My Mom's dad was Clarence Russell Bartley, we called him PaPa. I could have chosen lots of things to represent him. Maybe I could have found a pattern that called to mind his time as a Chuck Wagon cook on a Texas cattle ranch, or the fact that he came to Texas from Alton Missouri in a covered wagon as a baby. Maybe I could have somehow told in fabric the story of how he always gave Jamie and me a quarter apiece to go across the street to the "Toot~N~Tot'em" to buy a bag of candy whenever we visited and how we would agonize over how to spend our twenty-five cents. We always knew that a trip to Amarillo to see Granny and PaPa had the potential of ending up at Thompson park where he would push us on the swings or spin us on the Merry-go-Round. If it was a really lucky trip we would find ourselves at Wonderland Park where PaPa would help us find bits of litter to "feed" to the over sized vacuum made to look like a hungry pig in a giant mushroom house who was so ravenous that he would quite literally suck the garbage right out of your hand! Any of those things would call PaPa to my mind, so I was spoiled for choice when it came time to pick a block for PaPa.
What I did choose is a block called Carpenters Square because PaPa was also a carpenter. When we moved to Cannon AFB as small children we heard how PaPa had worked as a carpenter to help build the base. It was something we were very proud of, and always made sure our friends and neighbors knew. Whereever we went on Cannon we always wondered, had our PaPa built this place too? Maybe... it was possible. So even though PaPa did lots of things, its as a carpenter that I will remember him in this quilt. I think remembering him as a carpenter is a good choice maybe because we kept his big heavy hammer after he was gone. We had more than one hammer in the house, but whenever somebody asked for "The Hammer" we all knew they meant PaPa's hammer. Its still there, more than thirty years later and its still the hammer we all think of whenever we think of hammers at all.
I have to agree, a carpenter is the way to remember PaPa! One of my best memories of him was eating pecan pie and listening to the Texas Rangers baseball games on the radio, in the dark in the kitchen! To this day I am a Rangers fan and was thrilled beyond words that I actually made it to several Ranger games when I lived in Dallas! The agony of how to spend the quarter was excruciating! Oh the choices, if I remember correctly we seemed to go for the candy corn and the lick-m-aide! They seemed to have the most bang for the quarter!
ReplyDeleteABsolute total agreement! I probably never told you, but you girls were far and above PaPa's favorites! He was a great carpenter and when I was little I remember meeting him on the corner where he left his carpool and riding home on his shoulders. He also took me to the Santa Fe roundhouse when he worked there. It was scary. I loved him a lot! Omar
ReplyDeleteYea, the Lick-m-aide would last all day, maybe even two, and there was the candy stick after the powder was all gone!
ReplyDeleteI think we were as in love with PaPa as you were Mom. He was always fun, and good for a cuddle, the perfect grandpa in every way.
Jamie we still have that radio!
Get out! you still have the radio? That is so cool!Have you tried to tune in a Rangers game? It would be fun to listen to a game and eat some pecan pie in the dark! Thanks for letting me share the memories through your wonderful quilt!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are enjoying the walk down memory lane. I think I will keep all the blog entries in a binder along with a picture of the quilt for whoever has the quilt after me. Mom has been storing the radio for me, we'll have to take it out and see if it still works when I am home this summer. Since its more special to you than to me, you can have it if you want it, but if you dont then I still want to keep it.
ReplyDeleteI think keeping the comments in a book would be wonderful.What I remember was PaPa shelling pecans from their tree while listening to the ballgame. If he was shelling pecans Granny didn't fuss at him about the ball game. Of course we ALWAYS had pecan pie!
ReplyDeleteLove, Omar