Grandparents!

The other day I had a client, an early fifties male, who was mourning the loss of his  95 year old grandmother. That was a little hard for me to relate to because I lost my grandparents, all four of them, while still a kid. Then I found myself a little envious that some people get to have amazing, long lasting and loving relationships with their grandparents. I barely knew mine!

That, I assume, is a consequence of being an oops baby. My parents were older, so my grandparents were older too. I do carry, daily, a legacy from my maternal grandfather. My middle name was his first name. My middle name is Ray and his first name was Raymond. I’m glad I could carry your name on for you, PopPop.  PopPop, that’s what we called our grandfathers and we called our grandmothers Mammy! So I had PopPop and Mammy George and PopPop and Mammy Becker.

My Becker grandparents grew up in Mahanoy City and moved to Slatington when their children (my mom was one of them) were young. They moved here so my grandfather could work in a slate quarry. They lived on West Church Street, between 5th and 6th Streets. Their house, years after their death was burned down on purpose as a training exercise for new firefighters. Here is what I know about my maternal grandmother, Catherine. Absolutely nothing. I can’t remember hearing any stories about her while I was growing up. She died when I was in Kindergarten. I wish I knew more about her. My maternal grandfather died when I was six. I remember him a little. Very little. Stories about him, which I heard after his death, focused on his being a health food and healthy regimen devotee way ahead of his time.

I knew my George grandparents a little better because they lasted a little longer. But not much longer. They grew up in Quakertown and owned a little grocery store there. They moved to Slatington for a job for my grandfather, Wilmer. He had a mobile retail truck route selling coffee and other staples to the housewives of Slatington and Walnutport. Hellick Coffee Company. anyone remember that? The two things I remember most about him was cigar smoke and visiting his small warehouse of supplies on West Franklin Street. It smelled sooo good!  The warehouse, not the cigar smoke. He died when I was 9 years old. My grandmother, as did my grandfather before he died, lived in an apartment at the corner of First and Church Streets in Slatington. Two unique things about that apartment. The bathroom was decorated with pictures of the Dionne Quintuplets! and there was a set of stairs that led up to a tower from where you could see wonderful views of the area.

Mammy George gets her own paragraph because I knew her the longest. Lillian died when I was in 9th grade. My dad and I used to visit her every Saturday morning. My mom never went along. Apparently, they did not like each other very much. I can remember my mom and dad having arguments over my dad’s relationship with his mother. My grandmother made the best bread pudding I ever tasted. I remember she had a Boston Terrier doorstop. I am just realizing that I really don’t know much about her either. That’s sad.

Here are four people who, indirectly, had a huge influence on my life. My parents learned how to be parents from them. I grew up where I did because of choices my grandparents made years before. My genetic makeup comes from them. Their decision, on how many children to have, had an effect on how many aunt, uncles, and cousins I grew up with. My aunts, uncles, and cousins had a huge effect on me. My dad was an only child but my mom had five siblings. I love all these people.

I was about to close and I remembered an important thing. On a wall in my paternal grandmother’s apartment was a framed picture. It was four pictures in a row, in one frame, of my siblings graduation portraits. My picture would be added to that frame in just three years. I looked forward to that. Alas, it was not to be. A shout out to my brothers….does anyone have that?

So, your grandparents are very important people. VIPs!  If you still have them, make sure you check in with them. Learn what you can from them because once they are gone it is too late. If your grandparents are gone, like mine, think of them once in a while and give them some credit for who you are today. Of course, if you are a bad person, give them the blame! Just kidding! My readers are all wonderful! Stay warm!