Tag: Carl Loftesness

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Family

In Memoriam: Carl J. Loftesness

Today would have been our Dad’s 104th birthday.

Each year on his New Year’s Eve birthday, our family would gather to celebrate the end of the old year, the start of the new one, and—most importantly—Dad! We all share so many fond memories of those get-togethers.

One of the more interesting facts about the Loftesness family is the holiday connection: Dad was born on New Year’s Eve, and his father, Carl J. Loftesness Sr., was born on Christmas Eve. Father on Christmas Eve, son on New Year’s Eve—what are the odds?

Both Dad and his father (along with our mother and grandmother) are buried in a cemetery outside of Canton, South Dakota.

Here’s a photo of the two Carls standing beside Niagara Falls, probably taken sometime in the late 1950s.

Two men standing in front of Niagara Falls, one wearing a hat and holding a cane, with a panoramic view of the waterfall in the background.

Our grandfather Carl used to make an annual trip in the fall to visit all of his children. I have particularly fond memories of his visits to our home in Dayton, Ohio. As a former clothing salesman in his hometown of Canton, he was always dressed up—usually wearing a hat. He always used a wooden cane, especially during his daily afternoon “constitutional” walks.

He also smoked a pipe, using Bond Street tobacco. That aroma is unforgettable to me now. When I was in college, I briefly tried smoking a pipe myself and bought some Bond Street. It turned out not to be particularly expensive—and honestly, not that good, either!

I also remember how he spent time each holiday season cracking walnuts and sending the shelled nuts to each of his children.

Both Carls lived wonderfully long lives. They provided us with such love, care, and so many good memories!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Categories
Living

The Linotype

“Sometimes when I went to fetch proofs in the composing room I would scoot up the metal stairs through the hole in the newsroom ceiling a few minutes early and stand by one of the Linotype operators and, fascinated, watch him work. The operator, seated at a keyboard and working from single-take segments of newsroom copy, transformed the words letter by letter into pieces of metal type fashioned from hot lead. When he struck the key, the lead was in a molten state, and then the machine would magically spit out single lines of solidified hard-set type in word form. Each line stacked itself upon the previous one, the whole stack of type exactly a newspaper column wide. It was this miracle machine, invented in the late nineteenth century, that had upended the basic system of movable type going back to Gutenberg.” (Carl Bernstein, Chasing History)

This quotation from Chasing History by Carl Bernstein brought back memories of my dad who spend many hours in front of the keyboard of various Linotype machines over the years.

My earliest memories of him doing that were at Dayton Typographic Service in Dayton, Ohio where we lived during the 1950’s. Dad was one of the foremen there and he’d sometimes go in on Saturdays to catch up on work – and often take me along. Those excursions were always fun for me – so much for a young boy to explore in the shop on those quiet Saturday mornings.

I’ve been thinking recently about how certain smells are part of our memories – and this is another one of those. I’m remembering the smell of the pots of molten lead on the row of Linotype machines where Dad worked. Unlike any other smell I’ve come across in my life. Not a bad smell, just very unique. Bernstein’s quotation brought it back to life for me this morning!

Carl Loftesness – Linotype at Dayton Typographic Service
Categories
Living

Goodbye 2023, Hello 2024!

2023 brought profound loss with the passing of our beloved daughter Tracy late last year and our Mom a few months ago. Their absence leaves an big void, yet their spirits endure, reminding us to meet each day with optimism and joy – the very qualities that defined their lives.

As another year draws to a close, we honor the memory of our Dad on this December 31st that would have been his 102nd birthday. Like Tracy and Mom, Dad radiated positivity and cheer throughout his life and was a great role model for us. He lives on in our hearts and in the lessons of resilience and hope he taught us.

Though we deeply miss all three of our loved ones, their examples propel us into 2024 with purpose. We hold their wisdom close and look ahead with the optimism and joy they would surely wish for us.

The new year represents not an ending, but a fresh beginning – a chance to carry forward their legacies of laughter and light. We remain very grateful for the love and memories we shared. We will honor their memories by embracing each moment as a gift. May the coming days be filled with the infectious spirit of those so dearly missed yet ever present within us.

