What do you remember of your grand parents?
- Thread starter PandaBear
- Start date
My maternal grandfather was a tough old bird. Very straight laced and didn't drink or smoke. Born in 1890 on a farm where he lived his entire life and where he died. (Actually 3 generations and 4 relatives have died at that home where my Aunt has also spent her entire life). He grew up in what today we would consider third world conditions with no electricity or running water til he was well into his 30's. Was too old to be drafted for WWI. Got his arm caught in a corn picker which led to gangrene and amputation, so he spent over half his life with one arm. Bought his last car in 1962, a loaded Buick LeSabre and kept it 23 years til he died at age 94. I wonder if my long lasting Lexus will be the equivalent of his '62 LeSabre, but I think I'll probably get one more car.
He grew up in a era when people believed that your moral character was inherited and your behavior, good or bad, reflected on the family's reputation, which was everything. My father grew up fifty miles away, but somehow he found out that my paternal grandfather was an alcoholic and thus said my father would be one too, so he wouldn't give them money for a house down payment. Didn't turn out that way and I believe he did help them out.
He grew up in a era when people believed that your moral character was inherited and your behavior, good or bad, reflected on the family's reputation, which was everything. My father grew up fifty miles away, but somehow he found out that my paternal grandfather was an alcoholic and thus said my father would be one too, so he wouldn't give them money for a house down payment. Didn't turn out that way and I believe he did help them out.
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$60 site donor 2022
My mom's parents lived in same town about 2 miles from our house full of 6 kids. So every chance I got I biked it across town to their place. Grandfather taught me the love of outdoors and to hunt and fish which I grew up to do at least once to twice a week (fishing). I had to give it all up due to health but have a lifetime of memories doing that with him and passing on to my kids. Funny though he did not share my passion for autos.
He looked at them as an expensive necessity. He did make one mistake in 1966 and let me talk him into a Chevy Impala with a 327 small block that had about 275 horses and two speed power glide. How? Even at that young age of 9 my walls in bedroom were covered with muscle car photos and had auto magazines all over my room. I knew what Chevy was doing and selling even then years away from driving age. He came to like and enjoy that one. All others he could care less about.
He looked at them as an expensive necessity. He did make one mistake in 1966 and let me talk him into a Chevy Impala with a 327 small block that had about 275 horses and two speed power glide. How? Even at that young age of 9 my walls in bedroom were covered with muscle car photos and had auto magazines all over my room. I knew what Chevy was doing and selling even then years away from driving age. He came to like and enjoy that one. All others he could care less about.
They talked funny and died when I was a little kid. That and they hated Russians and/or Soviets. That's all I remember.
My maternal grandmother was the last of my grands to pass. She was a quiet, unassuming and very demure Christian woman who was devoted to her family and her faith. Pictures of her family, and the bible, were front and center on the shelf she had by the dining room door. She had a modest, old house in a not-so-great neighborhood in Gainesville, FL, which was home-base when we visited from Virginia, and later, from Wyoming. She was sweet to her core, and died the year I graduated high school (1988).
My maternal Grandfather was a large, imposing man, whom I only vaguely remember, as he died when I was very young. Unfortunately, stories about him from multiple cousins, aunts & uncles, and my older sister paint him in a very bad light. He was extremely overbearing, abusive, and generally nasty human being. He beat my mother's sister mercilessly before she had reached her teen years, a psychological burden she carries to this day, in her 90s. I'm glad I wasn't exposed to that side of him, being a toddler when he died.
My paternal Grandmother was another very sweet lady (to me), always with something simmering on the stove, and always trying to stuff her grandchildren until they popped. My memories of her are a bit fuzzier, as she passed when I was 13. She lived alone in a house that's likely condemned or torn down by now, with her little Pomeranian, "Tina", whom I loved. It was just a few blocks from my maternal grandmother's house in Gainesville. I was amazed to find just weeks ago that she's immortalized on the internet: https://peoplelegacy.com/hattie_breeden_dampier-3Z4i1r. They didn't complete their research, as my dad, nor his sister are listed under "children". Unfortunately, I've heard some pretty dark stuff about her too. My dad, and his sister told lots of stories of abuse coming from her. Merciless beatings and general hatefulness. Hard to imagine from the woman I knew.
My paternal Grandfather died before I was born. All I really know about him is that he attempted suicide twice during their marriage. I think I can understand why.
