Dad has been really busy this week, so I haven't had a chance to chat with him about any new stories. I have stories in my brain that I've heard a million times that I could post about, but I'd rather wait until he tells me again, so I can give the details he remembers that I probably have forgotten. So, I thought I'd just share a bit about his family. That way, if you don't know much about where he came from, this could fill in the pieces a bit. :-) Dad was the 3rd child, the first boy, out of a family of 6. His mom was born of italian immigrant parents and was a petite, sweet woman. His dad was a pastor at the same little church behind their house for over 50 yrs. Apparently they thought they weren't going to be able to have children, but after 6 or so years of marriage, they had Judi. Then I believe 3 years later came Debbie, then right after that was dad, and right after that was Carl. I'm sure they were surprised to end up with such a brood! :-) They lived in that house until my Grandpa, dad's dad, became unable to live alone around the age of 88 and that's when he moved to NC to live with Debbie. That house was a little house. I remember staying there as a kid and not realizing how small it really was, but when I went back as an adult, well, it was tight. Especially for a family of 6! I remember dad taking me through the house many times and telling me stories of things that happened there. He showed me where he and his brother Carl took knives and pretended they were cutting through the jungle, hacking away at the doorframe leading into the kitchen - only to be caught and getting spankings later. ;-) He showed me his old desk that was upstairs in the back room, filled with things from his high school days. He even took us to his elementary school, which was right across the street, and let us see where his classrooms were and told us who his teachers were. He showed us the spot where he had been put in the corner when he'd get in trouble. He told us how he'd spit on the wall to see which spit mark would roll down the farthest on the wall. Nice, huh? All stories that I'll probably ask him to expound on as we get farther into this blog. But, I thought I'd share a bit of where he came from, who his family was, so as you read these stories, they'll make a bit more sense. The picture above I'm guessing my grandpa took. Debbie's on the far left, then Judi, dad, and Carl sitting on Grandma's lap. I'm guessing he's about 3 or 4 in that picture. Is it just me or can you see that ornery little glint in his eye, even then? ;-)
The picture was taken by a man in the church, Mr. Fisher, who had gotten a new camera for Christmas and wanted to test it out, as it wasn't just your regular Brownie camera. You're correct about the ages of the children in that picture. I was 7 when that picture was taken which would have made Deb 4, your father 3, and Carl about almost 2.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the knives and taking chunks out of the doorframe, I think I'll save that tale for a Runnemede Remembered spot, unless you get to your dad first.