I have so many fond memories of my grandpa Slouka so this will be anything but short.

I had the rare privilege to grow up literately a stone’s throw from my grandpa’s house and as a child I would take as many opportunities as I could to visit my grandpa. 

One thing I will always remember about my grandpa is that he had an endless supply of candy and gum that he loved to share with his grandchildren. Wrigley’s was his brand of choice and in his stock he would have Doublemint, Spearmint, Juicyfruit, Big Red and occasionally Blackjack gum (which was interesting). Grandpa would give each grandchild one stick of gum and a piece of candy. He would always take his stick of gum, tear it in half, and then place one half in his mouth and the other in his pocket. I asked him one time when I was young, why he didn’t want the whole thing. He replied “To save some for later”. So, in true affection for my grandfather, I began tearing my sticks of gum in half to emulate him. And to this day...I still do it.

Tuesday mornings at 8:00 was the best morning for me when I was a child. I would run up to my grandpa’s house for homemade pancakes or waffles. Grandpa would usually be just finishing getting dressed when I knocked on the door. He would always great me with a smile and a good morning. Sometimes I would help him make the complex batter. He would mix regular flour, whole wheat flour and buck wheat flour (I had no idea what that was) and various other ingredients not once using a measuring cup. He would never mix the batter with a wisk, but would use one of the larger spoons you find in the silverware drawer and beat the batter with it until it was the perfect consistency. There was always a large assortment of toppings to choose from, including Karo light and dark syrup, Mrs. Buttersworth, and different jams and jellies. I would sample the assortment and experiment with the different options. I found that no matter what I used, they were all good. Grandpa would turn on the radio in the kitchen and listen to his favorite AM station playing classic hits from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. The music would fill the home as I would help grandpa set the table while listening to songs of Bobby Darin, Doris Day, Elvis and Percy Faith and his orchestra. When I got a little older I was in charge of cooking the sausage and enjoyed cooking beside grandpa. While we ate, my grandpa would be interested in what was going on in my life and we would chat about this and that. There were always enough pancakes or waffles to fill everyone up. After breakfast my brother and I would often linger and pick a board game from grandpa’s assortment and play for hours. 

I have fond memories of taking trips with my grandpa and grandma to Little Diamond Lake. I would get to ride in the back seat of grandpa’s big truck which had a long red seat that was just my size. I would also get to sleep in grandpa’s 5th wheel on the table that converted into a bed, which meant that I could not sleep in because everyone was hungry in the morning. We would play games outside including “lawn darts” and I learned how to play “brown bag bingo” at the lodge. There were so many fun things to do while there and I know that grandpa enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.

My grandpa loved being outside and I would love to spend time being his shadow. He had a small orchard with different fruit trees that he would prune and care for. He also had a garden where he would grow many different vegetables and herbs. He also grew my favorite…raspberries! I would love to pick the raspberries and eat them right off the bush. I remember as a family picking buckets full of them in the summer when they ripened. As a child though, I found more joy in eating them than filling my bucket. Maybe that’s why my bucket was the one with the least amount in it. Grandpa loved sharing the fruits of his garden and orchard with his family.

When I reached my teenage years my grandpa taught me how to set up the irrigation pipes that watered his orchard, pasture, garden and lawn. He had meticulously mapped out where each sprinkler should go and where each pipe should be. I would be in charge of setting them up several times each week. Grandpa would call me when he needed the pipes setup or to turn the water on or off. He even taught me how to replace the seals on the pipes in case they were bad (and that happened frequently). I will always remember walking through the pasture on a beautiful summer evening setting up the pipes for grandpa and then listening to the peaceful sound of the sprinklers. 

Grandpa had phrases that he would use frequently. My favorite quotes from grandpa are: “Don’t monkey with that” (he would say this when I was playing with something that I wasn’t supposed to) “Isn’t that goofy” (looking at something silly like a toy dog that barks and does back flips) “After a while” (when I asked at what time something would take place) and “Whooop” (let’s just leave it at that). 

