Richard K. Ekkens
Carl, Juanita and George,
Linda and I want to send our love and condolences to all three of you on the loss of your dear Dad. I have a lot of good memories of the time I knew and worked for Bob. I went to work for him in the spring of 1956 after I graduated from Cedar Lake Academy. Not only did I work for him but he and your mom took me into their home for the summer while I learned the building trade; on occasion I was even a baby sitter for you three when your folk went out for the evening.
One of the funny memories I have is when we were putting on roofing shingles and your dad was using a Bostitch stapler. The weather was cold and snowy and from titme to time, the stapler would jam and Bob would get frustrated with the tool and he would throw the stapler out into the snowy yard and then he would climb down the ladder and dig through the snow to find it and then back up the ladder and resume the nailing of the shingles.
Another memory is when we would apply the sealer to the newly sanded hardwood floors and we would all get "high" from the fumes. Finally we would be so drunk from the fumes we would stagger out onto the porch and sit and laugh at our jokes.(we hadn't bothered to open the windows before hand; that would have lessened the "high"!)
Bob wa a good teacher; one of the first jobs he taught me was how to build fireplaces and I have used that skill many times over the 65 plus years I have been a builder.
THe last time I saw Bob and Pauline was up at Cedar Lake at the "Ye Olde Cedar Lake Days" in the spring of 2011 (?) We sat beside them and Pauline reminded us of the time I was babysitting you three and I had to crawl under George's crib and haul him out from where he had fallen asleep! We have a lot of good memories of your dear folk.
