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Grader Dan

I know that many knew Dan as "Tink" but to the Bidwell family, he will always be affectionately referred to as "Grader Dan".  You see, back when our son Nathan had to stand on his tippy toes to see over the window sill, Dan graded and plowed our little, dead-end dirt road.  When Nathan woud hear the sound of Dan and his truck coming down the road, he would drop his toy trucks and fly to the window. His face was filled with exciement and his eyes were as wide as pies as Dan wheeled the huge truck into our driveway to turn around. One day, Dan noticed the little man that watched his every move and acknowledged him with a honk of the horn and a mighty wave. From that day on, Dan always checked the window for Nathan and before long a special friendship blossomed. I started baking for Dan during those wicked winter storms. My husband plows too and I know the value of hot chocolate and warm cookies on a long winter's night. Often, when Grader Dan came wheeling into our driveway, Nathan would run out the door in his boots and his PJs to deliver the goods. One day, Grader Dan showed up with a picture of the new town truck, all clean and shiny, framed in a small wooden frame that he had made in his workshop. Another day, he presented Nathan with the most beautiful tractor trailer towing a bull dozer. The trucks were constructed of wood, sanded until they were as smooth as silk, and varnished to a shine. Nathan was so touched that Dan had taken the time to make such a special gift with his own two hands.  Nathan in turn presented Dan with a Matchbox replica of the plow truck which Dan carried on his dashboard until the day he retired.  Now Nathan is a fifteen year old young man and Dan has passed away. The frame truck still hangs on the wall in Nathan's room and the tractor trailer holds a place of prominence on a shelf among other beloved memories.  We will always remember Grader Dan as a kind and thoughtful man who brightened our lives and set our son's imagination on fire.

Posted by Beth Bidwell
Monday July 28, 2014 at 3:10 pm
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