Grandpa stories

[Josh Canuck]

Arsenaux is a popular name in Québec. Met a few in my schooldays looooong ago. Like they say at Disney: "It's a small world!"

 

[stank]

My paternal grandfather fought in WWI. He stayed in France for 6 years after the war. Came home and was a railroad tramp for a while then settled on the family farm. He passed when I was 1 year old in 1968.
Maternal grandfather was a rough and tough bastard and fought in WW2. It was either join the navy or go to jail. He was pretty mean in his younger years but treated his latter kids and grandchildren like they were gold. He passed when I was in my 30’s.

 

[Tn poor boy]

This a picture of my 3rd grandfather. He was private William Simpson 1st Tenn calvary. He was hurt in the battle at mossy springs tn. Discharge from service. Went back home to Hawkins co confederate killed him and his son in river. That river is known for the movie The river! Also our family owned the land that is now Bays mtn Park in Kingsport tn

 

[smokeum54]

Second time grandpa hit me upside the haed with a shovel.

I've always liked spiders, i think there cool. Found a hand size garden/wolf spider in the garden one day. Picked him up and put him on my grandpa's shoulder.

He yelled a bunch of words i can't repeat here, then dong! From the shovel

 

[Eutycus]

Shovel up side the head has been known to cause brain damage.

 

[smokeum54]

Shovel up side the head has been known to cause brain damage.

I've definitely got a little bit of drain bamage

 

[smokeum54]

First time grandpa went into the hospital.

He kept asking all my uncles and my dad to bring him a bottle of whiskey, they all refused.

I was only 13 but i wanted to help my grandpa.

Ran into the gas station, threw 10 bucks on the counter. Went to the back shelf and ran out with a bottle of jim beam. Gave it to him the next day and he was happy.

He replied guter hund, and ya, i know that means good dog. But from my grandpa, its a compliment

 

[sheriff john]

Had two grandfathers and a step-grandfather. Inherited paternal grandad's Winchester 12 gauge lever-action and step grandfather's Browning 16 gauge special order Auto-5 quail gun. Both are well-worn, so considering having both restored for grandkids. The Auto-five has a 5-digit serial number, owned by a Browning executive who liked to quail hunt in N.E. Missouri. I was too young to know either real grandfathers. Alcohol killed my step grandfather.

 

[tallpine]

I love Grandpa stories, here's mine. Around 1900 southeast Texas was having an oil boom, My grandfather came here from Louisiana to work in the refineries. he was around twenty years old and had apprenticed with a blacksmith since the age of fourteen. Back in those days men would gather up at the gate every morning and if they needed a hand for a certain trade they would holler out what they needed. My grandfather would go every morning hoping to get a job, one morning they needed a blacksmith. My grandfather raised his hand and said i'm a blacksmith. The bosses took one look at the skinny young kid with the heavy Cajun accent and thought they would have a little fun with him. They pointed to a scrap pile were a 200 lb anvil lay that was broken in half. They asked him if he could weld that anvil back together. He said yes, he could weld it and told them what he would need. He than welded that anvil back together and they hired him on the spot. He would go on to work for that Gulf refinery for many years and when he retired the anvil was still there and still being used. My grampa, Felix Herriod

 

[Rob M.]

What great stories !! I knew my GrandPa Miller pretty well , he treated me and my sister very well but they lived in WVa. so didnt get to see them but twice a year , never got to spend a lot of quality time with them . GrandPa gave me this incredible picture , if it down loads, of his Grandfather , Civil War veteran and gunbuilder later , would love to have one of his rifles ! but never seen one , but the Millers never were very interested in genealogy or history . My GrandPa , William Miller , he loved to hunt ! The other two pics , headstones ...interesting but a bit beyond your alls conversion , but kinda neat .... The Millers just never were Interested in genealogy , I always have been , must have got it from moms side ... I found the history of the Millers a bit ... The gunbuilder , George M. Miller 1844-1914 , was a C.W. veteran serving with the 7 th W.Va inf. , his father Madison Miller fought in the C.W. too , signed up at 40 yrs. old , and was shoot and died from his wounds in VA ( pic with me by his stone ). Sad , none of my family had even heard of him let alone cared when I told them .Im the only one of the family to visit his grave , obviously ... Madison Miller married Mary Virgin . Her G. father was a Rev. War veteran ! Rezin Virgin , an Indian fighter and Rev. War soldier of some renown !! ....operated in S.W. PA area, around Fort Pitt and was at two of the three seiges at Fort Henry during the Rev. War , where Wheeling W.Va is now .He is buried near Green up ,KY . Such cool history !! Love it

 

[smokeum54]

Sorry for the odd times of my replies, I've had a busy couple weeks. Had an ordeal where I almost wanted to shoot someone over my dogs ashes , i posted about him awhile back. And I thank you all for responding.

