Charlie Brown - My Dad

Imagine having a Father whose name was Charlie Brown who had a Dalmatian dog named Snoopy. That was my Dad. Dad came by the dog when it wandered into his yard one day and stayed despite the best efforts to find its owner. Dad built Snoopy a dog house and yes, Snoopy slept on the roof.

My Father could not be described in a simple blog as he was a very complicated person. He and his family lived in a place called Cranberry in the shadow of the largest submarine coal mine and when he was in grade eight was pulled from school and became a boy miner. He worked beside his father as a helper and received  practically nothing for his labour.

This early start for physical labor probably was the reason he grew to be the strongest man I knew for his size.He was a bright student his teacher told me as she taught many members of our family and my very favorite teacher of all time.Working in the mine never curbed Dad's thirst for learning and if he had the opportunity he would have made an excellent engineer as he had a natural ability to fix everything. He was never stopped from taking on projects and one year he built a hay baler from plans in the Family Herald.

He loved sports and played football and was an excellent skater and made his own skate blades from files. He skated with the seniors well after eighty and taught many to enjoy the activity.

As a father he helped the boys to love fishing and took us to secret places when we were young so we could enjoy the sport. He tied his own fish flies and shared them with friends. Dad also built the boats we fished from and built some for friends.He showed his love for the family in small ways. Always a good provider and hard worker he showed devotion by example. There was never a time when I heard the phrase that he was too tired to do anything. People sought his help and he was there for them.

Being the Father of nine children gave him a sense of pride by making sure we had that which escaped him, an education.When grand children came along and there were many Mom and Dad softened up and became different people. They were able to share emotions that they missed as younger parents. Dad had time to pass on many of the skills and tricks that made him a happy person and was granted the love and affection from his family.

There are few days that go bye when I do not think of Dad when I approach a task and would love to be able to phone him and ask for help as I did when I built my double garage with his guidance. Charlie Brown would smile now for sure if he was able to see the huge family he led and left as his legacy.