Father's Day [View all]

[Retired Engineer Bob]

This is the second Father’s Day since my dad has passed. I still miss him greatly. Some miscellaneous memories:

I stayed at my grandparents house went I went to the University, came home to visit on weekends. Had a great paying part time job, mentioned to the folks I was thinking about taking a year off and working part time. Without skipping a beat, and no malice, he asked me where I was planning to live. Put a quick end to that line of thought. Looking back I really appreciate his wisdom.

Speaking of that job, I was working second shift. Idiot me got into a race on the way home. They used the jaws of life to get me out of the vehicle. My folks arrived at the hospital at around 2:00 am. Fortunately I only suffered a broken collarbone from the seat belt, and was released around 3:00 am. He never castigated me for my stupidity. He got up at 5:30 that same morning to go to work, I don’t recall him ever missing work regardless of the situation. I never did apologize for putting him through this, sorry dad.

He and I always took a one week vacation around Labor Day. Started out backpacking, visited Pukaskwa national park (https://www.northernontario.travel/algoma-country/pukaskwa-national-park-is-a-must-visit-for-hiking-and-paddling-adventures), Isle Royal, and Pictured Rocks. We discussed going to Tierra del Fuego after I graduated, but by then we lost interest in backpacking. Beer is way to heavy to carry.

So our interests turned to fishing. We took our yearly vacations to northern Canada. The lakes are large, people few and far between. Could go for hours without seeing another boat. Experiencing bald eagles, loons, bears, moose, and the scenery was tremendous. And the thrill of latching on to a 50”+ Northern Pike on 10 lb test line was amazing. We always released the Northerns, but would save a few Walleyes for dinner 3 or 4 nights. Fantastic memories, thanks dad.





I thought I would share a wedding photo of my folks, they look very happy. 56 years all told.