Monday, September 10, 2018

Fireflies and Grandpa Ganus

 Sapulpa Oklahoma family history ancestry genealogy Ganus
Grandpa Heber Monroe Ganus
The memory exists in my mind much like a magical dream.

We were visiting my grandparents in Sapulpa, Oklahoma and my parents had gone out for the evening.

It was getting dark and my Grandpa Ganus and I went into the backyard of their small rented home to see the coi in the little fish pond. As a young child, I was fascinated by the orange fish and loved watching them dart in and out of the green plants and vines. Grandpa and I watched them for a bit, while it grew steadily darker outside. When it became too dark to see anymore, we started to go back in the house when I saw the small flicker and flash of tiny little lights that would glow momentarily and then disappear. My grandpa explained that they were fireflies or lightning bugs. Growing up in California, I had never seen fireflies before. Grandpa went into the house for a minute and when he came back out, he had a mason jar for me to catch a few of the magical little creatures in so I could see them up close.

For the next little bit of time, Grandpa and I caught fireflies. Whether real or imagined, in my mind's eye I can see us laughing while chasing and catching the fairy-like bugs. But that is all that I remember of that night. I don't remember what we did after that or anything else that we did on that visit to my Grandparents.

Grandpa died a few years later and living several states apart,  I really never got to spend much time with him or to get to know him very well.

I do know that we had time together a few other times though because there are a few photos that catch those times.

Hazel Mickelsen Ganus, Heber Monroe Ganus, Colorado, genealogy, ancestry
Grandma Hazel (Mickelsen) Ganus and
Grandpa Heber Monroe Ganus
along with my brother, myself and a cousin

grandparents, Heber Monroe Ganus, genealogy, family history, memories, hospital
My parents, Grandpa Heber Monroe Ganus and
Grandma Hazel Ganus, my father's sister, my
cousin and myself (sitting on Grandpa's lap) 
A couple of years ago my husband was in a store and found a little mason jar that had little glowing fireflies in it and so he bought it for me. The fireflies are powered by a battery in the lid and they glow off and on much like the real thing.  I love to have it sitting on my desk as a reminder of a very special memory that happened so many years ago. Do you have things that trigger memories of grandparents? 

memories, fireflies, ancestry, family history, genealogy

Copyright © Michelle G. Taggart 2018, All rights reserved


  1. I love that you have such a wonderful memory of this one-of-a-kind night with your grandfather! Very touching that you keep the memory alive with "fireflies in a jar" on your desk.

    1. I was so thrilled when my husband found the mason jar with the fireflies that light up. Apparently I am not the only one with a fondness for fireflies. It really is an incredibly special memory with my grandpa. I just wish he had lived longer and that I had had more.

  2. Michelle. What a sweet story. Being a young girl in Michigan, I do remember fire flies or lightening bugs as they were called by us too. I didn’t get much time with either of my grandpas either. But, I do remember that I would sit next to my grandpa and use a cloth and rub his nails to make them shine. That seems a funny thing to do, but he had very nice hands. I also remember driving from Detroit to Port Huron to their cottage on the lake. I would sit in the front seat between grandpa and grandma.
    If we’d only known then how to capture more memories.

    1. What priceless memories you have as well Diane. Today kids would be snapping selfies of those experiences, but we have to be satisfied with recording them.

  3. Aww! What a sweet memory Michelle. And how sweet of your husband to buy that cool mason jar with glowing fireflies inside.

    1. It was so sweet and I couldn't believe he found it. I absolutely love it.