Margaret and Harrison Continued
Our 1958 Christmas rescue of the house with “no heat” was resolved very quickly. Preparing for the job took longer than the job itself.
There was a family Christmas party being held at the home of one of Poppy’s customers. It was much like the one we left, only more festive. Aunts, uncles, and cousins had gathered at their grandparent’s home. Gene and I went on the “no heat” call more for companionship than anything. Poppy investigated the problem and discovered that one of the cousins had dropped a crayon on the furnace. The crayon melted and the hole that supplied the gas was covered with crayon wax. Once the wax was removed, the furnace fired up. Problem solved.
We returned quickly to our gathering and the evening concluded much as it had started – missing Grandma.
I don’t know how Poppy got his name, but all of the cousins called him that. When I spoke with my friends I referred to my mom’s parents as Grandma and Grandpa Barner. Within the family, his grandchildren called him Poppy. If Gene or I were feeling frisky, we just called him Pop.
News of Grandma’s passing was a horrible thing for our immediate family, however, single women saw an opportunity. While I don’t know how long he waited before he “started dating” again, I do remember that during the Christmas season of 1959, Poppy received sixteen different shirts from sixteen different women. He was a sixty year old man with many suitors hoping to win his heart. He was successful, charming, fun-loving and alone. Many of the women were customers of Barner Heating hoping to become a co-owner. None did.
In the spring of 1960 we gathered for somebody’s birthday without Poppy. He was visiting a friend, Virginia Wand Gibbs. The adult conversation centered on Virginia and her relationship with Poppy. This was one of those, “if you stay quiet in the room”, you can listen conversations.
Virginia was not new to our family. Her parents, the Wands, served as the landlords for Poppy’s mom, “Old Granny Barner” in Bowling Green, Kentucky for several years. We met the Wand family during our visits to Kentucky. The extended families of the Wands and Barners became good friends.
Virginia was a widow of many years. Poppy started seeing her as a “female friend” to accompany him to social gatherings. It appeared that their relationship was becoming more serious and not everyone in the family was happy about it. The brief exchange about someone replacing their mother ended when Uncle Harry Barner said, “She was my mother too. I love her, but she’s not here anymore. My dad is. He is a young man, and if Virginia makes him happy, I want him to be happy.”
In August of 1960 Harrison Barner and Virginia Wand Gibbs married. I had a new Grandma and Grandpa Barner. I was thirteen years old. I liked her from the moment I met her. That changed briefly when I heard a group of adults having a discussion about children. She had two. My new Aunt Ann, and her brother, Don, were great additions to our family.
At some point in the discussion she said, “I think that children should be seen but not heard.” It was a quick off the cuff statement made in a casual conversation. I didn’t like it. I wanted to be listened to. While I never forgot the statement, I learned to love her and accept her as my grandmother. She was kind to everyone, and as Poppy aged she became very protective of him.
They lived in the house on Troester for several years. After Poppy retired they moved to New Port Richey, Florida. Family gatherings moved as well. Thanksgiving dinner rotated among the siblings and birthdays were hosted by the celebrating parents. We continued to eat our way through our traditions, but life was never really the same after Margaret passed.
TBC