Hanging Out With Grandpa

As I was looking at the titles of my past blogs, I saw one that shared a day I had taking care of my youngest grandchild, Hannah Yoder. I had errands to run, so I loaded her into her car seat and off we went. We had lunch, then parked near the train tracks in Connellsville, Pennsylvania watching the locomotives pulling box cars, hoppers, and flat cars as they chugged past.

It made me think of the days I was able to spend with my grandfather Raymond Miner on his farm. I was young and not able to do much but get in the way, but as I grew, I was able to help in the garden and in the early winter assist in the butchering of a bull and usually two hogs. At first, it was fetch and carry things, but later I was able to wield a knife and trim meat from the bones for the grinder. Using the bits to make hamburger or sausage was important. Only the oink of the pig was the only thing not used.

I also helped when it was time in late autumn to cull the chicken flock. Granddad would hook the hens’ feet with a bent wire, chop off their heads, and toss them into the grass to bleed out. The chickens would be gathered, dipped in scalding water, and the feathers plucked. I always hated the wet feather smell, but did my part to remove the feathers. Butchering and plucking chickens weren’t glamorous things, but are an integral part of farming.

The days spent with my grandfather Edson Thomas Beck were completely different. As a youngster, I can still recall sitting on the shore of a small lake and waiting for a fish to snatch the bait, either night crawlers or salmon eggs. He used to chase the worms from the ground with two prongs stuck in the sod and run electricity through them.

My other memories other than sitting stock still in his house or in church were of occasional trips deer hunting. Often the snow was so deep; I had to follow in his footsteps to get to our hunting spot. I was never able to kill a deer while hunting with him, but then he never bagged one either. For most of his life, he had vision in only one eye.

I hope as my grandchildren grow up, they have memories of hanging out with their grandpa too.