Memorial Day - Remembering My Father

Let's take a moment to remember those that were special to us in our lifetime. One of my most special memories is of my father. He and I had a unique relationship. He was old enough to be my grandfather..... Maybe that is why we got along so well. He was my best friend as a child and I spent a lot of time with him while he worked at an elevator in the small town that we lived in.

It was at the elevator that I played for hours and hours. I would climb around on all the box cars that lined the railroad tracks. Most were empty waiting to be loaded with grain from the elevator. My Dad would "cooper" the car. I don't know where that expression came from but I always remember him saying that we had to go and "cooper" the car before we load. He would place 4 X 8 foot heavy planks of wood against the doors so that grain that he loaded wouldn't spill out the doors when they were opened. This was exciting because you had to do it from the inside and then climb out. It was quite an adventure for a child under the age of six. I also would climb up and get myself a sugar beet from the loaded cars that were waiting to move on down the line to "somewhere" that they would be unloaded. That "somewhere" was a long ways away in my mind. I would eat the raw sugar beet and it was very sweet and tasty.

It was also at the grain elevator that I saw the world from way above. My Dad would pull us both up to the top of the elevator on a "man lift". He had to pull his weight plus mine all the way top. He was so strong! Then we would walk along the top of the big huge bins and check them to see how full they were. From there I could see the world! Or at least the little town from way above everyone else. What an adventure!

I would play in the grain trucks that came to unload in the late summer during harvest. As they dumped the box would get higher and higher and the wheat would slide out the back into the pit. One time I got stuck in the gate at the end of the box and my Dad had to hold me until more of the wheat had emptied out. It was very dangerous as I could have been suffocated but it was all in a day with my Dad. He never got excited about anything but always knew where I was and what I was doing.

I also had my own salt block! It was a salt block for cattle but it was my very own. In one of the storage rooms they had a pile of salt blocks ready to be sold but I made my Dad promise not to sell that one. That one was mine! I would go and lick on it every time I was there at the elevator. I hardly made a dent in it as a cow would..... but it was mine!

There are so many memories of my childhood that were with my Dad at the elevator. They will stay with me forever. It was quite an experience for a young girl under the age of six..... Those were the days of me being a "tomboy".

So on this Memorial Day weekend take a moment to remember someone that was special to you in your life as I have. This is my father's military picture that was taken when he was drafted into the war in 1942. He served in the Philippines during WWII and gave 39 months and 9 days of his life to our country for our freedom.

My father will always be close to me in my heart!

Signed..... Mrs. Montana Conservative