Thumper
08-29-2021, 09:46 AM
When I was growing up, I was EXTREMELY close to my grandmother (Dad's mom). My grandfather was a VERY stern, Presbyterian minister (when he had the time), but his full-time job was as a furniture manufacturer's rep. He worked for many manufacturers (mostly in N. Carolina) and was the go-between for the factories and the retailers. I'm sure he did, but I never really remember him smiling. Here's the only pic I'm aware of that has the three JK's together - L to R - James Sr. - (Me) James III and my dad, James Jr. I think I was 8-10 yrs. old when this pic was taken (my grandfather passed away when I was 12).
12784
Anyway, their Florida house was a block away from ours when I was growing up and I probably spent more time at my grandmother's house than I did my own. I spent many nights at her house and most weekends. My grandfather was seldom home as he was always on the road - the proverbial "travelling salesman", and planned on retiring at 65. He spent so much time in the Carolinas, he decided that was where he wanted to retire. They bought a house in the mountains in the late 50's and spent every summer at the N.C, house. I remember every year, the day school ended, I'd come home and my grandparents would be parked in the driveway waiting for me to get home from school. I'd run in, grab my little suitcase and run back out to jump in the backseat of their big ol' Chrysler Town & Country station wagon, then we'd head for the mountains of N. Carolina! They'd always have me back home in time to start the next school year, but when I was entering second grade, I told my grandmother I loved it up there and didn't want to go home. She convinced my parents to let me stay and start school up there. After the first semester, they returned to Florida for the winter and I finished school at home.
My grandfather passed away of a massive heart attack when I was 12 years old, just 4 months before he was to retire. My grandmother continued to commute between the N.C. house for the summers and would return to the Orlando house for the winters. When she got too old for the amount of travel, she chose to stay at the Carolina house year-round (and rented out the Florida house). I continued to spend the summers with her in N.C. until we moved away when I was 15. I finished h/s, went on to college and eventually went into the military. Once out, my grandmother contacted me and asked if I could check on the Florida house as she'd stopped renting it out and people were supposedly breaking in and stealing antiques. I was married and living in California at the time, but my roots weren't too deep yet, so the wife and I packed up and headed to Florida, then moved into the old Florida house. It had fallen into disrepair and I spent my time and what little money I had, fixing the place up, but it needed more work than I could afford at the time, so there was a lot of "patching" going on.
Over the Labor Day weekend of 1977, the wife and I drove up to N. Carolina and spent the weekend with my grandmother. The wife eventually went to bed, but my grandmother and I sat in front of the big ol' fireplace in the living room and she told me she knew she didn't have much time left on this old earth, but she wanted me to have the N. Carolina house because she knew how much I loved it. I told her I would love the old place, but at that point in my life, I couldn't afford to keep it and I also had no idea how I'd earn a living there. I returned to the Florida house and three months later, my wife sat straight up in the bed (we were sleeping in my grandparents old bedroom) and she woke me up. I asked what was wrong and she said she'd just seen my grandmother, but she was actually a "ghost". In her dream, my wife was washing dishes and my grandmother's ghost appeared at the door, then she said, "This is your kitchen now, please take care of it." I told my wife it was just a dream and to go back to sleep. Around 7:00 am, I was getting ready for work and the phone rang. It was my uncle informing me that my grandmother had passed away in her sleep sometime during the night. (After all these years, that story still gives me goosebumps when I tell it).
Anyway, I moved out of the Florida house and went back to the Caddie dealer I'd worked for in Memphis before entering the military. The family sold off my grandmother's Florida house as well as the N.C. house. I've always loved that place in the mountains ... right on the Tuckasegee River. It kills me to think it could have been mine, but I knew, at that time, it simply would have been too much for me to take on. Now, the regret is nagging at me again as I just noticed the old place is up for sale now. The pics don't do it justice as the leaves are off the trees when these pics were taken. When everything greens up, the place is beautiful. I couldn't tell you how many hours I spent sitting out on that front porch, overlooking the river while chatting with my grandmother. :(
Of course the place has seen some remodeling over the years. When I was a kid, I'd get up early in the morning, go to the woodshed, get some wood and start the fire in the old woodstove (we had an electric range, but my grandmother loved cooking on the woodstove). I'd dump a bucket of slop for the hog, then I'd go to the chicken coop, throw some scratch out for the chickens so they'd scatter out into the yard, then I'd collect the eggs for breakfast. By time I got back to the kitchen, my grandmother would already have the grits boiling, the bacon cooked and the hot grease would be awaiting the fresh eggs.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7299-Highway-107_Cullowhee_NC_28723_M64572-22045?cid=sem_google_desktopdsasale_ldp_national&medium=tsa&ds_kid=39700062188714697&s_kwcid=AL!5154!3!537837613640!b!!g!!&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwsZKJBhC0ARIsAJ96n3WBPYUZrnwye_tEvRpS IF0eFHwY5ZJ25Uhs0gkhmt0TsALWRNhalyAaAoV4EALw_wcB:G :s&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsZKJBhC0ARIsAJ96n3WBPYUZrnwye_tEvRpS IF0eFHwY5ZJ25Uhs0gkhmt0TsALWRNhalyAaAoV4EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
12784
Anyway, their Florida house was a block away from ours when I was growing up and I probably spent more time at my grandmother's house than I did my own. I spent many nights at her house and most weekends. My grandfather was seldom home as he was always on the road - the proverbial "travelling salesman", and planned on retiring at 65. He spent so much time in the Carolinas, he decided that was where he wanted to retire. They bought a house in the mountains in the late 50's and spent every summer at the N.C, house. I remember every year, the day school ended, I'd come home and my grandparents would be parked in the driveway waiting for me to get home from school. I'd run in, grab my little suitcase and run back out to jump in the backseat of their big ol' Chrysler Town & Country station wagon, then we'd head for the mountains of N. Carolina! They'd always have me back home in time to start the next school year, but when I was entering second grade, I told my grandmother I loved it up there and didn't want to go home. She convinced my parents to let me stay and start school up there. After the first semester, they returned to Florida for the winter and I finished school at home.
