Hey Grandpa

 Hey Grandpa
In mmany ways my grandfathers were complete opposites. One was tall and thin while the other was short and stocky. One was a farmer while the other was basically a cleric. I can’t remember hearing either one speak too much about their parents, but I can remember a few stories of their childhood and both were raised on a farm where frugalness and hard work were a part of their early lives.
My grandfather Raymond Miner was the shorter man, stocky in build who remained a farmer all of his life. He was a quiet man who smiled a lot and rarely spoke. He loved his wife, his kids and his farm animals. Even after dementia wrestled with his brain, caring for his animals that no longer existed would frequently every day move to the front of his to-do list of chores.
His big farm house welcomed his grandchildren; open to all, especially during the olidays and those unexpected visits. Grandfather Miner was a hard worker; working the coal mines at night and the farm during the day, yet still managed to raise eight children with my grandmother Rebecca Rugg Miner and during those hard times, it was no easy task.
My Grandfather Edson Thomas Beck was raised on a farm too. I only know that because my father Carl Beck shared a few stories. E. T. Beck cut post for the mines, did farrm chores, and slowly began to do legal work, becoming a squire, Justice of the Peace, and accountant. He “kept books” for two multi-million dollar companies and helped the locals with their yearly income taxes. He wrote last wills and testaments, deeds, and other legal papers with beautiful penmanship that I still envy. He was a layspeaker for local churches and even founded a church. It was called Mt. Hope along Rt. 31 crossing the Summit into Somerset. The red insulbrick building is no longer a church, bu I can remember attending a few services there.
Grandfather Miner had a bald spot on the back of his head and I have claimed those genes as my own, while Grandfather Beck had a full head of hair that only thinned later in life. Granddad Miner died in his 70s with his brain wandering through a fog from dementia while Grandpa Beck kept his sharp mind into his 90’s. They were opposites in many ways, but the love of God was strong in both.