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19 April 2010

An exemplary ancestor



As I was cleaning some drawers in my bedroom armoire, I came across this photocopy of a newspaper clip I almost forgot I had... It featured my great-grandfather (you may remember my post about my paternal grandmother, his daughter), for a very special reason. Pedro, my great-grandfather, was honored for having worked for the same bank for seventy years!!! He started when he was only 17, and did not retire until he was 86 years old... He proudly revealed that, in all those years, he only called in sick twelve days, because of a pneumonia epidemic!! The newspaper article also reveals that Pedro was a very notable athlete, having competed in gymnastics, wrestling, track, bicycling, rowing, sailing and racing... He was also praised for having introduced Greco-Roman Wrestling in Portugal.

I love finding these old testimonies to my family's history... I love even more telling my children about their ancestors' accomplishments...!!! I hope it will inspire them to live their lives with, amongst many other values,  honor, dedication and gratitude.

5 comments:

  1. That truly is dedication. I wonder if in today's world there is anybody anywhere who could claim such.

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  2. Wow that is so wonderful, wonder why the work ethic today is so lax and how it became that way. People had pride in hard work then. Simply Amazing, thanks for sharing.
    Amy

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  3. Obviously his work ethics were passed on. I see the gymnastic talents were also passed on!
    Debbie

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  4. So cool that you had a great-grandfather with such an awesome history. And so great that this was an article to refer to. Great piece of history.
    Midge

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  5. You're so lucky to have this piece of history. You should photo copy this and make sure all of your children have a copy.

    Nancy

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I so enjoy and appreciate your comments!! Thank you so much for stopping by!!!

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