My maternal Grandfather was a large, imposing man, whom I only vaguely remember, as he died when I was very young. Unfortunately, stories about him from multiple cousins, aunts & uncles, and my older sister paint him in a very bad light. He was extremely overbearing, abusive, and generally nasty human being. He beat my mother's sister mercilessly before she had reached her teen years, a psychological burden she carries to this day, in her 90s. I'm glad I wasn't exposed to that side of him, being a toddler when he died.
My paternal Grandmother was another very sweet lady (to me), always with something simmering on the stove, and always trying to stuff her grandchildren until they popped. My memories of her are a bit fuzzier, as she passed when I was 13. She lived alone in a house that's likely condemned or torn down by now, with her little Pomeranian, "Tina", whom I loved. It was just a few blocks from my maternal grandmother's house in Gainesville. I was amazed to find just weeks ago that she's immortalized on the internet: https://peoplelegacy.com/hattie_breeden_dampier-3Z4i1r. They didn't complete their research, as my dad, nor his sister are listed under "children". Unfortunately, I've heard some pretty dark stuff about her too. My dad, and his sister told lots of stories of abuse coming from her. Merciless beatings and general hatefulness. Hard to imagine from the woman I knew.
My paternal Grandfather died before I was born. All I really know about him is that he attempted suicide twice during their marriage. I think I can understand why.
My Dad was born in 1900. I came along when he was 54. Never had the privilege of meeting his parents. They were already gone.
My Mom was born in 1920. Met my Mom's Dad once that I recall when I was very young. He died not long after that. My Mom's Mother died when Mom was very young.
My Mom was born in 1920. Met my Mom's Dad once that I recall when I was very young. He died not long after that. My Mom's Mother died when Mom was very young.
GON
$50 Site Donor 2022
Not many iron workers from that era lived till their 90s. Many passed in their 30s and 40s. Thanks for sharing his story.
I only remember seeing and meeting my grandfather once. I was 4 or 5 at the time. (1956). My grandmother died a year or 2 later. I remember she wore a hearing aid. It was the size of a small transistor radio. She wore it in a harness between her boobs, and snaked the earpiece under her blouse and bra, up into her left ear. (The same ear I'm deaf on).
The ear piece was about the diameter of a nickel. It took 9 volt batteries, (or something that looked like them). And they only lasted for about a day. Alkaline batteries weren't as popular back then. They were too expensive for most people. (If they even existed). I remember my dad coming home from work one day, and told my mom that she had died. My mom cried loudly. It scared me as a kid because I never saw or heard her cry before.
The ear piece was about the diameter of a nickel. It took 9 volt batteries, (or something that looked like them). And they only lasted for about a day. Alkaline batteries weren't as popular back then. They were too expensive for most people. (If they even existed). I remember my dad coming home from work one day, and told my mom that she had died. My mom cried loudly. It scared me as a kid because I never saw or heard her cry before.
My maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother passed away within 2 years of each other when I was 8-10.
My grandmother was someone who I saw often, but I don't honestly have a ton of recollection of interaction with her. She was bipolar(very seriously, to the point where she'd had extended institutionalization over time) and what I remember of her I now mostly recognize as her being medicated enough that she was stable. With that said, even though I don't remember her saying much, my mom in particular talks about how much she liked me and how, despite her limited income, she would have a gift of some sort for me any time we went to see her.
My grandfather I just remember thinking was wonderful. He was quiet but very intelligent and had a very dry sense of humor. I didn't really appreciate that so much when I was that young, but I look fondly back on things now he said to me and "get" them. Later on in life(a few years ago) I got to know his youngest brother, who lived in Wilmington, NC(moved there after medical residency from Central KY, where I grew up), and who I'd never really been around until we went to visit him. After that trip, my uncle(grandfather's brother) and I talked regularly up until he was no longer able to really talk on the phone. My mom said she was amazed that I'd hit it off so well with that particular uncle, since he also was quite reserved(more so than my grandfather) and had to really like someone to even bother carrying on a conversation with them. She said he was a lot like my grandfather(who had 7 brothers, and of course with a wide spectrum of personalities) and my uncle and I both expressed some regret that it wasn't until I was in my 20s and he was close to the end of his life before we really did know each other.
My other two grandparents were a bit of a different story. I lost them both in 2014, and within a month of each other.
My paternal grandfather lived in the mountains of North Carolina in a little town in the northwest corner of the state that he'd just happened up and decided to buy a house there. We would visit for a week once a year or so, and as he got up in years he started wintering in Kentucky and then moved back full time. Even though I was around him a lot and knew him well, he was someone who was hard to really get close to. He gave my dad a real run for his money when he did move back here. He and my dad honestly hadn't had the best relationship growing up, and there was a lot underlying that. Still, though, I'm glad to have known him, and I can hear him in my dad quite often. My MKZ that I still drive belonged to my grandfather, and I bought it from him when he decided to hang up the keys(about a year later than he should have). When he turned 90, he went down to the dealership in town and said "I'm turning 90 and I want a new Lincoln."
