Ken Beaton

Ken Beaton is a freelance writer and member of High Sierra Writers of Reno, Nevada. He was eight months old when the US declared war against Japan on December 8, 1941. During WW II, his Dad had multiple assignments in the US Coast Guard on both coasts. Ken’s first five Christmases were celebrated in five different states. In his formative years, he never considered the consequences of his behavior.

After graduating from Lynn English High School in 1958, the Massachusetts native grew up, worked, earned an AA degree from Boston University, got married, became a parent twice, graduated from Salem State University with a BS in Business Education, moved to Logan, UT in 1971 and eventually graduated from Utah State University with a MS in Business Education in 1978.

After teaching for 22 years in Nevada, Ken retired. He sold advertising, wrote 30 second radio spots and studied Conversational Italian for six semesters. In May 2014 he flew to Italy a second time and followed in the footsteps of the First Special Service Force, the Devil’s Brigade. On June 1, 2014 he reenacted a US Army Captain to celebrate Frosinone’s 70th liberation anniversary. (Fosinone is about 30 Kilometers south of Rome.) Ken was more confident speaking Italian. He had an engaging conversation with a woman who was 18 years old when Frosinone was liberated in 1944. Before the trip, He purchased 25 lapel pins with two flags, American and Italian. He gave the 88 year old woman and 24 other Frosinone residents a pin. He continued the Italian custom of giving a kiss on each cheek. When in Italy, do as the Italians.

In 1959 Ken’s Communications instructor, Mr. Estey, encouraged him to keep a journal. Ken would enter a busy bar and write his observations in a steno notebook. He discovered at least one or more curious curvaceous females would ask him, “What are you writing?” Bingo!

His first published articles were in Journey With Olds, 455 Engine Swap for a ’64 Cutlass and The Journey Continues; which he then followed with One Little Girl’s Love, in Country Extra magazine and seven articles in Nevada in the West magazine.

As a resident of Carson City, Nevada for over 41 years, Ken is a frequent contributor to the local newspaper, Nevada Appeal. He believes each Veteran has a story about how he or she overcame adversity, placed their life on hold and did their part to preserve our freedom today. Each story is written for the reader to discover a part of our history. It is Ken’s way of thanking our Veterans for their sacrifices. Each of us stands on the shoulders of our past generations.

Ken is a 1958 Lynn English High School graduate. LEHS’s mascot is the bulldog and red and gray are the school’s colors. His rewritten book, The Bulldog Brigade: Every Day Red and Gray, is a memoir of his early years in Massachusetts as he and Fred Casey played pranks and disrupted the lives of proper Bostonians. Then, he became a Nevada educator and a freelance writer.

Ken organized a 75th Birthday party/Book launch on March 31, 2016. He hired a “Show Girl” as his book’s Marketing Director for the party. Don’t miss his pictures!