flatbed trailer

My nephew, Joel (JD) Parmely, is a college educated mechanic, who really knows his stuff. He comes from a long line of mechanics, of which my husband, Bob Schulenberg is one, both of JD’s brothers, Barry Schulenberg and Eric Parmely are two more, and Bob’s brother, Ron Schulenberg rounds out the group. These guys have a family network of consultants who can help with any project they are working on and believe me they are all always working on something. It’s nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and maybe get a little help for a tough job. JD has become a go-to consultant for Bob, and also an extra set of hands when a job demands that, and of course, if JD needs a hand, Bob is always willing to return the favor.

JD loves kids, especially his nieces, Reagan, Hattie, and Maeve Parmely and his nephew, Bowen Parmely. He may not get to see them all the time, but when he does, the kids know that it’s fun time. In reality, JD is as much a kid as his nieces and nephews. He loves to play and tease them, and they love it too. Whatever they are into at the moment, JD is up for. He always has enough energy to roughhouse with them and he will, of course, help with any mechanical things that Bowen might be wanting to try. He will swing the kids around, or push them in the swings, or just go for a walk with them. JD loved being an uncle, and the kids love that he does.

JD is a car fanatic. He has around twelve or more, all licensed, insured, and driven often. He has a beautiful blue classic pickup, lots of cars and trucks, and even a flatbed trailer that has come in handy for Bob and me on occasion…like the other day, when our car broke down two hours away from home, and JD willingly took a road-trip to pick up our car and bring it to town. JD has a truck with a wench attached to it, so he can tow and lift things onto his trailer. That’s just another way that the family network has come in handy. JD is such a helpful person, and he has come to our rescue several times, and to Bob’s rescue on a job more times than I can possibly count. He even helped Bob when he was just a little guy of just two years. Now that one was just cute. JD always did love to be a helper. Today is JD’s birthday. Happy birthday JD!! Have a great day!! We love you!!

A number of years ago, 1979 to be exact, when Bob’s parents were still living out in the country, the guys had a permit to cut down some dead trees in the Shirley Mountains. A bunch of us made several trips up and spent the day cutting and loading those trees onto the flatbed trailer my father-in-law owned. It was always a project that took the whole day, and plenty of help. We came back with several good sized loads of wood. Then came the real work. Cutting all that wood into usable sizes to burn in our wood stoves took many days.

At that time, my father-in-law had a big buzz saw to cut the wood with. It took two people to get the wood on the table that ran the log to the saw. One day, Bob and his dad were working on cutting the wood, and since we lived on the same property at the time, because our land wasn’t ready to move onto yet, our kids were there too. They loved being around all the activity that went on at their grandparent’s house. From raising a couple of cows to cutting wood, there was always something going on.

Corrie had come down to the wood pile to watch the cutting process…or maybe to be the supervisor. It was really the only job a little girl of 4 years could do, so they set her up on one of the bigger logs that had been cut, and she supervised the whole project for quite a while. I’m quite sure that in between all the sawing, Corrie probably talked the guys’ ears off too, if I know my girl. Corrie has always been an organizer…even as a little girl, when she tried to straighten a neighbor’s counter up, because it was a little unorganized. As a supervisor, Corrie was simply in her element.

Of course, at 4 years old, Corrie got bored with the work world, and decided that it was time for a break. That happened about the time that the cat, Dusty showed up and seemed to need a little bit of attention. Corrie decided that she would have to be the one to entertain Dusty and keep her out of trouble, because as we all know, cats tend to get in the way of the work. They always want to rub up against you, and that simply won’t do when the men are trying to cut wood. Dusty could be in real danger of getting stepped on. Eventually, Corrie would go back to her supervisory job, but only when Dusty decided that it was time to go find something to eat, and a nice shady place to nap.

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