My maternal grandmother was someone I was very close to. I stayed at her house often(especially when I started graduate school and she was closer than my parents) and would often travel with us. We had a lot of good times with her, and she was sort of a constant presence. She had her own way about her, and things she did that would aggravate everyone that we look back on fondly now. Still, though, I think of all of my grandparents, her passing hit me the hardest. It was also partially too that she'd seemed virtually invincible and immortal up until the last year of her life, when she was finally diagnosed with ALS and we watched her slowly slip away. As my mom has gotten older, she reminds me so much of her, to the point that sometimes my mom will say things and I'll call her by my grandmother's first name.
My grandmother was someone who I saw often, but I don't honestly have a ton of recollection of interaction with her. She was bipolar(very seriously, to the point where she'd had extended institutionalization over time) and what I remember of her I now mostly recognize as her being medicated enough that she was stable. With that said, even though I don't remember her saying much, my mom in particular talks about how much she liked me and how, despite her limited income, she would have a gift of some sort for me any time we went to see her.
My grandfather I just remember thinking was wonderful. He was quiet but very intelligent and had a very dry sense of humor. I didn't really appreciate that so much when I was that young, but I look fondly back on things now he said to me and "get" them. Later on in life(a few years ago) I got to know his youngest brother, who lived in Wilmington, NC(moved there after medical residency from Central KY, where I grew up), and who I'd never really been around until we went to visit him. After that trip, my uncle(grandfather's brother) and I talked regularly up until he was no longer able to really talk on the phone. My mom said she was amazed that I'd hit it off so well with that particular uncle, since he also was quite reserved(more so than my grandfather) and had to really like someone to even bother carrying on a conversation with them. She said he was a lot like my grandfather(who had 7 brothers, and of course with a wide spectrum of personalities) and my uncle and I both expressed some regret that it wasn't until I was in my 20s and he was close to the end of his life before we really did know each other.
My other two grandparents were a bit of a different story. I lost them both in 2014, and within a month of each other.
My paternal grandfather lived in the mountains of North Carolina in a little town in the northwest corner of the state that he'd just happened up and decided to buy a house there. We would visit for a week once a year or so, and as he got up in years he started wintering in Kentucky and then moved back full time. Even though I was around him a lot and knew him well, he was someone who was hard to really get close to. He gave my dad a real run for his money when he did move back here. He and my dad honestly hadn't had the best relationship growing up, and there was a lot underlying that. Still, though, I'm glad to have known him, and I can hear him in my dad quite often. My MKZ that I still drive belonged to my grandfather, and I bought it from him when he decided to hang up the keys(about a year later than he should have). When he turned 90, he went down to the dealership in town and said "I'm turning 90 and I want a new Lincoln."
My maternal grandmother was someone I was very close to. I stayed at her house often(especially when I started graduate school and she was closer than my parents) and would often travel with us. We had a lot of good times with her, and she was sort of a constant presence. She had her own way about her, and things she did that would aggravate everyone that we look back on fondly now. Still, though, I think of all of my grandparents, her passing hit me the hardest. It was also partially too that she'd seemed virtually invincible and immortal up until the last year of her life, when she was finally diagnosed with ALS and we watched her slowly slip away. As my mom has gotten older, she reminds me so much of her, to the point that sometimes my mom will say things and I'll call her by my grandmother's first name.
My mom's parents hated my dad, who has poor social skills. He'd only get to see them on Xmas and he'd engage them with behavior we'd now call "trolling." They'd get him drunk so he'd take a nap. These grandparents thought they were of a higher class than they actually were, and spent down their retirement trying to maintain that facade. They were pretty boring and us kids were always lectured to "behave" before going over there. Grandparents also had two good chairs that were "theirs" and we were disrespecting them by sitting there so we always had to sit on this lumpy 100 year old antique furniture. Grandpa bitched about how baseball players were "paid too much" and they'd perform better if they were "hungry."