There are two anecdotes about grandpa that I will always cherish. 

The first took place outside my grandpa’s house in his backyard where my brother and I often played when we were children. We both saw a large spider on the side of grandpa’s house just under the kitchen window. We ran to get grandpa and show him the huge arachnid which had a spine-chilling color and a large, disgusting yellow body. Grandpa looked at it and without hesitation he reached forward with his thumb (the spider and his thumb being about the same size) and squished the spider. I can still hear the crunching sound of that spider being forcefully pressed against the wood siding and seeing the yellow goo that remained. Grandpa took a paper towel out of his back pocket, wiped his thumb and resumed his daily chores leaving my brother and me speechless.
 
The second story took place a few feet from there. I was again playing in grandpa’s backyard this time with a friend. As we were playing we saw something move in the bushes. We moved a little closer, and out walked a small skunk. Knowing full well what skunks are capable of we ran to get grandpa. As he approached the scene he immediately stood before the animal and began waving his arms shouting “SHOO, SHOO!” My friend and I glanced at each other and began retreating slowly in the opposite direction. Fortunately the malodorous creature departed into the bushes, out of sight, and no one fell victim to the skunk’s main defense.

It seemed as a child that nothing could scare grandpa. I discovered as I grew older that he was a man that understood that in life there are things that can seem scary or that can stink, but they don’t really matter. It is life that matters and living it to the fullest. 

I will miss my grandpa Slouka so much and will always treasure his memory and the wonderful times that I got to spend with him. I know that he has gone back home to his Father in heaven and that I will have the opportunity to be with him again someday.

Dear Grandpa,
Thank you for all the memories and love.
I will miss you greatly but i am happy that you are with Grandma.
I will miss you and love you forever.

Dear grandga i know you where in alot of pain in the end but now you are with God and grandma. now you are traveling with grandma across the heavens. I just want you to know that we miss you alot.good bye grandpa I miss you.

The best thing I remember about my grandpa was his weekly pancake breakfast.  A few of his grandchildren would show up at the appropriate hour at the kitchen door awaiting the treasure that was within.  Grandma would open the door and admonish us to wipe our feet.  We file in sometimes 2 of us, sometimes 3 or more.  Plates would be set on the counter top around the stove top.  We would take our seats awaiting the magic about to be performed.  

 

Grandpa would start mixing the precious batter and grandma would make the coffee.  She would then take her seat at the counter top.  The griddle was already warming, as Grandpa mixed.  Our smiling faces his only reward.  He would pour out the batter on the hot griddle.  Then he would go to the cupboard to get the magic topping of our pancake breakfast.  Bottles of various sizes and compositions would be gathered and placed before us.  These bottles contained light syrup, dark syrup, honey, maple syrup and jams.  He would effortlessly flip the steaming cakes.  

 

I gazed at the syrups and wondered which I would choose today.  I loved the light syrups but sometimes mixed some other syrup with the light syrup.  There was one bottle that hadn't been used by any of us but Grandpa kept bringing it out with the rest of them.  I asked Grandpa why he brought it out and he said it was "just in case someone wanted it".  I couldn't see how anyone would want to use it.  It was an inky, black, dark goo that would never see my pancakes or any of my siblings.  

 

The first batch of pancakes were done and each plate received just one.  We would doctor our pancakes and eat as grandpa made more.  We would talk about the cows, milk, irrigation and eggs.  Grandpa never seeming to run out of batter and kept going until we ate our fill.  We helped with dishes and when that chore was done we went out to help grandpa on the farm.  Gathering eggs, milking cows, or helping in the garden.  We enjoyed these mornings with our grandparents.

 

So Grandpa to remember you, I will make a pancake morning for your grandchildren and their families.  We will get together and talk about this and that.  We will eat pancakes topped with syrups from various size bottles.  One bottle will be the inky, black, dark, gooey sorghum "just in case someone wants it".

OBITUARY

Edward Slouka

August 31, 1921 – July 5, 2011

Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home

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