Sunday

 I made a nice Sunday supper...mashed potatoes and a hamburger gravy along with green beans and for fruit cherries. I was tired out cooking for two! My Maternal Grandmother cooked for about 50 people every Sunday afternoon.  I am not sure how she did it.  She put on quite a spread.  Chicken was often on the menu.

This is a very old photo of someone feeding chickens. My mother thought it was Lela ( only sister of my maternal grandfather Albert). At any rate the photo was taken at my Great Grandparent Drewes home place.

We were expected to be at our Grandparents home every Sunday and every holiday...like Church you didn't get excused unless you were vomiting or had diarrhea.

It was another smoky day and we stayed indoors.  Far Guy felt rotten all day and had a number of naps.

Far Side

A funeral book

 Many of the blog readers had never heard of a Funeral book.  Perhaps it is a Midwest thing?  Anyways when someone dies the Funeral Home gives the family a book.  It has room for all the pertinent information...name, birth, death, location of service and burial...etc...it also serves as a guest book for the mourners to sign. 

This is a look into my Great Grandmothers Funeral book from 1968.  The front is decorated with a golden door and Cala Lilies.

Grandma Hattie

The newspaper clipping and her funeral pamphlet.

A handwritten list of expenses and the people who attended. 

Not much of her information was filled in...so I did it...57 years later.

I do not recall Grandma Hattie.  I recall my Mother going to the nursing home to visit her, nor do I recall the funeral. 

A four generation photo taken in the spring of 1952.  Me and my Mother, my Grandfather Albert and my Great Grandmother Hadwig (Hattie) she was 74 years old in this photo almost the same age as I am now.

Far Side

 

Why?

 As I sort through things I wonder why they were kept. I ran into one such item that was a mystery. 

Well as it turns out it was kept by my Maternal Great Grandmother, my Maternal Grandparents and my Mother.  And now I have it over 100 years later...well...114 years later.  Now what do I do with it? 

It is a sweet card.  Turns out it came from  a teacher Esther Strout, who in 1910 was a 19 year old teacher and she boarded with the relatives (August and Elizabeth Anderson) who raised my Grandmother. 

Fred/Freddie/Frederick C Drewes was my Maternal Grandfathers older brother. 

Freddie is on the left and my grandfather (Albert) on the right. The brothers were born in 1901 and 1903 they were 1 year and 7 months apart in age. 

Sadly Freddie died of Scarlet Fever on Sept 20 1911. 

My Grandfather never spoke of his brother to me.  I wonder if my Grandfather got Scarlet Fever also, but he was luckier than his brother.  My grandfather also had other siblings a sister born in 1905 and brothers born in 1907 and 1912.

Well now after a bit of research I know why this card was kept. It must have been a remnant that comforted my Great Grandmother Hattie. Something she could just not throw away. 

For Not Whispering.

Far Side

Photo project

 I finished with my Mom's photos, they have been sorted and some have been scanned.  All the old black and whites have been scanned, the color photos I chose to scan were the most interesting ones. I asked my siblings to stop by and pick up their photos.  I put out a plea on Facebook to my cousins to come and get their old photos.  We will see who shows up.

It is good to have that project behind me.  

Far Guy went to a 90th birthday gathering for the Tomato Man who lives over on the narrows.  He had a good visit with everyone.  I did not go...I was having a bad Arthritis day...so the warm rice bag and the couch were my activity for the afternoon. 

 

Photo from 1957.  The photo was taken in my maternal grandparents yard.  On the back of the photo it says "Ma's new Buick"  that must be the 1957 Buick in the background.  The Buick next to the house is a 1950 Buick Eight.

I do not recall either vehicle. 

"The Tomato Man"  doesn't every rural community have someone who is known by a nickname?  In this case Curtis is known for the tomatoes he has grown since he was a kid.  He hangs out a sign with the word Tomatoes on it and people stop by to buy his tomatoes.

Far Side

Church, Cemetery and Baxter

 My Maternal Grandparents attended Zion Lutheran Church my parents were married there and I was baptized there on January 6, 1952.  I was trying to recall the last time I was inside?   I recall being in the cemetery as a child...I have several Uncles buried there and now my Grandparents are buried there and one of my Aunts is sprinkled there.  Years ago most cemeteries were not mowed...the grass got really tall by the end of the summer.  The church is only open for special occasions now. 

We visited the cemetery in the rain.  

Baxter waited patiently.

Baxter has allergies and shakes his head...poor boy.  The pollen has been knocked down a bit by the rain...it could rain again for a couple of days.  

