My Daddy was a life-saver more than one time in his life. Around Father’s Day each year, I get a bit reflective since Daddy has passed 12 years ago. What I have found over these 12 years, during my reflections, is how giving this quiet man was, in so many ways. My Daddy, Edward Rogers, was born March 21, 1923 in Oklahoma. He was one of nine children. My grandma and grandpa raised their family during the Great Depression and during the Dust Bowl years. Struggling was nothing new to this family. My grandpa was born in 1897 and came to live in Oklahoma from Kansas. My grandma was born in 1903 in Indian Territory before Oklahoma became a state in 1907. I was raised like no other kid in my class, but with roots I have grown to love and cherish over my lifetime. It was a pleasure and an experience for this Gen Xer to be raised by a man from the Greatest Generation; sometimes comical, sometimes frustrating, but always I was thankful for it. A wealth of knowledge and ingenuity was lost when I lost him. Some of the things my Daddy taught me include gardening, mixing cement, slopping the hogs, fishing, making sinkers, what it means to work and not be idle, a quiet strength that people find comforting, mixing cement, a bit of masonry, how to fix a toilet, how to shift a manual transmission when I was six because he broke his arm roller skating, the importance of watching a football game (Go Cowboys!), how to caulk a bathtub, how to collect the eggs without getting pecked, how to skin a rabbit (I’ll pass on that one now), how to beat Bowser’s castle, how to have fun and how to live life with a capital L, and did I mention mixing cement? That man was forever building something that required cement. I got real good at mixing the rocks, sand and cement mixture; I knew just how much water to add and what it sounded like when it was done. I even have the scar on the bridge of my nose to prove it! Important life lessons there. My Daddy saved me 37 years ago and we didn’t look back. I was adopted by my grandparents and became child number 8 in this mixed family. For that I am forever grateful. When I look back over the life that Daddy and I shared, I see a man that never told me no, held the same job for 32 years, quietly went about life because he knew what loss was and he knew what he fought for during WWII. We never did talk about the war, but he would let me look at his medals and the Japanese sword he brought home from a Japanese soldier he killed in action. He would let me, with my child’s curiosity, look at the scarring on his legs where shrapnel had to be removed and some was still embedded. Daddy didn’t want much in life, as a Gen Xer this confounded me sometimes. This is the man that was raised during the Depression, which meant we didn’t use the air-conditioning in the summer … in Oklahoma …when it was 110 degrees outside. We didn’t use the central heat in the winter. I remember it being so cold and I had to shower and get ready for school and I could see my breath! I would run to the kitchen and stand in front of the stove because it was acceptable to turn the oven on and open the door or turn the burners on for heat. Looking back, I guess I’m pretty lucky we had hot water!! My Daddy is my hero; there will never be a better man in my eyes. I sure do miss fishing with him, especially night fishing below the Keystone Dam on the Arkansas River. With the upcoming holiday on Sunday, June 17th; is this a time that you celebrate with your Dad, are you celebrated as a Dad, or will you spend part of the day in quiet reflection as I will … missing what you had but forever thankful for what you had at one time? Share your stories!
Thank you for the story Shawna. I know and knew people a lot like your father and they are truly exceptional in their own way.. a happy father's day to all!..
Shawna, the story you relate is only part of a good father's legacy. Now that you've shared this with us, and I've started thinking about it in relation to my own life as a father, his legacy expands to include the influence he had on total strangers on a shaving forum. I'm grateful for good men and women everywhere I find them, and now I can say I'm grateful for your dad today too. Thank you.
Shawna, very touching, thanks. I have very fond memories of my Dad, who died 41 years ago on graduation night. 4 days later I was in Marine Corp boot camp. What a ride.
Great story Shawna...I guess we have more than shaving in common. My twin brother and I were adopted by our Paternal grandparents...our father passed away 1 month before our 21st birth....so it's been 27 years that he has been gone. Like your father, he was a WW2 Vet, and grew up during the depression. After the war he went back home to West Virginia, and was a coal miner till he moved with my mother and there son to Chicago....I remember hearing stories how my mom took the bus to Chicago with $2 in her purse.....I can't imagine that today.... Thank you for sharing your fond memories....and Oh.......if you ever come through Jacksonville....stop on by....we'll mix up some cement
Thank you all! My Dad was quite the personality that I am sure I replicate on a daily basis .. sometimes to the chagrin of Jeff! It's the Rogers' in me ...
Utterly off topic, but I'm seeing "to the chagrin of Jeff" as your next custom title. (Plus, I want the music tag points!). Great testimonial, Shawna!
I earned those fair and square! Who else can answer Alf questions around here?!? But, I do agree, that CT would surely fit me!
Thank you, Shawna - It put me in mind of my father, Kenneth Nicholas, born June 16, 1910, in Cornwall, UK. He emigrated to Colorado as a baby in arms later that same year. He passed away in Medford, Oregon on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 25, 2004, at 94 years. Dad took me camping, fishing and hunting at an early age, and instilled a strong work ethic, which was common to the times. My Godfather, Walter Rath, owned a stretch of land on the Platte River in Eastern Colorado, centrally located between three reservoirs. Walt, Dad and I spent many hours in the duck blind, over a large spread of Mallard decoys, for some fine memories and some excellent duck hunting.
Thanks for sharing, Shawna. My dad passed away seven years ago, after a seven year fight against the big C. He taught me a lot about the good life & sharing it with those you love. No cement mixing for me, but sailing, installing central heating, electricity and the water supply system (we lived on an old barge for a while and built our own home in it). I miss him as well, bit I know he's proud of us all at home.
Beautiful article and rememberances....Thanks so for sharing....I will....well actually, am reflecting today....Like you, a day doesn't go by that I don't reflect...and I don't..."miss what I had but am forever thankful for what I surely did have ..." Therefore those times, and my Father and Mother...will always live in my heart.... I was very lucky to have them til recently...my Father passed 4 years ago this month and my Mom passed three months ago...They were so in love....they truely lived for each other and their children...And like you, my Pop was my hero and role-model, and they both were my best friends...They taught me to live my dreams...and always be true to what you believe in.... Thanks again for sharing...
Great article, Shawna. Thanks for sharing. I love the part about him teaching you to beat Bowser's castle because I've done the same with my son. It made me smile.
Damn, how did I miss this article. I'm setting here with tears in my eyes reading it. What a great rememberence of your Dad. My Dad like yours was from that generation and served in WWII, in Europe. My Dad was born October 4, 1911 in Cement, OK and died October 10, 1974 in Dallas, TX. My Mom was born October 26, 1913 in Fletcher, OK and died July 20, 1992 in Dallas, TX. Thanks Shawna for a GREAT read.