The Deer Hunter and Papaw Tony

The Deer Hunter and Papaw Tony

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“My Daddy, when he died, I couldn’t hardly give him up. We used to hunt together and fish together and work in the fields together. My brothers, they went to school and became doctors and teachers and made something out of themselves. I didn’t know what an education was. Now my brothers are shut up in schoolhouses and offices while I’m out in the sun where I want to be.” ~Okla Thorsberry

Excerpt from Foxfire Magazine Fall 1988

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Tipper

 

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23 Comments

  1. B-the knife in the photo isn’t the one he carries today. The knife in the photo was a handmade knife-Daniel Warren from Haywood County made it. It was a Christmas present from Papaw to The Deer Hunter : )
    Tipper
    Blind Pig
    The Acorn
    Celebrating and Preserving the
    Culture of Appalachia
    http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com

  2. Phyllis-sorry for the issue! Seems to be working ok for others. Wonder if the Blind Pig could be going into your spam folder? That happens sometimes when email providers update their safety techniques. If thats not it-you could try unsubscribing and resubscribing to the Blind Pig. I’ll keep thinking and see if I can figure out anything else.
    Hope you have a
    great weekend!
    Tipper
    Blind Pig The Acorn
    Celebrating and Preserving the
    Culture
    of Appalachia
    http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com

  3. Never thought of this before, but believe that b.Ruth has the right idea — those fleeting thoughts is their way of sending their love to you from beyond the blue horizon with a silver lining!

  4. Tipper: some strong fellings well up in me when i think of “pop”he was the best in all regards. gone now 30 years. he was born on hazel creek in 1907 ,lived there until 1930. talked about proctor,Silers bald,hunting and just plane paradise. we went back in 1957, and i felt the same way. miss him and love him just as much today as when he passed.bestwishes to all blind piggys. k.o.h

  5. Hi Deer Hunter,Being true to ones self is so important.Too many people have regrets.Happy Fathers day,I’m sure your a better Father by being your self.God Bless.

  6. I’d almost swear that I’ve seen the face of that young feller pasted on a pretty chattering girl 😉

  7. Tipper,
    After reading all the comments again,
    I noticed I mis-spelled Okla Thornsbury.
    I just spelled it the way Belva and
    you did.ha Jim got it right the first
    time…Ken

  8. My dad went to his eternal home 14 years ago and yes I could hardly let him go too. He was a good man who knew hard times but he always provided for his family. As tough as he was he would cry at the drop of a hat when he tried to show his love. He would literally tear up just saying I love you. He loved to hunt and fish and as some would say he was a picky fellow. His cars, house, yard and his person was always neat and tidy. I inherited a lot if his traits and my siblings always picked on me for being so neat. I miss him dearly and miss our times sitting on the porch talking. He was also a very private man and most of what I know from his past came from other people. Most of it was good but he did have a mischievous side! : ) I miss you dad!!
    Thanks for topic, it made me reflect back on good times with him.

  9. Well Tipper, you sure touched a meaningful note today! My father lived to be 92 years old. On FATHER’s DAY 1992, we laid him in his grave. If I live to be 92 or 102 years old I will never forget that beautiful Sunday in June when we laid Daddy away!
    Best regards, Eva Nell

  10. Touching…
    My Daddy was the biggest, strongest, smartest, most caring, and best Daddy in the world–for me…
    Thanks for the reminder…

  11. Tipper,
    That’s a beautiful passage from Okla
    Thorsbury’s memories. Soon “Father’s
    Day” will be upon us again and we’ll
    get the chance to reflect on our daddy.
    Mine was the smartest in the world, and
    only had a 7th grade education. He knew
    the Bible throughout, and he taught his sons how to fish and hunt, and be self-
    sufficient…Ken

  12. Tipper,
    I know exactly how Thorsberry felt. I lost my Dad 15 years ago and I miss him as much now as I did then. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of something I need to tell my Daddy. Giving him up was definitely one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. My Dad was a deer hunter too. He loved the outdoors and his hound dogs. He taught us to love and take care of the beautiful world that we live in and not to take our freedom lightly. He played the guitar and the fiddle and instilled in us a great love of music. He was a very patriotic man and won a Silver Star during WWII for bravery. “I could hardly give him up.”

  13. Talk of fathers (as well as mothers) stir up such strong, and often conflicting, emotions. These are tempered by earnest attempts to understand what molded Dad. Ultimately, the strongest emotions triggered are admiration, respect,and love.

  14. I had a wonderful Daddy so laid back. He instill a lot of my traits in me. Great post Tipper. Barbara is a grand writer I would love to met her sometime.

  15. Tipper,
    I did want to ask. Is the picture of the knife, (that I have seen on Deer Hunters belt) the same one he must carry with him all the time?
    Just wondering!
    Thanks Tipper,

  16. “My Daddy, when he died, I couldn’t hardly give him up.”
    That quote is so touching and has made me shed a few tears… this is the 10th year anniversary of my daddy’s passing. He had brain cancer and was gone within 3 months of diagnosis. I know he is completely healed in heaven, but there are so many events that I wish he could share with the family again. Like the highly anticipated birth of his great grandson in August that will share his name. I love my Daddy and the wonderful legacy he left for his family.

  17. Tipper,
    and Deer Hunter…losing loved ones is a very hard part of living. Losing parents or children, most of all takes another lifetime to really comes to grips with. My brother confessed to me, and I do the same, that unconsciously we think I need to call Mom or Dad or I need to ask Mom or Dad.
    It takes just a memory trigger, sight of an object, a sound, a smell of home-cooking, when the thought flits through your mind. Then you realize that you can’t and your memory of the loved one helps move the time along.
    Maybe I’m silly, but I like to think that those fleeting thoughts is their way of sending their love to you from beyond the blue horizon with a silver lining!
    Thanks Tipper,
    We always care for the Blind Pig Gang, including Deer Hunter!
    Such handsome men and a great picture. Makes you want to know the story of the knife, a Christmas gift maybe?

  18. Maybe I’m alone in this, but it seems to me that the older I get, and the more years its been since Mama and Daddy died, the more keenly I feel the desire that they were still here to talk to and ask for their counsel.
    Maybe part of that is that we all look to the past through rose-colored glasses.
    But maybe part of it comes from realizing just how much they both knew and understood that I didn’t have the sense to ask about.
    Tipper, the fact that young women like you and Wendy Meyers have the wisdom to grasp this at your age and then do something about it speaks volumes.

  19. Tipper–Your blog for today is a pointed reminder to me that I need to do a piece in memory of Daddy for my weekend newspaper column in the local daily.
    I loved the quotation from Okla Thornsberry and have to wonder about the name Okla. Maybe it’s a family name or maybe reflects something connected with Oklahoma. Names can be fascinating. Daddy’s was Commodore and it had nothing to do with naval rank. There were other Casadas who carried that moniker before him. Grandpa’s middle name was Hillberry (with variant spellings), again unusual. My uncle’s middle name was Ambrose, but he changed it at some point, probably thanks to teasing at school or something similar although I don’t know that to be the case.
    I’ve never seen the name Okla before, but I sure do agree with his sentiments. I say that from a tried-and-true perspective, because I knew that “shut up” type of captivity for well over a quarter of a century.
    Jim Casada
    http://www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com

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