Parents

[Bro. Noble]

Due to my Mom's health problems (she went through her surgery with flying colors and is continuing to gain strength after her stroke)  I have been thinking about parents a lot.

I've mentioned my parents before and how active they are and how much they help around the farm and mill. 

I remember meeting (on the forum) Jeff's Mom and Tom and Charlie's Mom.  Several others have mentioned their parents at one time or another.  I'll never forget a couple of stories about Percy's Dad :D :D

Might be nice to hear about your parents or grandparents------get to know the family a little better

[Tom]

I'll have to tell you about my Grandmamma some day.  She "ran" the quickest switch in the south. :D

[Jeff]

I have shared this link before. Its the first chapter of my Dad's autobiography Its all he was able to write. He started it the month before he had surgery for a brain tumor, a surgery that he never woke up from.  He was also a man of God. He made an agreement with god in the belly of a B-17 that if somehow he was to return to his wife and then, one daughter, that he would give what remained of his live to him. He never strayed from that agreement. While working for Dow chemical for 43 years, he also was a full time minister. Dad was an outdoorsman he loved to fish and hunt and camp.

Raymond C. Brokaw-Chapter 1

[Murf]

That's purdy nifty stuff Boss, he sounds like he woulda been someone ta sit 'round the fire with and listen to all evening.....

When I was a 17 year old know-it-all I thought my Dad was kinda dumb........... 

When  I got outta da corps at 21 I was amazed at how much smarter he had gotten in just 5 years.  :D

[Nancbee]

Bro. Noble, I'm so glad your Mom is doing well. I've been reading posts here for a short while so feel I've come to "know" some of you.

When I saw this topic, I knew I had to register so I could join in. My Dad is 95 years old, sits at one of his 2 computers all day, emailing and "managing" his library of thousands of photos he's taken or scanned in of his parents (my grandparents, of course) born 1865 and 1867 and all of his 15 brothers and sisters over the years. He was the youngest in his clan but now is the oldest, too, since he's the sole survivor.

His pet project this summer has been to travel within a 100 mile radius of his home in Maine, (yes, he's still driving) looking for standing American Chestnut Trees. He's found quite a few. He's joined the American Chestnut foundation, received nuts and began seedlings in his home, given away many seedlings he's raised and planted them wherever he can.

He's written several small books on his hunting, trapping exploits. One book was dedicated to his 1937 drive from Maine to Texas in a Model A Ford. He's been Jack of all trades, master of himself all his life.
He lives in Maine with my 85 year old Mom. They're doing okay together - 63 years of marriage and going strong!

He's always looking for interesting correspondents. I'll email this forum link to him...maybe he'll join in!

Keep up the good work. I really enjoy reading your posts.
God Bless,
Nancy

[Tom]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Nancbee.

Your dad sounds like just the kind of personality that would fit in here.  For goodness sakes ask him to visit.  You stick around too.   We'll need someone to keep him on the straight and narrow.  :D

[Teri]

Welcome Nancy.   You'll love this place!!!   ;D ;D ;D

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Welcome Nancebee, are any of these books available? that drive sounds like a good story.
Mabe you could give us an example here... Please?

Jon

[Ernie]

I found some pics that my sister scanned.  They are of my grand parents and my Mum.

Poppa (Otto Salmelin) was a lumberjack in Finland who emigrated to Canada in the early 1900's working at his trade in Northern Ontario where he met his sweetheart Eva Lehmonen, also a Finn.

They were lovely people, must be where I get it :D :D :D

Poppa was very strong, I remember pics of him balancing a board above his head on one hand with Granny on one end and Mum and Auntie Helen on the other.

I found him on the beach at the cottage one day in a pool of blood, he had cut the lower ends of his varicose veins to relieve the pain and pressure.  Needless to say, I was shocked and asked what he was doing, I was only about 8 years old at the time.  His reply "Bad blood, bad blood".  It seemed to work.



Granny and Poppa with Mum



Granny's family in Finland



Granny and Poppa with Mum and Auntie helen



Granny and Poppa

[asy]

Hey Nancy,

Please invite your Dad to visit with us, his fan club extends all the way to Aussieland, and we wanna meet him!

Jeff, your dad had a fantastic writing style, how very sad he didn't get a chance to finish writing it. He sounds like the kind of man it would have been a privellege to know, let alone be related to. You must be proud.

