In 1937, fourteen year old Travis Evans' family became a part of the migration from the dire poverty in Oklahoma to California, the "promised land," as it was called. It was a long, hard trip. Referring to the book, The Grapes of Wrath, Travis stated, "John Steinbeck made a story of it, and he told it pretty much like I remember it."
It took more than three months for the family to arrive in Tulare County, California where they heard there were farm jobs. Travis' father, Willie, found a job easy enough, but there was a problem in the "promised land." Wages for farm workers were not sufficient to meet a family's basic needs. Willie set up a tent that would be their home for years. The family members, who could, worked whenever and at whatever they could find. It was a matter of survival.
At seventeen, Travis was living and working in the coastal town of Watsonville. A friend introduced him to commercial fishing. After a weekend fishing trip with him, Travis wondered if he might someday be able to make a living that way. Later, when his friend offered him a job, he took it and his seventy-five years as a mariner began. He became a successful commercial fisherman and eventually, a representative for the industry. He also worked as a tugboat captain and an offshore drilling ship's captain, and in his spare time, built three fishing boats. He has a strong faith and as a disciple of Christ has served as a ship's chaplain, a counsellor at prisons, and he is a lay preacher.
The boy who wondered if he could make a living as a fisherman couldn't have begun to imagine what the future held for him. It was much, much more than just making a living. Captain Travis believes that God had His hand in all of it and that He had plans for him-remarkable plans.
I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope, and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I think my life has proven that scripture.
Captain Travis O. Evans
