RIP Gordon Robert BLAKEY (26 Dec 2018): Memories

Earlier today I received word from my cousin Lynden Blakey that his father, Gordon, had passed away peacefully at about 2:00 p.m. MST.


Gordon and Shirley (Jurgens) Blakey. Image courtesy of Holly Blakey-Walker.

Several years ago I had asked my cousin, LeAnn (Blakey) Thomas, if she would see if Gordon was willing to fill out a Memories document similar to the one my mom did with Grandma Blakey. I recently came across it and put it away in my files. It seems appropriate to post it now.

MEMORIES – GORDON ROBERT BLAKEY

These memories are being shared by Gordon Blakey on 3/2011.

Growing Up

I was born in Jackson, Minnesota–at home on the farm.

My birthdate is 12/16/1929.

My parent’s full names and birthdates are:

• Father: Verland Edward Blakey 9-10-1902.
• Mother: Agnes Marie (Roe) Blakey 8-22-1909.

They had the following occupations:

• Father: Farmer.
• Mother: Stay-at-home mother/Farming.

I remember these amusing incidents from my childhood:

I was 8 or 9 years old. One night I was chasing cats in the barn. It was winter time and at night. There was a stock tank in the barn and it was partially covered with boards. I accidentally dove into the stock tank and had to be carried back to the house. Mamie Paulson was at the house.

I was 12 years old on the farm north of Jackson. LaRue, Roland, and I were walking from a farm building to the house. The farm dog was by the windmill. LaRue said he was going to kick the dog. It was a black and white dog. I said you better not because he will bite you. LaRue kicked the dog and it bit him. He had to go to the hospital and get stitches.

The names and birthdates of my brothers and sisters are:

• Verla Ardis (Blakey) Williams 4-28-1932.
• Averland Virgil Blakey 4-9-1934.
• Sharon Joy (Blakey) Asche 2-20-1946.
• Pamella Sue (Blakey) Bergan Wilmes 11-9-1949.

An interesting story about my brothers, sisters and me is:

I was about 12 years old. Lightning hit the chimney and came out of the chimney, hit the cook stove, jumped over to the window above the sink and went outside. It broke the casing/wood around the window. Verla let out a blood-curdling scream.

I remember giving Averland a penny so I could be the first one to get a drink of water.

My grandparent’s names and birthplaces are:

On my mother’s side:

Minnie Roe
Albert Roe

On my father’s side:

Lottie Blakey
George Blakey

This is where they lived:

Roes lived northwest of Jackson by a river.

Blakeys lived on a farm southwest of Jackson.

This is what I remember about my grandparents:

Grandad Blakey had a mustache like Geraldo Rivera.

Grandpa Roe when he would come over would sit and twiddle his thumbs the whole time he was talking.

Some things I remember doing with my grandparents are:

I remember being on a horse and sleigh because the snow was so deep on the roads.

Other members of my extended family who were important to me include:

I remember going to Duluth with Orville in his 1941 model car.

These were the first memories I have of myself as a child:

I remember the old house where I was born south of Jackson. Dad and I went down there one time and the house was still standing.

When I was a child, this is how my family celebrated Christmas:

Everybody came to our house north of Jackson. I remember I got a giant pencil with a big eraser on it. We had a Christmas tree with real candles.

Unique celebrations my family had were:

May Day–Verla and I took a may basket to the neighbors. We hid in the ditch so they didn’t see us.

Sunday afternoons we would go down to a park in Iowa and buy candy kisses for a penny.

When I was a child, some of the gifts I received and gave on holidays were:

Clothes or shoes–Christmas and birthdays.
Electric Circular Sander–Christmas/birthday (didn’t want).

The pets I had as a child, and their names, were:

We had dogs but they weren’t really pets. They were working dogs. Didn’t really have pets.

When I was a child, Roosevelt was President of the U.S.

My favorite meal my mother made, and what made it so special, was:

Glorified rice–jello, rice, and cream (whipped, I think). My mom made it for one of the Hoganson’s funerals. I ate so much of it, I was sick.

These are some of the things I remember about trips my family took as I was growing up:

Had picnics with family in Fork-u-fines(?) in Iowa.

This is how I would describe the house and neighborhood I lived in as I was growing up:

1^st house: 2-story, 4 bedrooms, N of Jackson, outdoor plumbing.
2^nd house: Big, square house, 4 bedrooms, wood/coal heater in the living room.

