By John ‘Butch’ Dale
Guest Columnist

John ‘Butch’ Dale

When I was young, my folks would often drop me off at Grandpa and Grandma Dale’s house if something came up or if they went out for the evening with friends. I would stay the night and most of the next day.

Even though they had lots of grandkids, they always made me feel special, and I knew that they truly loved me.

As I grew older, I helped more on our farm, worked for other farmers at times and became involved in sports and other activities. I started to lose contact with my grandparents, although I did see them often at the Dale family picnics and get-togethers, which were quite frequent.

Grandpa Dale started getting dementia in the 1960s and eventually had to be placed in a nursing home. He passed away in 1970 at the age of 87. Grandma Dale died the next year of cancer at the age of 81. I was married and a full-time student at Purdue at the time of their passing. I never really was able to thank Grandpa and Grandma for everything they did for me …. until now ….

Dear Grandpa Dale,

Thank you for telling me those stories about my Dad and my aunts and uncles, the stunts they used to pull, and the troubles they had when they were young. It made me feel that maybe my mistakes weren’t so bad after all.

Thank you for taking me fishing at Oscar Horn’s gravel pit. I had lots of fun catching blue gills and sunnies, and thanks for helping me take the hook from the mouth of that water turtle … that was scary!

Thank you for letting me sit on your lap and drive your Ford 8N tractor and your 1949 Ford car with the bullet-nosed grill. I thought I was a grown-up for sure!

Thank you for buying me those little metal miniature cars and trucks to play with in the dirt by the garage … and washing me up before Grandma saw how dirty I was!

Thank you for helping me build tunnels in the hayloft of your barn, even though you accidentally bent your wire-rimmed glasses, and for showing me how to shell popcorn in the hand-operated sheller … and you let me fix buttered popcorn that evening all by myself.

Thank you for paying me to mow your yard when you moved to town, and showing me how to sharpen the blades on your old reel mower. I started mowing several yards after that and earned $1 for each yard. … I was rich!

Thank you for walking up to the school ball diamond to watch me play for our baseball team each time we had a home game, and for telling me how good I had pitched. … You built up my confidence.

Dear Grandma Dale,

Thank you for letting me go with you to gather eggs from the chicken house by your barn. I liked to carry the wire basket and count the eggs … and I loved the blue sunbonnet you wore in the summer.

Thank you for reading the Little Golden books, the Bible stories, and my favorite book, “Teddy Bear of Bumpkin Hollow.” I was then able to read all by myself when I was 4.

Thank you for showing me how to cut roots and boil them to make sassafras tea “to thin my blood,” and letting me wear your copper bracelets to prevent arthritis. … I guess it worked!

Thank you for making sugar cookies every time I came to visit, your iced tea on hot summer days, and your delicious homemade pancakes on Sunday mornings.

Thank you for telling me how much you loved me when you tucked the covers around me at night in your old feather bed upstairs … and that God would protect me even though I had no night light.

Thank you for your sense of right and wrong, and your straightforward advice when I was deciding on my future … to have a job I liked, and not take a job just for the money.

Thank you for the nice card and your encouragement when I graduated, and the beautiful quilt that you handmade for my wife and me for our wedding present.

Studies have shown that nine out of 10 adult grandchildren believe that their grandparents influenced their beliefs and values and provided a positive relationship. Many times kids will listen to their grandparents even when they won’t listen to their own parents … because grandparents sometimes understand their problems better … and often listen better. They provide unwavering support and unconditional love. They can also share their experience and pass along family history

The Dale family, which includes Grandpa and Grandma Dale’s six children and 22 grandchildren, along with their associated spouses and great-grandchildren … were blessed to have Bert and Annabel Dale in their lives. I am so sorry that I did not tell them how much I loved them and appreciated them when they were here.

But Grandma and Grandpa Dale, I will see you again some day, and when I do, I will thank both of you … and give you great big hugs! And to those of you who still have your grandparents around today, tell them how much you love them. You will be glad you did..