ABC Wednesday- Letter E

E is for Eddie and Eddie.

These are my mother's parents, the grandparents I never had the chance to know. Her name was Edna and his Edward. They met at Christian Endeavor and were married sometime in the 1920's. She had been an only child, and he one of six. Together they had four children, three little girls and a boy.

I know little about my grandma except that she was a well behaved child who seldom needed discipline. She was not only an only child, but had no first cousins either. She owned a copy of the book "The Poor Little Rich Girl" and Mom often thought it may have personified her mother. When she died at the age of 33, she left behind a well worn and marked Bible.

Grandpa raised his four children with the help of extended family. His own mother moved in to the little house and the children were surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived in the same neighborhood. Grandpa was a practical joker and people watcher. He loved his children and was a strict disciplinarian. Though stories about her momma, who died when Mom was just five, are few, many are the stories she has told about her dad. He loved onion sandwiches, and used to feed me tiny bits of mustard or pickle juice on the tip of a spoon when I was a baby and laugh at the funny faces I made. Grandpa died of a heart attack when I was just 20 months old.

To see the other participants in the new round of ABC Wednesday, click here!



Imagine my surprise when I won a Blog of Note award for last week's entry! Thank you everyone!

One Hundred and Counting

This morning I took my mom to visit her Uncle Louie in a nearby nursing home. Uncle Louie celebrated his 100th birthday last October. He is the only remaining uncle of either of my parents. (My father's 96 year old Aunt Margaret died last December.)

Uncle Louie did most of the talking during our visit and we did a lot of listening. He told us of a recent gathering of centenarians, there were three men and thirty women in the group, and he was asked for an interview by a local newswoman. She asked him his formula for living so long. He answered that he didn't have any formula. The Lord had just blessed him with long life. She asked what the highlight of his life was. He answered that it was the day he gave his life to Christ and the Lord began a transformation in him. She asked many questions and portions of the interview were later broadcast on TV.

Uncle Louie was distressed to learn that the interview had been edited and the answers to his questions rearranged. The newscaster asked what the highlight of his life was and, rather than Uncle Louie telling of his conversion, he told of getting his driver's license at the age of 17 and keeping it for the next 72 years. I guess the media is not looking to promote religion in any way, shape, or form...

I have heard the story of Uncle Louie's salvation many times. He was dating Aunt Francie and asked her to marry him. She told him she could not marry him because he was not a Christian, and then she went home, threw herself on her bed, and cried. She really did love him. I believe this happened a few times and one day when Aunt France said, "No, Louis, you are not a Christian," he told her that he had given his heart and life to Christ. Of course, she thought he was lying at first, but then she saw his life begin to change. She noticed that he stopped smoking cigarettes. When she asked him about it, he said, "Remember when I gave my heart to Christ? Well, he just took that all away."

Aunt France and Uncle Louie were married for over sixty years. Her pictures sits on the bookcase in his room and he still misses her. I heard him say so.

Playing Catch-up

All week long I have been quietly hoping for a return trip to the hospital to visit my uncle before he goes home. I almost missed my chance when they said he could go home today. Aunt Mary was on her way to get him when Mom got another phone call from my cousin. They decided to keep him in the hospital another night. Bad for him, good for me. I jumped at the opportunity. What a relief to see him smile and hear him tell his stories. We had to laugh when he asked Hannah what grade she is in. "Ninth," she replied. "You're a big girl!" he said, "Either that or you flunked a lot!" He has an interesting way with words... Aunt Mary said it wasn't nice, but we know that is really how he says, "I love you."

Monday was Memorial Day. I had purchased a small American flag, which I hoped to place on my grandfather's grave in a nearby cemetery. This is not an annual tradition, in fact I don't know if there has ever been a flag placed there. Sadly, I did not find the time to go to the cemetery on Monday, but I did take a little bit of time this afternoon to drive out and look around for my grandpa's grave and military marker. It took a little while, but I finally found the spot and placed the flag.

And now, I am off to the kitchen to see if those very ripe bananas are still suitable for banana bread. Maybe this will be a productive day after all!

Good News

My Uncle Chuck is doing better. The news this morning was that he was awake, breathing on his own, watching Fox News, and asking for his wife. I felt a smile creep across my face and relief flood my mind. I think he has finally turned a corner, though I know he faces a very long recovery process.

Thank you all for your prayers. Maybe by July he'll be ready to play "The Slap Game" with me. It was a favorite when I was a kid even though he always beat me.

Another picture of Mom and her little brother.

Family Friday

There is no doubt these two little girls are related, in fact, if I didn't already know better, I might think it was the same child in each picture. One of these small girls came from a family of wealth, the other from a home where money wasn't near as easy to come by. You can tell by the clothes they wear and the not so fancy photo background.