My dad's parents were cool cats though. They lived to be 96 and 98, too! Grandpa drove until near the end, of course it was in a Grand Marquis, LOL. Grandpa would get in peoples' faces, get the man-in-charge and demand straight answers just like we all used to live in the 1950s. He called the gas company over visible rust on a bulk gas pipe, and told me "back in the day they'd have a man walk the line and inspect it." Grandpa also arranged a tour of a lime mine (lime being used as a concrete ingredient) for my geologist wife, whom he adored. Only friction is my wife is an environmental geologist and the mine operator wasn't too keen on letting her in, LOL. Grandpa smoked Camel unfiltereds until his 80s then stopped cold turkey. Drank, too. Grandma left the mayonnaise out of the fridge and had other sketchy kitchen secrets, but was a pretty good cook.
My dad's parents were cool cats though. They lived to be 96 and 98, too! Grandpa drove until near the end, of course it was in a Grand Marquis, LOL. Grandpa would get in peoples' faces, get the man-in-charge and demand straight answers just like we all used to live in the 1950s. He called the gas company over visible rust on a bulk gas pipe, and told me "back in the day they'd have a man walk the line and inspect it." Grandpa also arranged a tour of a lime mine (lime being used as a concrete ingredient) for my geologist wife, whom he adored. Only friction is my wife is an environmental geologist and the mine operator wasn't too keen on letting her in, LOL. Grandpa smoked Camel unfiltereds until his 80s then stopped cold turkey. Drank, too. Grandma left the mayonnaise out of the fridge and had other sketchy kitchen secrets, but was a pretty good cook.
some of my finest childhood memories were at either of my Grandparents homes. Great fun, fabulous cooking, and I almost never got in trouble for anything! Sadly it all ended by 18 or so.
But the memories are awesome!
But the memories are awesome!
Love and affection
Confrontation with my mom and any woman in my fathers life
tons of learning and life lessons from grandpa...
Awesome yearly vacations " out West"
withdrawal and sadness over my father's issues.
Grandma losing it when dad died.
Confrontation with my mom and any woman in my fathers life
tons of learning and life lessons from grandpa...
Awesome yearly vacations " out West"
withdrawal and sadness over my father's issues.
Grandma losing it when dad died.
I remember my grandparents on dads side always taking to help my brother and I with school work, etc. in 96’ when my grandfather had a triple bypass; my grandma saw a bad change and she slowly went downhill. When grandpa died in 2008, my grandma was still going but all alone. I visited her every weekend when not at work.
My moms mom (other grandma) was a wonderful cook, seamstress and “celebrity cipher” solver. She taught me how to do my taxes, make banana nut bread. I never got to meet grandpa on moms side; he passed away in 1976 when my brother was almost 1 year old. He was WWII veteran and served with General Patton, and later worked heavy equipment building first of the many “superhighways”. He died in a boarding house of a heart attack shortly after getting ready for breakfast with his crew.
Great memories of grandparents and grandma all in all
My moms mom (other grandma) was a wonderful cook, seamstress and “celebrity cipher” solver. She taught me how to do my taxes, make banana nut bread. I never got to meet grandpa on moms side; he passed away in 1976 when my brother was almost 1 year old. He was WWII veteran and served with General Patton, and later worked heavy equipment building first of the many “superhighways”. He died in a boarding house of a heart attack shortly after getting ready for breakfast with his crew.
Great memories of grandparents and grandma all in all
Both grandfathers passed before my parents even graduated HS.
Maternal grandmother was from a German upbringing and very strict. Unfortunately Alzheimer's took her when I was in my mid-late teens so I wasn't mature enough to have gained an appreciation for her and her ways.
Paternal grandmother was a constant worrier(sp?) and generally had a negative opinion of most things. She loved family though.
My step-grandfather was awesome. So kind and always in good spirits. He worked for an armored car service in NYC until he was in his mid-late 70's.
Maternal grandmother was from a German upbringing and very strict. Unfortunately Alzheimer's took her when I was in my mid-late teens so I wasn't mature enough to have gained an appreciation for her and her ways.
Paternal grandmother was a constant worrier(sp?) and generally had a negative opinion of most things. She loved family though.
My step-grandfather was awesome. So kind and always in good spirits. He worked for an armored car service in NYC until he was in his mid-late 70's.
I never met either of my grandfathers as they died in the 1940's, before I was born. Both born in 1890. Maternal GF was a farmer who had been drafted in WW1. Paternal GF a mine carpenter in an iron mine and later a coal mine. He also built a number of homes as a carpenter. His father was a blacksmith.
