My dad wore a suit to work, was a golf pro, a Senior PGA member, and liked to play the horses. But if one of our used cars (he never bought new) need something fixed, he would do it himself. He showed me with some common sense, anybody from any background, could fix stuff and not to be afraid to try it. I watched him replace the whole dash wire harness in our 64 Buick Sport Wagon, he replaced the complete exhaust system (in the snow outside) on his 71 Pontiac Ventura and built furniture and cabinets for our house from scratch with no formal training. Watching him do all of that gave me the confidence to tackle my own big projects such as completely restoring a 53 Chevy Carryall Suburban from a pile of parts, ground up restoration of a 69 Plymouth Roadrunner and I just finished remodeling my kitchen. Thanks for the confidence to do those things Dad! RIP
His record collection,firestone ashtray,my great grandpas old drill and level,and a 66good Ford Galaxie 500 XL convertible when my mom passes. RIP Gary R. SKAVANG NOT TO MENTION HE LEFT ME WITH HIS MIDDLE NAME!! HE IS GREATLY MISSED ALL THOSE QEEKEND FINDING OLD GAS PUMPS AND OIL CANS ARE GONE FOREVER.
A beautiful wooden tool chest of precision machinist measurement tools. Lots of good memories and a couple of sad ones. I guess that is life.
Type 1 Diabetes...never put all your eggs in one basket...3 eggs...2 baskets. and he never showed me how to pinstripe but I saw him do his chicken scratch on many cars. His rebellious attitude influenced me too but a few of my bros took it too serious and ended up doing time.
When I was a kid I thought everyone knew how to do the stuff my Dad did. Why buy when you can build? Self sufficient ,A real quest for knowledge and he was always tinkering. Turns out I was wrong , not every one knew how ! I got the bug from my Dad and my son seems to be going down the same path. Thanks Daddyo !
Nothing, not even his last name, got my mothers maiden name. I'll be leaving plenty for my children though hopefully.
Son, you can give every dollar of your fortune away, BUT never give away your business,one must always get paid the full amount
A legacy that hopefully I too can live up to and be remembered for by my children and grandchildren. Mom passed in 1953 when I was a baby. I was the youngest of 4 and Dad became my best friend. He put the first wrench in my hand, taught me "lefty loosey / righty tighty". Dad was always fixing something and I was right there helping and learning. He showed a lot of pride in what his children could accomplish. Family was his number one priority. Even today 101 years after his birth, relatives and friends who knew him still talk of what a great man he was. In all my life I can never remember seeing or hearing something negative about my Dad Thanks Dad, I love you.
Sad, but read these all and have to add to it: Growing up my dad was working all the time. In and out of state, big construction jobs. If home, weekends he'd work till after I went to bed. I didn't understand it then, it was rough. Looking back, now I know it was to pay the bills. I see that now that I have my own kids. He was a great grandpa, but only saw my youngest two. I lost him six years ago, and miss him everyday. He passed on his work ethic, if you're swinging a hammer, you do it till you can't lift it anymore. He also taught me a man's worth isn't to be judged by his bank account or education.
Lots, farm business,some know how, tools, 47 Chevy, 45 A JD,and the ability to be fair and square with others. And to always do my best.
My Father died in 2004 He was 83 years old. My father taught me to be HONEST, say what you mean and mean what you say. He was born in 1921, so he lived thru the Great Depression. Because of that, he was very conservative with his money. He worked hard and bought his first house and paid CASH for it. I was was only 6 months old at the time. He could fix most anything. He built a house ... in the mountains for us as a summer place. He did everything. Bricks, wood, electrical and plumbing. When I was a youngster, I did not appreciate my Father But the older I got ... the SMARTER my Das was. He was smart all the time ... I was the dumbass. .
Great post. I lost my dad in 2006, he was 54. He forgot more about cars and life than I have ever learned.
His faith in the Lord ......I wasn't a were of this until 25 years after he was gone . First hay maker to the ear with a full hand ..........Still haven't figured the rest out ........
One Saturday about 3 years before he died...he was about 80 and I was about 50...he wanted to go fishing. He had an old tackle box that he hadn't opened for probably 25 years. It was rusty and still had some 25 year old salmon eggs in it, along with a rusty pair of pliers and probably 40 or 50 fish hooks and leaders all tangled in a ball. He was fumbling around trying to sort out the mess and looked up at me and smiled and said, "Son......someday this will all be yours!"
All my dad ever gave me was lots of bruises and his last name....Those of you that have/had good dads don't know how lucky you are, I was an only child and can remember being scared to death to get off the bus in the evening when I came home from school, I knew there was always a beating waiting for me....My kids never had to know what anything like that was from me, they know what it is like to be loved and spoiled. Jim
My dad grew up a dirt poor hillbilly. He didn't really leave any material belongings to me. But I inherited his sense of responsibility, dedication to duty, love of country and fiscal conservative philosophy so that I will have more to leave my kids.
how to build models, weld, work on cars, what to look for a swap meets, all of my love of anything mechanical started with him. thanks dad!
The Jalopy Journal