The little girl in the first photo is my grandmother, an only child and the daughter of a man who worked for an oil company. The second is her own daughter, my Aunt Jeanne. Jeannie doesn't have the fancy clothes or pretty necklace that her own mother had at such a tender age, but I think if one had dressed her up in her mother's clothes, no one would have known the difference. Their faces are almost identical.

A Little More History

This afternoon we were invited to the home of some friends who live on the west side of Rochester. Having just posted photos of my great grandfather's garden and seeing as his house is just around the corner from these friends, I decided to find Grandpa's old house and see what, if anything, is left of his garden. This is the house in 1948.

I found the house without too much difficulty, but no one was home. Two guys next door told me an older lady lives there. I decided to be brave and check the back yard. Aside from scattered piles of rock and concrete, I saw two decent remnants of my great grandfather's artwork.

Behind the garage stands a miniature stone lighthouse. The light is broken and missing most of its glass panels but the base is in decent shape. It looks like Grandpa collected cobblestones to build his backyard creations. He did a great job, nothing about it looks haphazard.

A concret table remains at the head of the driveway. It doesn't seem possible that this table is nearly seventy years old but I have the proof in pictures from when my mom was just a little girl.

It's too bad the woman who lives there wasn't at home, maybe then I wouldn't have felt so odd taking a few photos in the backyard of a total stranger.

An Old Fashioned Rock Garden

When my mother was a little girl, she lived just outside of Rochester, NY in the town of Brighton. Her maternal grandparents, Charles and Carrie Hooper lived on the other side of Rochester on Chili Avenue. Mom's grandpa made beautiful rock gardens where ever he lived. He built walkways, fireplaces, and pagotas. There were bridges and birdbaths and he even had a greenhouse
I'm told that when he sold one house and bought another, he would make another rock garden in the new location. The gardens were quite elaborate and difficult for the new owners to keep up with but Grandpa never seemed to have a problem. Maybe he was retired and spent all his time out there weeding, watering, and working, I don't know... Whatever it was, his were some of the most beautiful gardens in the city of Rochester back in the 1930's and 40's. They even made it into the newspaper a time or two. Sometimes I wonder what happened to my great grandfather's green thumb and then I remember that on occasion I see my own children trying it on. Beth was sporting a rather lovely shade of jade as she worked my flower gardens several years ago. She even grew her own vegetable garden when she was about 16. Dave is often showing off his green thumb as he does his groundscaping job here and there. He loves to take a neglected area and fill it with flowers, ornamental plants and groundcover. I've also seen Ben show an interest in plants and growing things.
As a child I had a strange fascination with cemeteries. They were full of pretty rocks and trees and flowers. Looked like a rock garden to me. Maybe grandpa's green thumb isn't gone afterall!

13 Things About Mom

I posted this in February of 2006 and then deleted it when I cleaned out my entries. I've decided to repost it for today's Thursday Thirteen...

Thirteen Things About My Mom

1. She loves Jesus and always took us to church when were little and she went too.

2. She has been married to my dad for over 50 years!

3. She has five children and 13 grandchildren (and may I add she is expecting her first great-grandchild).

4. She has lived in the same house for over 45 years.

5. She is the little girl with blonde curls in these photos.

6. She enjoys camping.

7. She likes to watch The Antique Roadshow but will fall asleep watching just about anything else.

8. She did daycare in her home for many, many years and all the kids loved her.

9. She didn't buy us Kool-Aide because she said it was nothing but sugar, but she did buy Hi-C and gingerale.

10. She didn't let us get away with much.

11. Her birthday is in August.

12. She broke her elbow when she was a little girl. She was running to see her new baby cousin and fell down.

13. She never got a driver's license.

Grandparents

These are my grandparents. My father's mom and dad on the left and mom's parents on the right. I have many memories of Grandma and Grandpa P. We ate dinner with them, stayed overnight at their house, and had them over for birthdays and other special occasions. Grandpa and I shared 35 birthdays together (mine is March 22 and his March 24). He lived to be 95 years old. I thought he would live forever... Grandma suffered from something like Alzheimer's so her last years were spent in an institution where she would be cared for and kept safe. She was an artist, a talented cook and lived well into her 80's.

My other grandparents both died before I had a chance to know them. Grandpa C. died of a heart attack when I was just a year old. I'm told he loved children and enjoyed watching people. He was a practical joker and a stern disciplinarian. Grandma C. went to be with Jesus many, many years before when my own mother was just five years old. I know she loved Jesus and left behind a well used Bible. She struggled with health problems (heart/ lungs) and died of pneumonia in 1940. She left behind four small children.

When I look into the faces of my grandparents, now passed on, I see little glimpses of my own parents, my sisters and brother, some of my cousins, and even my own children. Looking out from those eyes is something very familiar. Hey, that's me in there too!