April 27, 2021
By Thomas Allen/In-Fisherman
My dad is a hardworking American entrepreneur—a true example of what it takes to achieve the American Dream through blood, sweat and tears.
I can recall many nights when he was late to dinner because he was finishing up a square of shingles ahead of an impending rain system or installing the last section of facia on a house he was remodeling. In fact, there were times when my brothers and I would pitch in to help him wrap up a project so we could enjoy some family time on a nearby lake that weekend.
As we’d clean up from each evening session at the jobsite with Dad, he’d make sure we packed his Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle in the work van. He never left the house without it and relied on it for hot coffee throughout the day. It’s his trusted companion, a staple in his daily routine.
He left the construction business to become a successful sales rep for an assortment of commercial roofing products, and those days of confronting the weather and warped roofs became a thing of the past. He put his time in and reaped the benefits. He passed on that same work ethic to his children, and when the time came to pass on his legacy, that beloved, trusted Stanley bottle was how he did it.
What intrigued me most about that Stanley bottle was how long it had been around and what it meant to my father. The bottle initially belonged to my grandfather, who retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel. He passed it down to my dad when he began his construction business. My dad used it for years before I was even born and throughout my childhood before eventually passing it to me as I began working at a local dairy farm in my teens. Dad wanted to make sure I had hot coffee to get me through the early mornings, especially during the winter months in Iowa.
That bottle is an heirloom linking three generations of Allens together.
My grandfather has since passed, but a little bit of him rides with me when I take that bottle to the duck blind, deer stand, and on the boat in the predawn darkness waiting for my number to be called at a local bass tournament.
My father, my son and I make it a point to hunt and fish together as often as possible. My son is becoming quite the outdoorsman himself and that Stanley bottle will eventually be his when he’s old enough for his first job. When his day comes, that bottle presented full of black coffee and stories about the family before him who share his name. That same Stanley bottle will be filled with the legacy of love and hard work.
It’s more than a bottle that keeps our coffee hot. It is a simple, yet important token of our family’s history representing reliability. It is the legacy of our family. I’m grateful to be extending the same support to my son that started with his great grandfather, who he never had the chance to meet.
Rest assured, my son will know all about the path to the American Dream, starting with dark mornings and hot coffee.
The Stanley Titanium Camp Mug will make a fine gift to compliment a new Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle , and my father took one home with him and his new Stanley Bottle.
