Moving Days

Ancestral Photographs of Upstate New York

Dad and the Doctor

This story is from Grandma's book, "Tangled Roots and Twisted Branches". Her family lived in various parts of Ulster County, New York (they moved a lot). For more information on Grandma and her father and brothers and sisters, see my Van Kleeck page. I also put a copy of this story on Abram Van Kleeck's page.

My dad, Abram Van Kleeck, was minus his index finger on one hand. It happened when I was very small, as I do not remember the time that it was removed. As I remember, he got an infection in his hand from shoeing a horse and, for a time, there was a possibility of his losing his arm, but we had a very good family doctor named Van Gaasbeck. He had but one arm himself, and, realizing what a handicap it would be for a man in my Dad's occupation of Blacksmith, to to lose one arm, he really fought to save it. He came daily to our house to dress the arm and, as it was very painful, he said that perhaps it would be better to give Dad a good drink of liquor about an hour before he was expected. Dad never drank, and it didn't take much liquor to have an effect on him.
One day about an hour before the doctor was to come, my Mother gave Dad his drink, and went on about her work. A few minutes later, my oldest sister, Roxy, thinking Mother had forgotten to give Dad the drink, also came with one for him. Dad insisted he had taken one, but Roxy, knowing how Dad disliked the stuff, thought he was just trying to get out of taking it, and made him drink it. It certainly had an effect on Dad, he was so happy. When the doctor came to dress the hand, Dad insisted that the doctor dance with him. The doctor laughed so hard he cried. Needless to say, he went on his way and came back later in the day to dress the hand. Guess after that, Dad didn't stand a chance of getting a second on his "medicine", as the folks checked with each other before giving it to him.

Back to Van Kleeck Page

Back to "Tangled Roots and Twisted Branches"

email Roxy Triebel
treebz65@hotmail.com

Please send files (photos, documents, etc.) to
treebz65@aol.com

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