My Two Grandpas Part II

Grandpa Rich and His Influence on My Life . . . . .

Well this blog is going to be all about my Grandpa Rich, my maternal grandfather. My mother told me that at the age of just a little over one I was not able to say "Grandpa" but I had my own version....I called him "Bumpie"

Grandpa Rich was a very unique man. His full name was Theodore Richard Niemand. His roots were from Denmark. His mother, Bertha, was still alive when I was about 4 or 5 I had my picture taken (I am on the far right) with two other cousins on the Niemand side as you may be able to see me. Sorry these pictures are so small, but I reduced them so they wouldn't take up so much space on my older computer and I don't have the originals to rescan.

Anyway hope you can see them a little bit. My Grandpa Rich had two brothers that I remember, Charlie and August. He had 3 or 4 sisters. Aunt Matildia, Aunt Sophie and I forgot the others. ( when I remember I will edit)

Grandpa Rich was originally a blacksmith by trade. He met my Grandmother through a mutual friend. They lived a long ways a part. Grandpa lived south of Spencer and Grandma lived close to Lincoln, Iowa on a farm. That was about a distance of over 200 miles. In those days many of the roads were dirt and gravel so the trip was long and bumpy to visit Margaret, my Grandmother to be! Grandpa finally was able to take her away from her family of 16 brothers and sisters and she married and moved to Spencer where Grandpa had opened an auto repair shop.

Grandpa was a very creative and talented man. He could repair almost anything. He even invented a number of things that he never patented but I know they could have be if he had wanted to. He was good at welding and machine shop activities as well as auto repair. He "Garage" as I called it was a fun place for me to visit as a young boy of 7 and 8.

Grandpa had so many good qualities that I will just ramble on here to share with you the ones that stand out in my mind. He was basically a quiet man, I never ever heard him raise his voice to anyone family or friend. He was a patient man. He would sit and wait for my Grandmother for long periods of time when they were getting ready to go somewhere. He would be ready and just sit in the car and wait. He didn't honk the horn of race the motor....he just waited for her.

Grandpa had two passions, hunting and fishing. I was fortunately a part of both. My dad worked in the "Garage" for Grandpa. Dad started working as a mechanic right after mom and dad were married. In fact, mom and dad lived with Grandma and Grandpa Rich before I was born. Dad work for Grandpa and later when I was about 2 also got a job as a full-time city fireman but was able to keep both jobs going with the understanding that when there was a fire he would have to drop everything at the Garage and go to the fire station where he drove one of the city fire trucks.

There were many times when I rode my tricycle from the fire station to Grandpa's Garage to visit Dad and Grandpa while they worked on cars. I got to clean spark plugs with the spark plug cleaner machine , I swept the Garage floor and sometimes got to use gasoline and clean auto parts that they were working on. I remember I always like sitting at Grandpa's old roll-top desk in a small office area in the front of the Garage. That is where he kept all of his fish poles, rifles and stuff like that

The first few times I rode my tricycle from the fire station to Grandpa's Garage Mom came with me to help me find my way. I would have to cross first, second and third streets where there were no stop lights. Fourth street had a stop light and so did fifth street. As soon as I crossed fifth street I would turn right and go one block East to first Avenue East where I would make a left turn. I then proceeded North on that street until I almost came to the corner of first avenue East and sixth street.Grampa's Garage was directly across the street East from the end of the street. There was a large trucking company where I would turn to cross the street to the Garage. It was owned by a friend of Grandpas, his name was Donnie Mauer. I had been told by Grandpa that if I had trouble crossing the street I could go in to Mr. Mauer's office and ask for help.

These trips to the Garage were very frequent in the summer months when I wasn't going to school. One very interesting thing that stands out in my memory are the times that I would be playing there in the Garage and about 4:00PM Grandpa would say, Dave, I have to go to Arnold's and pick up a part for the car. The interesting thing is that this happen almost every time I was there in the Garage. We would get in his "fishing car" a 1937 Plymouth and head down the street to Arnold's, an auto parts store where Grandpa bought most of his auto parts.

