OK West

For Christmas, my mother and her siblings made a book of 101 memories of their mom and dad. The book they published together is called OK WEST The Story of George and Eleanor Knipp.

I'd like to share the forward...

The tile of this book, "OK WEST", is based upon a treasured tale of the family of George and Eleanor Knipp as told by their children.
When we traveled Dad and Mom would sometimes go south from the home place towards town. This route went across an unguarded railroad track by our neighbor's house. Dad would drive, Mom, a front seat passenger, Len in the front between Mom and Dad, with Joy, Larry and Ruth in the back seat. Mom would look down the railroad track toward the west and and as a sign of help and caring she would tell dad, "OK WEST", meaning there were no trains coming from that direction. It got to be a habit and after a while we kids would automatically say "OK WEST" even though we didn't even look for trains. Mom and Dad would simply smile and proceed.
Looking Back, "OK WEST" came to symbolize the loving partnership Dad and Mom shared as well as the fact that every ting was all right.
What could be more fitting title to a book about Dad and Mom & Our Family than "OK WEST"?

I had the privilege and not so privilege of moving around a lot as a child until my college years. I loved the new places and people but not having a home place was somewhat a desire I had. My folks made sure we knew family even though I never lived in the same town as family until my own children were all born. The farm in Missouri where OK WEST takes place is what I imagined as my home place. The farm house had so many hidden treasures as the farm itself. After Grandpa died at 60 and I was only 4 my Aunt and Uncle took over the farm so we still had the farm until my Uncle's death while I was in college. Grandma had a town house that had a basement and an open field next to it too.


My next postings will be some of these memories as well as some of my 101 memories of my mom and dad. My sister and I need to start on our book about them... I know even without asking her we'll entitle it... I Love You Best!

More to come....