My father was a friend and a farmer. As a youngster, it seemed to me that my Dad knew everybody in the country, and they liked him. He was usually called “R.P.” by his casual friends and “Rod” by his close friends of which he had many.
His best friend was Alan Gaines. He and Alan probably went to high school together, joined the Army together serving in the same unit in France during WW1 and typically saw each other almost every week during their adult life. They were both avid bird hunters and their time together increased during hunting season. His wife, Anna Pearl, was a cousin of my Dad. Naturally, I called them “Uncle Alan” and “Aunt Anna Pearl”. It was the practice of the time for kids to address their parent’s close friends as “Aunt” and “Uncle” even if there was no ancestral relationship.
Another close friend of my father was “Uncle Skinny Lane” a fraternity brother of my Dad at UK. He and “Aunt Lolly” lived in Lexington so we saw them infrequently, but they would come for weekend visits. “Uncle Skinny” was appropriately named and probably was about 110 pounds. I do not know what his real name was. He died relatively young at about the age of 60.
