My Grandfather ( My Dad’s Father) in the field on the farm where I grew up.
1952
I love this old photo…and this one too.
My Uncle Adolf and My Grandpa in 1952 enjoying lunch in the field.
In 1953 when my Grandmother died my Grandfather became a very eligible bachelor. He dated a number of women.
He did not approve of face paint (lipstick or rouge), card games ( Checkers were okay but cards were the work of the devil), dancing or drinking. Women were meant to stay in the home and take care of the children…if they got an education they should be nurses or teachers.
He would stop by our house during the week. I always enjoyed his visits. IF for some reason my brother or I were sent out of the house…his visit got us out of the dog house. He smelled like mothballs and wore long underwear year round, the underwear kept in warmth in the winter and kept his body cool in the summer(evaporation). Most of the time he wore suspenders. Those mints I enjoyed were in his shirt pocket or the pocket of his coat. He chewed and spit..he could spit farther than any person I knew and he had reasonably good aim.
He remarried, Grandma Annie…she died and he was told to move out. He lived near Uncle Hugo’s on Shell Lake in a tiny house that was quickly built for him. Then he made the rounds living with each of his children when he couldn’t live alone. He stayed at my parents a month or so…we enjoyed all his stories. The hemorrhoid story is a classic. He said that he would slice open the hemorrhoids with a razor blade and then put iodine on them…he said “It only hurt for a bit.” Grandpa had some false teeth but they made his mouth sore and he saved up his hearing aid batteries for church on Sunday. Eventually he ended up with Uncle George and Aunt Grace permanently until he fell. He was in the nursing home for a short time and fell again and died. He died on December 14 1978 just 4 days short of his 88th birthday. I missed him very much after he died. He lived longer in years than all of his children so far. This month my Dad will turn 88 and Aunt Anna will turn 79, they are the remnant.
Grandpa Sam with the sauna just down the hill at the farm
This photo is one of my favorites… cousin Geraldine shared it with me. It is most likely the last photo taken of Grandpa.
What a lovely memory! Unfortunately, I never knew my grandparents on my mother's side. They died of TB before I was old enough to even remember them. On my father's side, I was lucky enough to have some great memories. My favorite is going to see them and we always got a vitamin C to eat. (to us they were like a piece of candy!) Thank you for sharing those lovely memories, sure made my day.
ReplyDeleteThose are some wonderful memories you have of your grandfather. Both of my grandfathers lived with us (at different times) until we had to place them in a nursing home. I have wonderful memories of my grandparents. I feel they shaped who I am today. Thank you for helping me bring back some lovely memories.
ReplyDeleteI never knew either of my grandfathers. One left and became a hermit who lived in the hills, and the other died at 62 of diabetes. He was old his whole life as far as I knew. I love your pictures of your grandpa. You were lucky to have him in your life. :-)
ReplyDeleteMorning Connie, over those old Photos,how wonderful to have them.Blessings Francine.
ReplyDeleteAhhh what sweet memories and lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteI like reading about your family. It is very different than mine in SW IN. They were German and English. linda
ReplyDeleteOMG, the hemorrhoids story! I can remember my grandmother using a razor to cut off the corns on my grandpa's feet. Ugh! But what fun characters. Your picture of them drinking coffee in the field reminds me of the days when it was my job to take out "lunch" to my dad and grandpa in the field....coffee in the mornings and tea in the afternoons, always with cream and sugar, along with some cookies or cakes.
ReplyDeleteOMG what they used to do with razor blades! Ouch! I love the way the hay(?) was sheaved up...that shape always reminds me of the "olden days". What great stories you have of your family..it's so great you're writing them down for future generations before it's all forgotten.
ReplyDeleteSam, some kind of small grain most likely Oats.
DeleteFun stories about your grandpa. I was lucky to have both mine in my life for a long time. One of them was quite a story teller, too. No hemorrhoid stories, though!
ReplyDeleteThese old guys lived very different life than we do today. Thanks for reminding me and giving a great description of a fine old timer.
ReplyDeleteHe lived a long life compared to a lot of people during that era. My grandmother on my dad's side went bonkers, hardening of the arteries, and the families each kept her for a month. Not all of them would keep her but some didn't want to turn her over to the government to get her into a nursing home. My parents were really stressed with her living in our house with four children also. Your grandpa lived true to his traditions.
ReplyDeleteWhat good memories of your grandpa. Oh my! That about the hemorrhoids! Can you imagine? One of my grandpa died the day I was born, the other when I was five.
ReplyDeleteI always love reading your Wistful Wednesday posts. I would have loved visiting with your grandfather.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many farmers eat in the field anymore? My mother always took hot meals to the fields.
Times were so different then. Most men felt that way about women (my dad is 94 next month). I remember trying to walk out of the house with lipstick on when I was in senior high. The disgust! Making me go in the bathroom to wash it off before I could leave. (But later on my mom wore lipstick, too--LOL!) And my sister and I weren't even taught to drive. What was the point? Men drove. We needed to be married with someone to take care of us. LOL! Times have changed a lot since the 40s and 50s, that's for sure. I'm so glad!! ;)
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