Don't ever mount one of these to a WWII vets screen door, it was the third time my grandpa hit me upside the haed with a shovel. Well it was actually a garden trowel, ping! Again, thanks to everyone for sharing.

 

[Nazgul58]

Never got to know either set of Grandparents other than my Dad's mom. She came over from Sweden in 1903. She died at almost 100 when I had just gone to CA from NY. My wife was an Air Force officer she was stationed at Mather AFB in Sacramento. Grandma could cook ! Remember the pies and cinnamon rolls still. She loved us. Grandpa died when my dad was 4. Dad remembers being in a horse drawn manure wagon with him, holding onto his leg because he kept slipping in the manure.

Mom's parents died when I was 2 so I don't remember them. Everything I ever heard about them was they were strict and cold to the kids.

My Dad did give me his fathers 1894 Marlin lever action in 38-40. It was made in 1895. Still in decent shape but not good enough to shoot. Really want to get it rebuilt some day. Dad remembered watching them shoot big turtles in the mud of the creek and the bullets bounced off their shells.

My Dad was an awesome man. He loved us and could build anything. Was a machinist and did exceptional wood work.

Don

 

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Only saw my Mother's Father (My grandfather) one time that I can remember. I had to be maybe 4 or 5? He lived alone. His wife, my (Mom's mother) Grandma died a few years earlier. Never knew her.
The things I remember about my Grandfather, when we went to visit him, I would sit on his knee and he had 3 or 4 days of whiskers and would rub his face on mine.
We would stop and pick up a couple packs of Beechnut Chewing tobacco to bring him.
I remember the coffee can that he spit chew in. Way back, Carnation Corn Flakes had small comic books that you could flick the pages and it looked like moving pictures. He saved them for me.
He was in the Spanish American war.
Mom said he died in a VA hospital. The nurses left the windows open, he got pneumonia and she always figured it was a way for the hospital to get rid on the old folks??
He couldn't come and live with us cause my "AZZ hole" step father wouldn't have it!!!
Mom never got a head stone for the grandparent's graves. I found the grave marker and on the way out of the cemetery, stopped and ordered a headstone. $$$$$ well spent!!
Got the grandparents marriage license, $$ receipts for their grave site. Family Bible that my Grandfather wrote deaths and births info in.
Grandmother was half Native American and Spanish. Born @ Ft. Mac Dowell Arizona. When she married my Grandfather (English), she had to say she was Spanish because it was against the law for a white man to marry an Indian. They had 4 children. 2 died young.

 

[Gopher0]

Grand daddy and 2 buddies Coon hunting

 

[Rancocas]

My paturnal grandfather was an enthic Czech, born in Vienna, Austria, but grew up in the tiny Moravian village of Lepov in what is now the Czech Republic. At a young age he was apprenticed to a shoemaker and so he learned that trade. World War I opened up and Grandpop was drafted into the Austrian army. He was shipped north to Poland where he served as a corporeal in an Austrian rifle company fighting against the Russians. Near the end of the war he was shot in the shoulder. I have his original orders sending him back home, wounded, and authorizing him a free train ride back to the largest town near his village. After the war he had a difficult time getting shoemaking supplies, and many people couldn't afford his shoes and boots anyway. He couldn't make a living in Europe, so he brought his wife (my paternal grandmother), and four children, including my dad, to the USA. After scrounging a living in New York City for several years, they bought a farm in upstate NY. Then the great depression hit. They lost the farm and moved back to the city for work. Eventually, they bought another farm, this time in southern New Jersey. During World War II grandpop became an auxiliary police officer for the small rural NJ town. I now have the .32 S&W revolver he carried then. He died of non-Hodkin's disease in 1950 when I was two years old. Unfortunately, I don't remember him.

My maternal grandfather was divorced from my grandmother and was seldom seen by our branch of the family. On one occasion when I was a young boy he did take me to a firing range where he supervised me in shooting his fancy .22 caliber target rifle for an hour or so. He also came along on a couple of family rabbit hunts. But otherwise, I saw very little of him. He was a machinist and worked in a factory. I was in my 30's when he died of a heart attack.