A legacy…thinking about those who have gone on before us…

Part One:

In a few days we will be celebrating

Memorial Day.

This is always a good time to stop and think about family and friends who  have gone on ahead of us, and their influence in our lives.  In many respects, we are who we are because of their influence, sacrifice, and effort (and perhaps even some of their missteps).  

This picture is of my paternal grandparents,

Thomas John and Harriet Matilda Bodily Hall.

They were hard working farmers who reared nine children.

On a shoestring.

Their children were taught the values of hard work and honesty, service and sacrifice.  They didn’t live in luxury, but in a small three bedroom home filled with respect and love.

Unlike many of our houses today, their children had to share not only the bedrooms, but the beds, too.  In the summer months some of them slept outside under the stars.  One bicycle had to meet the needs of multiple siblings.  Everybody had chores and everybody worked hard.

Their sons served our country in World War Two.

We have many delicious family recipes that have been passed on down through the years- Grandma’s peanut bars, pickles, biscuits, and rice pudding.  Grandpa loved his horses.

I was quite young when they passed away, but I remember seeing grandma chase and kill a stewing hen.  I remember her lilacs, peonies, and real Dutch tulips (sent from a grandson who served a mission in Holland).  I remember mason jars full of spring flowers ready to “decorate” all the family graves.

My memories of my grandfather include my riding with him in his big old farming truck.  I had gone some place with him and while he was out of the truck talking to a neighbor, I remember eating his half finished candy bar (mine was already gone).  Mostly, I remember seeing him sitting on the porch in a rocking chair (he was quite old).

They are two of the people we will honor this weekend.

I’ll tell you more later.

JoAnn

P.S.  They were not any more financially strapped than all the other farm families at that time, but life with a big family required frugality and hard work, and people were thrifty and content with so much less than we seem to require today.

Maybe we need to be reminded about that again.