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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

BEFORE THEY MET (My dad's story)

Before I tell you about my parent's 
love story I want to paint a little bit of the 
background of their lives 
before they met 
each other.

(picture: my dad as a child, how cute is this picture?)

All of my dad's grandparents migrated 
to our country from Sweden 
many, many years ago

(picture: my dad's parents before his mother passed away. 
He is riding in the cart)
 

His parents were born here
His mom was a nurse and his dad worked 
at the local newspaper office

(picture: My dad with his paternal grandfather) 

I believe my dad's paternal grandfather was 
a farmer and from what everyone told me that knew him he was a wonderful man. He used to put hard
candies in the chair he sat in for the family 
dog to find, making one happy dog I am sure.
After he passed away I am told the dog
would jump up in the chair and look real
sad (I am sure missing both her master 
and the candy he left for her.)
My dad got a lot of his love of animals and his
warm and gentle nature and probably odd sense 
of humor from this grandpa of his, I am sure.
His paternal grandmother gave birth to 10 children

Ancestors on his mother's side of the family 
also came over from Sweden years before.
My dad's maternal grandfather was a very 
successful man, married with 3 children 
from what I recall hearing.
He opened up a very lucrative painting company after he came over here from Sweden
as a young man. This business is still in operation. 
He also built many houses, renting them 
out to local families. I am sure that a lot of my dad's brilliant salesmanship qualities and other good 
business smarts were fashioned after 
this dear grandfather of his.

My dad was very close to his family, and used to talk about them all the time, proving just how
much he loved them all.

Times were hard and those were the days when families went on picnics every Sunday,
enjoyed long drives and took care of each other 
especially as they grew older.

(picture: Paternal grandparent's home)

My dad's mother passed away at an early
age. I believe my dad was only about 7 years old.
My dad had a wonderful, sometimes odd sense of humor and would chuckle when he told us about trying to sell frogs at his mother's funeral.  
But oh how he loved his mother.

My dad also had a younger sister
named Catherine.  She was a beautiful,
vibrant young lady from what I have been told but
her life was cut short when she was 
hit by an automobile head on 
while riding a horse. 
Even though he rarely spoke about this tragedy 
we could feel his heartbreak and 
knew this was one of the hardest times in his life.

(picture below: My dad and his sister before she
was in the accident)

My dad also had a step mother
and step brother. My dad's step brother
is still living and is a wonderful person.
As a child we would visit the family
back in their hometown and what
 I remember most about my uncle
is that he was so much like my dad
and their dad (my grandfather)
So very gentle and kind.

(picture: my dad and his stepbrother)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my father 
and a little bit about his early years.

I will be telling my mom's story 
as a child in the next few days.
Please come back for that story.

Honor your father and mother.
Then you will live a long, full life in
the land the LORD your God will give you.
                                      EXODUS 20:12 NLT


I am dedicating my blog to my parents
and their beautiful love story
that is just waiting to be told,
this month, all month long.. 
They were married 
64 years ago in
February.

Please check the previous posting
for earlier parts of this story

I am linking to:





2 comments:

  1. Oh, I loved the story of your dad and can't wait to read your mom's story. My parents celebrated their 55th anniversary last August. You and I are blessed to have parents who understand the meaning of commitment.

    So glad you were able to link to the party this time. ;)

    Blessings,
    Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
    http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful poem. It made me tear up. Thjank you for posting such a wonderful story. I will cherish it.

    ReplyDelete