Monday, August 31, 2009

Oh, This? I Made It In My Shop.



My dad was a carpenter.

Then a cabinetmaker.

For a long time he retro-fitted drug stores and then he built bars.

Charleston was officially "dry" in the 1950s but Dad created a LOT of backbars, curved bars with "nosing"* and even padded banquettes.

In his "illegal" wood working shop.

Ansonborough was a bit run down in those days and money was tight.

The fact that my Dad was cutting wood, hammering and then sticking finished products out the front window to get them to his truck was sorta overlooked.

My younger brother is shown helping Dad because he didn't scoot away in time.

All three boys knew the sound of that truck and it usually meant unloading many, many long pieces of wood or sheets of splintery plywood.

My older brother is totally absent on this particular "Delivery" day.

As soon as I set down my camera, I joined my brother in the back of the truck to hold on to things as we delivered this piece over the old Cooper River Bridge. The very narrow 2-lane Grace Memorial.

Haven't seen shots like this in any coffee table books about Charleston.

(*Nosing is the raised portion along the front of a bar top that keeps your sleeves off anything spilled on the bar.)

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

posted by chucker @ 12:28 PM 3 Comments

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Happy 93rd Birthday Mom !

Mom was born in 1916. My Dad in 1913.

There are three boys in the family. I'm the "middle son."

I have written about my Dad. He was a carpenter and had his own woodworking shop. He died 10 years ago.

Mom was a homemaker until the last son graduated from high school then she went to school.

She became a nurse. A LPN. She worked for 25 years at St. Francis Hospital. She retired 30 years ago.

We had a nice party for her 90th at her church, Divine Redeemer Catholic church in Hanahan.

For the 91st, friends and family came here to the house and overflowed from the large kitchen into every room. Some were out on the patio.

Last year's party was at Sandpiper Assisted Living in Mt. Pleasant. A very large crowd gathered on its outdoor deck and there were three cakes.

This year's celebration will also be at Sandpiper but in the Nursing Center. Mom suffered a stroke last year so we won't have a crowd this time. Just family.

Happy birthday. We love you.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

posted by chucker @ 9:52 AM 0 Comments