St. Patrick's Day Fun: A Limerick Word Game + A Photo Book of Remembrance

My paternal grandfather, Joseph Patrick Dukarich, was born in 1921 on St.Patrick’s Day. So logically our family associates this holiday with him. Grandpa Duke (as he was known) was a loving, patient, and friendly guy.  Grandpa was also FUN!  During the late 1950’s and throughout the 1960's he frequently entertained his four children by playing word games, riddles, and scavenger hunts. This resumed again in the 1980's when his grandchildren (my siblings and I) were old enough to enjoy them.

As St Patrick’s Day drew close this year, I enlisted the help of my family in an attempt to be fun like Grandpa Duke!  Drawing from an Irish theme, six limericks were written, with each missing a word. The missing words provide a clue to a two part (word) answer.  Three clues are for one word and the remaining three clues are for the second word which completes the two part answer.  
The limericks were hand written on different pieces of green patterned paper following with the Irish theme. 

The paper was cut from 12”x12” paper into 5.5” squares to fit envelopes that were slightly larger.  Different colored ink was used to write the limericks (black, green, or white) depending on the pattern to make them readable.



On March first, Grandpa Duke’s children (my aunts and uncle) each received the invitation to play this word game along with the first limerick.  One by one the subsequent limericks were mailed every couple of days with the last limerick scheduled to arrive just before March 17th.

As the limerick clues were making their way from Ohio to Arizona and California, my immediate family was accumulating pictures and memories of Grandpa Duke. These were assembled into a photo book titled "Dukes Book": 

Many of the memories and a few of the pictures included are recollections of Grandpa Duke's infamous yellow station wagon which he named the "banana boat".  The "banana boat” is one of our family’s favorite remembrances of Grandpa and his sense of humor! It’s also the answer to our word game!

On St. Patrick’s Day, several copies of "Dukes Book" will be delivered to our aunts and uncle.  The answer to the limerick word game will be revealed by tabbing the picture of the “banana boat” in the book.