He cut my pancakes

will post pictures later...

I think I was three when my Grandaddy (my mom's dad) died. In honor of my blogging week being dedicated to fathers, here's a little bit about him.

My family used to do a newsletter (well, I did it, they participated occasionally), and the last issue had a piece about my grandaddy. All this information comes from me interviewing my mom for that newsletter.

My Grandaddy had a very active role in the upbringing of his children. It's funny how my mom married someone that also took an active roll, and I followed that example and married someone like that too. (To Mallary and my nieces: It would be wise to follow suit!)

My Grandfather managed a liquor store, so he was an employee of the state. He always wore a white shirt, tie, and hat to work. He was a Democrat and when the Republicans got in office, he lost his job and worked for the board of education in the summer, painting schools, etc. My Grandmother was a teacher and left earlier in the mornings, so my Grandaddy did a lot of cooking, and he always made breakfast. Some things he made for breakfast were, fried hog brains, gizzards, liver, and pork chops. (Yummmm... the breakfast of champions...)He would wake my mom up at six or six thirty in the morning and teach her how to make biscuits. He cooked from scratch and made the best pot of soup from leftovers (something that my mom did too). Granddaddy served in WWII, but he couldn't fight because he lost his eye in a game called Pig's Eye (someone threw a knife in his eye so he had a glass eye). When the army found out he could cook, he ended up cooking for all the high ranking officers in the army. I think we have my Grandaddy to thank for my family's passion for seafood. He loved shrimp cocktail, and oyster stew. We would have fried oysters for holidays sometimes. (Eat them dipped in mustard... divine!) He also loved my dad's favorite brown beans and cornbread.

Grandaddy took care of bath time, and washed the kids in big tubs in the basement with Tide. (Did you know they had that back then?) He was also the disciplinarian and whipped with a strap. My mom said she learned to be honest from him. He had a sense of humor and was a very congenial person. She said it bugged him that people cared about the color of other people's skin. She also learned her bargain hunting skills from him. He would call his daughter in laws and tell them what the bargains were from the stores that week. (I'm glad I can carry on at least one of his legacies.) He didn't throw his money away. When my mom got married she said he would collect things for her like spatulas or pitchers.

My Grandaddy loved every sport, but he really loved baseball. When he was younger he played in a local semi-professional league. When I was younger at all of my mom's family gatherings there was usually a family game of baseball or softball up in the field. At night after everyone had gone to bed, my grandfather would sit in the dark beside the radio and listen to a game until it was over, sometimes until eleven at night or one in the morning.

He loved the summertime! He would plow every one's garden up and down the road. They had a garden every year, but didn't start canning until after my grandmother retired. They froze stuff though, and he did can with my Great Aunt Ruth after he retired. He always took the family on vacations to Indian Creek, Myrtle Beach, Harper's Ferry, or to visit family.

Grandaddy loved little kids, and he liked feeding them their bottles. "Mom was his favorite child." Even as an adult she would sit on his lap, and say, "I am your favorite daughter," and he'd respond, "because you are my only daughter." He would pay her to pull out the white hairs on his nose, ears and eyebrows.

He was very good to my Grandmother. They usually left in the morning together, and there was always a goodbye kiss. He liked to be punctual, and really liked to be early, not just on time, and was always saying, "hurry up!" He was very organized and everything had a place. (Those traits of being punctual and organized must have skipped a generation...) My Grandaddy died at the age of 72.

I don't remember much about my Grandaddy. I remember sitting on his lap in his recliner. He called me Stink Pot Polecat. I remember sitting at their kitchen table and he would cut my pancakes for me. I also remember seeing him in his casket.

My mother loved her father very much. When I picture my memories of him from when I was so young, I feel like I can feel how I felt when I was around him, it's hard to explain. It's like I can feel the smiles or the laughter in the air...