Three Surnames and a Jr.

The eldest son of Scottish immigrants, Logan Napier Muir Jr. spent his youth doing menial chores with his brothers in and around his parents' tar-paper covered shack near Chicago. In 1928 he was valedictorian of his eighth grade class; he never attended another graduation, although his formal education-high school and later university-did continue. A respected and skilled engineer, he was known for keen powers of observation and a quick wit that lightened many a difficult situation. He also chose to start his own business when faced with a job mired in impracticality. "Three Surnames and a Jr." is Logan's life story, as told by his wife, Ruth. Logan began writing his life's story late in life and completed only two pages. Ruth gathered together newspaper clippings, pertinent letters, and other memorabilia of her husband's life, piecing them together with her own narratives describing their time together and continuing his story. Both serious and humorous episodes flesh out the life story of this professional man who never forgot his humble beginnings.