Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day

You might be wondering what a cotton boll has to do with Father's Day!!!! One of my earliest memories of Dad was when I was around 3 years old. Dad and Mom left Oregon for California. Dad and Mom got a job picking cotton by hand in the fields in California. We were the only white family there, all the rest were black. As Dad picked cotton he had a canvas bag that would drag on the ground behind him. Dad would let me ride on the tail end of his cotton bag while he went up and down the rows picking cotton. I believe Dad said they got paid a dollar a hundred pounds of cotton picked....not quite sure I'll have to ask Dad if he remembers. Anyway, I would take the picked cotton and make animals out of them. I would show Dad my chickens, rabbits, cats, and dogs that I would make. Dad said the black cotton pickers would laugh and carry on about the little blonde girl riding on her Daddy's cotton sack making little animals. After a long day of picking cotton we only had a utility trailer with a tarp on top to sleep in at night. Dad said my Grandmother was beside herself because her first grandchild was sleeping in a utility trailer. After a while Dad rented a house and we moved into it in Madera, California. I remember getting up early with Dad when he went to work and watching cartoons on the TV. We had several channels to choose from. My favorite cartoons were Woody Woodpecker and Chilly Willy. After a while we moved back to Oregon and lived close to Grandma........and she was thankful!

I'm a Daddy's Girl!!!!! I always have been and always will be one. My Dad is the most important person in my life other than my wonderful husband.

Happy Father's Day! Daddy

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love that story. Very rich with family history! It's stories and times like that that shape who you are.