It soon will be Father's Day and I would like to write a tribute to my father.
    He was a good man--a man of principles who believed in honesty, courage and goodness. He was a Christian in every sense of the word. He loved his home, wife and children. He taught us self respect and he set a good example. He demanded respect and he was given it. We obeyed him and were not allowed to "talk back" to him. In our hearts we knew everything he told us was for our own good. He could be stern at times, but always in kindness.
    I remember his jolly nature and how he could sing and whistle. He created a happy atmosphere in the home. He knew many riddles and it was a pleasure to hear him relate happenings in his own growing-up years.
    We lived on a farm and we always loved to go to the fields with him. He taught us much about nature, the birds and the plant life. He liked animals and was always kind to them.
    He always took us to Sunday school and church and was interested in our education, both spiritual and otherwise. We had to walk a mile and a half to school in all kinds of weather. When there was snow, dad would hitch the team to a log and make a trail for us. If it was raining, he would bring the buggy for us.
    His memory is precious to me and somewhere up there in the silence is my dead dad. I want to meet him again some day.

Mellie Smith
June 17, 1970