As we enter 2024, I’m reminded of this suggestion by BJ Fogg from his book Tiny Habits: “I invite you to start practicing a new habit first thing each and every morning. It’s simple. And it takes about three seconds. I call it the Maui Habit. After you put your feet on the floor in the morning, immediately say this phrase, ‘It’s going to be a great day!’ As you say these seven words, feel optimistic and positive.”

Categories
History Living Norway Travel

Happy Father’s Day 2012

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Even though Father’s Day is one of those “Hallmark Holidays”, it got me remembering this morning that ten years ago, in 2002, we took a wonderful family vacation to Norway – and to the original Loftesnes (spelled with just one ‘s’ on the end over there) homestead.

On June 18, 2002, we took a high speed ferry from Bergen to Sogndal – about a three hour ride up the largest fjord in Norway. A beautiful trip indeed! This photo shows my Dad (age 80) and me out on the bow of the ferry after we docked in Sogndal. Brings back lots of great memories about what a great Dad (and proud Granddad) he was.

Over the next few days, we toured the area around Sogndal and he had such a great time – his first trip to Norway. One of my best memories is sitting out on the lawn at our hotel watching the bonfires around the Sognefjord burn late on Midsummer evening. Dad was in his element!

Dad passed away just over two years ago and we miss him every day! He was especially one from the greatest generation!

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Categories
Living

Remembering…

We lost my Dad on this day just a year ago – March 11, 2010. In some ways that seems like just yesterday – as we were gathered around his bed in the hospice home. In other ways, it seems like a long time ago – as other memories flood in.

Curiously, yesterday when I was updating iTunes, it brought up an audio notes file from late 2009 that I had recorded on my iPhone at a family get together (his 88th birthday celebration). I had forgotten all about that file! Hearing Dad’s voice again brings back even more of those memories… We miss him dearly!

Yesterday would have been my late good friend Chris Gulker‘s 60th birthday. His wife Linda writes about the day in her blog post – with two great photos of Chris – both with cameras in his hands – he was “always shooting”. He was such a good friend over the last few years.

It’s curious to me how these two days are juxtaposed together – Chris’ birthday yesterday and the day of Dad’s death today. Life is mysterious indeed. March will never be quite the same, I’m sure.

Categories
Living

Quite a Year – 2010

As we’re winding down 2010, it’s quite a rainy and windy Tuesday evening here in Menlo Park.

Just took Lily out for the last time tonight – with blustery winds and sheets of rain coming down. We got it done!

Tonight’s weather sort of summarizes 2010 for me. 2010 was a very poignant year – with the loss of my Dad and my best friend Chris. Yes, life does go on – but I miss them both every day.

Yet, we had lots of good times – a couple of trips to Yosemite (including one special one with David), cooking classes with Chris and Tracy, great family get togethers – and lots of photography expeditions hither and yon.

One of my favorites was the trip that Chris and I took in early September to see the Ansel Adams – Portrait of America exhibit at the Monterey Museum of Arts La Mirada facility. Chris was quite the Ansel fan – and taking the time to walk through this exhibit with him was just wonderful. He blogged about it here.

2010 was also a great year of learning at work with new clients, great projects, and new challenges. We published our first ever book about the US payments systems, expanded our payments education curriculum and expanded our web commentaries. I went to Austria, India and Ireland in 2010 to talk about payments – some fascinating trips! And, naturally, we’re ending up the year being more than fully engaged!

I hope your 2010 was a good one – in spite of the inevitable ups and downs! Let’s try to get together in the New Year and compare notes!

Categories
Living

Thoughts on Thanksgiving 2010

One of the great joys of blogging is looking back at what you wrote. Seems sort of silly to say it quite that directly – but, as with a handwritten journal, a blog captures your current thinking – and, at least at my age (!), you may not quite remember all of those details a year or three later. Having a blog helps you remember – it’s that simple. Sometimes those rememberings bring back floods of unexpected memories…

This evening, after a wonderful family Thanksgiving celebration at my Mom’s earlier today, I took a brief look back at earlier Thanksgivings – as I recorded them here on my blog. Frankly, I didn’t get very far – just to last year – before I was brought up short by the image below – which I had used for my Thanksgiving post from 2009.

