 13 he weighed over 200lbs and could outrun anyone in the Junior or Senior school including some exceptionally fast Cubans.

I did miss my family and El Pao but can honestly say that life was a great adventure for me in Florida.  I was able to play sports for the first time. It was a great awakening for me.  So grateful to have been provided that opportunity.

Also, both of my brothers spent their high school years in boarding schools Linsly Military School in Wheeling, WV. They also felt that going solo provided them with some great opportunities that they would not have had if they had remained in Mexico.

Really enjoy Pull of the Land

Take care

Mike