I would usually go into the store with him and the men at the counter would always comment that "Oh! Rich, I see you have your helper with you today!" Grandpa would respond and say "Yes, he keeps me going in the right direction!" When we returned to the car, Grandpa would look at his watch and comment, "Well, Dave, it's almost quiting time (5PM) you want to go with me up to the lake and do some fishing?" I can never recall that I ever said "no". Interestingly enough, Grandpa never had to go back to the Garage to load his fishing gear and outboard motor, he had loaded all of that stuff earlier before I got to the Garage. Now the really strange thing was that this same pattern happened sometimes three times a week in the summer.

We would head north out of town on highway 71 toward Lake Okaboji. We would go the same route every time. We passed through a small town called Fostoria, about half way then into a town just before we got to our turn. The town was Milford. Just on the north edge of Milford was a bait shop we always stop to buy bait for fishing. It was called Bill's Bait and Tackle Shop. We usually always got the same thing. A dozen minnows, and a dozen crawdads and some candy bars and maybe some potato chips. Grandpa would have his thermos jug filled with coffee and he would buy me a bottle of soda, usually orange.

We were now ready to head for the boat livery where Grandpa stored his 14 foot wooden fishing boat. We turn into a place that lead us to Danbom's in Terris Park. This Terris Park area was a popular swimming beach and the home of a large complex owned by Boy's Town of Omaha, Nebraska.

The fishing gear, bait and other things were loaded into the boat. Grandpa would take his 15 horse outboard motor and attach it to the back of the boat where he would sit guiding the boat as we headed out into East Lake Okaboji. We usually headed for an area called Emerson Bay. Grandpa had done so much fishing he was very familiar where the fish would go at different times between 5:00PM and dark.(Usually 8 or 8:30PM).

Grandpa's fishing method was "still fishing" we would go to a spot. He would tell me to start with a piece of crawdad that he would break off for me until I got brave and did it myself. I would attach it very carefully to the sharp hook on my fish pole then he told me to let out the line until it became limp. That meant it had hit the bottom of the lake. Then he told me to wind my reel up 1 and 1/2 turns to bring it up off the bottom. Then came the lesson, patience. He would sit and fish the same way for what seem like hours. He would sometimes use two fish poles and attach an artificial lure to the casting rod and cast out and slowly reel the lure back. It many times would bring fish to out lines.

This lesson was one I have never forgotten and think it is responsible for the patience I have for many things. We would then move from one place to another in that same general part of the lake. We always caught fish. Usually we caught perch and blue gills or crapes. Once in a while Grandpa would catch a northern pike on his artificial lure or a walleye on his sill fishing pole. Very seldom did we home home without our "limit" of perch (15 each). Oh another thing, when we would catch a very small perch, we would cut it up and use the white meat as bait. It worked very well and saved money when buying bait.

When the sun was almost set, we would put up a light that Grandpa always brought along and we would head back to Danbom's to unload the boat and put it away for that day. Grandpa usually always gage Mr. Danbom some of the fish we had caught. I think that might have been the payment for letting Grandpa leave his boat there. After loading the car with the fishing gear and the fish in a bucket. We headed back home.

We would get to Milford and Grandpa would say, "Dave, would you like a hamburger?" And, of course I always said "Yes!" We would then always stop at the same little hamburger shop along the West side of the street in Milford. I always got a hamburger and orange soda. The time was always about 9 to 9:30PM. then we would travel the 30 miles back to Spencer. When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's house Grandpa and I (watching) would clean the fish, Grandpa would fillet the fish some there were little or no bones in the pieces of fish. He would then put them in the freezer for Grandma to fry the next time we had fish. Sometimes he would place a few in a bowl of water and salt and place in the ice box to fry the next day.

The basic lessons I learned were patience, how to still fish, how to clean fish and the loving care I received from Grandpa.

Back to My Story in the Early Years

My Two Grandpas

Believe it or not, I remember a lot about my two Grandpas. To start with, I started calling my Grandpas by their first names after Grandpa. For example my mother's dad I called Grandpa Rich and my dad's dad I called Grandpa Ben. Grandpa Rich's full name was Theodore Richard Niemand. My Grandpa Ben's full name was Benjamin Franklin Logan.

