Every other summer, the Stufflebeans used to make the long drive along Route 66 from California to Oklahoma to visit family. Not only did my father-in-law’s family live there, but Dave’s maternal grandfather returned to Oklahoma later in life, too.

Dave and his brother made more than one fishing trip with Oscar, who loved to fish.

This photo is from about 1960 or 1961 and it reminds me of Grant Wood’s The American Farmer painting of the grim couple holding the pitchfork.

Oscar, Dave and Phillip

The boys are looking a bit grim, too. Dave says the fishing trips were okay, but it wasn’t their favorite activity. He said Oscar used to use stink bait and his main memory was catching the fishing hook in his shirt and having to smell the bait afterwards.

Marina in 1963

Here they are a few years later, down at the marina. Dave said they never got to go out in one of the boats, they just fished from the shoreline.

Leave it to boys, but they thought the neatest thing about Oscar was his hook. He had lost his hand in an industrial work accident and they liked to watch him use the steering wheel in his car whenever they drove with him!