Jewells of Thought

One never knows if they will have a grandparent in their lives or not or how long. After the loss of Grandpa Arla and Leo in a short span of time I made a personal decision. Time is precious so it became a mission of mine to spend time with my elders. I remember hearing as a teenager or young adult that I seemed different compared to others my age. If they genuinely saw a difference it was because of those deaths.

In 2009 after I graduated from OCU, I had a meeting with the Sullivan Newspaper Editor. Writing was still something brand new to me at that point in time my need was to curate the stories. His words though reiterated in my mind, that I was a unique young woman with an interest in such an important topic of American history. Those comments meant a lot, but none of that would have happened without the urging of Grandpa Freddy.

Experiencing a whole 20 years with him was a blessing. There’s no promise we will have the people we want or need in our lives for a certain amount of time. The influence they have though can be a force for encouragement and inspiration for a lifetime.

Fortunately, because of that there are various ways to explain the hands of Papaw Freddy. His hands were busy. In the Navy he used his hands to drive big trucks, airplanes, whatever equipment his Commanding Officers needed him to move. Somehow that ignited an interest in flying planes once he was discharged. Papaw used the GI Bill to take classes on flying. He and Uncle Horace bought a plane. I remember being on that plane as a very small little girl with my somewhat pregnant Mom. They tinkered with that plane and enjoyed it as brothers and with their family, but for a short time.

Another hobby of theirs was to create with those hands. Freddy worked on his home, I cannot possibly list all of the homes that he helped on. It did include though, Grandma and Grandpa Bishop’s house. The garage and breezeway was touched by Papaw Freddy, wanting to help Grandma Betty by making those areas more accessible and larger.

Our house used to be Grandpa Fred’s childhood home. Then Uncle Floyd’s home for a time. Somehow we inherited the site, but a few alterations were in store first. Grandpa was very much in designing the house as my parents were. I also got my private suite with a bath from Grandpa’s suggestions.

Grandpa showed his love to all of us by his actions and working with his hands. The Farm was something special to him, because it allowed him to do what he loved and be a way to help his family on rainy days. Part of this is because he knew how easy life could be gone, he wanted his family to be taken care of no matter what happened to him. Grandma Rosie lost her Dad at nearly 8 years old. He never wanted her to lack for care again. That promise was seen through, by us, as a Family, due to his preparations years in advance.

These are some of the photos I don’t remember seeing before. Here are the 4 oldest Alsman Grandchildren. Three girls and a boy.

Grandpa showed his love by having family time as often as possible. It’s why my childhood felt like we had the best family ever. He hugged us, played games with us, swam with us and took us on big family vacations. Six Flags, Sikeston, Holiday World. We lived at these places together as a family. Grandpa was our foundation the glue that kept us in continual conversation.

Great-Grandma Mattie and Grandma Rosie were strong Christian women. Their influence in Fred’s life led him to being an active Christian man. His hands held the Bible and any book he could get to understand the Bible better. Now I look at some of those books and see some of his notes; it’s humbling to see those pages of handwriting.

The hands of Fred were seen in the activities he and Grandma went to for us grandchildren. He went to our Musical Concerts, Anna’s Track meets, Lilly and Anna’s basketball games. Ian’s pig handling at the fair. If one of us had an activity and every single one of us was in a musical program at every single school we attended. He drove to each and every event they could.

If those hands could talk a lot of stories would be told. The same with each of my Grandfathers. I am so grateful for each one and the different moments articulated by their hands. The Lord has blessed me with a mixed collusion of both sides and traditions, but one thing each of these men all shared uniformly is their devotion to Christ and their respective Churches. These were men who learned skills whether from being easily taught or from Service and they used them well. Their influence in their families lives are still felt today!