POSTS

About my grandparents…

My first thought of this is memory is the heat and the blaring sun. I remember the sweaty work that, at the time, I didn’t care to do, but it was just what families do. Then, the fond memories come rushing back… cleaning up the cemetery with Mama Rene and Daddy Buck, and that makes me smile.

J.W. (Buck) Atkinson and his wife, Irene, purchased the final two acres of what completed the Oakland Community Cemetery in the late 1960s.  Irene started a cemetery fund to maintain not only the two acres they purchased, but for the entire cemetery, dating back to the 1800s.  I was a large cemetery, but it was kept simple.  There was no concrete, and at times the driveways weren’t even noticeable if the grass had time to fill in the tire ruts.

They took it upon themselves to do the maintenance, hiring out only for things they couldn’t manage on their own – or with the help of family.  That’s where I come in.  I knew them as Mama Rene and Daddy Buck, my grandparents.  I often spent time with them as a kid and helped with the cemetery.  It wasn’t as fun as playing in the woods behind their house or Daddy Buck’s junk yard, but it was time with them – and that’s what mattered.

At first, my main job cleaning the cemetery was to ensure that Sandy had enough water and stayed in the shade, pull weeds from the graves, and pick up flowers and arrangements that had been knocked over by the wind.  Sandy, who I am sure many WLAW (local radio station) listeners thought was my twin, was actually my grandparent’s pug.  We were born on the same day, so Mama Rene called the radio station every year and requested them to wish Sandy and Rodney Atkinson a very happy birthday.

As I grew, I was promoted to assistant grasscutter.  Daddy Buck continued using the Sears lawn tractor, and I took over the self-propelled push mower job from Mama Rene.  Eventually, they needed more help and began hiring out the entire job.  I can’t say that I miss the physical work, but I will always cherish those memories just like I cherish all memories of Mama Rene and Daddy Buck.

• Rodney Atkinson