Memories of Grandpa

When my folks moved back to Minnesota, they moved in with my Dad’s folks. The Grandparents bought a small 2 room house built by a woman from Albertville, from old store front windows and leftover lumber.  They moved into that house,as our family was growing fast.  Neither house had indoor plumbing, though we did have a sink in the kitchen with a drain that went out into the yard. Grandpa was always worried that one of us was going to fall into the mud at the end of the pipe. The worst that could have happened would have been a muddy kid, but, he liked to wave his cane at us and shoo us away.

             Grandpa was pretty much deaf, he had been thrown from a horse that had been scared by a train. The fall somehow damaged his hearing, at least, that is the story I remember. To communicate, he had a “Magic Slate” for us to write on to tell him something. For you youngsters, this was a waxed board with a piece of translucent plastic sheet over it that you could write on, pull up the plastic to erase it, and write again. Each year for his birthday, he received a new one. Big fun!

            Grandpa died when I was in 2^nd Grade and was the first dead person I had ever seen. Some may think it is not good for young people to see close ones when they are dead, but, I think it gives them some closure. I think, in my humble opinion that one would possibly feel abandoned if they don’t get to see them one last time to know that they didn’t just leave them.

            I hope to have a guest post by one of my siblings next week, to give a little different flavor for your enjoyment. Until then, have a great week.