cilla46
87 posts
Feb 09, 2012
6:08 PM
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Howard Bryant was my grandfather.
We called him Pop.
From the day I was born until the day he died our family lived next door to him and my grandmother"Granny".We lived in a double house at 313 and 315 Illinois Ave in east Dayton.The house had one large front porch separated by a wrought iron railing between the two sides of the house.As children we would jump over the railing to visit.I don't know how it started but it was refered to as going "over home"!
Pop worked at the NCR for many years.When I was a child in the 50's there was still a steam whistle that signaled shift changes at the factory on Brown St.That whistle was loud enough to hear all the way to our house every morning,noon and each afternoon at four when the day was over for the workers.Pop took the number 4 Wayne Ave. bus to and from work every day.The bus stop was just a block from our house.When I was about eight or nine years old I would hear that whistle and know that Pop would be coming home soon.Sometimes my parents would let me walk up to the corner and wait for the bus.I would walk home with Pop feeling very special.
He loved to listen to the Cincinnati Reds baseball games on the radio.I remember many summer evenings sitting on the front porch with the radio turned up loud and Pop sitting in his chair with a cold bottle of beer and a bag of pretzles.Granny and I would sit on the glider and I would almost always fall to sleep to the sounds of the game.
About every two or three years he would buy a brand new Buick.It was a special treat to go for a ride with him and Granny.I can remember trips to the grocery at Dorthy Lane Market and to visit Granny's sister on Volusia Ave. in Oakwood.
Pop always kept a can of hardtack candy in the stand next to his chair in the living room.I would sometimes be allowed to go "over home" to watch TV with Granny and Pop.I remember watching "You Bet Your Life" and laughing like crazy when that silly duck dropped down if a contestant said the secret word! I would sit on the floor next to him and he would sneak me pieces of candy when Granny wasn't looking!Good times for me!
Pop had a very stern look about him but a heart of gold.He could break my heart with a harsh word and make me feel like a princess with a special smile.I loved him very much.
I remember very well the day he died.He came home from work not feeling well.I was told that he lay down on the couch and died of a heart attack shortly after.What I remember most is the sound of sirens.First the ambulance and then my father in his police cruiser screaming up the street.It was a terrible time for all of us but especially for my father.They took Pop out of the house on a stretcher and he was already gone!I can close my eyes to this day and see that scene.
I was blessed to have had a grandfather that even fifty odd years later still has an impact on my life.Even now I miss my Pop!
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Keugene48
203 posts
Feb 11, 2012
6:34 PM
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Cilla, that was a wonderful tribute to your grandfather. Grandparents are very special people to have in our lives growing up!
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maxed out
340 posts
Feb 19, 2012
11:42 AM
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cilla46....This is really wierd.....I have probably been in your house in the early 1970's. When I first hired on with DPL I was a meter reader. One of my routes included Illinois Ave. I maybe have even seen you. The other streets on that route were Indiana,Virginia,Buchanan, and Edgar. I was the cute little guy that hollered "Power and Light"......LOL
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cilla46
88 posts
Feb 20, 2012
1:02 PM
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maxed out~ Sorry to say I missed you! I was gone from there in 1964.I do remember vividly the DP&L man who did holler "power and light".Sometimes he would say "meter reader"too.
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hunt69
342 posts
Feb 22, 2012
10:14 AM
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cilla46... I know how certain events seem to really standout in one's mind.
This story was quite moving to me.I appreciate you sharing something so personal as this was for you.
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cilla46
89 posts
Feb 22, 2012
11:43 AM
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hunt69~ Thank you! I had been thinking of Pop all that day and just felt the need to put a few memories in writing.I don't want to lose those precious times of my life.Memories can become like wisps of smoke blowing on a breeze and slip away,out of reach.
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