My father grew up on a farm near Jamestown N.Y. during the great depression. He never was one to waste a scrap of anything. Grandad had a day job in addition to running the farm, so my fathers youngest years were spent getting up early for chores before school, then going to his classes and tending to the livestock after school in addition to the milking.
He was a navy radioman during the great war on the USS. Fessenden and after the war he returned to us and went to college at Cornell University, recieving a degree in agriculture. He then spent the Next 34 years travelling from Farm to Farm in our area as an Eastern A.I. and NYABC technician. He won several awards for first services and some would say that he is partly responsible for the fine milking stock we have around here today. He was even Featured in Hoards Dairymen once, in an article about how he goes about his work. Come rain or Snow, fair weather or foul the dairymen here could count on my father showing up to take care of business and help out if need be. I rarely saw him ever take a day off. At one time i bet he knew or was friends with just about every farmer in the area. Still today i sometimes run across an old grizzled farmer, farmhand or their children who remember him and they will tell me of things he did for them or how he helped out in some way. Some of my earliest memories are of when he would take me to work with him, I would herd the farm cats and play with a calf or two. Sometimes i'd stay at a farm for a couple hours to play with friends while he went on a did a couple more calls. If only i could have those days back.....
He was never without a pocketknife. Over the years he had quite a few. His favorite were his Cases, Camillus', Old Timers and a Buck or two. For Hunting he always carried a Buck fixed blade.
He used them for everything. When he passed on i found just a small box with 5 or 6 of his users in it. Only one was unused, as he had bought it but never had the chance to put it to work. The Blades are mostly used and marked up and some of them are broken. Surprisingly though, the scales and bolsters are in quite nice shape although bearing the wear from a lifetime of use.
He always used to buy me those hardware store barlows and i really disliked them then. I would "Lose" them almost as fast as he'd give em' to me. I'd give my left arm to have them back now. It wasnt until i saw the 2009 BF barlow that it struck me just what kind of a gift my father was giving me and how much i really did like that pattern.
I admit, i've been lurking among you all this time as a closet slipjoint addict. In remembrance of my dad, I'd like to end that now and hope you'll allow me to show some crappy pictures of some fine but well worn knives.
I wish my picture taking skills were better.
Heres to remembering all the members of that "Greatest Generation", whom changed the world...all the while being someones father and going about the business of mere mortals. You stay in our memories because of who you were.
He was a navy radioman during the great war on the USS. Fessenden and after the war he returned to us and went to college at Cornell University, recieving a degree in agriculture. He then spent the Next 34 years travelling from Farm to Farm in our area as an Eastern A.I. and NYABC technician. He won several awards for first services and some would say that he is partly responsible for the fine milking stock we have around here today. He was even Featured in Hoards Dairymen once, in an article about how he goes about his work. Come rain or Snow, fair weather or foul the dairymen here could count on my father showing up to take care of business and help out if need be. I rarely saw him ever take a day off. At one time i bet he knew or was friends with just about every farmer in the area. Still today i sometimes run across an old grizzled farmer, farmhand or their children who remember him and they will tell me of things he did for them or how he helped out in some way. Some of my earliest memories are of when he would take me to work with him, I would herd the farm cats and play with a calf or two. Sometimes i'd stay at a farm for a couple hours to play with friends while he went on a did a couple more calls. If only i could have those days back.....
He was never without a pocketknife. Over the years he had quite a few. His favorite were his Cases, Camillus', Old Timers and a Buck or two. For Hunting he always carried a Buck fixed blade.
He used them for everything. When he passed on i found just a small box with 5 or 6 of his users in it. Only one was unused, as he had bought it but never had the chance to put it to work. The Blades are mostly used and marked up and some of them are broken. Surprisingly though, the scales and bolsters are in quite nice shape although bearing the wear from a lifetime of use.
He always used to buy me those hardware store barlows and i really disliked them then. I would "Lose" them almost as fast as he'd give em' to me. I'd give my left arm to have them back now. It wasnt until i saw the 2009 BF barlow that it struck me just what kind of a gift my father was giving me and how much i really did like that pattern.
I admit, i've been lurking among you all this time as a closet slipjoint addict. In remembrance of my dad, I'd like to end that now and hope you'll allow me to show some crappy pictures of some fine but well worn knives.
I wish my picture taking skills were better.
Heres to remembering all the members of that "Greatest Generation", whom changed the world...all the while being someones father and going about the business of mere mortals. You stay in our memories because of who you were.
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. When I started posting here, I had only three slipjoints that had belonged to my father. Now I have, er, more than three
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