My maternal Grandmother was a farmer's widow, who worked pretty hard. 1895 to 1981. She made any and all sorts of home canned foods, gardened and even made her own soap. Very good outlook on life. I enjoyed listening to her tales at length, even though the folks my parent's age did not. Mostly through her, I feel I got a pretty good idea of what rural life was like in the early 20th century. She had been to a couple of the early 20th century world's fairs. When I was still pretty young, the only heat in her home was a coal cook stove. We often stayed there on visits and a pile of heavy blankets were required upstairs. The only heat was what wafted up through 1 foot square floor registers. All on a beautiful farm nested between mountains.
My paternal grandmother, 1895-1963, lived in a small village. She did not have it great. By mid WWII, her oldest 4 children were out of the house. My Dad and his older brother off in the Pacific. That left the youngest son and his wife alone with her. She also did a lot of baking and home preserves. A very kindly person and I never saw her angry. She also cooked and baked on a coal cook stove but had central heat.
Through my grandmothers and a number of other relatives and people that I knew, I got a life long respect for those folks born in the late 1800's and early 20th century. In addition to everything else they experienced, they lived the Great Depression as adults and parents. In an age before social safety nets, they remained stoic about nearly all. I believe that both of my grandmothers got about $80 a month in SS survivors payments in the 1960's. No Medicare for most or all of their lives.
My maternal Grandmother was a farmer's widow, who worked pretty hard. 1895 to 1981. She made any and all sorts of home canned foods, gardened and even made her own soap. Very good outlook on life. I enjoyed listening to her tales at length, even though the folks my parent's age did not. Mostly through her, I feel I got a pretty good idea of what rural life was like in the early 20th century. She had been to a couple of the early 20th century world's fairs. When I was still pretty young, the only heat in her home was a coal cook stove. We often stayed there on visits and a pile of heavy blankets were required upstairs. The only heat was what wafted up through 1 foot square floor registers. All on a beautiful farm nested between mountains.
My paternal grandmother, 1895-1963, lived in a small village. She did not have it great. By mid WWII, her oldest 4 children were out of the house. My Dad and his older brother off in the Pacific. That left the youngest son and his wife alone with her. She also did a lot of baking and home preserves. A very kindly person and I never saw her angry. She also cooked and baked on a coal cook stove but had central heat.
Through my grandmothers and a number of other relatives and people that I knew, I got a life long respect for those folks born in the late 1800's and early 20th century. In addition to everything else they experienced, they lived the Great Depression as adults and parents. In an age before social safety nets, they remained stoic about nearly all. I believe that both of my grandmothers got about $80 a month in SS survivors payments in the 1960's. No Medicare for most or all of their lives.
My grandfather on mother's side was born in 1896 and died in 1979 from lung cancer. My grandmother was born in 1899 and died in 81....They owned abut 200+ acres in south Mississippi when I was a kid I had good times shooting my old Sears .22 single shot and the a Marlin .22 auto and my fathers .22 Ruger pistol at tin cans from the front porch.....the closest farm was about 1.5 miles down the road. We would catch fireflys in the summer .....I also got it on my foot from a cottonmouth when i was 9 ....it burned like a coal on my foot. My grandfather used a pocket knife and tried to suck out the venom till I good get to the closet doctor about 12 miles away. Only one fang got me and to this day its still looks bad
The doctor said i was lucky and the snake did not inject much or it would have been much worse....
I was fishing for catfish and the snake must have came up from behind me....I never saw it till it got me .....maybe a foot long and i had on tennis shoes....after that i could never fish at the pond again I keep looking behind me afraid a snake would come up from behind me. Years later i wore boots a snake proof guards plus i carrid a snake charmer......410/.22 combo small rifle.
My grandfather got sick of long haired freaks coming up to his house loking for the crash site for Lynyrd Skynyrd i.....which was about 2 miles away.....cussing up a storm.....but after he got lung cancer he calmed way down his last year.
My grandfather on father side died from mustard gas from ww1 in 1928 when my father was 2. His mother died when he was 15 ....He joined the Army at 17.
The doctor said i was lucky and the snake did not inject much or it would have been much worse....
I was fishing for catfish and the snake must have came up from behind me....I never saw it till it got me .....maybe a foot long and i had on tennis shoes....after that i could never fish at the pond again I keep looking behind me afraid a snake would come up from behind me. Years later i wore boots a snake proof guards plus i carrid a snake charmer......410/.22 combo small rifle.
My grandfather got sick of long haired freaks coming up to his house loking for the crash site for Lynyrd Skynyrd i.....which was about 2 miles away.....cussing up a storm.....but after he got lung cancer he calmed way down his last year.
My grandfather on father side died from mustard gas from ww1 in 1928 when my father was 2. His mother died when he was 15 ....He joined the Army at 17.
