Earlier today I was having some nice memories of my Grandpa as I was pruning my roses.

For many years my Grandpa worked for Interstate Nurseries in Hamburg, Iowa.

Here is a picture of him working in a field of flowers.

I have some great memories of him bringing plants to us when he would visit.

I remember the smells as the boxes of roses or trees were opened up. I also remember helping grandpa dig the holes and setting the roses or trees.

About 10 years ago I checked on Google Maps and some of the trees that we planted are still standing.

It is because of my Grandpa that I first planted roses in front of  my house. Even the choice of roses was influenced by him as several of them were his favorites, or ones that he brought us years ago.

There were other memories like the big ball of string that he brought us. We kept it in the laundry room and although we used string from it all the time, it didn’t seem to get much smaller.

I also thought of a few of my favorite pictures of my Grandpa. Here is a photo booth picture from when he was dating my Grandma.

Another favorite picture was taken shortly after their engagement. I have always wondered why my Grandpa had two hats, the only explanation I can come up with is that one must be my Grandma’s.

Steven