Carl and The
Seven Dwarfs
(Note: Edith bought a Christmas gift for Jake. Jake's dad is my godson
and his grandfather Fred is my good pal back to the time that we were very small
boys. Edith asked me to write a note, which follows, to include with the gift.)
More than 50 years ago, young
Carl lived in an apartment above the bakery his dad owned on Vine Street in
Corryville. The building was surrounded by concrete and Carl longed to live near
the forests and fields. It was odd to see a small child like Carl read the
Sunday Enquirer each week and then circle several farms in the real estate
advertisements. He showed them to his dad explaining that those marked on the
list seemed to be good prospects and asked if the family could get in the car
and look at them. His father patiently put the visits off knowing that young
Carl would soon tire of looking for farms. The quest didn’t end that quickly,
however, and the young son would continue to circle the newspaper ads for years
to come.
What caused this interest in
farms? Carl had a friend Fred. Carl’s father (also named Carl) and Fred’s
father (also named Fred) were friends. Fred’s father was a machinist and
bought a farm in Mt. Carmel but still kept his job. The Beinke’s had a garden
and an orchard. They also had farm animals including pigs, chickens, rabbits,
goats, a horse and a cow. Young Fred and his brother had to do their farming
chores each day. But, they also had a large play area with acres and acres of
trees and fields. Fred’s parents allowed Carl to stay at the farm one summer
for a week. At that point he was hooked.
Carl
would stay at the farm each summer for a week. When it was time to return home,
he would fuss and plead with his dad asking if he could stay longer. He could
also sense that Fred’s parents had enough of him for the summer, but his
pleading would continue none-the-less. In Carl’s mind, it was a wonderful
place to live, especially since he could be with his curly-haired friend. There
were lots of friends visiting the farm, and it provided competition to the
Viking Club as a place to visit.
Regular visitors were Fred’s
uncles, Jake and Sebastian. In fact, for a period of time, Uncle Jake lived at
the farm and raised pedigree rabbits. Both uncles were single, and single people
seem to have more money than those who are married. The uncles bought very nice
presents for Fred and his brother. One year, Uncle Jake bought a whole set of
seven dwarfs for the boys. They were made of hard rubber (plastics were not to
be invented for another ten years) and were very expensive. When Carl visited
that year, they played with the seven dwarfs much of the time.
When Carl’s week ended, as
usual, he pleaded to stay. His friend Fred, hoping to make Carl feel a little
better, gave him one of the seven dwarfs -- Sleepy. Carl was very, very happy.
None of his friends had ever given him anything so nice. And now, after all
these years, Sleepy still stands on his dresser in Delhi even though more than
30 of those years were with his hellcat wife Edith.
But the story is not quite
over. Fred’s son Rob, and Rob’s wife Nicki, just had their first child.
It’s a boy and they named him Jake, after Uncle Jake. Robbie’s Godfather
Carl, being the thoughtful person that he is (or is it his hellcat wife Edith?)
thought that this new little boy needed a set of dwarfs from Disney World much
like the one Uncle Jake had given to Grandpa Fred. Maybe Jake will find a best
friend he can share his set of dwarfs with and a long-time tradition of sharing
with family and friends will continue.
December 1997, Carl H.