{"id":12890,"date":"2026-02-06T19:38:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T01:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/?p=12890"},"modified":"2026-02-06T19:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T01:39:24","slug":"too-few-memories-of-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/too-few-memories-of-dad\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Few Memories of Dad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 <\/p>\n

Rod had just turned six when he lost his dad.  Therefore, his memories of his dad are limited.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Man<\/h1>\n

James Van Allen Thomson was born May 6, 1936 at Palmyra, Otoe, Nebraska.  He was the son of Alexander Joseph and Donna Isabelle (Van Allen) Thomson.  He grew up in the Palmyra area. <\/p>\n

When James was twenty, he married Janice Lee Helm.  Over the coming years, they became the parents to three children with Rod being the youngest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Love Of the Farm<\/h1>\n

Rod\u2019s dad worked for Western Electric in Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska.  However, his heart was on the farm.  He loved working on his parents\u2019 farm and hoped one day to again live on a farm and be a full-time farmer. <\/p>\n

However, at this point in time, life dictated otherwise.  Thus, James, Janice and the kids only got to spend time on the farm on the weekends and holidays.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To The Farm<\/h2>\n

The kids would get up early in the morning, rising from their 3-tier bunkbed.  Rod\u2019s dad had made the three-level wooden bed frame in his shop attached to their trailer.  It was perfect to hold three growing kids in a small space.<\/p>\n

After breakfast, everyone would pile into their 4-door crew cab Dodge truck and head to the farm.  Rod\u2019s dad would take the backroads to the farm.  There was one hill that the kids always anticipated as their dad had perfected the ability to make them \u201close their stomachs\u201d as they went over it.<\/p>\n

They would spend the day at the farm.  On the way home, the family would stop at A&W Root Beer in Louisville, Nebraska, where they bought root beer by the gallon jug.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Hunting<\/h2>\n

The featured snapshot is one of few that shows Rod with his father.  Rod is the younger boy on the left and the boy on the right is his brother Roger.  Rod doesn\u2019t remember a lot about hunting that fox as he was at most five. <\/p>\n

Rod does, however, remember his dad shooting a snake in a field one day.  And, we have another photo that shows his dad with a deer.<\/p>\n

Rod\u2019s mom told a story about his dad wanting to take him Kodiak bear hunting in Alaska.  Rod has no idea if it is true or why his dad would have specifically wanted to taking him on that hunting trip.  However, Rod has always been a good shot and is a natural with a rifle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Farming<\/h2>\n

Besides hunting, the farm brought many other opportunities for work and play.  A couple of Rod\u2019s memories with his dad while farming both involve a wagon.  One time when his dad was helping harvest, Rod remembers standing in the wagon while the grain poured in growing deeper burying their feet and legs.  Another time when a rain came up, his dad put boards across the wagon so that Rod and his siblings could crawl under them to stay dry.<\/p>\n

Rod, his mom, and siblings continued to visit his Grandma Thomson at the farm after his dad died.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Life Cut Too Short<\/h1>\n

His dad was gone far too soon.  When Rod\u2019s dad was ill before he died, Rod remembers being told not to jump on him.  But, his dad said, \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

His last memory was seeing his dad in the casket and noticing that he had on his wedding ring.  When we married, the ring I slid on Rod\u2019s finger was his dad\u2019s ring.  It is one of his prized possessions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Prompt: Favorite Photo<\/p>\n

#52Ancestors52Weeks<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Rod had just turned six when he lost his dad.  Therefore, his memories of his dad are limited.   The Man James Van Allen Thomson was born May 6, 1936 at Palmyra, Otoe, Nebraska.  He was the son of Alexander Joseph and Donna Isabelle (Van Allen) Thomson.  He grew up in the Palmyra area.  When James was twenty, he married Janice Lee Helm.  Over the coming years, they became the parents to three children […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thomson"],"yoast_head":"\nToo Few Memories of Dad - Family History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsallinthesynapse.net\/Family_History\/too-few-memories-of-dad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Too Few Memories of Dad - 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