The ROCK 3.0: In Honor of Grandpa Franklin - Franklin Farms Update

When I was growing up as a kid, I never knew my Grandpa Robert Howell.  He passed away when I was five years old.  I have no memories of being with him, but have numerous photos of me sitting on his lap.  I've been told that he adored me very much.  I liked to build things when I was a kid.  As I became older, I remember asking for my first power tool for Christmas when I was 13.  That year, my dad bought me a Skil Circular Saw.  Years past and I developed my skills some more and was often told by family that I was much like my Grandpa Howell (as he was a carpenter) and he would be very proud of me.

Years later, I was fortunate to meet not only my wife Carrie, but my best friend in life.  Heck, she even had the last name.  LOL!  I know what you are thinking, but we are not related!  As our family size was dwindling due to the passing of much of the older generation, I gained my wife's very large family.  I had more cousins than you can shake a stick at!  I loved it!  The true jewel I found was my wife's Grandpa Eulice Franklin.  

I found Grandpa to be a quiet soul.  It was quite evident he had earned great respect by everyone around him.  When he talked, everyone would take notice and listen intently.  I learned that Grandpa had worked many jobs throughout his life.  One that was most interesting to me, was that he was a bridge painter for the Norfolk & Western Railroad.  He worked painting the lift bridge that crosses the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri.

After a period, my wife suggested I should go to have coffee with him and her dad at the local restaurant in town.  I wasn't a coffee drinker, but after a little persuasion, I decided to go.  I woke up at 5:55am on vacation and drive the two blocks over to the local restaurant in town for breakfast.  The restaurant changed over the years, but the people attending (my father-in-law Randy, family friend Ronnie and Grandpa Eulice) and the stories they told were always the same.  This quickly became a tradition for me when home visiting Carrie's family.  One that I cherish very much.

I got to know Grandpa pretty good.  As years went by, I realized that Grandpa Eulice had filled the void of my Grandpa Howell.  Not only did I adopt him as my Grandpa, but he had adopted me as one of his grandkids.  He always loved, cared and inquired about me as if I was one of his own.  That meant the world to me.  He filled the void of me not knowing my Grandpa Howell.

One of my fondest memories of him was when we drove up to Illinois secretly to surprise my mother-in-law for her 50th Birthday.  We drove straight arriving late in the night.  The following morning, I got up and walked out back of the old farmhouse where they lived.  Sitting in the backyard smoking a cigarette, Grandpa greeted me with a smile.  We hung outside talking and enjoying the spectacular September morning.  My girls (only four of five at the time), came running out to hug on Grandpa.  The biggest smile would appear on his face when the great grandkids came around.  The silence of the rural farm was broken as excited screams and laughter from my girls filled the air as Grandpa would pull them around in an old wagon.  That day could have lasted forever as far as I'm concerned.

On my first layout, I created a section of the layout called Franklin Farms to honor my wife's Grandpa.  With the construction of the new layout, I wanted to continue with this idea.  Tonight, I worked on the scene and made a lot of progress.  I'm very pleased.  I still have more work to do like adding the barbed wire fence and more details, but when I view the scene, it takes me back to the wonderful Fall day hanging out at the farm visiting with Grandpa.  It holds a very special place in my heart.

Here is what I started with a few days ago...

I introduce to you Franklin Farms....

A funny side story....

Remember that Skil saw I was telling you about earlier?  Well, it died a few years back.  Being a little crazy myself, I wrote up an obituary for it on Facebook.  I was reminded of this when typing earlier so I decided to share.

Skil Saw R.I.P. December 25th, 1986 - May 9th, 2009

R.I.P. Skil Saw
I'm sad to report there was a death in the family. The Skil saw that my dad gave me for Christmas when I was 13 sadly passed away this evening. It was my first power tool that I cherished greatly. When I started cutting the lumber for the train layout, I smelled the distinct smell of an electrical motor fire. I pressed on figuring that the old saw was just tired as it hadn't been used in a while. Before long a lot of smoke started pouring out of the vent. Sadness. Halfway through its last cut, a large puff of blue smoke (its last gasp) and then it flat lined. I kept hitting the trigger, but nothing. I checked all cords and tried again. No response. Sadness! The time of death was 7:23pm. After 23 years of use, the Skil saw was dead. :-( The old saw was nothing fancy, but a true workhorse. It will be sorely missed. The saw is survived by its electrical counterparts: the Ridgid family including regular drill, impact drill, sawzall (saw o' death), and cordless circular saw, and the Dewalt family including the biscuit joiner, jig saw and compound miter saw. 

The Skil Saw worked hard for its owner including numerous projects over the years: the deck at my parents house, multiple model train layouts in the garage, large plant stand, various garden (timber walls) projects, the famous bridge to nowhere (at my parent's house), multiple desks in the apartment including the original 8ft wide desk and then the infamous J-shaped two level desk, the deck in Huntersville, and the fence to just name a few. Not to mention numerous contract jobs for various parties including Marcus' layout, large desk complex at Tommy's house, and multiple projects at Ruby's house. The saw has done it all. What a sad day.

The family requests instead of flowers that friends & family make donations to the "Buy Steven a Replacement Saw" fund.

The viewing will be tonight between 5:15pm and 5:30pm before the ceremonial cutting of the cord and descension into the garbage roll out can.