It is Limerick Friday and I am comfortably seated on my back porch, laptop in…well lap of course…and ready to share some limerick fun.
We are halfway through our grandparent series and ready to hit the paternal side of things. My grandfather Reuben Troyer was a character that I did not have the pleasure of studying. I was eight when he passed away and have heard many stories about him.
All of my grandparents were Amish most of their lives. My dad’s parents remained Amish even after all of their children moved on to more liberating faith. Dauddy is the term Amish use to refer to grandpa and as the first name is used as the distinguishing label between all the dauddys, we called my grandparents Reubdauddy and Reubmommy. I presume it was the first name simply because so many Amish have the same last name and it would be quite common to have grandparents with the same last name. Having a grandma and grandpa on one side and a dauddy and mummy on the other was a little confusing for my simple mind as a child and I literally didn’t realize that these old people we visited now and then who used gas lights and passed out homemade peanut brittle were actually my grandparents until I was around 4 years old.
Reubdauddy walked with a cane and his cane was named Pete. From this memory comes the following limerick.
There once was a cane named Pete,
Who would tap next to Reuben’s poor feet,
He a bearded old dauddy,
Was plain and not gaudy,
And the pair would make memories replete.
In this tiny photo you can barely make out Pete leaning beside Reubdauddy’s right leg. This also shows how white his hair was. I remember that long white beard very well. I also remember walking along and feeling a poke in my back. When I turned to see who the culprit was, Reubdauddy insisted his innocence and assured me that Pete could not be controlled.
A welder, inventor, preacher, moonshiner and more, Reubdauddy was a multi-faceted individual. You can see why I would like to have studied his character a bit more closely. I am sure volumes could be written. I enjoyed getting to know some of his brothers and sisters and enjoy the stories I’ve heard along the way.
You know, for most of us, who haven’t had any personal experience with the Amish, they can tend to seem…well, boring, to be honest. But after reading just that little blurb about Reubdaudy, I honestly would like to meet the man! Thanks for sharing.
Great post, Mary! I love family history even if it isn’t my family! Reubdaddy seemed to be quite the character.
This is my favorite so far! I think I would have absolutely adored the man.
A moonshiner? That’s a man after my heart:)
I never met the man, but he sounds like he would have been interesting to know! Stories I’ve heard about Reubmommy made her sound like a no-nonsense kinda gal. Maybe being married to orneriness brings that out in a woman.