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SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL Southern Oregon Journal: Happy birthday to my uncle, a great man Comment By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News I didn’t know Uncle Dick when he and Dad were genuine cornhuskers in Nebraska, driving into Norfolk on weekends to sell watermelons and other crops from the back of their truck, or when he flew B29s in WWII. He graduated from business college in Grand Island, Nebraska, long before we met. In fact, he’d married Aunt Georgia and added five more Dovers, my cousins, to the world before I was born. He relocated his family from Washington State to the Rogue Valley in 1956. The uncle I came to know and love was a responsible family man, working in a shirt and tie as assistant registrar for the Veterans Administration in White City, until retiring in 1978. He made time for fun and was the man behind the camera capturing bright moments for his family and ours. Fast forward to the mid-'80s, when my husband and I finally made the move, a blessed return for me from the Southwest Desert to the Pacific Northwest. With my folks remaining in Arizona except for summer visits, Uncle D promised Dad he’d look after us. Our beginning wasn’t too rugged when he rented us their cottage on the Rogue River in Trail for $250 a month. Through the years, he was one man I knew I could count on. But out of all the acts of kindness and aid, one collection of prized memories stands clear. More than anything else, I savor the times he took us fishing. We kids jolted along in the Caveman camper clamped to the bed of Uncle Dick’s gold Chevy pickup. Looking out the back door, moving ever nearer our weekend heaven, there trailed the black-and-white, 19-foot Reinell boat, chasing us like a hungry shark. It, under Uncle Dick’s command, was a fish magnet. We may have been pointed toward Diamond Lake, a favorite, with a tried history of hungry trout. Once on the water, I waited for the tug to wake me from the lazy drowse of a summer afternoon, hypnotized by lake water lapping and slapping at the hull. But fish weren’t the only haul I was after. Once we were settled — four poles out and deadly — I cast a question about an olden days’ adventure, one I’d heard before. I would wait for Dad or Uncle D to take the bait, then give myself over to the rocking and the sound of their voices. How I loved sitting in the boat for hours with those two Nebraska farm boys. The trips were many, but the number is magnified by the meaning. It wasn’t the sum total of lines cast, it was what happened between bites. The unrushed conversations, tales told, the laughter — so much laughter. He and Dad, as brothers and best friends, telling and retelling about former expeditions involving old chums who became flesh and blood through their stories. Uncle Dick was vigilant as captain of our piscatorial fate; he was no slacker. He changed rigging and moved to a slow troll if the anchored hot spot was not. Aware of his post and with high expectations, he would move us. “Reel in,” he gave direction. Sometimes we had bigger fish to fry — chinook salmon. The Reinell showed her stuff alongside the big girls at the Port of Brookings-Harbor and the mouth of the Columbia River. We floated through fog with magnificent oceanliners giving us a ride from their passing. Wherever Uncle Dick squired us through years of fishing, he appeared triumphant when someone reeled in a flopper. There’s too much to say about a grand uncle like Larry (Dick) Dover. The rest will be enjoyed later in a large family reunion to be announced. I used to wonder at people who said they were glad for their memories. I thought, what good were they when the times were over? Now I know those times are never really gone. They’re floating within reach. Happy 98th birthday, Uncle Dick — WWII veteran and family patriarch. Thank you for the everlasting memories and the laughter. Peggy Dover is a freelance writer living in Eagle Point. Reach her at [email protected] By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Jul. 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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