Wednesday, January 9, 2013

A Story of "Little Grama"

Grama's Gay Fad Cookie Jar
I was blessed to be the 'FIRST' grandchild to my paternal grandparents.  My grandmother was raised by German immigrant parents on a farm in southern Minnesota.  She loved to tell stories and my favorite was the one about how her parents had met.  Her mother Henrietta was 16 years old and walked past a farmer out in the fields working.  Henry said to the young girl, " You're too old to go to school.  You should be keeping house for somebody"  To that, Henrietta replied, "You ask me and I'll come and keep house for you."  Well you know what happened.  Henry and Henrietta married and had a herd of kids:  Ora, Ida, Cora, Clara and Anna were the girls names.  Otto, Henry, known as Hank, and Arnie were the boys.
At Grama's house we played simple games that she had learned as a child; 'Hide the Thimble", checkers and card games were on the agenda.  Sorting her button tin however was always great fun.  Grandkids were also given pans of water and large paint brushes to 'paint' the cement floor in the basement.  Grama took grandkids to the park by the river where my favorite thing to do was feeding the ducks.  Grama had a source of constant entertainment:  she worked in the bakery and old bread meant free fun for grandchildren.
After her day at work which started at 6:00 a.m. at Sterling Pastries, Grama would come and pick me up from the babysitter.  Off we went to her house where another ritual from childhood rests fondly in my memories.  She would "sprinkle" the clothes with an old 7Up bottle filled with water.  Clothes were rolled and put in a bag for ironing later.
Grama took me to the bakery where she was the cake decorator.  Standing beside the huge stainless steel table, I was perched on a box next to her watching flowers emerge from decorating tubes filled with white, pink and pastel green frostings.  Grama could rotate the lazy Susan half a turn, add six flowers in a minute and finish the entire cake in ten minutes.  To this day I can't walk past a bakery without breathing in that aroma of flour, sugar and deep fryers without remembering the visits to Grama's bakery.
After work there was another tradition while visiting Little Grama's house, we drank  our coffee.  I was four years old, my cup which undoubtedly was 90% milk made me feel so grown up.  Grama drank her coffee black and watched General Hospital.  I didn't actually drink coffee again until I was 35 years old.  In 2012 Little Grama would have been 100 years old; she 'wore out' at 95.  She always said, "I'd rather wear out than rust out."  She got her wish.
 
 It wasn't until I became a grandma that I realized how lucky I was to have been her first grandchild.  There is something magic about the first one.

16 comments:

  1. Aww, these are such sweet memories of your Grandma. I am a middle child, so I don't know anything about being a "first". But I sure did LOVE my Grandma (and Grandpa) and loved the special times I got to spend with them. (I got shipped off to Grandma's house when I was naughty .... which probably made me act naughty on purpose.)

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  2. PS- I forgot to say that I especially love the story of how they decided to take up housekeeping together. :-)

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  3. Precious story. Beautiful memories. I certainly enjoyed my special adventures with my grandmother...especially the crafting ones!!

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  4. I have fond memories of times with my Grandmas too. I love all of your vintage photos.

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  5. I love all of your vintage items. The story of how your Grandparents met is wonderful. I love the signs that I see all over ebay and etsy and also in my fav magazine, Country Sampler, All because two people fell in love!!! That says it all, doesn't it. It is amazing to learn our family's history! Thank you for sharing your memories and stories with me.
    Hugs,
    Lynn and the Wienee Ranch crew

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  6. Grandma's are so special!! Love your story!!! I wasn't the first on either side, the last on one, and second to last on the other! My Dad would have been a 100 in 2012 too...makes me smile when I hear someone say their Grandma would have been a 100 and I think so would my Dad! And Tammy you are so right...being a first time Nana is pretty darn good!! Oh...Love your header!

    Hugs chris

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  7. WHat a beautiful story about your Gramma. I have my sprinkling bottle from my Mom and I treasure it. Love all the memories.

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  8. Such a heart-warming story about your Gramma. You are very lucky to have all of those wonderful memories of her! Did I read that correctly, 10 kids? Wow! How did they do it?! :)
    -Denise

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  9. Such a sweet story and memories Tammy! Thanks for sharing them with us! Lovely pictures of your pretty vintage things! My great grandma had 10 kids, my grandma has a few brothers and sisters, (aunts and uncles to me) :) Have a great day! xo Holly

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  10. I hope I'm making great memories for my Grandgirl! I fondly remember my Grandma's!
    How's the new job???
    Warmly,
    deb

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  11. The sweetest and precious of memories Tammy!! I truly love hearing them! Love those linens you are ironing!! ;) Wishing you a lovely and crafty day!! xo Heather

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  12. What a sweet story. I share a few of those same memories. I was the only grandchild for 12 years and had 2 bachelor uncles who catered to my every whim. No wonder people call me spoiled.

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  13. Oh Tammy....what a wonderful stroll down memory lane....we have a lot in common....I guess that is why we are friends! I also was a favorite because we lived so far away and I think my Mom being the youngest she was the "favorite"....I only had my grandpa for 9 years, but I still take a moment every time I am back in Eau Claire to go and see the ducks...:)

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  14. Wonderful story Tammy. And lovely pictures to go with it.

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  15. A post like this is my favorite kind of post! Love the story of learning about your sweet Grandmother, the journeys you took together. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Missed seeing your posts, hope you had a great holiday.

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  16. Your grandma sounds wonderful! So glad you have these memories. I remember the "sprinkling" too!
    Blessings,
    Susie

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