RECOLLECTION AND HEARSAY GRANDPA

Some of what I dispense will be from my recollections and first-hand experience and most will be from anecdotal tales passed on by family members.  I think that the way I can best approach this is to incorporate it all into a tale about times spent growing up and the memories I have about our family.

I never got to know too much about my maternal ancestors but shall try to tell what I know as to where they originated from, their lives, and their interactions with mom that affected my own life.

I think that mom always associated herself with her mother’s side of the tree branch than with that of her “Pop”.  The reason for that is probably because of being raised Catholic by Grandma Wieland, while Grandpa’s relatives were not of that faith. 

GRANDPA WIELAND: In fact Grandpa Wieland had been so emotionally angered toward God by WWI that a rift was ever present in their relationship.  I have no idea about Grandpa before the war but I can only guess that he was not the same Hank Wieland that Grandma married.

The Grandpa I remember in my earliest years, (probably before I turned six or so) spent time with me that allowed me to feel closer to him than any of my other family members can.  I remember going on the trolley cars into downtown Portland (OR), going to the barber shop with him, a trip to the haberdashery where he got his favorite hat cleaned and blocked, and one walk in particular where I found a genuine sheriffs badge that I cherished but like many things got lost in the passage of time.

In later years I found out that Grandpa suffered the illness of alcoholism and regardless of how it first gained its place in his life I believe it stole a lot of the joy he could have experienced.  To this day I believe that illness is one of the most insidious thieves a person and their family can experience.