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As I said in last year’s post, this photo was taken following my regular Tuesday morning walk with Chris Gulker early in Thanksgiving week 2009. Chris and Linda have always had beautiful flowers on their kitchen table – and, when Chris and I came back from our twice-weekly walk and shared coffee, I usually took a photograph of those flowers. Last year’s lilies were especially beautiful – and I used that image for my Thanksgiving 2009 post.

Since I wrote that post a year ago, we lost my Dad, his niece and my cousin Ruth Ann, and Chris. Losing them was hard – yet I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving – especially for my memories of the times I shared together with all of them. Good memories. Such good memories. Missing them as I do, life has to go on without them – while they’re always in my thoughts.

Today at Thanksgiving, we celebrated our shared life together across four generations, providing us with renewed sources of joy and thanksgiving for our lives ahead.

Thanksgiving really is the best of all the holidays. The very best indeed. Hope yours was as special as ours!

Categories
Living

Remembering Dad!

Carl J. LoftesnessI heard somewhere that today is the 100th anniversary of Father’s Day. For my sister and me, this is our first Father’s Day without our Dad. Dad passed away just over three months ago and we miss him dearly.

We had a wonderful family get together today at Mom’s place – sharing in the warmth of each other’s company. It brought back memories of Father’s Days with Dad watching and playing with his grandkids – always with a big smile on his face.

That’s how we’ll remember him – and these special celebration days help us reflect back on all he did for us every step along our way. We love you Dad!

Categories
Living

Remembering Dad

This afternoon we held a memorial service to remember my Dad, Carl J. Loftesness, Jr. Dad passed away on March 11, 2010. At his passing he was 88 years young.

Carl J. LoftesnessToday’s memorial to Dad was truly a remarkable event. In addition to us family members, so many of my Dad’s friends came – including his good friends from the Berkeley Rotary Club and the Odd Fellows. We shared many memories of how he influenced our lives with his competence, his unconditional love, and his modesty. A common theme was how he was universally liked by all who knew him.

Pastor Jack Niemi of Hope Lutheran Church in Rossmoor officiated. Jack is a very special pastor who, along with his wife Ruth, my Mom and Dad had gotten to know over the past several months.

Jack said to me on the morning of my Dad’s passing that “Heaven’s an even better place now that your Dad has arrived.” Indeed it is. Today helped us all understand just how much.

We miss him dearly – his smile, his reassurance, his confidence, his quiet joy and love of family. Today’s celebration of his life was very, very special indeed. We all love you Dad!

Categories
Books Living

Balance

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading two books – roughly at the same time. The balance between them is pretty amazing. And, they’re best – I think – when read together in much the way that I read them. How I ended up doing so in parallel is totally coincidental – but full of serendipity.

The first book is REWORK by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals.com. Famous for their Signals vs. Noise blog, Fried and Hansson have written loosely organized short essays about how to do business in a new way – one that emphasizes building private and profitable businesses from the get go, not looking to outside sources of capital. To those of us who seek to remain our own bosses, REWORK is a manifesto of ways to try to do that.

The second book is LINCHPIN: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. Seth is pretty amazing – he dispenses great advice on a daily basis on his blog – and his book builds on those snippets but in a more organized fashion. He’s striving to get us to realize our uniqueness – suggesting we learn to push away our “lizard brain” responses so that we can actually deliver on what we’re truly capable of. He’s an inspiration.

In the midst of reading these two books, I lost my Dad to his struggle with prostate cancer. While his life was truly a gift to all who knew him, our sense of loss was very real. In a way that I can’t really articulate very well, going back and forth in reading these two books has helped me along the way in dealing with the loss of my Dad and in reflecting on what’s important – along with the strong support from our family and friends.

I commend both of these books to you – and hope that they similarly provoke your thinking about your life – and your future.