A man who's journey continues

As I mentioned in the previous blog my father-in-law, Alton, passed away recently, survived by his wife Margaret. Carol and I will have been married 32 years next month and in all that time I have always felt myself to be part of the family due in large part to Alton and Margaret. 30 years ago my father passed away and since then Alton has been the senior adult influence in my life but not as a father figure, as a person willing to share his life experiences and to pass along lessons learned from those experiences. Never condescending, always as a part of a conversation, person to person. Relating events in his life from an era before my time as well as a life lived in a region of the state with a much different living and work environment than the region I grew up from. He was a man of faith and family. He shared his time with many people of need and shared his love of the outdoors. Camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing and hunting were just some of his outdoors repertoire. Late in his life he was beset with Alzheimer's which many would wonder how a person who lived a life as he did could be afflicted with such an ailment. Well I would expect that Alton would know that God has His reasons and willingly abide by them.

Back in the first couple of years of marriage I was never much of one for taking pictures and once I did get into it I seem to be missing some from Carol's family events. The photos I do have in this blog are more about some of my connections with Alton.

Back in 1984 Carol and I were having our house built, Alton had been retired from the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad by then and he and Margaret at the drop of hat would travel anywhere to help out the family. There was a big and gnarly old oak on the property which had died and we considered a hazard. At least 36" thick at the trunk Alton with chainsaw in hand spent a day while we were away at work cutting and chipping away at it until the whole thing lay on the ground. The man loved chainsawing, he'd build a whole house with one given a chance.

I think it was during the same period of time we had six cords of tree length firewood delivered to the lot, three for us and three for Lois and Jim. In the span of a couple of days with Margaret's help stacking Alton cut and hand split that first delivery of winter heating fuel to our house-to-be.

One late afternoon I remember we were talking with the plumber, Jim R. a friend of my brother Dennis, who had started his own plumbing and heating business. Jim has a very colorful way of conversing which could cause a nun three states away to blush. Alton whom I'd never heard a simple curse or foul word from carried on with his part of the conversation as though speaking with another like minded person. Now Alton was not a sheltered individual, between working on the railroad and other things in his life I don't think he heard anything from Jim that he hadn't heard before - I just found it entertaining listening to their conversation, so much in sync and so far apart in the words they used.

Once the shell of the house was complete we had moved in with Lois and Jim until we had power and plumbing at the new house. Alton was staying at Lois' as well and would work on the inside of the our house while Carol and I were at work. After work we'd stop at Lois's for supper then Carol, Alton and I would head to the house for a couple of hours of putting up sheetrock. Alton had installed the cupboards and cabinets behind which he had put up 3/4" plywood between the wall studs - those were some solid walls which came in handy a few years later when I installed a overhead microwave unit (some heavy then), mounting it on the wall was a cinch as I didn't have to line up anything with the studs, I could drill in the most convenient spots for a secure hold. I do think he used a chainsaw for some of that work.

Here are two photos from a day Alton and I

spent laying masonry floor tiles, I really don't
like working at floor level (who does) but at
least I had good company doing it.

I did mention hiking, here's a shot of Carol, Alton and Lois coming down from a trek up and back on Mt Chocorua in New Hampshire.

One of Alton's great attributes was being a grandfather. Ian, as his older cousins had, made an early connection to his grandfather and his antics meant to entertain and befuddle them. Alton would tell the grandchild things that they knew were different then proceed to their good natured frustration to convince them otherwise. Alton became "Bubba" to Ian as Alton's father had become to Alton's own children. The toddler Ian saw the similarity of Alton and his father, Walter, as interchangeable. Many of my favorite memories involved those moments I could watch Ian with his grandparents.

Four generations, Alton, Carol and
Ian with the original Bub.

The tabletop grandson provides the entertainment.

It's never to early to learn how to build a campfire.

There were those occasions that Margaret
would chide Alton about his horseplay.

When Ian was eight and Alton about 73 he lead us on a hike with a friend from his church and his grandson up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. We spent the night before at the Pinkham Notch Campground. In the morning we took the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to the top and the Jewel Trail down, about eight hours of hiking. Alton set a slow but steady pace up a steep slope and though we'd get passed by other groups many times we'd re-pass them resting further up. Again, with stories and hints a lot of knowledge about hiking and the mountain itself was given to us. At the end of the day with aching legs and sore feet there was quite the feeling of euphoria once we made it to our vehicle. The ice cream stop on the drive home didn't hurt either.

Ian acquires another one of Alton's
interpretations of life while getting
the dishes washed.

Some of the best seats available for
Stockholm, Maine's 4th of July parade.

A little artistic touch on a cropped
photo where Alton seems to be having
a reflective moment.

Alton's Obituary