Stephen Anstey is enrolled in Adult Basic Education in Springdale. As part of his course requirements for a communications course, Stephen was asked to write a descriptive essay. Stephen decided to write about his Grandfather. He has agreed to share his thoughts with us.

Grandfather

I once knew a medium height man weighing around one hundred and fifty pounds. His grey hair was easily taking over. His pale green eyes and sunbaked wrinkled face showed years of outdoor work. He was sixty-five and I call him grandfather.

You could always count on a good conversation when you spoke with him. The years that he had of an unpredictable life that was thrown at him and the knowledge he learned himself came out only in words of wisdom whenever you had a problem.

With a soft spoken voice and carefully chosen words he would be sure to set anything straight no matter what crooked path you were staggering on. Being my mother's father you always showed respect to him, and being disrespectful wasn't tolerated.

Grandfather always had a lot of love and admiration for every member of the family. You always knew you were welcome by the sparkle in his eye and the wide grin on his face every time you entered his home.

My grandfather always had a soft heart for animals whether they were his own or not. I remember going to his house one day and he was nursing a stray kitten. He had found it nearly frozen and almost starved to death. Anyone else would probably have made away with it, but not him.

Grandfather had the poor thing for about two weeks until he got it back on its feet. Finally, with health and strength regained, he set it free again. My grandfather would never pen in an animal. He said it was cruel, and cruelty he had no time for.

When we were younger, and being the instigators that we were, we sometimes made our grandfather's patience grow thin, but he surely let you know when they got there. With a frowned expression on his face or his hand on your backside, he sent you home while saying, "Now get home to your mother."

Kindness is something that my grandfather had no matter what time of day, month, or year. His home was always a place to go and his door was never locked. Everyone was welcome.

My grandfather was a hard working man. He started young with a relatively large family to support, hard work never slowed him down. Being a very skilled sawmill operator, he did exceptionally fine work and everyone knew where the work was coming from. For my grandfather, precision was everything and there was no in between. This would prove worthy years later when he started carpentry in a little: shed just a few yards from his house. The pride that went into his work really showed in the finished product.

Money he had respected for and the value of a dollar he looked after. He always said, "a penny saved is a penny earned", or "waste not, want not."

Grandfather really enjoyed the outdoor life. He and grandmother would spend days up in their cabin along side the river. Setting a few rabbit snares to have something for the pot the following day was something to look forward to. Both of them really enjoyed their quiet time alone. Being out in nature was just the place to have it.

To my grandfather, family was everything and a stranger was always a good friend. He would have this way about him that a problem could be overcome and family was to come together in any situation. Family did come together on one particular occasion. My grandfather passed away after a short illness. You could really see what was learned from my grandfather's words, the pulling of the family together.

My grandfather is truly missed by everyone still. He was a teacher of good moral values, a loyal father of thirteen children, thirty-eight grand- children, a faithful husband, honest and hard working, and truly respected by everyone.

There once was a man I knew, and I called him "grandfather".