DADDY: GORDON WILSON EASLEY

I know I'll Miss A Lot of His Story.  I'm Sorry.

I never knew him to have only one job.  He started milking when he was three years old.  At that same age, Papa taught him to sit on the seat of the disk and drive the four horse team to plow the field.  When he and Lawton were early teens, Papa bought a very large ram.  Spring came and they decided to shear the old fellow.  After chores and breakfast, the got out the mule shears and started the job.  At noon they turned him loose and went in for dinner.  As soon as dinner was over they three caught the ram again and continued shearing until they finished, in time for evening chores.  Papa, the boys and the old ram were all worn out.  Does anyone remember how many pounds of wool they fleeced off the old boy?   That was the beginning of raising sheep and winning shearing contest at the Oklahoma State Fair, Oklahoma City.

Already, I told you that Papa bought a forge, an anvil and a blacksmith hammer, when Daddy was fifteen years old and he had bought a lot of iron rod and coal.  Daddy made all the tools a blacksmith might need is a working shop.  In that same year, Daddy used two old pocket watches some uncles gave him to make one good running watch.  Grandpa was impressed with the accomplishment and asked him to clean the Old Shelf Clock.  These were extra activities, since work on the farm never ceased.

In 1934, Granny and Papa built their new house.  They had bought the farm in 1912, the year they were married.   It was already rented for two years.  Papa was renting a farm before they were married.  So in 1914 they let that farm go and moved to the farm near the river.  So after 20 years in the old house they moved into their cement house, and tore down the old one.  Papa had hired a well known, accomplished carpenter to build the one we all know.  In the agreement, the carpenter was to train Daddy in the trade of carpentry as well.

They set up a workshop beside the driveway on sawhorses.  Daddy's job was to use hand planes to make the windows of the house.  There were 2 windows in each the two north bed rooms and one in the bathroom.  The front room had 2 windows and a door with windows.  Granny and Papa's bedroom had 3 windows on the east and 5 windows on the south.  The south kitchen door and the window over the sink had to be made.  There were 2 or 3 windows in the back room and a couple in the door and windows of the dining room.  The folding doors between the dining room and front room had many small rectangular windows.  I don't know if he made those or they may have been available ready made.  He planed all summer long.  The wood used was white pine.  No knots were allowed.   No doubt there were other jobs and lessons learned.  For instance, Keith told me today that that's where he learned to read a square for cutting roofing rafters.

He was a busy boy / man from beginning to end.  I've told you in other stories about the places we lived and the kind of jobs he had.  I started this blog for the purpose of showing he was always doing other jobs than planting cotton and milking cows.

I'm going to publish this one, hoping someone will have memory spurts and help me remember what I probably don't know.  Especially the paragraph about his making the windows.  It isn't clear to me the part he was doing.  Thanks and have a great Sabbath tomorrow.