Memories

My great-grandfather lived in Chatfield, Minnesota, for almost his whole life. It’s where my grandma, and all her siblings, were raised. Because my family lived across the country from me, I only visited ‘Super Grandpa’s’ house a few times. However, the most prominent thing in my memory is the living room. As a baby I must have sat on the floor to play a lot, because I remember playing with the ‘toys’ we had: marbles and old plastic cups. I recall rolling the marbles around the room or hiding a marble under one of the cups, moving three of them around, and guessing which one had the marble.

Sometimes there was a movie playing on the TV, and other times we would watch Super Grandpa re-wind the rotating pendulum clock that lived on the mantle. While my cousins and I played, my grandma’s siblings would sit on the couch and tell stories about when they were little children, playing with the cups and marbles. Super Grandpa, however, didn’t sit on the couch; he had a special recliner that he would always sit in. Sometimes, he would fall asleep in it, too.

The second most distinguished thing in my memory of Super Grandpa’s house are the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. They were curved around the corner, and some of the steps were triangle shaped and easy to trip over. We were always warned not to run on the stairs, but my cousins and I did just the opposite. In fact, we ran all around the upstairs playing ‘Cops and Robbers’. I don’t remember if any of us fell or got hurt, but I’m sure we did. The other set of stairs in the house lead to the basement. The basement wasn’t quite finished, and I remember being able to see the beams and insulation in the walls, and the lights being quite dim. I remember thinking it was the sort of thing that would be in a scary movie, and never enjoyed being down there.

The top of the basement stairs lead to the kitchen. For some reason, the only thing in the kitchen that I remember is the highchair, probably because my grandma’s siblings told me stories about how it was the same highchair they sat in as babies. While I don’t recall much else from the kitchen, I do remember the laundry room. The washing and dryer machines, being so old, did not always run well; sometimes they would get too hot and begin to rattle and shake. I remember sitting on them with my grandma so they wouldn’t jump around too much. I recall thinking it was sort of weird, but also enjoying the interesting experience.

Even though I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Super Grandpa’s house, I feel lucky that I can remember anything about it at all. More so, I feel very blessed that I was able to get to know my great-grandfather. I am grateful for the memories I have at his house, and the time I got to spend with my family.