Ernie, great photos!

My Dad was originally from Poland. But the part of Poland he was from is now Latvia, and was Russia for a while, so he's real confused  smiley_dizzy

His parents had both died by the time he was 10, and he was brought up by his grandmother. He was taken by the Germans when he was 14 to be a lackey in the German Army, and spent time working in all sorts of things from peeling potatoes through to reloading machine guns on the Russian Front. He says thats some of the scariest things you could imagine. His stories are simply amazing.

He's put his story down on tape for my children, and I've finally talked him into sending me a copy of it, I"ll write it out in a document.

My mum was 10 when she came to Australia. She was born in Vitebsk, Russia, and her mum was Russian, and dad was Danish. When war broke out, my Granddad decided to take the family back to Denmark, but they got as far as Germany and were not allowed entry to Denmark. So, they got stuck in the work concentration camps in Germany. The stories are amazing, but suffice it to say, they survived by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins.

I'm really proud of them both.

And Daren, I agree, I thought my parents were "really dumb", until I became one.

asy :D

[DanG]

Here's a shot of my Dad & Mom, taken about a year ago.  They were watching my Brother and me dismantle the big Hickory tree that the Hurricanes brought down in Bro's yard.  They were just youngsters at the time, as he was only 85, and she was 83.  They don't look much different now. ;) ;D




Note the Mavica in the ol' man's lap.  He never stops learning, and that's what keep's him young.  Tryin' to keep up with him keep's Mom young, too. ;)

[Ivan Bo]

Nancbee is my daughter and I just wanted to say I am here.

[Jeff]

Big welcome to you Ivan Bo. 

[DanG]

Well HOWDY, Ivan Bo!  You'll find this to be a particularly amiable group.  You'll surely hold the record for "Oldest Member". ;D  I've always been really proud of my Dad for being willing to tackle all this new technology, and I'm proud of you for the same reason.  Ain't it a great way to get to know folks?  I sure hope you'll stick around and share your wisdom with us.  Oh yeah, I hope Nancbee will hang out with us, too.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Welcome to the Forum, Ivan Bo. Good to have you join our group. You must have some good stories to share. We love stories here.  ;) ;) ;D

[Furby]

Yup, welcome!

[Ernie]

Welcome Ivan Bo, You've managed to boost the average age to quite a respectable figure.

Please share with us your years of accumulated knowlege and experiences.

[asy]

G'day Ivan!

Great to see you here!!!

Thanks for coming along, I was dragging the average age down there for a bit, you've weighed me up and together we make two (above) averages! hehe

asy :D

[sawdust]

We (me) really ought to make sure to tell those we really care for that we love them. My grandfather is 92 and sharper than I am. He has the best stories. He has given of himself all his life. Gotta go I have a phone call  I want to make.

sawdust

[maple flats]

Sure hope I can fill his boots someday. My dad, GOD bless him was very active all but the final 3 years of his life. He loved working in the woods. Even at the age of 85 he seemed to never slow down. A monster of a man in a 5'2"frame (in his earlier years)  At 85 he was still working 6-7 hours a day in the woods by himself. We could never succeed in waiting for my brother and me to work with him. He felled trees, bucked it up and split it (by sledge and wedge, because he thought the splitter was too slow) , loaded it into the tractor bucket, hauled it out and stacked it to dry in the wind and sun. He would do this whenever he wasn't busy working in his garden. Dad grew up on a farm and had to get up at 3:30 in the morning to do the milking before he went to school. Then he was late if he didn't run the 3.5 miles to school. He never faught except one time that the school bully tried to make him late for school. The bully tried to stop dad, the bully over 6' and dad under 5'2 at the time. The bully didn't realize how strong one gets working on a farm nor how quickly you must move if your chores also include moving the bull into pasture when needed and out again. Dad would say what happened to the bully but he did say that the bully wouldn't ever be anywhere near dad after that. Dad finally started slowing down at the age of 89 and died at 91. I know that GOD has someone to tend to HIS garden and keep fuel cut for HIS woodstove. Well I really know that dad has a long relaxing rest coming and is finally getting his due reward.

[Ed_K]

 SawDust is right  8).
I don't have that option, and wish I'd said " I Love You" more.