Son of a Craftsman

Loyd M. McIntire (1912-1990) was born on his parents' homestead near Nemo, Texas, the youngest of three children. Growing up in rural Texas, Loyd experienced both hardship and resilience, losing his mother at a young age and later moving with his family to Breckenridge, where he graduated high school. His early years among farmers, ranchers, and the oil fields ignited his love for poetry-a passion that would remain with him throughout his life. Loyd's life was rich with varied work: from the oil fields and crude oil trucking for Phillips 66, to serving in a defense plant during World War II, and later building a career as a respected sheet metal worker. Alongside his wife Zella and their growing family, Loyd found inspiration in the everyday moments of rural and working-class life, often composing poetry during quiet hours on the job or at home with his children. After the war, Loyd returned to Texas to start a water well drilling business, where he continued to write poetry reflecting the land, people, and places that shaped him. Eventually settling in Kansas City, he spent his final decades working and writing, retiring in 1984 but never putting down his pen. Published posthumously by his son, this collection celebrates Loyd M. McIntire's enduring voice-a testament to a life lived with grit, heart, and a poet's eye for the beauty in ordinary days.