In Memory of Papa

July 16th commemorates the 112th birthday of my maternal grandfather, Rutherford Birchard Hayes!  He was born o July 16, 1902 in Green Ridge, Missouri. He served in the Army during WWI at the young age of 21 and was stationed in France.  He retired in 1967 from the Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Company after 39 years of service.

He was a caregiver to his first wife who died after a long illness from tuberculosis.  They had one daughter, Nadine Hayes Sands.  He married Nellie B. Thompson in 1927, and they had one daughter, Ruth Barbara Hayes.  I always thought it was intriguing that my mother and grandfather had the same initials.

Fond Recollections of my Papa:
I was blessed to get his blue eyes from the gene pool!!  And my dimples, well he told me to tell people that is where the angels kissed me.

He always had life savers stashed away in his suit coat pockets for distracting this fidgety little girl during church.

Piles of sand and gravel surrounding a cement mixer - he was always constructing a porch, patio or sidewalk.  Those mounds of sand and gravel provided hours of fun.

Lots of summers spent fishing and swimming at Gardner Lake.  He purchased a wooden boat and dubbed it “Duffy-Pen” for my brother and me to troll around on the lake.  Fourth of July he purchased an array of fireworks for a display over the water.

Fall fun attending the American Royal Parade and Rodeo.  He and my grandmother would get us out of school early for an afternoon of roping and barrel races.  It was so much fun, and I enjoyed this event with my own daughter.

Christmas – my grandfather retired from Procter & Gamble and growing up there was always a picnic basket with a ham, fruit, Cracker Jacks and a box of Russell Stover’s candy.  He and my grandmother would always purchase one big ticket item for us – portable stereo, small television, electric blanket or dressy winter coat.  My grandfather could make the best mashed potatoes and pumpkin/pecan pies all from scratch.  YUMMY!!

My grandfather lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on November 19, 1973.  He was 71 and I was 21.  He was a vital part of my life, growing up living next door.  He wasn’t a perfect person, but he was a person that shared his bounty with others – family and friends.  I decided one day to glean his good traits and carry them forward into the generations to come “Be ye kind one to another”.