My grandfather passed away of a massive heart attack when I was 12 years old, just 4 months before he was to retire. My grandmother continued to commute between the N.C. house for the summers and would return to the Orlando house for the winters. When she got too old for the amount of travel, she chose to stay at the Carolina house year-round (and rented out the Florida house). I continued to spend the summers with her in N.C. until we moved away when I was 15. I finished h/s, went on to college and eventually went into the military. Once out, my grandmother contacted me and asked if I could check on the Florida house as she'd stopped renting it out and people were supposedly breaking in and stealing antiques. I was married and living in California at the time, but my roots weren't too deep yet, so the wife and I packed up and headed to Florida, then moved into the old Florida house. It had fallen into disrepair and I spent my time and what little money I had, fixing the place up, but it needed more work than I could afford at the time, so there was a lot of "patching" going on.
Over the Labor Day weekend of 1977, the wife and I drove up to N. Carolina and spent the weekend with my grandmother. The wife eventually went to bed, but my grandmother and I sat in front of the big ol' fireplace in the living room and she told me she knew she didn't have much time left on this old earth, but she wanted me to have the N. Carolina house because she knew how much I loved it. I told her I would love the old place, but at that point in my life, I couldn't afford to keep it and I also had no idea how I'd earn a living there. I returned to the Florida house and three months later, my wife sat straight up in the bed (we were sleeping in my grandparents old bedroom) and she woke me up. I asked what was wrong and she said she'd just seen my grandmother, but she was actually a "ghost". In her dream, my wife was washing dishes and my grandmother's ghost appeared at the door, then she said, "This is your kitchen now, please take care of it." I told my wife it was just a dream and to go back to sleep. Around 7:00 am, I was getting ready for work and the phone rang. It was my uncle informing me that my grandmother had passed away in her sleep sometime during the night. (After all these years, that story still gives me goosebumps when I tell it).
Anyway, I moved out of the Florida house and went back to the Caddie dealer I'd worked for in Memphis before entering the military. The family sold off my grandmother's Florida house as well as the N.C. house. I've always loved that place in the mountains ... right on the Tuckasegee River. It kills me to think it could have been mine, but I knew, at that time, it simply would have been too much for me to take on. Now, the regret is nagging at me again as I just noticed the old place is up for sale now. The pics don't do it justice as the leaves are off the trees when these pics were taken. When everything greens up, the place is beautiful. I couldn't tell you how many hours I spent sitting out on that front porch, overlooking the river while chatting with my grandmother. :(
Of course the place has seen some remodeling over the years. When I was a kid, I'd get up early in the morning, go to the woodshed, get some wood and start the fire in the old woodstove (we had an electric range, but my grandmother loved cooking on the woodstove). I'd dump a bucket of slop for the hog, then I'd go to the chicken coop, throw some scratch out for the chickens so they'd scatter out into the yard, then I'd collect the eggs for breakfast. By time I got back to the kitchen, my grandmother would already have the grits boiling, the bacon cooked and the hot grease would be awaiting the fresh eggs.
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7299-Highway-107_Cullowhee_NC_28723_M64572-22045?cid=sem_google_desktopdsasale_ldp_national&medium=tsa&ds_kid=39700062188714697&s_kwcid=AL!5154!3!537837613640!b!!g!!&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwsZKJBhC0ARIsAJ96n3WBPYUZrnwye_tEvRpS IF0eFHwY5ZJ25Uhs0gkhmt0TsALWRNhalyAaAoV4EALw_wcB:G :s&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsZKJBhC0ARIsAJ96n3WBPYUZrnwye_tEvRpS IF0eFHwY5ZJ25Uhs0gkhmt0TsALWRNhalyAaAoV4EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds