Saturday, February 21, 2004
THE ANDERSEN FINALE
The Andersen men were physical and hard working. They were raised tough on the farms grandpa had but none of them ended up farming. Life demanded them to be men when they were only boys. Once away from the farms they all ended up mechanically motivated. They learned to fix anything with whatever was available.
As a little girl I remember dad and my uncles laughing about their feats of strength on the farm……..the corn-picking contests, plowing by moonlight, wrestling each other and dumping the loser in the horse-tank…their stories went on and on. There were regional bouts as well for they remembered their neighbors mostly by their nationalities………….the big Swede, the German, the Finn, old man so and so the Dane.
As they were able to have cars their competitive spirit turned to racing each other. They told wild stories about racing trains, racing horses and buggy’s trying to head each other off by going down in the ditch and across the field……..they were wild and wonderful to listen to and always interrupted with lots of laughter by all. They played as hard as they worked.
I remember them all with great admiration for where they came from and where their journey took them. I loved hearing the soft spoken Dane language when visiting grandma and grandpa. They would talk a while and then silence would fall as they remembered old friends, neighbors and family. Grandma and grandpa read the Danish paper and would relay news from back in Denmark. It was foreign to my dad and uncles but my grandparents spoke with a longing in their voice.
They made several trips back to the “old country” but as they grew older the trip was too hard on them. Though some of their family came to America over the years familiar sights and sounds still called to my grandparent’s. In their hearts they were very connected to their mother country.
The Andersen’s were not musical or interested in the arts. They only had time for work and their pride was in their strength. Some of the boys reached the eighth grade and some never went to school but they were all gifted in achieving their goals. I am indebted to the Andersen’s for passing on their strength of purpose, their honesty and ability to adapt.
Now that I am in the Fall of my life I wanted to pass the torch to my children. It is important to me that the Andersen’s are remembered………it is important to me to leave a light to follow……….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
As a little girl I remember dad and my uncles laughing about their feats of strength on the farm……..the corn-picking contests, plowing by moonlight, wrestling each other and dumping the loser in the horse-tank…their stories went on and on. There were regional bouts as well for they remembered their neighbors mostly by their nationalities………….the big Swede, the German, the Finn, old man so and so the Dane.
As they were able to have cars their competitive spirit turned to racing each other. They told wild stories about racing trains, racing horses and buggy’s trying to head each other off by going down in the ditch and across the field……..they were wild and wonderful to listen to and always interrupted with lots of laughter by all. They played as hard as they worked.
I remember them all with great admiration for where they came from and where their journey took them. I loved hearing the soft spoken Dane language when visiting grandma and grandpa. They would talk a while and then silence would fall as they remembered old friends, neighbors and family. Grandma and grandpa read the Danish paper and would relay news from back in Denmark. It was foreign to my dad and uncles but my grandparents spoke with a longing in their voice.
They made several trips back to the “old country” but as they grew older the trip was too hard on them. Though some of their family came to America over the years familiar sights and sounds still called to my grandparent’s. In their hearts they were very connected to their mother country.
The Andersen’s were not musical or interested in the arts. They only had time for work and their pride was in their strength. Some of the boys reached the eighth grade and some never went to school but they were all gifted in achieving their goals. I am indebted to the Andersen’s for passing on their strength of purpose, their honesty and ability to adapt.
Now that I am in the Fall of my life I wanted to pass the torch to my children. It is important to me that the Andersen’s are remembered………it is important to me to leave a light to follow……….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
