Family Reunions

 I remember family reunions in Monticello, Indiana, usually held in July on or around Grandma Martha Griffith’s birthday. Many of my Aunts and Uncles had moved to Indiana in search of work. We’re not talking 20 or 30 people here; this reunion involved, on a normal year, over 100 people! Aunts, Uncles (more than 20 right there) and then there were the Wickers, the Wilsons, so many cousins you couldn’t remember all their names from year to year. But a few were special, the ones that stood out from the crowd for one reason or another.  

We always rented a covered pavilion, first at the Monticello City Park and later at the county park right on the banks of the Tippecanoe River…the river of “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too” fame. We’d begin by stopping at Grandma’s house on Bluff Street, overlooking the river. The anticipation and nervousness filled the air — not wanting to forget anyone’s name, yet knowing you were going to be part of a family, a huge family…you belonged.  Entering the house, the wonderful aroma from Grandma’s kitchen filled the air: Kentucky Wonder green beans, the devil being boiled out of them along with a suitable portion of fatback from a favored hog, pinto beans, and, perhaps, fried chicken. Ah, the aroma, well, it was “home,” all were welcome and we belonged.  

We all need a certain definite sense of belonging; without it life is not as rich as it can possibly be; family reunions in Indiana gave me that wonderful, warm, comfortable feeling that I was accepted without question, no identification required, without having to play any games or prove anything. The feeling was very warm and welcome…it is still felt today as I recall those wonderful times we spent together.  

At one of those great reunions, Grandma stands with Uncle Jerry, Aunts Katie,
Gertrude, Barbara, and Mae, with my Dad on the far right. The young man in
front is surely a second- or third-cousin I cannot identify. 

Aprons...the first multitools

My wife passed this great memory-provoking piece along to me today. Memories of Grandmas and their always-worn aprons from days gone by are brought to mind.

But also pay attention to the last couple lines...have we, as a society, gone "germ crazy" or is there a reason for the seeming plethora of germs we guard against in our lives today. Perhaps it's simply ultra-successful marketing by the manufacturers of hand sanitizer, eh?

 I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was

to protect the dress underneath,

because she only had a few,

it was easier to wash aprons than dresses

and they used less material,

but along with that, it served as a potholder for

removing hot pans from the oven.

 It was wonderful for drying children's tears, 

and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, 

and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

 When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

 And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.

 Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,

bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.

 After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

 When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much

furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

 When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron,

and the menfolks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

 It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that

'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked

apple pies on the window sill to cool. 

Her granddaughters set theirs on the

window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

 I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

                                                                                                             Author Unknown