Memories of Dad

A continuation of the answers provided to the survey distributed by Katie Larson this past summer. These answers are all about Dad/Poppie.

Favorite flower:

LuAnn -- roses

Charles – red poppy – the paper kind associated with Veteran’s Day and World War II

Cherie -- marigold

Carol – roses, he started a rose garden to the east of the drive-way of the house in Jerome

Pat -- roses

Mike – I have no idea, are men supposed to have a favorite flower?

Bruce – the little yellow ones in front of the Addison house

Favorite hymn:

LuAnn – Amazing Grace

Charles—Battle Hymn of the Republic, enjoyed all military marches

Cherie – The Old Rugged Cross

Carol – The Old Wooden Cross

Pat – How Great Thou Art

Mike – I have no idea

Bruce – O, My Father, sung by Jack VanBuren

Favorite meal:

LuAnn – Chicken rice soup w/ bread to sop up the grease

Charles – hamburger patties, mashed potatoes and tomato gravy

Cherie – tomato gravy

Carol – He loved to eat biscuits and gravy (sausage gravy) for breakfast

Pat – breakfast – biskets and gravy at the little diner across the railroad tracks

Mike – corn beef and cabbage

Bruce – meat and potatoes w/ tomato gravy, milk toast, fresh tomatoes, harvest fresh corn on the cob, his chili, stew and for picnics and camping – beans in the can warmed over the fire and hot dogs fire roasted

Favorite candy:

LuAnn – Hershey’s candy bar

Charles – chocolate covered orange sticks and chocolate stars

Cherie -- caramels

Carol – chocolate covered peanuts (which I remember him buying from the candy counter at Sears, Woolworths or Newberry's 5 and Dime)

Pat – candy bars –Hersey’s

Mike – oreos, I can’t really remember him eating candy, I remember him hiding candy but I can’t remember what it was

Favorite season:

LuAnn -- fall

Charles -- summer

Cherie -- summer

Carol – I would guess winter

Pat -- summer

Mike – late summer, fall

Bruce -- fall

Favorite holiday:

LuAnn -- Thanksgiving

Charles – Veteran’s Day

Cherie – 4^th of July

Carol – Veteran’s Day although it isn’t really celebrated in a big way. But Dad was such a patriot and tenderhearted about those who served in the military and especially those who gave their lives for our freedoms. He loved the American flag and generally would tear-up when he saw it displayed.

Pat – Veteran’s Day

Mike – anything that didn’t involve spending money; Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day (but he didn’t like going to the graves)

Bruce -- Christmas

Favorite hobby:

LuAnn – collecting pins for his hats

Charles – beating his kids, fishing

Cherie – watching boats on the sound

Carol – watching TV, camping

Pat – remembering people

Mike -- work

Bruce -- family

Favorite fruit:

LuAnn -- pears

Charles -- grapefruit

Cherie -- watermelon

Carol – he loved raisin pie (yuck!), also loved cantaloupe

Pat – got me here

Mike -- peaches

Bruce – apples and fresh tomatoes

Favorite vegetable:

LuAnn -- carrots

Charles -- potatoes

Cherie -- squash

Carol – fresh corn-on-the-cob

Pat – he loved Aunt Jean’s young sweet corn

Mike -- potatoes

Bruce – corn on the cob

Favorite TV program:

LuAnn – Lawrence Welk

Charles – Lawrence Welk

Cherie – Lawrence Welk

Carol – Lawrence Welk

Pat – when we were young it was Lawrence Welk, later years, Johnny Carson

Mike – Lawrence Welk

Bruce—Lawrence Welk

Of what was he most proud:

LuAnn – serving in the army

Charles – toss up between you and me. You (Carol) because you got a college education and me (Charles) because I became a commissioned officer

Cherie – his honesty and integrity

Carol – That he was an honorable man and a gentleman. Being honorable included paying his bills on time, treating women with respect (especially his wife), and being a man of his word.

