Grandpa the Milkman

We have our favorite animals around the farm (Bridget, Sophie, Elvis, etc), but we like to think we love all of our readers equally. However, one of them stands out as the clear favorite. He doesn’t actually “read” the blog, per se, but he hears every word that’s written and he keeps up with our adventures just as well as anyone else. He’s Sweetbread’s great-grandfather, George.

Family members and friends read Grandpa (as he is known to all generations) our blog updates and he follows along with great enthusiasm. He’s often ahead of the news, as in the piglet escape, where he was kept abreast of up-to-the-minute developments. He frequently passes along suggestions and thoughts about our latest mistakes and triumphs. Every once in a while we have the pleasure of hearing his wisdom and encouragement direct over the phone. We cherish the interactions and the fact that we can be a part of each other’s lives despite living many hours away.

Grandpa was a chicken farmer when he was a young man. A chicken farmer by day and jazz musician by night. Later he was a milkman, followed by leadership roles in the local teamsters and later founding and building the community center in his current community.

Before we started farming we visited George at his home in Florida and he regaled us with chicken farming lore and tales from his incredibly well lived life. Now we pass along our stories to him.

He likes listening to jazz and music from the WWII era and bonded with Scrapple on their first meeting after introducing him to the sounds of Leon Redbone. Having lost much of his sight, Grandpa listens to books on tape from a service that sends them to him. And he loves getting visitors from his family and all the younger ladies in the area that fawn over him.

This past Saturday Grandpa turned 100 years old. Yeah, that’s right, ONE HUNDRED. What an achievement. And he still lives on his own with his trusty dog Willis. You’re an inspiration to us all Grandpa and we love you.

Happy Birthday!