You can never forget the place of your birth and upbringing and going back opens the floodgates of memories. So on our month long journey with four grandkids in tow, Kathy and I happily went back to my place of origin and formation, Granite, Oklahoma. We wanted to give the grandchildren a taste of what it was like where Poppy grew up.
The area around Granite has a rugged beauty. The granite “mountains” indiscriminately pop out from the flat countryside reaching upward to about a thousand feet at the highest. The deep red soil rolls flat for as far as the eye can see, broken occasionally by red and grey clay protrusions that run along creeks and rivers. It looks like an old Wild West movie set. Somehow, growing up here, it did not look this beautiful or interesting.
We took the grandkids to my childhood home, the mountain lake, our farm and the St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery to see the graves of many family members stretching back to their great, great, great grandparents. They were intrigued and asked many questions and, I believe, got a sense of my past and the values that drive our family thinking and acting, most especially our Christian faith and life. WEG
The cemetery filled with Graumann family members
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What a great trip for you all! How special to be able to spend that much time with your grand children. These are memories that will last forever.
We are having a grand time! Today, we were supposed to go to the Royal Gorge, but that is now impossible because of the fire, so we are doing up to St. Elmo, a ghost town instead.
What a wonderful way to teach your gkids about your past! Where their legacy is from. Strange how as kids we see things a certain way & as adults it does not appear as we remember or so big. So glad you have this chance to do this. Linda & Bob
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God. Eph 2:8
We feel blessed to be able to do this.
Isn’t is wonderful to be able to pass the legacy on to your grand children. Thanks for showing me the cemetery. I think that is where Clarence will be buried. I think you knew that he is in a nursing home in Colorado with Mac.
Thanks, Al. Do you know where Clarence is staying?
Wayne and Kathy – What a lifetime memory you are giving your grandchildren, and what a special blessing for you to have four of them together to see where Wayne grew up. Thanks for sharing.Blessings, Cecily
Thank you Cecily. We are thankful to have this time.
Beautiful Wayne. I don’t remember Oklahoma looking that beautiful but it is all in the eye of the beholder and you captured it! I can just feel the warm feelings that you had “Going Home”. Dianne
Thanks Dianne.
What a great feeling to drive down Main Street in Granite looking at the mountains. I still have a sister, Sue Zachary living there, but I don’t get down there very often .
Yes, that is a great feeling Darline!
We took the kids to Arkansas a few years back. Took them to the town and area where our family settled in the Americas from Germany. They were able to see their great, great grandparents house as it still exists. It was interesting to be able to show them where their family was rooted. Not many people can do that, probably. Glad you were able to do the same.
Safe travels.
Thanks Tim! I’m glad you had the chance to do this with your children. I did not know your roots were Arkansas.