Likewise my Grandmothers I called Grandma Rich and Grandma Ben. Since I decided to concentrate on the Grandpas in this blog, I will talk about the Grandmas in another blog.

First I will tell you as much as I can remember about Grandpa Ben and I only seem to have one picture of him in all my archives of photographs.

I knew Grandpa Ben as a very quite man that liked to rock in a big over-stuffed chair in his living room. He would occasionally leave the chair for one of two reasons: One, to go to the refrigerator for some buttermilk or cheese or Two to go to the back porch where he would spit his tobacco in the same spot at the base of a big tree close by.

Grandpa Ben would always tell us (the grand kids) the same story time and time again. It was about Horse Eggs. Believe it or not, I don't remember enough about that story to even try to tell it here. One activity that I remember doing with Grandpa and Grandma Ben was taking our car and going out to visit my dad's brother, Russell and family who lived on the Logan family farm West of Spencer. I recall that when we got back home Grandpa always said, "Home again, Home again, the old horse is dead!" Don't know what meaning it had, but he always said it as the car stopped.

I remember when I was about 13 and had a paper route that took me to stores and businesses on both sides of Main street in Spencer, one of the businesses I delivered a paper to was a taven not too far from where Grandma and Grandpa Ben lived. Grandpa Ben was always in there playing card and (I think) having a beer. I remember I always liked going in there (the tavern) because I usually had 1 or 2 extra newspapers and his friends always bought them from me for a nickle each.

I remember some stories that my mon told me about Grandpa Ben, but it took me a while to put the stories all together to form a conclusion. From the time I can remember, Grandma and Grandpa Ben owned a rooming house with about 6 apartment rooms. My Greatgrandma Austin Lived in one of the apartments. (that was my Grandma Ben's mother) Mom told me that Grandpa had to quit farming because of his health. He and Grandma had moved to town, bought the rooming house and Grandpa had taken up painting as his job. I never saw him paint, but I do remember a lot of cans of paint and paint brushes out on the back porch.

I remember later when Grandpa got sick( I was a teenager then), my dad would drive to Spencer from where we then lived in Sac City, Iowa (about a one hour drive) to visit Grandpa Ben until he died at the age of 72, I think. He had heart problems I was told.

Much later, actually after I was 50 something, my cousins and I were talking the one's that had lived on the family farm) and we determined that Grandpa had a drinking problem. That was why he and Grandma moved off the farm. It also answered the question we always had as to why Grandma was so against achohol and was at one time president of the local chapter of the WTCU (Women's Temperance Chapter......)

My mother also told me that before they moved to town, Grandpa held my dad out of his last year of high school so dad was never able to graduate. Grandpa made him work on the farm most of his last year of high school.

Well that is about all I can remember for now...It ended up being more than I thought it would be so I will end this blog and begin the next blog about Grandpa Rich who was a very great influence in my life....see you soon, Dave

A Picture Tour of Where We Live

Our Home in Fransisca Village

Yesterday I took my camera and went out and took pictures of the different angles coming to our Compound and our Home here in Fransisca Village. The street that we use in directing people to your compound is called Happy Valley Street. The first photograph (right) is a view of the hill coming down to 6th street where you turn off from Happy Valley street onto 6th street.

6th street and 5th street are hooked together to form a horseshoe. You can turn on either 5th or 6th street. 6th street is not quite as bumpy as 5th street so we normally use 6th street. The right turn on to 6th street takes you to the street that we travel down to our compound.

As soon as you turn onto 6th street you will see a home that also has an eating place where warm meals are cooked and sold daily at noon. This is the first place on the right hand side of 6th street as you start down the street.

Continuing down 6th street you will come to a "Sori-Sori" store that sells many different necessary items like eggs, bottled water, soda, chips, toilet articles, candy and many more items that are used everyday. There are actually 2 stores next to each other in that area. The one you can't see too well also provides manicures and pedicures and haircuts also.

