Great-uncle's visit brings family history to life | THE MOM STOP

My grandfather was a novice historian — the kind who had shelves lined with books about everything from the Native American tribes to books about World War II.

He enjoyed military history so much that it was not uncommon for us to take a road trip to visit the famous Civil War battle sites, and to stop and take pictures at every historical marker on an RV trip out West.

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As a small child, I remember standing on the edge of the “bloody pond” at Shiloh and wondering why it wasn’t red.

At age 10, I had no idea who Custard was or why he had a “last stand,” but I vividly remember standing with my grandparents at site of the Battle of Little Bighorn, wondering how a horn could be called both big and little, and why a man was named after a type of food.

Now, three decades later, I have a better appreciation of history and try to instill the same awareness in my own children. Last summer, while driving through South Dakota, we stopped along the path of the Oregon Trail to see the ruts still visible in the Earth. And I couldn’t help but think of my grandfather, who had taken me to the site so many years before. He died in 2011.

I wish he could have lived to know my son, who is now almost 13. They are seemingly cut from the same cloth, both with the same passion for all things relating to military history and planes.

One of my son’s proudest possessions is my grandfather’s World War II military locker, which he keeps at the foot of his bed. Sitting inside undisturbed are my grandfather’s old army uniforms, his hat, dog tags, mess kit, even pictures and his handwritten letters home. But since my grandfather didn’t talk much about his brief military service when he was alive, I don’t have the knowledge to answer some of my son’s many questions about the trunk’s contents.

That is, until last weekend. All of my grandparents and my great-uncles and great-aunts have died, save for one ― my grandfather’s youngest brother ― who also happens to have a passion for history, especially family history.

And so on a recent visit from Minnesota, my 88-year-old great-uncle bent down over the wooden Army chest and pulled out his brother’s old uniforms, detailing the patches and pins, telling us what each one meant. He went through the old photos, the discharge papers, the letters from home, and reminisced about what it was like, growing up on a farm in northern Minnesota in a time before they had running water or electricity, or even tractors.

My great-uncle told stories about what it was like spending half the year in a one-room schoolhouse with their teacher mother during the winter, while his older brothers were off at boarding school or in the military. He told stories about how it wasn’t uncommon to go to church services spoken in Norwegian in their rural Lutheran church, and how his parents often used their native Norwegian tongue as a private language between themselves.

“When they were speaking Norwegian, you knew something really serious was being discussed,” my great-uncle chuckled.

He painted a picture of what life was like almost a century ago, and my son soaked up every word.

I sometimes regret that my son never really got to know my grandfather, since they would have had so much in common. But, having my great-uncle visit was almost like having a piece of my grandfather there, even if just for a day.

And that was something I don’t think my son will ever forget.

Lydia Seabol Avant writes The Mom Stop for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at momstopcolumn@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Great-uncle's visit brings family history to life | THE MOM STOP