You probably have been wondering when I would write something about my folks and it is just so difficult to figure how to start so here is the first of who knows how many. This first one focuses mostly on my grandparents, Olaf and Mary Olson.
Dad passed away December 8, 2002 the day before my 50th birthday and Mom recently moved to Cashion which is south of Crescent and east of Okarche and West of Edmond. That was really fun. She lives north of Oklahoma City in Cashion where her Great Grandchildren live and her Grandson and daughter, Clifford and Suzanne Crow and their children, Jaden, Ryan Samantha, and Zacary. I am not sure but I think where her children and grandchildren live don't matter as much as where the GREAT Grandchildren live, if you know what I mean. Debbie (MOM's favorite daughter) can brag in that she has two of the nicest boys and fathers, Richard (builds and sells tornado shelters out of Perry, Oklahoma) and Cliff (builds pumper trucks for fire stations and is a fireman in Kingfisher). She had another boy who passed away a couple of years ago named Billy (the greatest fan ever for the Chiefs and the Royals).
"Anyway", Dad was a farmer and rancher who grew up in Anoka Minnesota on a dairy and sweet potato farm before they moved to Wamego, Kansas when he was about 17. Dad played football in Wamego his senior year and lettered which is pretty amazing since he was about 135 pounds all the time I knew him. I assume he was smaller in high school so he must have been pretty small. But from what I know you would not want to fight him as he was very tough and strong. Oh well, back to Minnesota.
I loved growing up listening to his stories about Minnesota and I loved the stories about his folks and the farm there. Olaf and Mary Olson met somewhere in Kansas where they both settled after coming to America from Sweden. I really don't know anything about Grandma when she came except that is was in the late 1800's whereas Grandpa came in about 1889 by himself at the ripe old age of 16. He had no family here at that time and left his parents and siblings in Sweden. As far as I know all of his brothers and sisters ultimately came to America and settled in Washington State and Kansas. The most memorable story I remember is that he came through Ellis Island in New York and was robbed the first day in New York. So if you think about it he had a rough beginning. Could you have traveled at the age of 16 or one of your children to another country, not knowing anyone or speaking the language and getting robbed of all your money the first day? I absolutely cannot image how depressed he could have been. He was always positive about life and laughed at about all bad circumstances. No wonder he got a job and earned enough money to go to Kansas as soon as possible. He was a Lutheran and of strong faith. I still have his Swedish Bible.
After Grandpa moved to Kansas he worked to purchase two draft horses which became a prized possession in those days. Those horses provided lots of work on farms and one thing in particular which I find amazing. He ran the turntable with those horses. You must be wondering what that is but think about this. How do you turn a train engine around? On a turntable, see the picture.
What they did was pull the engine onto a platform and Grandpa Olaf hitched his horses to the turntable and turned the engine around. This was a prized job as it paid $13.50 a day. The normal wage back then was about $20 per month.
Grandpa took great care of his horses and was able purchase a farm where he raised six boys Stack, Mack, Phil, Rollin (Ollie), Cliff (my dad), and Arvin who died in his early 20's while swimming in the creek. Dad never liked the water much after that and Grandpa did not let them swim. I don't remember Dad ever swimming.
I don't remember when but Grandma and Grandpa Olson moved to Grainola to be close to Dad and Mom. They purchased about 7 acres just south of Ruby's gas station. They raised a little wheat and a couple of cows and a small garden until they were not able. That house was so cool. It had all of those kitchen appliances made of white porcelain, even the cabinets. There was a big potbellied stove to heat the house and it burned coal.
Grandma died at our house when I was about 9 and all I remember is that my Mom took great care of her. Mom was always helping someone. I think she taught most of the girls in Grainola how to sew and particularly Janie, Sally, Susie (a little more reluctant than the others) and Debbie my sister. Debbie was great at it and earned a lot of ribbons at 4-H.
Back to Grandma and Grandpa Olson. I would go to Grandpa's house every time I could so I could sit by that pot-bellied stove and eat cinnamon rolls and play checkers. Grandpa let me make a lot of rules when I was young. As I got older I had to play more according to the real rules. He would laugh at my creative ways and when he would laugh his mustache would bounce up and down. He never had a beard as far as I knew. We always went to Ruby's to get pop and cinnamon rolls. Life was great.
Another cool thing was he had an indoor potty vs. an old outhouse. Let me explain. An outhouse is where you have a hole in the ground with a seat inside where you sit or stand depending on your style. It was generally about 4 foot by 4 foot. Anyway Granddad had indoor plumbing but don't jump too quickly to think you knew what that was. He had a toilet closet. You are wondering what a toilet closet is aren't you. Well it is a closet with a seat on it and under the seat you set a bucket to catch the relief (if you don't understand ask someone over 80 – you need to talk to those folks anyway). Everyday someone got the opportunity to take that slop-bucket and empty and wash it out. There was no flush but at least you did not have to go outside in the cold during the winter or when it was raining, etc.
Now one last item, maybe two, I loved to watch Grandpa make coffee and drink it. He boiled his coffee with the grounds in the water, no filter. After it got good and black he would let the grounds settle then he would pour a cup but that was not all. Once you poured a cup which always set in a saucer he would pour some of the hot coffee out of the cup into the saucer then sip the coffee from the saucer. I learned to drink it to and it was better the way he made it. And yes there were grounds which you could swallow or chew and I thought it tasted pretty good that way.
And now the last item. Dad would not let Grandpa pay us for mowing his yard but I was always glad to do it so I could play checkers, eat cinnamon rolls and drink Nehi or Crush pop. But the other cool thing was even though we could not be paid we seem to find money laying in the yard from time to time and Grandpa told us it was not his and "finders keepers". He was a great role model.
In summary what I received was:
Take advantage and ask older people to tell you about their lives, invest in them and you will receive great rewards
Simple things often mean the most and time is much more valuable than money
Laughter is the greatest remedy for any ailment
Celebrate life and give credit to others
Thanks for your time.
Gary
Glolson21@gmail.com
http://thepioneerman.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment