Chester Chatter: The goodness of my father

By Ruthie Douglas
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC

My father was a quiet person. He made little noise. Actually, he was shy.

But what I loved about my dad was that he stepped up to support what he believed in.  I could always count on his help whenever I found myself in trouble, which was often.

My dad and I had a great connection and it was the love of fishing. We often went up to Lake Rescue, rented a rowboat and fished for a couple of hours. Mostly we caught perch, which was fine for us because it really is good eating. It was there in that boat and on that lake that my father spoke of his early years, growing up on the Erie Canal and in other parts of the state of New York.

His mother was 50 years old when he was born. She died at age 68, just a couple of days before he graduated from high school.

His five brothers were much older than him, which meant that he spent a lot of time alone. My father came to Vermont to visit his brother Ken, and that is where he met my mother. My mother was Uncle Ken’s wife’s sister.

At that time, my mother was a widow with three young daughters, but that did not deter my father. Dad suddenly had quite the family. Dad got a job at Fellows Gear Shaper where he worked for 47 years.

Dad never came home from work without giving Mom a hug and a kiss. He always would kiss my sister Marie and I just before we went to bed and would tell us he loved us. I had a good childhood, despite the bumps and bruises along the way. I think about the goodness of my father and not just on Father’s Day.

Scene and heard

Tim Palmer’s sister Pat Smith was up from Florida recently to visit family and friends. They stopped by for dinner with Tim and Linnea.

Folks around Chester are feeling sad for the family of Danny Wilson following the news of his death.

Happy birthday to Linda Stowell and Tracey DeShanes.

Congratulations to Nicholas Holton, our only high school graduate from Breezy Lane!

The open air market at the American Legion field is quite the place to put items for sale.

It’s a wonderful break to be able to get out and enjoy all this sunshine. We don’t get cicadas here but we are having a wonderful crop of fireflies!