Dot`sThoughts

Was telling about my Dad called Jack to a friend and it got me really thinking of my Dad and Mom.

My Dads real first name was Frederick and most called him either Fred- by all those he repaired cars for- (a mechinist at work and a mechanic in evenings at home and a worker for everything else that needed repairing at home) or at the first mill he worked for they clled him farmer as they knew he had a cow, pig, chickens and was quick to plow the field next to our home for Mothers huge garden.

I was in grade school when they called him Farmer. By the time I was in the middle grades he was working as a fine mechinist at another mill with much better wages. He stayed at this job until he retired. He didn`t retire as early as he could have. he worked an extra year. He told my Mother he was working the extra year to make an even number of years working at the mill.. But he told me he was really working the extra year so that my mother would be able to start drawing full social security the exact same year he retired and neither of them would have any reductions as they wouldn`t be retiring early like many of his friends did. In fact Dad had one more full year extra to his credit.You see, Mother was just 1 year 4 months younger than Dad was. he was born in Jan. 1903 and mother was born in May of 1904.

But to get back to Dad`s names--all his own Family called him Jack. I never thought to ask anyone where they got the Jack from. I did hear a rumor once that my Dad was always doing something, he wasn`t one to just sit around. I heard he was like a jack-in-the box, always jumping up to do something. So, maybe that is where the name jack origionally came from. So, he was known as Jack by family and close friends and he was a jack of all trades and master in his machinest mill job ( according to his Boss and others at work) and master mechanic at home in his evenings and spare time ( people just kept bragging after he fixed their vehicle and word of mouth kept him loaded with more and more to repair. He never had to advertise to be loaded with repairs to fix for someone. ). I can`t remember a time when my Father wasn`t working on someones car or truck. Even as a small child I can remember running out to the garage just to see what my Dad was working on then. As busy as he was, he never once told any of us kids ( 7 of us) to go play, or that he was too busy to be bothered by us. he always talked with us, even though he never stopped working on what he was doing unless we needed him to look at something. I can remember many times when he would be on his wheeled platform under a vehicle when one of us would ask him to see something. he would quickly slide out on his back on that flat wood platform with the wheels under it. I never thought of it at the time, but he must have kept those wheel axels very clean for them to roll out that fast. He even repaired a neighbors truck the day before he died at almost 73 yrs of age. But he always said he was jack of all trades, but master of none of them. Thought you might get a kick out of this - a Fred called jack!

Now my Mom was one who thought she couldn`t do anything well. I never did understand why she felt that way, but she did come from a large family. I know my Dad was always telling her how wonderful and intelligent she was, so she should have believed him, as he meant every word of it. Shw was his world.

Now to get back to my Dad--When we lost our Dad 30 years ago, I told my Mom there was just one thing I would like of my Dads- an old pocket watch that belonged to his dad. my Mother couldn`t see what I would want that old watch for as it didn`t work. But I had great memories of all the times my Dad told me the story. It seemed that watch was all his Dad ever received from the railroad when he retired after over 40+ years of working there. It bothered my Dad that the railroad never had it engraved and it wasn`t a watch with a train or anything etched on it-- just a plain pocket watch, but it did have the covers to close it up. Every time he told me that story my Mother would always say that the pocket watch she bought him was nicer and much more expensive. I can still hear my Dad saying "I know that Ann, I was just telling Dot that it was all my father had to show for all his years of loyalty". I can`t even guess how many times my Dad told me that story over the years. Think I was the only one he felt was interested enough to talk about it to. I was real close with my Dad, he always knew how to make me feel real special. But then he did that with all us kids. think there was just one who felt closer to Mother than to Dad, not that Mother didn`t love us all, but she did have her favorites when we were growing up - her first son and first daughter and whoever was the baby at the time. A few years before she died her favorites changed some. But thats another story.