Grandpa Palmer

When I saw this photo of Clark with Grampa (well kind of)... I realized it was 13 years ago today that Grampa Palmer died. I don't know which is more of a Palmer Family icon... Gramma or Grampa.

Grampa was kind of gruff on the exterior...a man of few words, but his family was important to him. He taught his kids, by example and practice, practical life skills.. how to fix it, build it or make do with what you had. He was a collector of nuts, bolts, car parts and old machinery so that when he needed a part or pipe he could find what he needed (or something that would work) somewhere on the farm.
His favorite places to shop...the auction and the classifieds. The local "dump" was also a great place to find just what you needed..."the good things people just throw away!" Our family joke was that was that we'd come back from a trip to the dump with more than we took. Dad taught us life skills, and I thinks we learned them well.

Gramp Palmer was the big push behind the infamous Palmer Reunions. One year he dammed off a ditch and stocked it with trout (a lot of trout) so the grand kids could fish. Numerous years he supplied the reunion with a soda fountain. Unlimited soda. Oh how the grand kids loved it, so Grampa loved doing it. And every year there was the money jar...the change (plus a few bills) he had collected during the year. Everyone would try to guess the amount to win it. But most of the time he just sat back and watched all the activities...happy to see his family together again.

When my dad (Grampa Palmer) died I stay with my mom for a couple weeks. During that time together we designed Grampa's headstone. One that he would appreciate. He wasn't a temple going man...wasn't a church goin' fellow either... though there were a few times that he tried to be. So the very common "temple-on-the-headstone" just didn't fit. But the farm was important. The old piece of machinery...yep there was plenty of that! He also raised pigs for many years so we had to make sure that there were a few of those represented. And if you look really close on the far right hand side, there's an outhouse. That may be more for Gramma...but Grampa would have like it.

Thanks Gramps for showing us how to live the "Good Life".