Clark A. Junkin

   

Naturalization Papers 1941

    On this date in the year 1900, my grandfather was born. His name was Clark Alexander Junkin. I'll mention one of the memories I have of my grandfather, and one story that my grandmother told me.

      When I was a kid, I was enthralled with adult conversation – mainly because I was usually banned from it – told to leave the room and go play with my brothers or cousins. And that made me more curious – what did big people talk about – and why was the subject matter not for my ears?

      If we were visiting my grandparents on a Sunday night, my Mom and grandmother would be in the kitchen gossiping mainly about the different neighbors who Mom still knew. I always wanted to be in the kitchen with them – listening, watching their eyes light up with the conversation – I never knew who they were talking about, but I felt I could learn something from their kitchen-talk examples.

      Invariably however, whenever I was in the kitchen with the women, my grandfather would call from the living room, “Denny! Come see who Ed Sullivan has on!” I did not want to see who Ed Sullivan had on – probably some boring circus act - I wanted to listen to Mom and Granny in the kitchen! But I couldn't ignore my grandfather, so I would reluctantly drag myself to the living room. Grandpa would give a slight point of the finger to the television as I approached, and his face would be smiling with humor at the Sullivan show and also with delight in sharing it with me.

      The groan I wanted to utter stayed inside as a man spinning plates on poles was the act I mostly remember on the Sullivan show on those nights when I was called to watch. How could grown people find plate spinners amusing?

      Now that I am a grandparent, plates twirling on poles and kept from falling by a frantic performer are scenes I would love to share with my own beloved grandchildren!

      Clark Junkin was born and raised in Ontario, Canada; Dolly moved to Ontario from England when she was 11 years old. As a young woman, Dolly got a job as a switchboard operator at a hotel.

      She had three suitors.

      One was a son from a wealthy family.

      One was a student in medical school.

      And one was poor.

      The poor one had a job working on the construction of the Welland Canal – but when the Canal was finished, Clark had to find new work.

my grandparents 1946

       As you might guess, Clark was the beau Dolly liked the best. They got engaged – but almost immediately they realized that neither family would approve.

       So they eloped! They were married in Niagara Falls, Ontario. 

       The year was 1925. And the new married couple decided to move to Buffalo, temporarily, – just the other side of the border, in the US – because they heard jobs were more plentiful there.

       Well, that's Dolly's story. Just think, the existence of their children, and grandchildren, and the two generations after them, is all thanks to Dolly;s picking of beau number three and their choice to move to Buffalo, just across the border!

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