As Grandpa manufacturer of Grandpa's Stilts, blogging is a new concept for us but our family is trying to get me to get with the times. This post will probably be a little longer than future ones but I wanted you to know just how Grandpa's Stilts got started. Also, from time to time, my children and maybe my grandchildren will contribute as well.
The original Grandpa was my father Grandpa Orlan. He worked in construction throughout eastern Idaho for most of his life. After WWII, he married, bought a house with large yard and shop continued in construction and started raising his family. The family consisted of 3 boys, I was the oldest and 2 girls. We always had fun making up games and playing in the yard. One year my father made us some stilts to play on. It was great and even with all the wear and playing through the years they were still in good shape when my children found them.
We were living in California at the time and taking a trip home to Grandpa's house. While there our kids (3 boys) came running in asking all about the stilts they found some in the shop. They wanted to know who they belonged, who made them, how to walk on them, what kind of games their aunts and uncles played on them. It was so fun that while driving home. It came to me that perhaps we needed to move back to Idaho and make stilts for other children to enjoy too. Even though the stilts have been made for family use since 1946, we moved back to Idaho in 1987 to begin making them for everyone.
It has been so rewarding to look back over the years each time I make a pair of stilts and remember my brothers and sisters playing on them, watching my children trying to play stilt hockey in the backyard, and now watching my grandchildren have just as much fun with them as all the other children in the family. It truly brings back timeless memories of much less complicated times.
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