Father's Day Scavenger Hunt #112

      

Photo Scavenger Hunt #112 will be due on Monday, June 18, at 11:00 PM EST.  From Val who's standing in for her sister Krissy.

Our subject this week will be:  "my dad, fathers, Father's Day"

Please note I have given you an extra day for this Hunt so you can relax on Father's Day.  Your submissions are not due until Monday night.  Please interpret the subject any way you wish.  Place your submissions, including full entry URL, in the comments section below.  Wishing all you the father's out there in J-Land a wonderful Father's Day!!

 

My dad passed away on Sept 14, 1990 but his memory lives on.  He was a great dad and grandfather, he was a devout Christian man, a hard worker and was a perfect example of what a husband and father should be.   He worked for the Milwaukee Railroad, first at the age of 16, on a gang laying track.  Both of his parents were telegraph operators on the Milwaukee, so once he trained, he too went to work as a telegrapher,too.   He married my mom in 1939 and at first they lived in some very remotes places along the tracks.  Their world changed on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed.  My mom was very pregnant (I was born just 27 days later) and after much discussion my dad joined the U.S. Army.  He was promised that he would not be in combat but in a Railroad Battillion in Europe somewhere.  The picture I've posted was taken at a family 4th of July picnic at my grandparent's house in Sunnyside, Washington. I was just 6 months old and two days later my dad left Seattle by train for his basic training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi.  He had advanced to a train dispatcher just before joining the army so that was what he did overseas. He served in North Africa, Italy, France and Sicily. He came home in the fall of 1945 and after mom & him (and me of course)  got settled back in Tacoma, WA he went back to work for the Milwaukee RR as a dispatcher until his retirement in 1976.

Like I said earlier, my dad was a hard worker. Besides his full time railroad job, he always had some other business on the side.  His favorite was he refrigeration business.  He took a correspondence course and soon bought a panel truck and Enterprise Refrigeration became a reality.   He worked the afternoon shift on the railroad, so his morning were spent making service calls or recharging someone's air conditioning in their cars.  Plus we lived on 10 acres and since spent his teen years living in the Hollywood area, he fancied himself as a gentleman farmer.  So there were animals to care for.  Since he worked 3pm-12 midnight, our poor milk cow, Daisy, got milked at 1pm and 1am .  Unfortunately, that schedule made it difficult for very few family vacations as the neighbors weren't anxious to continue dad's milking schedule.

He had a great sense of humor and always had a smile and a kind word for everyone who crossed his path. 

I thank God for the privilege of having William Henry Smith for my dad.  He was truly a loving husband, father and grandfather.