In addition in the evening, usually after 5:30PM this "Sori-Sori" store also sells BBQ. The BBQ here is usually either BBQ Baboy and BBQ Manok. Baboy is the Cebuano word for pig or pork and manok is the word for chicken. The BBQ we get and provide our own rice most of the time. It is a quick meal and is pretty reasonable in cost, One stick is around 6 pesos. The BBQ comes on a stick similar to the Shish-Kabobs we think of back in the US.

Our next turn comes as we continue down the street. We then come to a left turn that is identified with a sign that says "Fransisca Village". This is the entrance to our compound. As we approach the entrance we see the "Guard Station".


One thing I found very interesting was that armed guards are place, not only at Compound entrances, but in front of every business in the business areas. This give you a secure feeling, but sometimes made me wonder why.....but if you study the employment here in the Philippines you can understand why. It provided needed employment and is also a safty precausion, The photograph here on the left shows our guard at his post. The guards are very nice and accomidating usually.

As we continue into the Fransisca Village Compound and to our home we see the street we pass has many nice homes along on either side.(right) Our street is the first left turn as we continue into the compound. We had street signs placed at the street intersections not too long ago. We live on "Diamond" street.

As we turn on Diamond street we can see our green duplex on the right hand side of the street. Our landlord and landlady live right accross the street from our duplex and they also have a small Sori-Sori store where we get things like rice, coffee and soap when we need it. It is very convient and the couple are very nice to us.

That is a quick tour to our home. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did putting it here on this Blog.

Dave

Having a Good Time This Weekend

We Had a great Time this last Weekend!

I finally got my digital camera working. I am almost embarrassed to share what the problem was. Everyone knows that all the latest digital equipment expressly states in the Operator's Manual that you should always use "ALKALINE" batteries. You do this to avoid the battery leaking battery acid when they become old and are not used for a long period of time.

Well guess what I did!!!!! You guessed it, not only did I use regular batteries but I didn't take them out right away. Needless to say...the camera didn't work. After figuring this out and cleaning the camera very well I placed NEW "ALKALINE" in it and WaLa! It worked.

So I have been shooting some pictures the last few days and want to share them with you here on the Blog.

This first photo is to impress you! I took it last Friday when we were invited to a very nice Motel here in Cebu. Montebello, actually it is promoted as a Hotel no a Motel. Evelyn and I were honored last year with a Free weekend at this really cool place as a anniversary gift from our pastor and his wife.

It has an Olympic size swimming pool and the food is excellent both Filipino and Western style food. The cost for all of the trimmings is less than $75 US dollars. Last year when we were teaching at Joy Christian Academy we would take the kids there every Friday for swimming lessons as part of their physical training class. It (Montebello) is actually the only Hotel within the city that has s beautiful garden like the one in the above picture.

Saturday was All Saints Day here in the Philippines and believe me everyone goes to the cemetery to pay tribute to their ancestors that have died. That mostly applies to the Catholics and that makes up the majority of the 2 million population of Cebu. We had friends that are Catholic, but didn't all follow that tradition, so they invited us to "their beach house". I got a chance to use my swimming suit. I never experienced "The Tide" before. Interesting, at noon we were in water (salt water) up to our waist and by 4:00PM we were standing on sand with no water. We didn't stop snacking all the time we were there....from about 11AM until 9PM. Here are pictures of that snacking going on. The picture on the right shows the outside of the kitchen where helpers prepare all the many different kinds of food that we had to eat. I was having a little trouble with my camera and didn't get a good picture of the overall beach house. It is quite large and made of native bamboo and stuff like that. I might add I was the only male there and I don't think the ladies ever stopped talking. It was mostly all in Cebuano so I only understood a little bit. But they were very apologetic and I assured them that I was having fun just absorbing the rays from the tropical sun. Next to the right is a picture of the girls young and old having fun. and doing what they do best.....it's called "chieka chieka" ( I don't think I spelled it correctly,but it is a Cebuano word that comes close to our American expression of a "Hen Party". You know I was going to share pictures of where we live in Cebu at our Happy Valley address but I had too much fun with the weekend activities so I will save that for the next Blog. Later- Dave