These are ways that neighborhood has changed over time:

1^st house in Jackson is still standing–nobody lives there.

When I started school I was 6 years old.

One of my favorite teachers in elementary school—and why—was:

Ms. Tobison–She gave me a ball for completing a task.
I didn’t like one of my teachers (Mrs. Schudeberry) because she had “an attitude”–she didn’t like my mom.

This is how I got to school each day:

Either our folks took us or we would walk.

Things I enjoyed doing most as a child were:

Rode a small bike, drive a tractor, grind feed once in a while. Was in the school play. Botched my part.

These are the things I remember most about my teen-age years (friends, activities, school, special events, favorite foods and songs, jobs, heroes, etc.):

Delbert Ring was a friend. Didn’t have a job. Attended school in a one room school house. At Christmas time, there was always a Christmas tree with real candles.

This is how I would describe myself when I was a teenager:

Quiet, didn’t get into mischief.

This is what I remember about my first date:

Don’t remember my first date.

Employment

My first job was:

Artificial inseminator.

The work that I did in that job involved:

Reaching inside the cow and spraying the semen inside.

The things that I especially remember about my first job were:

Quite a bit of driving all over the county. Farmers would call when they had a cow in heat.

Other employment I have had over the years included:

Worked for Art Vold doing construction.

The jobs I liked the best, and why I liked them, were:

Didn’t like any of them.

Marriage and Children

This is how I met my spouse:

Through Lyle Jurgens. Shirley went to Alabama with Audrey Jurgens and I met her there.

Before we were married, we dated each other for about IDK years. We were married on November 23, 1953.

When were first married, we lived:

The old house on the Windom farm.

We bought our first house in Bingham Lake for about $6,000. Our first car was a ‘49/’50 Ford and cost about $10K.

These are the homes and communities I have lived in since I was married, and here is how they’ve changed over the years:

Bingham Lake, MN
Howard Ketzenberg’s farm
Aurora, Colorado–grown very much
Brighton, Colorado–grown very much

Some important things I have learned about marriage are:

After losing my spouse, there were simple things she wanted to do that I could have and should have done.

These are the names and birthdays of my children:

• Laurene Ann – September 11, 1954
• Lynden Mark – November 12, 1956
• Leslee Roberta – July 20, 1958
• LeAnn Kay – September 28, 1959
• Lisa Carol – December 10, 1960
• Larry Douglas – October 18, 1964
• Leah Lynn – January 16, 1973

My spouse and I and our children celebrated Christmas, birthdays and other holidays by:

On Christmas Eve we either went to my parents or her parents. For birthdays the kids would pick what they wanted for dinner.

Family traditions that we began were:

Oyster stew on Christmas Eve.

I best remember these trips which our family took as our children were growing up:

Camping trip to Blue Mound, near Worthington with Slayton.
Camping trip to Colorado with Lyle Jurgens.
Camping trip to S. Dakota with Chet Bennet.
Camping trip to Wisconsin with Kermit Twait.

I remember these humorous or memorable stories about our children as they were growing up:

When we lived in Aurora, Larry took a scooter to the open field and he got it stuck in the mud. I chewed him up one side and down the other. Also, LeAnn and Lisa were backing out of the driveway. LeAnn backed into the trash cans. Lisa got out to move them and was snickering the whole time. LeAnn looked at her and said, “Shut up!”

My grandchildren remind me of my own children in these ways:

I don’t know.

What I have enjoyed most about being a parent is:

Parenting was not always fun. I’m glad I had so many kids to take care of me.

Some of the things I have learned as a parent are:

Parenting was not always fun.

This is how I would describe our family over the years, in terms of its character and unique aspects:

Kids always seemed behaved and disciplined in public. Got complimented for it several times.

Other Areas of My Life

As an adult, I have enjoyed these hobbies or pastimes:

Woodworking.

If I could teach a special hobby or skill to my grandchildren, I would choose:

Carpentry.

As an adult, these friends have been especially important to me:

Kermit and Betty Twait, Archie Amundsen

Numerous historical events have occurred during my lifetime (the depression, World War II, the Korean War, the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of important leaders, the space program and many more). Some events that I particularly remember or that affected my life, and the reasons why, include:

I remember going to Camp Rucker, Alabama. My job was driving truck – it pulled a big gun – this was used for training new recruits for Korea.