(circa 1943) June 25, 1909, Marvin Otis Rankin was born. He is my paternal Grandfather. He would have been 100 years old today. He passed away August 20, 1995.
To say he was an AVID fisherman and outdoorsman in general, is an understatement.
He is the one that taught me how to cast a fishing line. We have notebooks that he kept when he was fishing. He would record weather conditions, wind direction, water temperature, what kind of bait was used, etc.
He was a hunter, and trapper as well. He would trap beavers, muskrats, fox, etc. and sell the pelts. This was not a "sport" for him. He sold these pelts to help with the family's expenses.
He was a rural route postal carrier for 40 years. When Chris and I visited for more than a couple of days we got to go out with him for part of his route. That was pretty cool!
He was also the local weatherman for many years. He had an official NOAA weather station set up in the yard. Each day he had to record the day's high and low temperatures as well as precipitation. I believe he also had a machine to record maximum wind speed for the day. Once a week he reported this information to the local weekly newspaper, The Wet Mountain Tribune. For many, many years his picture appeared in the paper next to his report. We granddaughters were greatly disappointed when they quit printing his picture. As television became more regional and less local, he started reporting his weather information to one of the television stations in Colorado Springs/Pueblo. Hearing the weatherman say his name on television kind of made up for no picture in the paper. When Grandpa died, they even acknowledged his passing on the newscast.
He was a camping enthusiast as well. I think we did more camping with him and Grandma than we did with our folks. There were even times when Grandpa would set up a tent in the backyard for us to camp in out there.
I miss you Grandpa and still love you dearly. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
To say he was an AVID fisherman and outdoorsman in general, is an understatement.
He is the one that taught me how to cast a fishing line. We have notebooks that he kept when he was fishing. He would record weather conditions, wind direction, water temperature, what kind of bait was used, etc.He was a hunter, and trapper as well. He would trap beavers, muskrats, fox, etc. and sell the pelts. This was not a "sport" for him. He sold these pelts to help with the family's expenses.
He was a rural route postal carrier for 40 years. When Chris and I visited for more than a couple of days we got to go out with him for part of his route. That was pretty cool!
He was also the local weatherman for many years. He had an official NOAA weather station set up in the yard. Each day he had to record the day's high and low temperatures as well as precipitation. I believe he also had a machine to record maximum wind speed for the day. Once a week he reported this information to the local weekly newspaper, The Wet Mountain Tribune. For many, many years his picture appeared in the paper next to his report. We granddaughters were greatly disappointed when they quit printing his picture. As television became more regional and less local, he started reporting his weather information to one of the television stations in Colorado Springs/Pueblo. Hearing the weatherman say his name on television kind of made up for no picture in the paper. When Grandpa died, they even acknowledged his passing on the newscast.
He was a camping enthusiast as well. I think we did more camping with him and Grandma than we did with our folks. There were even times when Grandpa would set up a tent in the backyard for us to camp in out there.
I miss you Grandpa and still love you dearly. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
(Clockwise back left - Chris, Mom, Dad, Me, Grandma, Grandpa - August 1994, 2 months before Grandma passed away)
2 comments:
What a sweet tribute to your grandpa! I miss mine too, it's been so many years...
Roo, what a sweet tribute to your grandpa. I know he was special to you and Chris as most Grandpas are.
Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself with him in this life.
Love,
Gayle
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