The Grandest Grandparents-By Dallas Max Schneider

 

 

The Grandest Granparents

Excerpt from Remembrances of Rosabelle Larsen Schneider, My Mother

By Her Son Dallas Max Schneider

Grandpa and Grandma Larsen's (Niels and Matilda Larsen) home was a cozy place surrounded with happiness and plenty of the necessities of life. No money, mind you, just the things that were necessary. Never a want for food. Grandfather Larsen's mother lived in Logan. Her first husband had died and she had remarried and went by the name of Maren Jensen.

Sometimes on a summery Saturday afternoon Grandpa Larsen would hitch up his horses to the buggy and load his family into that wonderful conveyance and drive to see his mother. It took about 90 minutes to make that trip one way. The children thought it was just about the greatest adventure of their lives to make this trip and Grandpa saw to it that there was excitement. Whenever he came to a stream or river he never used the bridge but would fearlessly plunge the horses, buggy and all into the swirling flood to the delightful screams of joy of the children and emerge to the opposite bank, dripping wet. They were dry but the buggy drenched.

Grandma Larsen was a frightened fearful little person and it would always terrify her when Grandpa would say, "It's time to dust the buggy off and cool the horses down."  One time she could not stand the strain he was inflicting upon her and with a baby under each arm she jumped out of the buggy at the rivers edge. Grandfather's fun came to an end after that display of fear and to the disappointment of the children he used the bridges from that moment on. 

My Mother remembers the very last time they went to see their grandmother. They had been there for the afternoon and the day was growing short. All were seated in the buggy and about to depart for home. Grandmother Jensen followed them out to the buggy and said to her son Niels, "Come again soon but don't bring the children."  My grand parents were wounded by that rather callused, insensitive remark and never went again to visit his mother.

Grandparents in that day had a different feeling for their grand children than now. We were blessed to have had loving grandparents who were unlike the normal ones that would ignore their grandchildren. Every birthday I received a book and a silver dollar and I never appreciated it until the book and the silver dollar stopped coming when I was 18. Then I began to treasure the sacrifice they had made to show their love for me. They emerged in my child like mind as great heroes and heroines that were truly worthy of our respect and awe. In my mind there were no one like my grandparents in every virtue of human kind.