Quietly Generous

It wasn’t until after my grandfather died that the family learned all the ways he’d helped folks. Grandpa was pretty easy going and quiet, a very gentle and fun presence in my life. During WWII he was farming full-time and hired a few of the local men that didn’t want to leave their young families, paying them with meat, milk and eggs. The farm wasn’t big enough to need any hired hands, let alone 2 or 3, but he understood wanting to avoid the war and stay home with your family.

He would occasionally stop by a family that was living hand-to-mouth a couple roads over - a single mom with a bunch of little kids to feed and clothe - and convince them to take a box of meat saying it was too much for his freezer and would just go bad. They’d be helping him out if they could use it. (One of the children remembered thinking my grandpa wasn’t very smart since he seemed to have the same problem with extra meat over and over!)

Still others had stories of loans with no interest and no repayment schedule or pressure. Questions were about how their venture was going and how the family was doing rather than when the loan would be repaid. He had a genuine interest in helping enable people look after their families.

Grandpa never talked to any of his children or grandchildren about how or why he did these things. He was a young adult when the great depression happened and he understood making do and doing without.

We weren’t surprised by what he’d done but we were surprised by the volume of stories and people whose lives had been changed by his generosity. His trust and faith in people and his interest in quietly helping improve lives is a story that lives on in our family. Thanks for your example Grandpa!