It doesn’t take long
to write down a memory.
Especially if you write them down one memory at a time.
The following is one of the stories my dad told about his dad, my grandpa. It such a simple, but sweet story of sacrifice and love. It is one of my favorite stories about my grandpa. I never knew him. He died when I was five. We lived in Utah, and grandpa lived in Washington State at the time. Since I didn’t know him, I’m grateful my dad wrote the stories down. Now,
we’ll all know him!!
“I had some good memories of Dad and of some of the sacrifices he made for his family. I can remember as a little boy in the late 1930’s, the effects of the depression were still very much apparent. They were hard times, and Dad just made enough money each day to take care of the expenses of the day. There was never any extra, and so each night after work, Dad brought home the groceries that Mom made supper with. In the wintertime, it was especially hard. Dad would have to walk home from work at the cleaning and tailor shop where he worked and stop on the way to get a few groceries. We lived about a mile west of town along Highway 10. I remember as a child, along with some of my brothers and sisters, scratching the ice off the inside of the window so we could see out, and then pressing our noses against the window to see if we could see Dad coming down the highway. Minnesota winters were very cold and when Dad walked in the door he was quite a sight. The cold wind would cause his eyes to water, but because he had groceries in his hands he couldn’t wipe the tears from his eyes and so they would form icicles on his eyelashes. His nose, too, would run and icicles would also hang from his nose.
(This isn’t grandpa, it’s Ernest Shackleton, but notice the frosty beard)
Mom would have her wood stove all fired up to cook one of her wonderful suppers out of the simplest fair. They were difficult times, but I have a lot of fond memories from them.”
I think it is amazing that grandpa had to work each day for the food grandma would prepare for the family to eat that night. My grandparents were strong people. Like I always say….if they can do what they did, I can do what I need to do in my life. I love them, I love grandpa. Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy
Thank you Joy for sharing this wonderful story with us. I was just talking about my Dad last night with some friends. He went to heaven when I was 19 but the years were had together hold many good memories.
Happy Day to you and your family.
Sonny