This is the first of six (or so) posts about my father, whose 100th birthday would have been February 25, 2021. Like all good stories, we'll start at the beginning, with a brief introduction and some of my most vivid memories, and then progress through his life. This blog is a gift to his six grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren in hopes that I can capture their grandfather's story,
My Memories
My father, Robert Ansel Greenley, was born February 25, 1921, and died in 1970, at the age of 49. I was 13. My memories are kid's memories, further reduced by time. As with all memories, certain things stand out. I remember sitting on my father's lap. I was tall, and he moved me around so we'd be comfortable. I remember my face up against his face, feeling his scratchy whiskers.
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| Bob Greenley with daughter Marianne. (1958 |
Another memory is sitting in his truck at the A&W, and getting a soft serve ice cream cone (he loved soft serve ice cream). A similar story is he leaving me in the truck while he went into Anderson's Mart. He returned with Juicy Fruit gum for me (and cigarettes for him, I'm sure)
One other episode that has stuck with me was a trip we made to visit our Uncle Everett and family. We rarely went to restaurants growing up -- so it was unusual for us to stop on our trip south at a truck stop for breakfast. I remember how he flirted with the waitress, and how fun to see this part of his personality. I ordered strawberry waffles!
By the time I was eleven or so, all my older siblings were out of the house. My father bought a sedan to replace the station wagon. The sedan had a big engine, and was fast. (Side note - the car had an 8 track! We thought we were just the coolest to have such a luxury. The 8 tracks he bought: The Irish Rovers, and a country western singer) He was driving along a straight stretch of highway outside of town, and speed up to see how fast he could go -- we went over a small hump in the road and he went airborne! Mom was freaking out - and Lance and I loved it!
That "hump" in the road was one of Dad's favorite places. It was where the road, Old Highway 99, crossed the railroad tracks between Wilbur and Sutherlin. Before Marianne was born, when there were just three of us kids, we loved it when we'd go on a trip to the north of town. The sensation we got from speeding up over those tracks was what we called "losing our stomachs."
ReplyDeleteDad loved to drive. He'd drive the semi truck all week then on weekends load us all up in the car and often retrace his delivery route, stopping at his delivery sites to visit, and I'm sure to show off his family to his customers. This was in the 1950s, before Interstate 5 when dad delivered Hudson House groceries to all the little Mom & Pop country stores and restaurants along the way and to Piggly Wiggly and Safeway stores in the towns. I got to go with him a few times, quite a thrill to sit up high in that old Diamond T truck and look down on all the cars. The windshield was hinged at the top and when it got too hot, Dad would crank a handle on the dash and the bottom of the windshield would swing forward a few inches, his air conditioning. Getting to go with Dad was quite a treat for me. I'm not sure if Ross ever got to do that and that's too bad.