Pat – service to his country, memorizing the Gettysburg address, his family

Mike – his name

Bruce – family and marriage

What made him laugh the hardest:

LuAnn – good joke

Charles – Lou M.Boyd, newspaper columnist

Cherie – Red Skelton

Carol – dirty jokes

Pat – dirty jokes, Carol’s notes

Mike – his grandkids

Bruce – dancer in Wisconsin

Pleasant memory:

LuAnn – trips to Wisconsin

Charles – A camping trip when we went to Redfish with Papa’s (Grandpa Luke's) boat. We were up there for a week. Dad was uncharacteristically laid back. It was a really great time together and one of my favorite memories of being with Dad. We reminisced about it many times. While there, Dad almost drown. He was trying to get the boat out of the water at the boat ramp and had his hip waders on. He slipped and the hip waders filled up with water he almost didn’t get out.

Carol – being respected and included as the stage manager in the drama class/club at Twin Falls High School. His classmates and faculty advisor really adored him. Most memories of his time in the military were not positive. He hated the overall experience which he described as ‘hurry up and wait’.

Pat – marrying his sweetheart

Mike – can’t say

Bruce – family – his greatest accomplishment and pride

Vocation he favored:

LuAnn – accounting, public relations for Trout Farm

Charles – he loved bookkeeping and liked selling trout

Cherie -- sales

Carol – He liked all his jobs. He thrived on working and being a good worker. From his job to selling newspapers on the street corner at age 12, to feeding logs into the machines that planed them for the building of Sun Valley Lodge, to topping a million dollars in sales for the Blue Lakes Trout farm, Dad loved it all. Working and providing were an integral part of his life and self-worth.

Pat -- accounting

Mike – he liked accounting

Bruce – bookkeeping/sales

Nicknames:

LuAnn -- Poppie

Charles – “Larry”, Poppie

Cherie – Larry, Poppy

Carol – I don’t think he had any nicknames. Although, in reality, the name Larry, was not his given name. His birth certificate documented his name as Harvey Elmer. Harvey was the name of his maternal grandfather. His father’s (William Carl) brother and wife and recently had a baby boy they named Lawrence. Apparently “Larry” was a name with some cache in the early 1920s. Dad’s mother (Lillian Rose), was quite the contrarian and never one to be outdone, and she started calling her baby “Larry” soon after he was born, even though his birth certificate said otherwise. The name was formalized when Dad was drafted. Once the military documented his name as Larry H. Armga that became his legal name.

Pat – Poppie, he loved being a grandpa

Mike -- Dad

Bruce – Silver Fox

Secret talent:

LuAnn – he loved to dance

Charles – always knowing the right answer

Cherie -- gardening

Carol – he had many. He was a superb shopper – he could find the best deal, always checked details, did comparison shopping, and always knew where the cheapest gas in town could be found. (One incident I remember from a visit to Olympia. I went shopping with Dad to Safeway’s. He was going to buy a 5-pound bag of potatoes. He weighed probably 20 bags of potatoes, only to find that all of them came in at under 5 pounds. He called over a produce manager who was embarrassed but basically could do nothing about it. Dad was VERY good natured about it and mostly enjoyed being the consummate shopper and making Safeway’s admit that they were shorting the customers.) Dad perfected the process of doing laundry. When I was in my late 30s he would correct me on how to fill MY washer with clothes. He thought about most processes he engaged in and found the better way to complete projects. He was friendly and made a point of introducing himself to others and being warm and receptive to conversation. This was something he worked at. He had taken a Dale Carnegie course in his 40s and absolutely did apply the principles he learned in the course. It really changed his life and reshaped his sociability. He had a talent for making great soup. He was very talented in keeping his mouth shut when he would like to say something. Many times when I cooked and my attempts were feeble at best, he never said a word, just got up from the table, pulled the peanut butter from the pantry and made himself a PB sandwich. I think to be honest I’d have to say his most secret talent and love was women’s clothes. He loved having his wife look beautifully groomed and delighted in seeing the women in his life dressed up and looking good. He hated his daughters wearing Levis to excess (me).

Pat – dancing, remembering people’s names

Mike – I never saw Dad dance but he loved Lawrence Welk and there was a lot of dancing

Bruce – relationships, making things happen that would not have normally been accomplished

Also from Bruce:

His most heartfelt memory was during the war. He would sit on the beach (in the Philippines), look east, and long for his family.

Best advice given to you by Poppy and/or Grandma?

1. Turn the other cheek

2. Food is better with a little burn (dark and caramelized)

3. Honor all women!

4. Love and cherish your wife (led by example)

5. Be able to look in the mirror every morning and like what you see

6. Family is the most important thing