Backside of the Postcard...8-10-90

I'm sure for my Parents it was a complete thrill to go out on the ocean with JoAnn, Gene, & their kids.

...(click on the image to enlarge)

Postcard From Mom & Dad...8-10-90

This is the front side of the postcard postmarked 8-10-90 that Mom & Dad sent me from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts while visiting my sister JoAnn and Brother-in-law Gene Grant & family.

I found this postcard while thumbing thru some old books of mine that were in a box. At the time the postcard was sent to me I was working on the island of Kauai in Hawaii as a finish carpenter. I probably used the postcard as a bookmark and today I opened the book to read the card again some 18 years later.

A Message from Dad to Jack...Aug. 19, 1954

Here it is...Read for yourselves. Click on the postcard to enlarge it.

Notice that the stamp was 1 cent. Also, Cedar Grove Route was the mailing route that my Grandfather's farm was located. The card was sent to Mr. Jack Simmons in care of E.M. Simmons. Elliot Monroe Simmons was my Grandfather's name.

I just got off the phone with my sister, Mary who is currently battling a cancerous brain tumor and she remembered Grandpa's first name as Elliot. A big Thank you to Mary! She has always had a terrific memory and has struggled in the past 4 1/2 months with her communication and her memory. As I write this posting, Mary is able to speak and recall much better than she has for a while. Mary said that she, Jim, Mom, Dad, and even Nema (my Mom's mother) may have driven out to California on this trip!

Dad at 7527 Byron Place...circa 1957

Here's my Dad as he was posing in front of our apartment. He would have 41 yrs. old at this time. He was born on March 17, 1916...St. Patrick's day.To me it looks like Karen, my neice was standing in the door opening in the background. Karen would have been around 3 at this time since she was born in March of 1954.
My Dad was born on a 360 acre farm located in Jadwin, Mo. just outside of Salem, Missouri. His father raised cattle on this farm and apparantly the land had been in the Simmons name for some time. My Great, Great Aunt who lived to be one month shy of 100 yrs. old told of Civil War soldiers from both the North & the South traveling thru the farm land. Soldiers would gather chickens and other livestock available and prepare these animals for their meals.
My Great, Great Aunt went on to say that the family would hide livestock and the Black farm help in limestone caves located on the farm to protect them from the soldiers. My Great, Great Aunt lived until about 1957-8. She lived with my Great Aunt Mary in the Central West End in St. louis until her passing.
Dad moved from the farm to St. Louis sometime after graduating from high school. He graduated from Salem H.S. in 1935. Dad must have been about 19-21 when he moved to St. Louis to live at his Aunt's residence. One thing I do know is that my Dad's mother passed away when he was just an infant. Whether it was at birth or a few months later I am not sure. Dad's father remarried sometime after Dad's Mom passed.
I loved spending time with my Dad as he was everything to me. We generally had dinner at 4 o'clock in the afternoon during the week as my Dad now worked at Wagner Electric in Wellston. Dad worked the swing shift as a brakeman & plater and would not get home til late. My favorite times with Dad were when we would wrestle on the carpet and he would always rub his afternoon facial stubble on my soft, freckled cheeks.