Dad's family

This photo was taken in 1950 or 1951 in my grandparents living room. That's my dad and mother standing on the left. His parents, Grandpop and Grandmom (holding me) then dad's brother.

In front (from left) are my dad's sister, her husband and two children. Brother's wife and daughter.

Grandpop died in '55, Grandmom in '57 and Dad in June of 2004 at age 80. Dad's brother lives here. We had dinner at their house on Friday, he's 94! His sister is 92 and also lives in Florida as do both her children.

Grandpop and Grandmom were great loving small town folks. Grandmom was a sweet god fearing woman. Grandpop a local car dealer. His handshake was an iron clad contract. His word was gold. I loved them both so much and spent a lot of time in their home. The youngest of their grandchildren and the only one who lived in the same town, I was spoiled rotten!

Grandpop raised horses and gave me two Shetland ponies on my THIRD birthday. Midget, a dapple grey, and Penny, a paint. Midget was my favorite. He had Monroe Veach (who was a famous local saddle maker) make me a custom pony saddle. I still have it... black with silver studs and matching bridle. Naturally you MUST have the cowboy outfit to go with all that. The suede jacket with fringe and hand tooled belt are hanging in my closet. Somewhere along the line I lost the hat but that's ok, I still have a Davey Crocket coonskin cap. Until about age 10 I had a wonderful childhood... living in a small rural town in North Central Missouri... both sets of grandparents to know and love... lots of friends... no worries...

We moved to Ohio when I was eleven and that's when & where I learned just how cruel the real world could be.
(click on the photos to enlarge)