December 21 - today is Grandpa Clint's birthday. (Bob's Dad-my Father-in-Law) He would have been 90 yrs old today....Yes, his birthday was close to Christmas and I learned VERY EARLY after meeting the family, it HAD to be separate from any resemblance of Christmas.
He was such a fun person, pretending to be crusty but really a softie inside. He was a great bowler and had many trophies to prove it.
He was in WWII but never talked about his time overseas. When he was returning his troop ship was anchored in the Columbia River right off of the Longview - Kelso area and was quarantined because of an outbreak of something on the ship. It was Christmas time, his wife and two small sons were living in Kelso but they had no idea he was on the ship sitting in the river....I'm not sure how long it was before the troops got to leave but I can't even imagine how he felt, coming home from the war and having his family right beside him but couldn't even contact them.
He LOVED his grandkids. Always had pictures with him to show anyone who would look at them!
He and Grandma often came down to watch even the Jr High football games and then any other games the kids would be playing including coming to watch Cathy cheerleading at the games.
He always gave the grandkids the little cardboard box of assorted flavors of Lifesavers at Christmas..... When he was caretaker for the Aberdeen Water Shed our kids would go out and spend time with him and Grandma and they loved it. He would take them fishing (where fishing was prohibited, of course, because it was in the water shed) But if you just went around the bend above the dam, no one could see you and there he would take them out in his boat and fish in the lake.
He was just as proud of his great grandchildren. As you can see here in this picture you can see him rationing out jelly beans to Kyler. He was always teasing them with pieces of candy. Grandma would get mad at him for teasing them but he loved every minute of it and so did they.
After he left the job at the dam, they lived in a small trailer in South Aberdeen where he gardened and grew the most beautiful dahlias and other things in his greenhouse. He loved to raze people with anything he could think of... He was a great guy and a lot of fun!
I could not have asked for a neater Father-in-law. He was always supportative and loving.
He has now been gone since Feb 20, 2002 but he will never be gone from thoughts and our hearts
Anybody have a favorite memory of Grandpa Clint they would like to share ??
1 comment:
I remember very fondly the summers I would spend with Grandpa and Grandma Carson out at the dam. It was so fun working with grandpa. I remember he would let me check the chlorine levels in the water, something I remember every time I check chlorine in my swimming pool or hot tub. We would take measurements at the weather station, and then he would call in the results to the headquarters every day. We also had so much fun playing at the dam. I can’t imagine a better playground for a young boy. We’d ride the 3-wheeler everywhere. We go for long walks in the woods. If it was raining we’d play solitaire at the kitchen table or watch “Family Feud” on the TV. Grandpa was always fun to be around, and he just loved to tease everyone. I still miss Grandpa and Grandma.
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