Have any stories of your Grandpa?

[canislatrans54]

Tim's birthday fish lunch with his Grandpa made me think of my Gramps.
The old man had some interesting stories of his "wild youth".
Here's one......

Back in the very early-30s, when Gramps was 16-19 years old, he had an old car called a HupMobile, (Hupp Motor Company).
I don't think he ever mentioned what year it was made, but somewhere in the early-20s.

Anyway, the town Gramps lived in (Tescott), as the crow flies is about 25 miles from Salina.
On Saturday afternoons, Gramps would drive his car to where the railroad crossed the road leading out of Tescott.
He said that he'd take the tires/spoked wheels off the car & replace them with wheels w/o tires.
Then he'd drive onto the railroad tracks...and drive to Salina on the tracks, instead of taking roads...which saved him a few miles of driving.
When he'd get to Salina, he'd switch the wheels again for the ones with the tires on them.
And then spend the evening "wooing" the single ladies of Salina...or whoever might be his date that evening.

When he'd be ready to head back home, he'd do the switch again, and away he'd go down the tracks 'til he got home.

Now to some, that may not sound like a very wild story. And it is rather tame.
But, truthfully, it's one of the few that I can share on an open forum.

If you have any fun stories of your Grandpa, feel free to post them!

 

[GC]

I am reminded today of a story my grandpa used to tell of the best Christmas he ever had as a kid. Since this has hunting and predator content it fits here and in the season.

Grandpa grew up in the early 1900’s on a hardscrabble Ozark Mountain farm in Shannon County, Missouri right on the banks of the crystal clear Current River. His father was a timber man, working the pine and hardwood ridges for logs that would be turned into construction lumber for homes and railroad ties for the Union Pacific railroad. The timber men rafted the logs down the Current River to the nearest saw mill. There the green timber was fished out of the river for drying and later sawing into whatever lumber order was next on hand. It was hard work, hard times, which made hard men.

Groceries came in the form of a seasonal garden scratched from the rocky Ozark Mountain soil, chickens, hogs, and the occasional beef cattle. Plenty of fishing and hunting and making use of any natural food sources was done to augment the larder. With no refrigeration all things were consumed within the season for freshness. Actual cash money was hard to come by; however, some supplies could be bartered for with fresh eggs, garden produce, hand made timber products, or labor for a chore. Yet, some things required cash at the country general store. This often put a cruel pinch on a family. Large families made hand me downs a necessity. Clothing was passed down, patched, and passed down again. Shoes were seldom worn by kids in the summer, but winter cold made shoes a desperate need at the time. The same for a winter coat.

My Grandpa was the oldest boy of the family and an avid outdoorsman. Grandpa went to school when he could, helped at the nearest saw mill when they could afford to hire him, and ran a trapping long line stringing steel traps along the river and through the mountains. At night Grandpa and his father also ran “varmints” with his hounds collecting fox, coon, and possum hides. His trap line pulled beaver and muskrat hides from the river. When they killed a buck deer for food, the hide was carefully skinned and put up. Grandpa and his father’s skill and hard work one particular winter amassed a pile of fur, a real bonus for the family.

Just before Christmas the entire family loaded into the horse drawn wagon and made the long overnight trip to the nearest big town - Salem, Missouri. I don’t know how “big” Salem could have been back then, today it is only about 4,000 population. Regardless, to Salem they went and Grandpa and his dad proudly sought out the fur buyer at Salem. Grandpa told me he couldn’t believe the price they got from the furs. It was the most cash money he had ever seen, or even heard of anyone ever having in their possession.

That winter for Christmas the entire family got brand new winter boots and a brand new winter coat for each person. No hand-me downs! Grandpa told me how his chest swelled proudly while at the store as each brother and sister was fitted for new boots and their very own winter coat. His mom got a new print dress – store bought no less! And, she got some much needed cast iron cooking ware she needed badly. Great Grandma cried a little and laughed nervously at the luxury of paying with cash money, and such an exorbitant amount no less! Grandpa told me he never saw his father cry, even when he returned from France and the Great War. Not even when his brother drown in the river two years before. At the time of the loss Great Grandpa just got a tired look and pursed his lips, but didn’t shed a tear in front of the family. On this day very near Christmas in Salem, Missouri Great Grandpa seemed to have a twinkle in his eye and a faint smile, and when he saw Great Grandma in her store bought dress he seemed to have a misty far off look in his eyes as he gave a rare hug to his oldest son… my Grandpa.