Far Side

Another Mystery

 My Maternal Grandmother had an interesting piece of jewelry.  I recall when it was purchased for her.  I found it among some old jewelry that my Mom put up for sale.   I took it out and said "I remember this"  Mom said  "Well so do I.  I think I will keep it for a little while longer"  So I pinned it to her shirt. 

There are 18 stones...she had 12 children...it is a bit of a mystery.  My Uncle and Aunt that were born last are November babies...topaz...so there should be two amber colored stones side by side....so it is still  a mystery...I do recall how thrilled my grandmother was to receive this gift....perhaps that is enough.

Far Side

Wistful Wednesday: Generations

A long time ago…well 65 plus years ago I had a photograph taken.

I am the baby along with my Mom, my maternal Grandfather and my Great Grandmother photo taken in 1952.

Then in 1972 another photo was taken.  My maternal Grandmother, my Mother holding Trica and me.

In 1996 Savannah was born.  Me, Trica with Savannah and my Mother.  This is a unique photo because it is of all the oldest daughters.  My Grandmother died in October of 1995 and Savannah was born in July of 1996.  So my Grandma just missed seeing her first Great  Great Grandchild by nine months.

In 1998 we took another photo this time when Maddie was born. Me, Trica, Savannah, Maddie and my Mother.

Now it is 2017 and it was time for a five generations photo.

Maddie, Me, Trica and My Mother in front holding Mikey.

Wistful Wednesday: Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpas

Growing up I cannot remember having a Thanksgiving Dinner anyplace else but my maternal Grandparents.  There was no choice…no invitations ever went out it was just expected that you would be there.  It was the same with Christmas Dinner. 

I don’t have any memories of a holiday dinner in my own home.  Confirmation dinners or Baptism dinners and maybe an Easter dinner or two but not Thanksgiving or Christmas.

No one could make stuffing (or dressing if you choose to call it that) like my grandmother, it had giblets and apples and raisins.  It was my favorite…that and some dark turkey meat and a mound of mashed potatoes along with some dill pickles!  If you helped to set the serving table you could snitch some pickles…taste testing of course. 

The serving table was the large yellow metal table with about three leaves in the heart of the kitchen. 

Grandma had a large farm kitchen. As you came in the doorway the huge fridge sat alone.  There was a spot for someone to sit in between the fridge and the massive red countertop that held the sink.  The table sat in front of the plants…off to the right of the plants was a huge pantry off to the left was a storage area and a private bathroom. On the other wall was the stove, I remember when it was just a stove…it eventually became a stove, countertop and cupboards. Chairs would be lined up in the area behind the table along the plant tables on the wall covered with windows that faced south.  Grandma always had something blooming.   The Aunts would line up on those chairs and watch the goings on in the kitchen. Mostly they gossiped.

I was a dish washer.  It seemed like I washed dishes all afternoon long.  I was the oldest grandchild. This was before automatic dishwashers…not that my Grandparents would have had one anyways.  There would be about 40 people give or take a few babies.  That was a lot of dishes.  The men would set up card tables in the living room and the dining room right after dinner and play Whist.  The women just occupied the kitchen…they fed little ones and occasionally hauled someone off to Grandma and Grandpa’s bedroom to change someone’s diapers.

I always wanted to be home before dark, but there was the inevitable “supper” after the big dinner and pie and coffee.  I would put my coat on and sit in the living room right in front of the television to watch The Wizard of Oz.  Of course I never got to see it all. It was always interrupted by the ride home…25 - 30 minutes that is about how long it took to get home.  I remember sitting in the back seat peaking over the front seat wondering why we couldn’t go faster. 

Summer of 1952, I was almost 1 year old.  That is my Grandmother Elsie and her Mother In Law my Great Grandmother Hatwig. I was their first…the first Grandchild and the first Great Grandchild.

Today as I ready a few things for Thanksgiving, I wonder how my Grandmother did it.  She must have been exhausted.

Minnesota Amish

Amish from Pennsylvania came looking for farmland a few years back. Farmland was much cheaper in Minnesota than Pennsylvania.  They settled in Becker County in Evergreen and Spruce Grove Townships.  It seems they came one by one until there was a colony. 

One of the farmsteads they bought belonged to my maternal Grandparents.  For awhile they ran a bakery out of this farmstead, but the Minnesota Department of Health shut them down. It was rumored that they were still selling baked goods they just had to take their roadside sign down.

From the highway the old garage is unmistakable.

