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Grandpa's Dictionary
This is a 1910 Merriam Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. And it was one of my Grandpa Dreher's favorite possessions.
Grandpa was born in 1902 in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. He had so wanted to attend a University, and was actually set to head to seminary, when he met my Grandmother, who talked him out of it.
Grandpa was a voracious reader. And he told me that I should strive to learn something new every single day of my life.
He was 75 years old when he passed away. And for nearly every day of his adult life, he took this dictionary and strove to learn 5 new words a day. Yes... 5 new words every single day!
He had started at the very beginning when he was a young man. He had just completed the F's when illness kept from going farther, and then he died.
This is one of my most treasured possessions! This and his Bible, which he read and studied from daily.
A self-taught man, he was a giant of intelligence! And how I so miss him!
3 comments:
That's amazing! Both the man and the book are true treasures.
My Goodness! I have one of these from my Grandfather also! Though I don't dare touch it for its condition is pretty poor at this point. Thanks for sharing!
This reminds me so much of my Dad! He was a salesman for the Encyclopedia Britanica when he was in college, and we had a 1957 set in the house growing up. Dad started to read a few pages every night before I was born, and he was still doing it as I was growing up. We'd have the strangest dinner conversations when he would tell us about his latest "discoveries!" I don't know what happened to that set after he died and Mom sold the house.
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