Grandpa Hill's Childhood Stories: Recent Episodes
Grandpa Hill
Grandpa Hills often tells the stories of his Childhood with a live audience of one or more of his twenty two grand children. Each story is based on his memory of what truly happened to him. Marshmallow and his friend Gorf review the story from their perspectives as a raccoon and a frog. Hoping that by their conversations about the story it will help the listeners, young and old, to talk to each other about their thoughts and experiences. We learn lessons as we think, laugh (or cry) and live. We hope Grandpa Hill’s stories can help you along that journey of Life.
When Grandpa was a seven year old boy in 1964 he visited his Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Bob in Cheboygan Michigan. Upstairs in a hot room a fan was spinning trying to cool the room and boys were playing and the fan was interesting. As Don was considering putting his fingers into the fan, perhaps […]
In the winter of 1968 Grandpa Don and his friend Bill Lecuru in Rochester Michigan, built a fort of sticks and newspaper in the woods near Bill’s house. Grandpa was 14 and the fort was not warm enough for the two boys to stay warm so a very small fire was needed, inside of the […]
Grandpa is taking his daughter Amy across the fields of western Wisconsin in 1990. The two of them had come out of the woods away from the rest of the group. The Romo’s children, and their mom, Mrs Teresa Romo and Don and his four children had spent the late morning hours foraging for medicinal […]
In the summer of 1968 Grandpa Hill (Donald) was playing with Mike Martin his cousin. They were along Hamlin Road in Rochester Michigan playing tricks on his brother Eugene. Donald and Mike decide to hide from Eugene after they had secretly dropped leaves and twigs from high up in the tree nearly hitting Eugene as he pedaled buy. Those trees are gone now. The old fence line where Donald and Mike had hid is gone now. Hamlin Rd no longer cuts through farm land. Rather there are large houses and a nearby industrial park. What isn’t gone is the memory […]
A counselor was recently asking Donald (Grandpa Hill) some probing question about his childhood. She was trying to understand Grandpa and help him understand himself and feel better about the world he lived in. Donald, as Grandpa Hill recalls his answers to the lady that was trying to help him and shares his answer with his children, and grand children. In the fall of 1964 Donald was in the second grade at Hamlin Elementary School in Rochester MI. There was a struggle going on. Donald had, in his mind, invented numerical bases for counting, and used them fluently to do […]
This last episode of Grandpa Hill’s adventure trip is told by Grandpa Hill. It truly happened to him. There and back, the trip was nearly 500 miles. This last episode starts on Day 6 and is full of adventure and fun. The day starts with spirits high, leaving MARION. Eggs are stolen from a hen house and they confess when discovered. They are cared for by Aunt Margaret at the farm in Harrietta. The next day they make it to Okenama and Bill Lecuru’s grandparents. The bikers pick berries to get food money to come home. Tension builds the group […]
Part 3: Day 4, Day 5, Day 6. Stuck in Marion Michigan. Grandpa Hill and his friends leave Wilson State Park, where their neighbors had taken them after their highly unlikely and very fortuitous chance meeting the day before. They headed out of the park on what would come to be known as the “disaster day.” The road was clear… until it wasn’t. There is a tractor trailer truck in the opposing lane, going 70 or 80 mph. The gust from the speeding truck makes the bikes wobbly and some of them fall down. The bikers are a little […]
Comment below! And share with your friends! On The Great Michigan Bicycle Trip PART 2, Day 2 and 3, Grandpa Hill has a much better time than day one of this 500 mile adventure across Michigan by four teenage boys. In Day 1 the Lapeer County sheriff deputy was called to question him and he was rescued and escorted by the North Branch police. In Day 2, his friend Bill gets cut by Dean and his big bowie knife. Later Dean insists on showing his knife as they pedal on MI-46 in downtown Saginaw. The next morning little girls […]
COMMENT BELOW – Share what you thought of this episode! Grandpa Hill was 16 years old and drawn to adventure. The adventure in this story is a 500 mile long bicycle trip in the early 1970’s. Four boys leave Rochester Michigan on their 10 speed bicycles. Not one of the boys had ever been even on an overnight bicycle trip. Their experience at camping was next to nothing. A recipe for disaster. Grandpa Hill, Don, knew that if they didn’t go this year they would never go. Summer jobs, graduation, college, military service, their interests, and their responsibilities would be […]
This story isn’t really about Devil’s night, a night of tricks and pranks. It is a story about an unfortunate—or rather fortunate—course of events that led to Sparky becoming the dog of Grandpa Hill’s family, way back when he was a just a boy of 11 years old. It was 1967 on a foggy Devil’s […]
“Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees” Grandpa Hill (Don)’s Dad said… as it turns out money does sometimes grow on trees. Donald was a teenager in the 1970’s, and his Dad was explaining the folly of a purchase. Don replied oh yes it does grow on trees! “Look right there!” Right out side the living room […]
Once upon a time there were two little boys in the back of their father’s aluminum flat bottomed fishing boat, two big boys took turns at the front, but the two little boys got bigger. As the four boys grew, one moved away, and, the little boys were crowded and heavy in the back of […]
In the spring of 1973, Rochester Michigan, Grandpa Hill found freedom, fun, and adventure on his light and fast 10 speed bicycle. He had saved up for this bike and it met all of his needs and then some. Grandpa had plans of pedaling his bike on many long rides packed with adventure. In this […]
Grandpa Hill as a small boy in the 1960’s, near Northport Michigan, would cross Route 22, and, head up into the Pines to explore, and play. He had a very active imagination in those woods and everywhere else too for that matter. This episode is about one special tree the “Indian Tree” at the Northeast […]
Every year Grandpa went, with his family, to visit his Grandma and Grandpa Bonse in Northport Michigan. He remembers the great food especially his grandma’s raisin bread. Yum! Grandpa had adventures every year! A pine forest deep and dark and quiet, and the steep grassy hills behind the barn, set the “stage” for his vacation […]
Grandpa Hill, decided in 1973 in the summer to sell his Brandy. He had received Brandy for his 13th birthday. As horse and rider Grandpa and Brandy had been through a lot together. Grandpa had learned to be responsible, to be a caregiver, and he learned how to ride well enough to stay on Brandy. […]
Grandpa Use Geometry to master his troublesome pony. Brandy has been holding his breath while Grandpa puts on the saddle. As result of 2 pi R Brandy gains three inches of looseness on Grandpa, so Grandpa goes flying when Brandy stops for clovers. The solution: Grandpa waits for Brandy to relax, then he cinches up […]
Grandpa gets a pony for his Birthday, Brandy. Brandy, as it turns out, is a thoroughly stubborn animal who fights Grandpa every step of the way. Hours of watching and reading westerns couldn’t prepare him for this bucking bronco. It doesn’t help matters that Grandpa knows neither head or hoof about caring for horses, much […]
Losing My Two Front Teeth is a story for Grandpa Hill’s 8 children, 22 grand children, and all children. Four of his grandchildren are ready for bed, listening to Grandpa Hill recall the fun time when he had his teeth and played in the clean sheets that his mother had washed and hung to dry.Losing […]
In Trout Fishing for The First Time Grandpa Hill spends his last day of his first vacation away from home trout fishing. Way back in the 1970’s Grandpa Hill fished at a pond in Northport Michigan. The pond was completely full of brook trout! More trout than Grandpa had ever seen all in one place […]
Hide in seek is a very fun game, which everyone loves to play. Hide the bunny is also a very fun game, except when it is not. In Lots of Bunnies Grandpa Hill tells the true story, as best he can recall, how a bunny died because it could not breathe. A few days later […]
Can Grandpa really go sledding in the summer? According to his true story he sure can. Listen as he relates what fun he had with his family sledding on the hills at his Grandma and Grandpa’s place near Northport Michigan in the early 1960’s, IN THE SUMMER! Gorf doesn’t want to go sledding until he […]