Visits to Grandpa and Grandma Dooley by Art

Visits to Grandpa and Grandma Dooley

I remember one time crossing the Belford Bridge and the river was out.  It was at the edge of the road on the North end of the bridge.  It had started crossing the road when we left.  On a later visit, I saw that the blacktop had been peeled off the road.  We could see the river just below the hill south of the house.

I can remember when we turned south from the Big Bend Road and the sand being so rutted that the car would drag slightly in several places.  Grandpa moved his driveway several times as it became very rutted.  The driveway was through a field, so the old one would be ploughed and became part of the field again.

Grandpa Dooley had the first television that I ever saw.  It had a 9” round screen and was black and white.  We kids thought it was great.  We could see Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger.  The picture was not clear so we had to use our imagination a lot.

I can remember 4 o’clock flowers and castor bean plants growing in front of the house, with just a path to the front porch.  I thought that it was neat that water was available with a flip of the switch.  The well had a pump jack with an electric motor.  The house was actually two housed put together with a walkway between.  The sink for the water was in the walkway.  Water would drain out of the sink.  Grandpa Dooley was very innovative and I saw many new things at his home.

Grandpa liked to play dominos and many a game was played outside on the south side of the house during the summer time. agr