​Remembering Grandpa

Alyssa reminded me in a text today that Grandpa Stucki left us 16 years ago. WOW. I can’t believe it has been that long. I always said that I didn’t think I would last a year without him. Time has a way of softening the blow.

I have told all of you that before, but it got me to thinking that I have really never shared these sentiments with the grandchildren. 

She has inspired me to do just that today. So these thoughts are for the grands.

Many years ago when I was just a boy, I had the good fortune of living in Salt Lake City until I was 12-years-old. I had four brothers and three sisters, and I was the sixth child born. We were a happy family, and I got to do fun things with my mom and dad, and we had a happy childhood going to parades in the summer, picnics in the park, playing night games, and probably my favorite going to the swimming club in our neighborhood.

My dad worked really hard every day, and I got to see him when he would come home. Sometimes I helped him at the store doing important things like sorting hangers, clearing the back room, or discarding boxes. He always made me feel like a million bucks.

On occasion we got to go out with my dad by ourselves on Dad’s Night Out, which I loved.

Then in 1976, a long time ago, we left the city and went to southern Utah to start a farm. We called it the homestead because all the things we did there were to make a happy home and good life. For me, that’s just what it was because I got to do fun things and live an exciting life in the country on the farm. But best of all I got to work every day with my dad.
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Sometimes we dug fence post holes or pruned the orchard. We pulled weeds, fashioned ditches, fed the animals, and milked the goats and cow every day. Then, when Granny rang the dinner bell, we all came in to eat. I remember my dad savoring the delicious foods and drinking the milk or buttermilk. He was grateful for this opportunity and always smiled appreciatively.

I knew that my dad loved us because he worked so hard in our behalf and was always happy to be able to do it together as a family. I was grateful for this, too, especially today.

One time after I met and married your Gramma, we took a video tape recorder to Castle Valley. It was brand new technology at the time and fit a whole VHS tape inside. We recorded my dad going out to milk Janey and feed the horses one morning. It was really great! Camilla and Steven would watch this video every day for years. Eventually the sound faded in and out and later the tape was misplaced. We searched and searched, but we couldn’t find it.

I wrote in detail about this incident, so we would be able to remember it and cherish the memory for years to come. Then, something very interesting happened.

A few months ago when I took some video tapes to convert them to digital files, I found it!

Today in honor of Grandpa, I am sharing it with all of you whom I love very much. Enjoy!