Meet Our Family
Grandma & Grandpa
The family that bonks together,
stays together!
Grandpa
Grandpa Harold was born in the 1920s to a family in Kansas City, MO. He had a younger brother George, and they both got sent to military to fight in WWII. Harold was fortunate enough to be a musician, so he got placed in the military band and they toured with the USO. While there he met his future wife Carol, and his best friend Sam. The three of them formed a band when they got out called The BeBoppers. They all three moved back to Harold’s hometown of Kansas City. Harold got a job at Hallmark as a greeting card writer because he was so good at writing song lyrics. Harold’s younger brother wasn’t so lucky. George was in the Navy and their boat was hit in the war and George didn’t make it back home, which devastated his family. Carol was there to comfort him, and they married not much long after. George provided for a nice home for them, and he and the band played when they could. He continued to write songs, but none of them really hit until he was a grandfather with a granddaughter in her 20s. She was a local DJ and got Harold’s song “The Bonk Song” on to the radio at Christmas time. It took off wildly, and the TV station showed up to film it being played live. Harold finally felt like he had done something worthwhile that his family would be proud of, he finally made a hit after 50 years. What he didn’t realize was that he had their respect and admiration all along, they loved him for the man he was, not for doing anything that made him famous.
Grandma Carol
Grandma Carol (Granny C) was born in the 1920s like Harold, but she was an only child. She came from a good family in Nashville, TN where she developed a passion for music. She learned piano early on, but really liked the guitar as she got older, especially after Elvis became famous. Carold became obsessed with the singer. She started off going to Belmont College for young women in Nashville, studying music, but being a bit independent and rebellious herself, felt a calling to be in the USO to help entertain troops, which is where she met Harold. Carol followed Harold back to Kansas City, where they married, and had children. She helped manage their band The BeBoppers so Harold could focus on work and providing for the family. She was a pillar of strength when Harold lost his younger brother George, and was a loving mother, grandmother, and an incredible cook. She sang and played in the church choir, and was the neighborhood mom. Her and Harold created a very loving family.
Charlie
Charlie is the oldest granddaughter of Harold and Carol. She was born in 1967, to Theresa and Mark, who live in Nashville as musicians. They couldn’t make the filming of the event. Charlie went to college for broadcasting and became a local DJ in Kansas City. She had seen over the years how hard her grandpa tried to make hit songs, but nothing ever really hit. They were very close, he even taught her how to fish, ride horses, and most importantly, write songs. When she heard The Bonk Song, and how it was about his and grandma’s lives at Christmas, she knew she had to join him in singing it and then get it on the radio. Once she did, the song took off like wildfire, so much so, the local television station wanted to come out to film it live.
The
Bonkettes
The Bonkettes are Charlie’s two best friends from high school. Brooke is the red head and Alex is the blonde.
They all three danced together in high school and still live near each other.
News Staff
Tom
Tom is in his late 20s, and is a community reporter in KC, he especially likes local “feel good” stories like Harold’s.
Cameron
Cameron works with JB as his main camera man. He’s a Marine veteran himself so he loves the military connection to this story.
