Grandpa the Great, Russell Jackson

Annie and Julie's homework this month is to interview one of their grandparents. Annie choose her Great Grandfather, Russell Jackson. She chose 5 questions; they are below with their answers.

How do you make all of your pictures so beautiful?

The pictures are beautiful because they represent God’s beautiful animals. You have to use the colors that you see in the animals and that makes the pictures beautiful.

Where were you born?

In the State of Nebraska in an itty-bitty town called Paxton. Today babies are born in a hospital. I was born in a shack. There were no doctors or nurses, just a midwife.

Editor’s note: Great Grandpa was born in 1924.

Do you have any brothers and sisters?

I had 2 older brothers. They have both passed away. They were 5 and 6 years older then me. I didn’t have any sisters.

Are you good at basketball and football?

Well that’s a good question! I played both basketball and football. I was very good at football and received lots of scholarships for the University of Nebraska but I didn’t get to go. I played basketball for 2 years but I had to quit. The school was 9 miles from where I lived and I had to walk home. Basketball practice didn’t start until 5:00pm and it was too late for me to walk home after practice so I had to quit. I didn’t want to quit but academics were more important. The world was different then. There were no school buses. A lot of boys rode their horses to school.

Do you cook or does Great Grandma cook?

[Great Grandpa Laughs] Well that’s another good question. [Pause] I cook. I enjoy cooking. I don’t like to do dishes.

Note from Grandma Terry, Great Grandpa’s daughter: “Great Grandma does the dishes!"