See the old garage behind me?

The Amish work hard and they have a wonderful land ethic.  Putting back more than they take out.  My Grandparents would be pleased with the way their land is being used. 

This is a neighbors field.

The Amish Semi used to haul benches was one wagon hitched to another.

 

There is another colony near Staples Minnesota.  I don’t know if they are related or not. 

I have photos of some of the children, they don’t like having their faces showing in photos so those will remain unpublished.

I would like to take more photos of them working in the fields with their horses.  Maybe I should put that on my photo bucket list.

There are some signs of furniture for sale and garden vegetables in the late summer.  We have never stopped..maybe someday we will.

Wistful Wednesday : Pullet Eggs

Recently my other baby brother called me and said “Sis you want some pullet eggs?”  Absolutely!  Nothing better than those first eggs that are laid, the practice eggs, some are different shapes more round than oval, it takes a young hen a bit of practice to get it right!

Those eggs were really good, flavorful and the yolks were golden orange.  I have not had good eggs like that in years.

It brought back lots of memories: Gathering eggs, faking out the mean hens to get their eggs, washing eggs and putting them in flats…I think 2 1/2 dozen would fit in a flat.  Some of the flats were a gray color and some were purple and you could stack them up.  From there they would be packaged into the customers egg cartons.  My Mom raised chickens and eggs were sold at our house to friends and neighbors.

My Dad would cook me up an egg or two for breakfast in the winter…over hard or a broken yoke either suits me just fine.  It beat the heck out of porridge..which at our house was Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat.

When I think of someone washing eggs I think of my Mother’s Father sitting on the porch washing eggs.  I sometimes helped him, grabbing a soft cloth to wipe the poop smears off the eggs.  Poop wasn’t so bad, bits of straw stuck to the poop and then to the egg was like removing a piece of cement.  You had to be really careful with those eggs…they would easily crack.  Grandma used up all the cracked eggs mostly in baked goodies.  Nowadays I wouldn’t use a cracked egg…but back them we didn’t think anything of it.

I looked for a photo.  I found one of my maternal grandparents chicken coop and grainery.  That is my grandfather in the photograph along with his chickens and several of his  kitty cats:)

Wistful Wednesday :1952

Another wonderful photo of me when I was little.  This one was taken 61 years ago.

Connie June 1952

My Mother must have taken this photo.  It was taken at my maternal grandparents farm.  That is the grainery behind my head and off to the left is the chicken coop..I can see chickens out there..and a woodpile. The outhouse with the two seater was off to the left.

There was a circular driveway, it circled past the house, by the pump house, past the grainery and then by the garage and down the lane. Cars would be lined up there every Sunday afternoon.

You could walk to Grandpas huge garden which was way past the chicken coop.  You had to watch where you stepped with or without shoes going past the coop. When I was really little they had a garden up near the house.  Grandpa must of thought the soil was better elsewhere.

Grandpa always liked it when I walked down to the garden, the rows were perfectly straight and the aisles between the rows weedless..and it was a huge garden.  He must have spent hours everyday in the garden.

We used to have vegetable gardens.  This year Far Guy has two tomato plants in buckets in the little red wagon.  It is easier to cart them around should the weather turn nasty.  He also has two tomatoes planted out back in his “garden.”  “Garden” consists of a few raspberry plants and two tomatoes.

I never could grow rhubarb.  I was at a garage sale last week and they were giving it away so I chopped it up and froze some for next winter.

Sometimes you don’t have to have a garden to get produce..you just have to be at the right place at the right time:)

Wistful Wednesday: 1951

On November 22, 1951 my Maternal Grandmother gave birth to twins, a boy and  a girl.

They are two months and two days younger than me so they never seemed like an Aunt and Uncle.  I didn’t get along with my Aunt..she was terribly spoiled and a brat.  I was great friends with my Uncle and still am.

My Aunt Karen would do something bad and blame it on me and my Uncle Kenny.  We would be punished..unfairly and plot our revenge. Yes, I was an evil child..well maybe not evil but there is that old saying and eye for an eye..My Mother would remind me to “Turn the other cheek” which to me seemed impossible and quite stupid…why would I want to do that?

We were all raised together in the same house for that first winter of our lives in 1952.   My Dad was in Korea and my Mother lived with her parents until he came back in the spring.   It must have been like having triplets.   Can you imagine the diapers? 

I would see my Aunt and Uncle at least once a week throughout my growing up years, usually on Sunday as that was the day that we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house..after church..for dinner. ..every Sunday:)