Uncle Dave and His Battle Axe

A lot of families have someone who is “that” uncle. You know what I mean. An uncle who is also a bit of a character.  A little out of the norm. A memorable uncle. During the election season, he would be the uncle who you don’t want to tell that  you are a liberal.

Growing up, in our family, that uncle was Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave Edwards.  If you played little league baseball in Slatington, in the ’50s and ’60s, you might remember him. He was the coach of Slatington Rotary teams. His claim to fame there was that he coached Dinky Schneck, who grew up to be Dave Schneck of the New York Mets!

I knew my Uncle Dave on a more personal level.  He was married to my mom’s younger sister, Aunt Ebby.  He called Aunt Ebby “the Battle Axe”.  I think he called her that with affection. At least I hope so!  They were at our house at least once a week. Yes, back then, people used to visit other people on a regular basis.

Dave was loud. He was tall, a big guy.  He was a shift supervisor at Bethlehem Steel.  He liked to kid. He liked to tease. He liked to pick on children, especially his nieces and nephews.  I will admit it here… when I was young I was a bit afraid of him.

Uncle Dave and my dad were pretty close. They were certainly a mismatch. Like I said, Dave was a big guy and my dad was short and skinny. Dave was more of a man’s man, maybe from being a shift supervisor at Bethlehem Steel.  But whatever their connection was, it showed itself in a few ways.  They were both big fans of the New York Yankees and Ballantine beer. And they both loved burlesque!  They would eagerly check the Morning Call for the Lyric Theatre ads.  Whenever Busty Russell or Virginia Ding Dong Bell were in Allentown, they were sure to  be first in line. Good times!

Because my uncle worked different shifts, he spent a lot of time as the chauffer for my mom and her sisters (most of them never drove). They would go “rutching” ( a good PA Dutch word) and go to fairs, or shopping, or visit family in the coal regions. I always thought that was a little odd that this gruff, loud, man’s man would like spending so much time with the women.  But he did, and he seemed to enjoy it!

Uncle Dave was about 70 when he died. His wife, the Battle Axe, lived to be close to 100. The last time I visited her, she showed me a plant that was from his funeral. She said that she liked to think that Dave was still there with her.  I miss him too. I eventually got over my fear of him. Under his gruff exterior was a truly caring and loving man.  I think of him whenever a waitress asks if I’d like a doggy bag. Every time there was a family gathering, where food was served, he would loudly tell the host to “give me something for the pail!”.  That was Uncle Dave. Our family’s curmudgeon and mensch.

I hope I got you thinking about memorable characters from your family. Don’t let those memories fade!