Our Uncle Harlan March 23, 2014 I grew up in Watertown, SD, at least until I was 11 years old. Both Mom and Dad were from that area since childhood which meant there were a lot of family members close by that we would see frequently. My dad came from a big family, he was the oldest of seven boys who all lived in Watertown at the time. Dad was close with all of them always remaining in contact with each one, especially my uncle Harlan, the youngest of the family. In many ways Harlan was more like a big brother than an uncle, he was around a lot and let me tag along with him once in a while. The first recollection of Harlan that I remember is when he let me tag along to one of his buddies house. We were visiting Grandma as we often did then, more times then not one of my uncles would be there also. I was 5 or 6 years old, Harlan was there but on his way out. As he was leaving he asked me to go along, which of course, I did. I do not remember how far we went but it must have been close because we walked there. I do remember his friend, to this day I can see his face but I cannot remember his name. I remember Harlan introducing me as his nephew which his friends responded to by saying he must have meant cousin instead of nephew because he wasnt old enough to be an uncle. I also remember how they were dressed, black leather jackets, blue jeans with rolled up cuffs, Harlans friend even had engineer boots! They looked just like the hoodlums you saw in TV shows. It didnt get any better than that! Pretty Cool! Thats about all I remember of that meeting except being disappointed when I had to go back to Grandmas. (It also left an overwhelming desire for engineer boots.) Back in those days Harlan had a Whizzer bicycle, actually it was a Roadmaster bicycle with a Whizzer motor added. It operated like a MoPed, you pedaled to get it started and rolling then the motor would take over. Harlan gave me rides on it which was a big deal for me, We were not allowed to ride our bike on the street so being able to ride with power on the road was a new and exciting adventure. A few years later Harlan gave the bike to Dad who took the motor off it then repainted and fixed up the bike for me. I rode that bike for many years after that. When I was 16 or 17 years old I went deer hunting with Harlan up in northern Minnesota. Harlan picked me up and we drove for what seemed like forever to get to the hunting area. At one point we went into Wisconsin for awhile then back into Minnesota, when we got close Harlan turned onto a road, more like a path that we rode on for even a few more miles. Actually it turned out to be an old logging road that took us to an old town that in reality was a few square foundations that were little more than stone outlines of where buildings used to stand. There were already a couple other cars there that were friends of Harlan. When we arrived we set up camp that Harlan had well planned out. He had a 61 Chevy station wagon that he had put a full size mattress in the back of. He also had a tent that we attached to the back of the car that, with the tailgate open, added a room to the car. We slept in the car on the mattress, in the morning the tailgate became a table to set a camp stove on to cook breakfast. All in all not a bad home-away-from-home. It was a great weekend, I learned what it was like to be in the big woods miles from any town. Being a city boy by then I was amazed at how quiet it was, a snapping twig sounded like a slamming door. It was an experience I would not have had without Harlan. There are many more memories with my uncle Harlan, like the times he helped me learn to ride a bike, he gave me my first time driving (unintentionally but that is another story). Harlan was also influential in my learning the art of coffee drinking he perfected my pool game while we spent time shooting pool at the Lowry Tap. Then there were the countless card games all due to Harlan, Alice and the families open arms and hospitality. A tradition the kids are carrying on yet today. If I have failed to express it before, I want to thank Gary, Twyla, Pam, Kevin, Penny and Tonya for all the good times and how time with them and their families has been appreciated.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 01:16:11 +0000
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