Karen Wils photo Dad, the late Jim Rose, in the midst of a few of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

ESCANABA — Forget neck ties, aftershave, lawn chairs, and slippers.

For many decades, Father’s Day gifts were rather unique at our house.

My dad was more the tool box and fishing pole than the shirt and tie type of guy.

This year will be our first Father’s Day without Pa. He passed in April at the age of 92. Though we miss him terribly, we know he will have the heavenly Father’s Day joy that he so deserves.

Dad gave us lots of years of trying to find that perfect Father’s Day gift.

From the earliest days, with our paper route and babysitting money, we six siblings always “brain stormed” to find a good “Dad gift” that was in our price range.

Fancy snacks were some of the first items that I counted out my cash and purchased for Dad. Mixed nuts, pickled pig’s feet, sardines and bleu cheese were some of the tasty treats that Dad enjoyed, but were not always on the main shopping list. These made awesome Father’s Day gifts for him.

Another popular “Dad gift” dating way back to the 1970s was a new pipe and tobacco. I’m not advocating smoking at all, but back then a pipe full of tobacco was the way many outdoorsmen relaxed after supper. Even Walter Cronkite, the famous news reporter, smoked a pipe.

It was an unhealthy luxury. As a teen I would buy Sir Walter Raleigh in the can for Father’s Day and my brothers would purchase a new meerschaum pipe at the Gust Asp store. Dad’s pipe had to the right kind with a stem that threaded together not just push together.

Dad was hard to buy for. He wasn’t a needy person and he took great care of his every possession. He had six children buying gifts for him and even a few sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws that he helped raise giving him presents, too.

Mom would get a special catalog with “hard-to-find tools” in it just to find something different that Dad could use in his shop.

As us brothers and sisters aged, we would often go together and buy a more pricey joint gift for Dad.

We really purchased some “odd” gifts over the years. Here are some of my favorites:

— Cedar shingles (a few wrapped up in a box, the rest in a garage) — enough for Dad to side the newly rebuilt camp.

— Yards of woodsy printed fabric (for Dad to sew custom curtains for camp). Dad did sewing and even reupholstering of furniture.

— A load of lumber to make a ramp for Mom.

But, my all-time favorite gift: what do you get the Dad who has everything? You get him a gift certificate to have the outhouse at camp pumped out. Septic tank service was a big hit.

Red hankies and work socks, a new cap or a coffee mug with a deer on it — those were Dad’s favorite kind of things. One of the last gifts my family got for Pa was a glider bench to sit in by camp. In the last few summers it was nice to sit on that glider under the maple trees with Dad.

Come to think of it, of all the dozens and dozens of gifts we gave Dad over the years, none of them were as grand as the time we spent with him.

So if you are looking to buy your Dad a Father’s Day gift, put your wallet away and go and be with him. Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads, grandpas and great-grandpas out there.

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Karen (Rose) Wils is a lifelong north Escanaba resident. Her folksy columns appear weekly in Lifestyles.