The Richwood Report

Father's Day is Sunday. Those who have living fathers will remember them and those who don't will do the same thing. All of us can remember the men who have shaped our lives. Kim DuToit was born to a mining family in South Africa and became an American citizen in 1989. He remembers his grandfather here. The essay is posted on Memorial Day, but seems appropriate for Father's Day as well. Everything on the page may not suit every taste but his memories of his grandfather show the powerful influence a father and grandfather can have, often without much awareness of what they are doing or how they are doing it. Many of you will see perhaps some of the miners you know in the essay. Except for a few clues that Charles Loxton lived in South Africa, the same story could have taken place in West Virginia, Kentucky, or wherever you live.