By Dr. Harry Tennant
Monday, July 2, 2012 Things I learned from Grandpa ChrisMy Grandpa Chris was impressive to me when I was a kid and still is today, 40 years after he passed away. He was an orphan and only had a third grade education but he was keen on learning and had some excellent habits for running his life. He retired at the age of 50 after having built a woodturning business in Rockford, Illinois literally with his own hands. He learned woodturning at one of the furniture companies in Rockford, then set out on his own. Another local furniture company was destroyed in a fire so he bought some of their machinery from the ashes for next to nothing. This was heavy duty steel machinery so, other than cosmetic damage and burned drive belts here and there, it was perfectly serviceable. Those same machines were still functional when his shop was sold sixty years after he built it. He taught me how to build deadfall traps, how to out wit a charging elk, what life in the trenches was like in World War I and how to make the most of 8mm home movies. He taught himself to play the violin and made the music for family sing-alongs. He told stirring stories of Vikings and his Norwegian ancestors. He took the time to talk to and play with his grandkids. But I'd like to list here a few things he taught by example about developing good habits.
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