Karen Wils photo
Dad on the rocking duck that he made for me. 1960.
ESCANABA — This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day.
The thing that I remember most about my dad is that he made things.
In today’s busy world it is often hard to connect with each other, let alone have time to build anything. Dads and kids today text each other and maybe get together on a few weekends. They may make pancakes, hot dogs and make an evening of Xbox games.
My dad has been gone now for several years. After 92 years of living, loving and making things, he is almost legendary around north Escanaba.
One of the important things my dad made was a family out of two. When Dad married Mom in 1955, she was already busy helping to raise her younger brothers and sisters after her parent’s untimely deaths.
Dad made a lot of improvements in the big old house on Sheridan Road where Mom lived. And he made the family grow. Every time Mom went to the hospital she came home with a new little Rose, until they had a perfect half-a-dozen of us.
When my dad was in the Army, he made radios. When my Dad worked at Harnischfeger for over twenty years, he made templates for cranes.
In his free, time he made things out of wood. Cabinets, cupboards, hope chests, shelves, picture frames, china cabinets, and two camps over the decades came out of his workshop.
While Dad was doing all of this work, he made jokes. As busy as he was with a big family, full-time job and many remodling projects, he always had something funny to say. He rarely swore and if he did, funny things like son-of-a-beech or son-of-a-birch came out of his mouth.
Pa made us all smile with his dry sense of humor and his laid back attitude.
My dad made his own bow that he used for deer hunting. He made flies for trout fishing out of feathers and deer fur that he collected.
As a child, Dad definitely spoiled me. He made me a sit in rocking duck when I was just a toddler. A doll bed, toy cupboard, playhouse, bookshelf and a beautiful desk and bird’s eye maple shelf were just some of the gifts he made for me over the years.
Many items in my home today are Dad’s handiwork. He made all sorts of trophies, planters, centerpieces and seasonal decorations that we often used as door prizes or gifts at family gatherings.
Dad made a living for us all. He made do with what we had and what were the priorities in his life. He taught us all to be thrifty and hard-workers.
Of all the hundreds of things that Dad made in his life time the most important thing he made was time to be a good father, husband and friend.
In so many of the “old photographs,” Dad has a kid on his lap. He always had time to tell us one of his made-up cuckoo-nut-dog stories at bedtime when he tucked us in and said prayers with us.
He always had time to fix a bike, go for a dog walk, repair a toy, and have a cup of coffee and a game of cribbage.
Make time for one another. It is by far the greatest gift.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads and granddads, stepdads and father figures out there.
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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.