Dick Blanford was born on November 5th, 1913, in Union County, Kentucky, to Martin Allen Blanford and Mary Agnes Nally. He was the eldest child out of six total - only five surviving to adulthood.
Dick had a modest upbringing, growing up in the areas of Smith Mills and Corydon in Henderson County. The area known as "Walnut Bottom" in census, actually. Unfortunately, when he was only thirteen years of age - he lost his mother, Mary Agnes, to tuberculosis. I can only imagine how that shaped him as a person.
On July 11th, 1931, he married Miss Verna Lorene LaRue, the daughter of Charles Clarence LaRue and Carrie Annie Byrd. His brother, Thomas Allen "Tom" Blanford would go on to marry Lorene's sister Opal Lois LaRue.
Dick and Lorene stuck to the Geneva and Smith Mills area of the county. According to my Grandpa, in his youth, they lived in three different places that burnt down before they settled on the Latta Place. It was a small white house at the very end of Star School Rd in Geneva.. and now it's no longer there. It used to be surrounded by cornfields and bayou.
After they were older, Dick built a large house on Trigg-Hooper Rd. At this house, Dick did a lot of farming, a lot of raising livestock, and even had an apple orchard. It was at this house that his kids, grandkids, and even some great-grandchildren formed a lot of precious memories. It was this house that I remember very, very vaguely.
I had a snippet of a memory, like a flash in a dream that he was holding me outside on his lap and I could remember looking up at the night sky. Mom said I was remembering watching Fourth of July fireworks out there, most likely on July 4th, 1995.. I was two years and five months old.
Over the last few years, I've found numerous articles from the Evansville newspaper chronicling when Papa Dick would sell some livestock, donate to charity, or have an auction at his farm. It's been quite a neat trip back in time to see some of the things I have and read some of things I have.
To this day, we have an aerial photograph of the house and farm on our wall. We have laminated pages from where he made the Features section of the newspaper for his apple cider, hanging on the wall. My Mom lost her maternal Grandpa when she was just 7 years old so she built a special bond, after that, with her paternal Grandpa. I think in his own way, he tried to make up for her not having her other Grandpa. Very much like my own maternal Grandma made up for me not having my paternal Grandma.
Unfortunately, after Dick passed, the farm was lost. Dick knew that all of his everything -- personal, real estate, etc, would have to be sold because he had a kid or two that were too greedy for their own good and nothing would be able to be divided properly and 'kept within the family.' No one would be able to 'keep' anything without another child being jealous of it. Matter a fact, my Mom says he used to proudly wear a hat that said, "I'm spending my children's inheritance."
To this day - it still ruffles a few feathers that my Grandpa Jady was given the antique roll top desk of Papa Dick's, and it ruffles even more feathers that Grandpa Jady left it to my Mom when he died. I now have two antique roll top desks - one from each of my Grandfather's and I couldn't be happier. A genealogist needs a proper desk...two or three in my opinion.
I wish I could remember what Dick was like. I don't remember his voice. I don't remember the apple cider or anything like that. I do remember the apple butter and the apple pie.. as my Grandpa continued to make it long after Papa Dick passed away. My Dad still uses the pie recipe to this day. I remember taking apple butter to show and tell in first grade. Back when we could actually take homemade food to school, share it with our classmates, and it wasn't against the law.
On December 14th, 1995, Papa Dick passed away at his home in his sleep -- he'd battled prostate cancer for many years. He and Mama 'Rene are buried in Saint Louis Cemetery, which I affectionately refer to as "Blanford Memorial Gardens," because the front of the cemetery has a lot of Blanford tombstones showing from the road, including their own.
If you visit the cemetery any time soon, maybe stop and introduce yourself to one of Henderson County's most influential farmers. Dick loved meeting new people, and he didn't view anyone as a stranger -- a trait his son, my Grandpa Jady, inherited from him. Sit down for a spell and maybe he'll tell you a story while peeling an apple with a pocket knife. You might learn something.
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