 

[Theshedhunter]

My grandpa, Frank P. McElveen, gave me my first real gun. It was an ANCIENT Sears and Roebuck Ranger 16 ga., probably from the early 30's. He was a rabbit hunter and , unfortunately, an alligator poacher in the southern Arkansas swamps he called the "Seven Devils". Whatever it took to put food on the table, he did it and usually with that shotgun. He died in 1990. I still have that old shotgun and a crate of papercase shells and will pass it all on to my son when he is old enough to appreciate it for what it is.

 

[Hooked]

Great stories guys.
One moment (not really a story so much)that left an impression on me was when my Uncle Jim was visiting from AZ. My grandpa wanted to take some time off from work but the boss wanted him to get some job finished first. My Uncle made the comment to take time of then in the busiest part of the year, winter when the heavy equipment needs repaired.(to be spiteful)
My grandpa replied, "no, god don`t want me to live like that".
Grandpa was very driven in this way.
Wished I was a little more like that myself sometimes.

 

[catwhacker]

Only have one true story. He didn't like us and that's the end of the story. Never had a thing to do with my 2 brothers and myself.

 

[Tim Neitzke]

Neat stories, cept for cat's.... dang.

I'll try and post another when I feel up to it.

 

[deadhorse]

Grandpa worked harder than any human I've ever met. Even in high school and a few years after that when I was in my prime I couldn't work as hard or long as he did. He grew up with nothing and he and Grandma married with a dozen chickens, 17 bucks and his 32 ford to their name. He worked. No playing, no fishing, no time off or vacations. Work. He died leaving all 3 of his boys with an operating farm consisting of a home and at least 160 acres each. Built many, many homes in the community as a carpenter in the winters. Dozens of machine sheds and literally hundreds and hundreds of roofs and home remodels. My uncle was giving me a ride one day in his restored Ford and I asked him to drive by some of the homes Grandpa Dave had built, worked in or worked on. Uncle Gary just laughed and said every damm one in town. If you said you know a man who worked as hard as Grandpa I'd love to meet him. If you said you know a man who's worked harder I'll say your a liar.

 

[Mr Potato Head]

Mines not as bad as cat. I never met mine so I never envied anyone's relationship with a father or grandfather until later in life. That too passed. I just made sure my kids would have a close relationship with me. And they have.

 

[Cast]

My grampa used to take me for rides in his old willys car. When we drove under a train track he'd holler 'we gonna get run over by a train!' Across a bridge 'we're gonna run off the bridge'. I still do that myself.

 

[canislatrans54]

Here's another story about my Grandpa.

Gramps was always the inventive type.
He also was very well versed in mechanics.

When I was a kid, he had an old Ford 8N tractor.
I don't recall what happened to that tractor.
But, when I was a Senior in high school, Gramps decided he'd like to have a small tractor again...to smooth out the gravel in his large "driveway" area; move snow from same; and such.
But, by this time he & Grandma were retired, and so he didn't want to spend a lot of money.

After a few weeks of thinking; and searching thru his collection of "junk" scattered around the place...Gramps disappeared into his shop....which was still filled with mechanic's tools; a torch; a welder; and other useful items.
Over the course of the next few weeks, he spent nearly every day out in the shop.
When he was done, Gramps had a tractor again!
Granted, it was "homemade", and wasn't a beauty, but it worked perfectly...and the way he intended it to.
And other than a few things like brake pads, and such...all it had cost was time, imagination, and hard work.

Now, the "parts list", at least what I can remember of it.......
...a Model "A" frame
...Complete front suspension (straight axle) from a late-40s Chevy 1/2 ton P/U, including the steering column & steering wheel
...Complete rear-end from an old Avery tractor
...Small fuel tank from an old Case tractor
..."bench" seat, from an old school bus
...a 1954 235cid inline 6-cylinder Chevy motor...that only had 20K actual miles on it
...radiator from an early-60s Chevy 2-ton truck
...Both a manual 4-sp trans, and a 2-speed (high/low) trans, from an early-60s Chevy 2-ton truck
...the hood from a 1967 Chevy Bel-Air...cut-down & hugely "modified"
...Front wheels & old bias-ply tires from early-50s Chevy 1/2 ton P/U
...Rear wheels from a small Case tractor...modified to fit on the Avery bolt pattern...w/used knobby "turf" tires
...a "3-point" hitch & drawbar from the same Case tractor
...an old rear wheel weight from same Case tractor...mounted under the front of the tractor, to help keep the front wheels n the ground
...a homemade "brushguard/front bumper"
...and lastly, a small "A-frame" type wrecker assembly, with an electric winch. He used the winch mainly for raising the front of his riding mower high enough that he could wash the deck out after each mowing session. But, occasionally, it was also used as an actual wrecker, to move disabled cars around the place.
...Gramps also built a 4' x 6' "scaffold" platform that mounted to the 3-point hitch system. We used the platform if we were painting the house; repairing gutters; or something similar.

