"How would you like to be driving in this weather with no windshield wipers Annie?"
"Oh Grandpa, that would never happen".
As we drove he told the story. I sat in the front seat listening to every word.
"When I worked in Buffalo at Buffalo Forge, we used to drive to work every day in our jalopies. We had no windshield wipers. Now remember we had to drive in the winter too."
"Oh yeah Grandpa, then how did you see?"
"Oh, we just hung our heads out the window".
I sat there trying to picture this man driving all the way to Buffalo with his head hanging out the window.
"If you were lucky, you would have a rider to help you get there. One would drive and the other would help watch for the ditches."
"We always dressed warm too. No heat either."
"Oh Grandpa".
"Annie, I am not kidding, you were darn glad to get to work in those days, it was warm once you got into the plant".
I would try to picture freezing to death driving an hour to work while sticking my head out the window.
He wouldn't say any more all the way home. He was a pretty quiet guy except for those stories that would pop up every now and then unexpectedly. I was always ready to listen. It was one of the very few times in my life that I would actually be quiet.
These stories would be repeated many times over and over. I would always act like it was the first time I heard them to show respect. I was like a little sponge, soaking in every word.
I miss that old guy with those stories.
I took a few minutes this morning to find info on Buffalo Forge. I found a cool site with info about the history of the plant. If you like history, click here Buffalo Forge If you don't give a crap, just forget it.
Talk later,
Annie
2 comments:
Had a car once...a Rambler wagon. It was the toughest darned thing you ever saw but the wipers didn't work. I tied shoelaces to them and ran them by hand. lol
I also miss all the stories my father used to tell. Knowing people who were around before all the luxuries we take for granted were invented is definitely a treasure. Interesting that you brought up Buffalo Forge and the fact that your grandfather worked there. Buffalo Forge gave one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century to the world; Air Conditioning! And the windshield wipers you mentioned, also invented here in Buffalo. Have to listen to my mothers stories a lot closer now, when that generation has passed on, that last living link to that era before radio will be gone. I Miss driving around Buffalo with my Father, learned a lot of history from him.
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