My Dad Would Have Been 80!

My dad would have been 80 on May 3rd. He was born in the small town of Herman, Arkansas. He passed away here in Fresno on April 15, 2004. My dad was 1 of 12 children, including 2 sets of twins. He was raised on a farm, where the kids were the hired hands! He had a hard time understanding raising kids in the city, where there was not too much for them to do. As far back as I can remember my dad planted tomatoes and bell peppers each year, no matter where we lived. Even at the end of his life when he was in the hospital he was concerned about planting his tomato plants. I would reassure him that we would see that it would be done and he would relax. Sounds as though you just couldn't take the country farm out of the man! He hitchhiked to California when he was 16 to live with his sister in Stockton. He eventually joined the Marines. He and my mother were married in Stockton and moved to Fresno. My dad worked as a chef. When he and my mother were newlyweds he worked at Bruce's Lodge. I always found this restaurant fascinating as there was an airplane which had been placed in the roof as though it had nose-dived into the roof. My parents owned a coffee shop in Fowler, CA when I was very young. They said during the busy lunch hour they would sit me in the corner of the kitchen with a plate of french fries and Roquefort dressing to dip them in. Kind of a strange thing to eat! He worked/owned restaurants throughout my life. We lived in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Lake Elsinore. When I was 14, we lived in Lake Elsinore where my dad owned a restaurant. When the regular employees who worked in the kitchen did not come in for work, my dad would have my mom bring me in to work either washing dishes or making sandwiches. Hmm, I wonder if that was left over from his days on the farm where the kids were the hired help as I was never paid for working! Even after he "retired" he worked part-time at the Moose's Lodge and Elks' Lodge of which he was a member of each. He continued to work as a chef until he absolutely became too ill to work. He was always in charge of the family Christmas dinner each year, even when it was painful for him due to his cancer. Christmas of 2003 was the last meal he prepared for us. His strength to endure cancer treatments amazed me. He was always willing to try the next treatment - he was not giving up without a fight. He passed away at the VA Nursing Home with all of his kids and grandson Jeffrey by his side. I don't have too many family pictures of which I am in possession, but I will share a couple which I found.

My dad about the time he met my mom - about 1948?

Mom & Dad on their wedding day in 1949.

The famous "Egg Parties". Each Saturday night when my dad returned home from work around 2 a.m., we would wake up and he would fix us breakfast, even though he had spent hours working in a very busy restaurant that often served over 1,000 people on a Saturday night. That's me watching. I was about 5-1/2.