Highest mph that the old girl would go was maybe 8-10mph.
When the trans was in the "low" side, and the 4-spd was in 1st gear...a turtle could have won the race/ Hahahahaha



Below is the only picture I have of the tractor.
I took this picture in October 2003, at the auction we held after Grandpa's passing.
That old ATV was his, as well. He used to drive it downtown once in a while, to get the mail from the post office box. Hahahaha

 

[obaro]

Good stuff there, Will.

My granddad and I used to shoot prairie dogs a pretty fair amount when I was 10-12 years old. He would grab a couple hundred 22 shells out of his stash, a thermos of coffee and a pack of cigarettes, and off we would go. He would shoot a few now and then, but it always seemed like most of shooting was on my side of the pickup. Our body counts were probably pretty near even though. I look back now and think that he liked it as much for the coffee and cigarette time as the shooting, but the time he took with me I will always remember and appreciate. As he and I both got a few more years and I got my drivers license we hit some gunshows and ball games together when ever we could. Sure nuff good times for me.

 

[canislatrans54]

Unfortunately, I failed to take nearly as much time to get to know Gramps & do things with him, when I was pre-12 years old.
To this day, I very strongly regret that.

You see, as a young child...even though my dad was never abusive...in a way, I was scared of him.
When he was home (he worked construction, and was out of town Mon-Thur), Dad was always about getting outside; working hard around the farm (which included us kids, as soon as we were old enough to be "helpful"); and because my dad was/is a "perfectionist", everything had to be just so & exactly how he wanted it to be.
He also had a short fuse, & when things went wrong, he would get mad & yell at everyone (which I guess nowadays IS considered bullying/abuse).
Anyway, since I was afraid of Dad, I was also afraid of Gramps. Even though he had never shown himself to have the same attitude or personality as Dad, I figured "like father, like son".

So, when I was at my grandparents during the summer days (while Mom was at work), if Gramps wanted me to go outside & do something with him, to "blow the stink off"...I would balk at doing so.
And Grandma always over-ruled Gramps anyway.
She enjoyed spoiling me. And would allow me to stay inside...reading comic books & playing cards with her.

It wasn't until I was almost a teenager, that I realized Gramps was nothing like Dad.
Once I finally figured that out, I started spending as much time with Gramps as I could.


Ever since Gramps' passing in '03, I have had a daily reminder, that he built, in my front yard of him...the homemade windmill in the following picture.

 

[Billy539]

My Grandfather might have been the biggest influence on my life. He was a natural born leader and a smart business man he was a Korean War Veteran.

Our family has been in the trucking industry since 1932. My grandfather bought the business from my great grandmother in 1968. and started building it to what it is today. The one thing I took from him and one of the greatest lessons I learned was how to take care of someone before he took care of himself. It was 1984 and I was a young kid who had a severely broken arm and need some thing to do so I answered phones in the office and helped him add the numbers when the checks came in everyday that summer. Our biggest customer sent the new hotshot manager to our office on a really hot August afternoon to meet with my grandfather. He invited him back with open arms and went into his office and closed the door behind them. They came out about 2 hours later and Grandpa had a stern look on his face as the young gentleman left our office. One of his dispatchers asked him what the young gentleman wanted and Grandpa explained that he was there to cut our companies rates. The dispatcher who asked him the question says to him, "Did you tell him to go to [beeep]?" My grandfather looked at him and said, "I thought about it many times during our conversation but I didn't." "After considering our options I decided to accept the rates he offered." The dispatcher asked why. My grandfather replied, "There are 85 people who work here and for many of them this is all they have for an income and this is all they know how to do to make a living." "I have to take each and everyone of them into consideration because they need to work and if I didn't accept the new rates I would have to lay some of those people off and they cannot survive with out this job." That one exchange between my Grandfather and one of his employees had a profound effect on a young fellow like me and taught me to look out more for others then myself.

Not to mention the many hours spent working with him on our families hunting land. He passed to young in the winter of 1993 and everyday as I help my Dad, another great man, manage the family trucking company I often think how would Grandpa handle this situation?

 

[tnshootist]

I am a Grandfather myself now, and I miss my Grandfather every day. He never fell out with me no matter how bad I messed up. He was a great example of an honest man. He traded stock and bought stock for other people. He always said when making a trade it was most important that both parties be happy with the trade in the end.