My Grandfather Remembered

I only knew one of my grandfathers, Charles Henry Hughes, my maternal grandfather.  My paternal grandfather had died long before I was born.  My earliest memories of my mother’s parents, Charles & Nina, were at their Chesapeake, Virginia home.  They had a 2-story home built near the river with a dock, small boat, and a barn, though I don’t remember any animals.  I do remember often eating crab in the summer, and the lovely meandering river.  Also there were plenty of wonderful trees and flowering azaleas along with magical fireflies in the evening. 

Granddaddy worked for the City of Norfolk, Virginia and held positions of Superintendent of Highways and also Director of Public Works prior to retirement.

Charles Henry Hughes was born nearby in Berkley, Norfolk County, Virginia in 1898.  He was the youngest son of Luke G Hughes & Jane Roberts Hughes who had eight children.  The Hughes family had moved from North Carolina to Virginia when their family was young [see my 21 Nov 2020 blog post on Charles’ father titled Lamplighter Luke].

In the earliest photo that I have of Charles, you can clearly see the mischief in his eyes – I love this photo.  Charles married Nina Cecelia Nash in 1920, and they had two daughters, Ann Hart Hughes (my mother) and Nina Nash Hughes (my Aunt Teene).  I wish I had a wedding photo for Charles & Nina, as I’m sure they made a handsome newlywed couple. 

Charles & Nina lived in the Norfolk and Chesapeake area of Virginia for most of their life together.  However after Charles retired from the City of Norfolk, they decided to move to New Mexico to be near our family. 

In the mid-1960’s, my family was living in Alto, New Mexico, and Charles & Nina made the decision to cross the country and move closer to us, settling in nearby San Patricio, New Mexico.  At one point, the family of my mother’s younger sister, Teene, also came to New Mexico for a year or more. Those were wonderful years for me as I got to spend so much time with my mother’s side of our family.  For the first time in my life I actually lived near grandparents, and for a time saw much of my aunt, uncle and five cousins.  It was so great!

Charles & Nina Hughes, Granny & Granddaddy to me, lived only about 45 minutes from our family.  They purchased a small 2-bedroom home in the Hondo Valley of New Mexico.  It was a sweet, lovely stucco southwestern style home located on the banks of the small the Hondo River.  There were also several acres with the property including a small apple orchard, a pear tree, and space for a large summer garden.  They even had a few lambs to eat the grass under the apple trees.  In the summer, we (the grandchildren) would often play in the river. There was a rope swing hung from a tree that would arc out over the deepest part of the water, and we could let go and drop into the water hole.

 

I would sometimes pack a bag to take with me to school on a Friday, and then after school I could get on the bus that headed down to the Hondo Valley.  Granddaddy would meet the bus, and I got to stay with my grandparents until Sunday when my parents would come to visit and fetch me.  I would help Granny fix and prepare meals, do odd jobs, and in the summer I helped Granddaddy sell apples from the orchard at his small apple house, sort of a roadside apple stand that was along the highway.  I remember being so proud of myself one weekend when I sold $20 worth of apples for my grandparents!

In the summer of 1965 the Hondo River, which was just behind their home, had a flash flood and filled their home with several feet of water and mud.  I think that a tree stump even took out the front window.  During the storm Granny & Granddaddy took refuge in the apple house which was built on a higher elevation than their home and the river.  The flood was devastating for everyone in the Valley, and it took all summer and into the next year for them to get everything dried out and cleaned, repair the damage, and replace what could be replaced.  I remember that my grandparents were so grateful that they were fine and their home could be saved, and they never complained about the hardship and the mess of it all.  Granny’s only real sadness was the loss of all their early family photos, letters and papers.

Granddaddy was tall and thin, and he wasn’t a man of many words, so when he talked, we listened.  He loved the land and spent most of his time outdoors working in his garden or the orchard, puttering around with his projects, or just sitting on the back porch enjoying life and nature, reading and listening to the sound of the river.  He would get up early and after a big breakfast, weather permitting, he would spend all morning working outside before coming in for lunch.  I remember that he loved lots of gravy and plenty of salt & pepper on everything.  Lunch was always followed by a short nap stretched out on the sofa in the living room before he headed outside again. 

In their later years, Granddaddy usually did the grocery shopping, and Granny would give him a list of what was needed, but at the bottom of that list she would add a NO list, i.e. NO toilet paper, NO napkins, NO milk, etc. because he often would come home with extras that he thought they “just might need”.

Granddaddy died in early January of 1973 at home in San Patricio, New Mexico at age 74.  Charles & Nina had been living in New Mexico for their last 9 years together, and both he and Nina truly loved it.  On the day he died, Granddaddy spent the morning outside, came in for lunch and took his short nap, and then went back outside again.  He had a massive heart attack and died instantly, surrounded by his lovely fruit trees. 

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Key Individuals:

     Charles Henry Hughes  (1898 – 1973)

     Nina Cecelia Nash Hughes  (1896 – 1977)

Notes:

I’m not ignoring Nina, I will give you more information on my Granny and her story in a future blog post.

- Jane Scribner McCrary