Sunday, June 15, 2014

 
 
Happy Father's Day
 
June 15, 2014
 
 
Bob Westmoreland (1902-1981) was my Pop! I hope you will remember your father in your own special way--today and every day! Pop was the best! Not perfect, but the best as far as I was concerned. Here we are in Nashville in what I have called "The Big Freeze of '51".  We kids got out of school for what seemed like forever! You can see Pop and me enjoying the deep snow. Check out his pipe in his left hand. Granger Rough-Cut pipe tobacco was his favorite. It nearly choked Mama and me, but he loved it! And he loved us!
 
 


Bob also loved sports from an early age. At Union University in the '20s, he was a standout athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. The beautiful hand-drawn background of this amazing award is evidence that he was a serious threat at tackle, and he was honored to be selected to the Union University All-Time Football Team. In basketball, his underhand free throw couldn't be matched! In my effort to find others who might have been honored at that ceremony in Jackson, TN, I realized that nobody there even remembered that Union University ever had a football team! How time does change things!


 
Regardless of how you choose to remember your dad on his special day, just remember his sacrifices in wartime, on the job, or in whatever was presented as a challenge. Pick a bluegrass song for Dad--there are many from which to choose. Whether or not he is still with you, he will always be in your life.