Charles Robert Reynolds (1865 - 1950)
Grandpa Charley died on 18 November 1950, twelve days before my thirteenth birthday. Of my twelve grandparents and great-grandparents, he is the last one to receive treatment on this website. I was closer to him than to any of the others, so in a special way I say, "perhaps I have left the best to last."
If earthly artifacts that we dearly cling to have special meaning for human attachment then it is probably significant that out of grandpa's thirty-eight grandchildren I alone own his fly fishing tackle box, creel, and fly rod, and with it his last fishing license that is the only evidence I know of that contains his written hand. Grandpa lived for the days he could go fishing and hunting -- probably more so than any other physical activity; and so, it is with equal relish that I prize that day in East Canyon as a boy under his tutelage when I hooked and landed the largest trout of my entire life. As you peruse his page, see his photos and read his accolades, you will find an extraordinary common man who made his living with hard work and a team of draft horses -- but a man with a very unusual gift for making friends, influencing his children and other family members and maintaining lifelong "buddies" and friends. He was said to have had the "healing power," that by laying on his hands and communicating a blessing he could make the sick well again. He was religious to the point of serving his community for over twenty years as their Sunday School Superintendent, but not soo religious that he became separate from anyone else! The fact that he built his home on a hill that commanded the view of the valley around him says a lot about the symbolic contribution of his life. It was a place where folks often gathered to reunion, visit, laugh with each other and share their occasional grief. Like none other, Grandpa Charley's family was the closest knit family of love and loyalty I have ever known. |
Where It All Started
Before Isaac Brockbank Jr., would give Charles Robert Reynolds permission to wed his daughter, Louise Park Brockbank, he required that Charley have a home to put her in. So Grandpa chose his place on the hill of clay, developed a flowing artisan well, and prior to their marriage on 13 April 1892, built a small home of adobe bricks. I wrote a very short piece that captures this event and includes the above images, plus a little more. You can download it and carry it away by clicking below.
Grandpa Charley Made Adobe Bricks.... click for PDF... |