Boat parts sales kept Grandpa alive

My Grandfather was one of the original boat parts resellers on the lake he and Grandma lived on in northern California. They originally moved to the area from the mid-west in the early 1950's and decided they wanted to live on the shoreline of that beautiful lake.

Grandpa had worked for almost 25 years in a factory that built outboard motors for small to medium sized watercraft. As a consequence, it had always been his dream to retire and fish away his remaining years. Well, Grandmother would have none of that.

When they moved to California, Grandfather immediately saw a need for the local community to have a retailer they could count on for the parts and accessories they desired for their boats. He only had to hear someone ask him where to buy OMC parts so many times before he opened shop.

Ironically, it was Grandma who was behind him all the way. Even though they were going to risk most of their retirement savings on opening the business, she knew that without it he would likely not live long enough to spend the money they had saved their entire adult lives.

Happily, as it turned out, that business is still humming along, and though my grandparents have both passed, they lived long, fruitful and happy lives as a result.