Grandparent Memories:Herbert and Nellie (Church) Kuhn

After putting glassworking behind him due to health issues, Grandpa turned to carpentry and was a self-employed carpenter for many years. He built a house on a corner of his farm for his daughter and son-in-law, and it sat just up the road from the house in which he and Grandma lived. As my parents had built across the road from my grandparents, that meant it was just a hop, a skip, and a jump for me to keep a close eye on the progress. Typical of a young child, I loved to play around with Grandpa's tools, and it was probably inevitable that something would go wrong sooner or later. One day I was using a hatchet on a piece of scrap wood when I struck not only the wood but also my thumb and forefinger, slicing them quite nicely. I remember running back home, spots of blood trailing behind me on the road, yelling for Mom. It took us quite awhile to get the bleeding stopped, and I had scars for years. Needless to say, she wasn't real happy with me that day!

A few years later Grandpa and Doyle Moore worked with Dad on the construction of our new house. Once again, I got to play with the tools … although by then I was old enough to actually be helpful.

My grandparents were dairy farmers for many years, then switched to beef cattle for a few years until they ultimately quit farming altogether. As a youngster, I often played with cousins in the upper level of the barn, climbing around and over the hay bales, and I loved it when it was time to put up hay. I always thought I was being quite helpful by following the baler to make sure the bales didn't roll down the hill. Looking back now, I was probably just an extra concern for my Dad and Uncle Dale – they had to keep an eye on me to make sure I stayed safe!

Christmas 1958 with Grandma & Grandpa

Grandpa chewed tobacco and, while some folks will consider this totally gross, I'll always have a picture in my mind of the coffee can that sat beside his chair. Hey, that tobacco juice had to be spit out somewhere!

Grandma was known for being a great country-style cook – especially for beans and corn pone. To the uninitiated, that is pinto beans and corn bread, a staple meal loved by many West Virginians.

However, one of my favorite memories of being at my grandparents' house was climbing the maple trees.  The photo below shows tree no.1 when it was much, much smaller than it was by the time I started climbing.

Home of Herbert & Nellie Kuhn

There was another tree to the right of this one, then behind it a straight row of trees ran along the property line and parallel to the side of the house.   It might be easier to picture as an L-shaped line of trees around the house.  Nevertheless, I loved climbing those trees, whether by myself or with some of my cousins. Those were great times!