My Grandfather... Ernest Everett Hanks was a tall and very handsome man! He had the most beautiful blue eyes which my mother got and I did not.... He called himself a "Swamp Yankee" through and through (with a smile on his face.)This meaning he grew up in the north country of New England; Vermont and New Hampshire way back in the woods. His mother Dora, died when he was a young man of 25 in 1932. His father,Frank never remarried and died in 1964. My grandfather used to love smoking cigars and I recall how I liked the sweet scent of the smoke as a child. He would also smoke a pipe as he watched his favorite shows on his black and white television. He loved "Red Skelton", "Arthur Godfrey" and "Dinah Shore" shows. In the summer he would plant a big vegetable garden and I would help him water. He LOVED cars and always had a new one-and the bigger the better! He was an Oldsmobile man. In one of the photos,that's me sitting on his car. My grandfather always referred to my grandmother as "Laurie", which I named my first daughter. He worked in timber mills most of his life. As a "Swamp Yankee," he was rugged and built for this type of work. For some reason he would always tell me the same "Knock-Knock" joke and he got the biggest kick out of it. ( "Knock-Knock"..."Who's There?"..."Tim"..."Tim Who?".... T I M B E R !) I suppose it was fitting for a man who grew up and worked around TIMBER most of his life. This by the way, means a Tree is about to fall, that's why the fellas yell 'TIMBER" when they're cutting. Well,he left us much too soon and I suspect when I see him again he'll have a great Knock-Knock joke to tell me!!
My Grandfather... Ernest Everett Hanks was a tall and very handsome man! He had the most beautiful blue eyes which my mother got and I did not.... He called himself a "Swamp Yankee" through and through (with a smile on his face.)This meaning he grew up in the north country of New England; Vermont and New Hampshire way back in the woods. His mother Dora, died when he was a young man of 25 in 1932. His father,Frank never remarried and died in 1964. My grandfather used to love smoking cigars and I recall how I liked the sweet scent of the smoke as a child. He would also smoke a pipe as he watched his favorite shows on his black and white television. He loved "Red Skelton", "Arthur Godfrey" and "Dinah Shore" shows. In the summer he would plant a big vegetable garden and I would help him water. He LOVED cars and always had a new one-and the bigger the better! He was an Oldsmobile man. In one of the photos,that's me sitting on his car. My grandfather always referred to my grandmother as "Laurie", which I named my first daughter. He worked in timber mills most of his life. As a "Swamp Yankee," he was rugged and built for this type of work. For some reason he would always tell me the same "Knock-Knock" joke and he got the biggest kick out of it. ( "Knock-Knock"..."Who's There?"..."Tim"..."Tim Who?".... T I M B E R !) I suppose it was fitting for a man who grew up and worked around TIMBER most of his life. This by the way, means a Tree is about to fall, that's why the fellas yell 'TIMBER" when they're cutting. Well,he left us much too soon and I suspect when I see him again he'll have a great Knock-Knock joke to tell me!!
