His legacy is a photograph?
My grandfather died at 45 of heart failure. My father didn’t hardly knew him as he was 4 when his Dad died. My Dad didn’t know his granddad’s name. Grandfather’s family lived in a different state. Who am I? What is my legacy? Who were these ancestors?
I looked back at the photograph and he stared back at me.
I asked my grandmother.
“He was a tall man of good humor, a good father, a mechanic with a little temper…” she recalled.
My older uncle was with him at age 12 the day he died, “Dad always bought groceries for the family on Friday night. He collapsed crossing the street,” He said.
My older Aunt said her Dad’s home was in Georgia and that he eloped with my grandmother and moved to central Florida…
The photo still stared at me, but I wanted to know what my grandfather wanted me to know about him!
What a waste, that an entire life is terminated in a photograph!
Not even two generations have passed and only one of his grandchildren knows his first name!
After three years of searching, no more photos turned up. Only one signature. But the treasure was found on the original family farm at Hazelhurst;
My granddad, Elias, helped his father as a farmer, blacksmith and turpentine refiner.
Elias loved children, always insuring their safety and ability to have fun as visitors.
From the family truck farm, Elias and his Dad “Uncle Jack” fed all their neighbors during the depression.
When he was 21, his mother died in childbirth. A disagreement with his Dad for marrying a woman the same age as Elias caused him to separate and live with his grandparents in Fitzgerald.
Elias’ youngest and oldest daughter both agreed that their Dad was special. After a hard day’s work he came home, got in the floor and made sure every child was tussled, loved and included in the welcome home of the evening.
My Dad was amazed at the new revelations about his father. He saw the familiar simulations in his life with that of his dad. He said, “My Dad’s history was almost lost forever!”
As I looked around the heart doctor’s office, I recalled I had bought the family groceries every week since I got married. My children met me at the door every evening as I progressed through my careers as a flower farmer, a welder, a mechanic and a contractor. I was prone to laugh a lot, there was a bit of temper on rare occasions. And then there are those photographs, hunting, fishing and posing. None of them spoke…
Oh how I wished recordings had been available for his day!
The doctor left the room and the sunset shone through the window on my chair, “I have a lot to share, and I will say it in my voice to my generation for their children and those afar off!”
And the photograph smiled.
Although I was able to garner bits and pieces to combine a facsimile of granddad’s life over 3 1/2 years, I believe he would have told me far more of his legacy in his voice, if he would have had a chance.
Your voice is time sensitive, don’t lose the opportunity to tell it your way, NOW!
Thank you Legacy Too for allowing me to record my story, then store it in the cloud for my grandchildren! Leave your voice Legacy today! legacytoo.com
