Grandpa

So I’ll start with my grandpa, he was probably the most intelligent, but stubborn person that I have met.  He was a farmer his whole life and never went past high school in his education.  He was the salutatorian of his class, even with hardly attending class his senior year.  His father was an alcoholic with liver disease and emphysema and was unable to do much on the farm.  Had he been able to go to college he would have went to law school.  Within a few years he was drafted to serve in World War II and was off to basic training.  Fortunately for me he was sent back home after he completed his training to work on the farm.  He would have went to Omaha beach on D-day and if that happened there is a pretty good chance I wouldn’t be writing this now!

Here is a picture of him with his favorite dog, Tiny. He would have been in his early 20’s when these were taken.  My family has always had St. Bernards and I even have two right now.  They are the most gentle and loving breed I have ever seen and have such great personalities.

This picture was taken in the mid 1920’s.  My grandpa is the little boy in this picture and his grandpa is the pilot sitting in the plane.  This was the first plane in the county and the hangar for the plane was on the farm where I grew up and my brother now lives.  My great, great grandpa was a land speculator who owned a number of farms and he justified the plane purchase so he could check on all his properties.  His story will need to wait for another day.

The top picture is the farm where he grew up and where my brother currently resides.  The bottom is of the house up close.  It would be interesting to get a current picture as the only building left from this picture taken almost 80 years ago is the house.  The house now looks completely different as well, but it’s main structure is still there and it will be 130 years old next year.  Another thing I would like to point out in the top picture is how close to the town of Sleepy Eye we are.  You can see houses and a water tower if you look closely.  This was a source of great consternation for my family as the town has inched closer and closer over the years.  My grandpa used his love of the law to torment the city whenever he could and my dad and brother have followed in his footsteps.  Every time I visit I hear new grumbling over some happening in the city.  This battle has been going and doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon.  It’s really quite remarkable how stupid the city has been over the years and while there are interesting stories to tell that have shaped my family, I’m going to keep them to myself for now.