Ephraim's Poem

My mother wrote this poem a couple of years ago. I just read it for the first time this weekend and thought it would be great to include it with Ephraim's biography.

A Tribute to My Great-Grandfather

Ephraim George Holding

To you, a Pioneer times two,

Who left a legacy to us -

Generations yet unknown -

We homage pay and thanks bestow.

Hundreds proudly bear your name.

You rose above your humble start

To claim great men among your friends.

Integrity, humility,

Were hallmarks of your business life

And strength to your large family.

You look so dapper perched astride

Your somewhat muddy motor car.

ONE CYLINDER CURVED DASH, it is -

The newest thing, an Oldsmobile.

I'd love to ride along with you

And celebrate nineteen-oh-four.

But there is room for only two,

Just you and auntie Sarah Jane,

The little girl whose head was crushed

Beneath a heavy wagon's wheel.

So, Grandpa, though we'll never meet,

At least not for a long, long while,

I still know much about your life

And how you learned the secrets of

The great electric power source.

Three generations yet ahead

We, too, are Pioneers who set

Our feet so firmly in the soil.

We'll carve our way to new frontiers

Like you, in 1888.

Janet Ridd

June 2007