Sibling Assignment #100: Dear Old Dad

Today marks the 100th Sibling Assignment I have written with Raymond Pert and Silver Valley Girl. Here is the assignment from SVG:
"Think back to your music education from the Kellogg School District,and talk about the influence one of your instructors had on your life and how they influenced you musically."

From the time I started kindergarten I had music instructors that influenced me musically. I'll save that for another post. Thirteen years ago today my father died . I decided to remember my dad today and share how he influenced me musically. What I remember vividly was when we were young the family did much singing in the car when we traveled. Now we only went to Spokane and Orofino to visit relatives, but I remember those road trip songs. Maybe Dad belted out those songs as we cruised down the highway along the Clearwater River to keep awake, but I want to think he wanted to entertain us. The song I can still sing from beginning to end is I've Been Working on the Railroad. Mom would join in and all of us would create quite a choir in our Chevrolet. He also loved to sing K-K-Katie, Beautiful Katie and Mairzy Doats. My dad had a good singing voice and I loved to hear him sing. On those trips he always seemed relaxed and happy as he said good-bye to the Zinc Plant for a couple of weeks in the summer and headed down to "Goofyville" , his favorite name for Orofino. He would laugh when he joined us in How Much Is That Doggy In the Window?

When we had gatherings with friends over the holidays or at the lake in the summer the evening often ended with singing. The Turnbow family had a quartet that usually started it off, but soon everyone joined in on many of the favorites. Songs like Cockles and Mussles, Tell Me Why, the Idaho Fight Song were old standards.Often somebody would sing Danny Boy, but then everyone else just listened. Many an evening was livened up with H - A - DOUBLE R - I - G - A - N SPELLS HARRIGAN.
The Fourth of July traditionally ended with God Bless America around the campfire with my dad linking arms with his friends that he had known most of his life. My musical life was very influenced by those years of singing with my dad.

Dear Old Dad.... I honor you today. There are many things I miss about you, but one thing is your singing voice that takes me back to cruising down the Clearwater, gathering at Christmas Eve with family, or around the campfire at the lake with friends.
You Tube hadn't arrived yet in 1996, but I can guarantee you my dear old dad would have loved this: