How do you get the poison out of the Poke Salad ?

Someone forgot NEHI Grape and Nehi Orange. She is right about the sugar. There is a Mexican Store here in Indianapolis that sells Cokes from Mexico. They sell for $ 1.50 each for 12 ounce. They are made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Was in the Indianapolis Star. Kevin

Kevin, Nardine, Steve, Robert, and Betty I just returned from a family "girls" trip to Padre Island, TX and was so excited to see all of the great information you had all provided. Thank You. Since the Brandon's are not my direct line I have not spent a lot of time on research, just collecting what others had provided me along the way. I was astonished to realize I had not connected my "Brandon dots". Mary Elizabeth Burk Brandon's mother was Christina Tenpenny. Christina's aunt was Sarah "Sallie" Tenpenny Brandon married to Jospeh Armstrong Brandon. I just read all of your postings and I need a day to absorb it. If any of you have an interest I do have quite a bit of data on Sarah 's father Nathaniel Tenpenny I will be happy to share upon request. I will back to you shortly with any data I have that may be of interest to you. Thanks again, this is so much fun. Diane Miller

My grandparents in 1955 had a sand yard,no grass,I have seen granny sweep it many times. The sand was great for a kid to play in and get in trouble with.As a young child,I filled my daddy's gas tank with sand.Amazed me to see it dissapear& I womonderd how long it would take to fill it up..I was maybe 5or less but can remember this clearly.I remember the car would not start & I was quit as a mouse.When daddy took the gas tank off,he discovered my deed.HA Since we are talking about older times.How many of you had their grandmothers make them snuff to dip ? I wanted snuff like my granny so she mixed up cocoa & Sugar,washed one of her snuff boxes,and I dipped and spit big as granny.I was 5.

So true, and his uncles still live in Cannon County. I hope we can retire around there someday. Janeane ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

You are right.Poke Salad is a weed & posion if you do nolt know how to cook it.A friend brought some to our last Church dinner.I tried it and liiked it,Every spring they go out and look for poke salad

I too have enjoyed hearing about all of your favorites from the past. I have heard of sweeping yards, but had forgotten about it. I know people have mentioned RC and Moon Pies over the years in a nostalgic way, and I do remember Double Colas. We too in North Alabama where I grew up, referred to all cola drinks as a "coke," as in "What kind of coke do you want?" We only had red eye gravy with ham and biscuits. In the North West corner of Alabama they make chocolate gravy to go with biscuits. I've heard from people in that part of the state that it is very good. Cracklins for cracklin' bread- they'd be hard to come by now unless you know someone who raises their own hogs. I've seen them in the store, but they aren't nearly as good as the ones we used to get when people killed their own hogs. It's as big a difference as home -grown tomatoes and store -bought tomatoes, which shouldn't even be called tomatoes in my opinion, there is such a difference. Actually, the food we buy now doesn't hold a candle to the food we used to raise in our own garden as far as the taste goes. My Dad was from the country and used to talk about "Poke sallet " (salad) which I think was actually a weed. He also used to eat souse meat. That freaked me out. I've actually seen it in Wal-Mart. I was in the Wal-Mart by the campus here at Auburn and I over heard two college girls examining souse meat and trying to figure out what it was. I wondered if they read the ingredients. They would have been grossed out for sure. I think it is a bunch of left over hog parts and I know for sure it has snout in it. I think our ancestors knew how to make the most of everything. I never tried souse meat or brains and eggs either. My dad ate that too. I teach fifth grade, and the students are so far removed from the farm, that they comprehend very little of stories written about times earlier than 50 years ago. They have no idea what the simplest things are such as plowing. It's amazing to me that we came from an agrarian society and now all the food is grown by 2% of the population. Agribusiness. Speaking of things missed: I miss real Southern accents. Everyone generally talks the same now and it sure is boring to all sound like the generic accents we hear on the evening news. Occasionally, I hear someone use a good ole' Southern phrase and I think about how I miss it. Our regional dialects are slowly fading away. Janeane ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

William Wharton, head of the Wharton Family of Cannon County, was born in Virginia, 2/14/1799, second son of Samuel Wharton, who fought in the Revolutionary War under Washington:::

Mr. Hugh Thompson born in Dublin Ireland. Married Miss Ann Elizabeth Ferrell. More info :

Janeanes' husband is a distant cuz of mine ! He is a Barrett ! Kevin

The pancake syrup is different. I've cooked various kinds of meat with Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Sprite/7UP. (I like to use the sprite in chicken, especially). I've also used tea to tenderize meat. Threw in some Coke for good measure. The thing that really makes it good, though, is sherry or wine! When I lived on the coast, I had a friend who brought by King Fish, quite often. Most people didn't like them, saying they were too dry. But I cut mine into about 2 or 3 inch steaks, covered them with 1/2 burgundy wine (any kind works) and 1/2 water , chopped up onion and bell peppers, sometimes a clove of garlic and a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, and cooked them in an eletric skillet. I loved that they only had the one center bone with 4 prongs. I didn't try to fry them or bake them. The odd thing was, the more you ate, the more fish there was! It just seemed to grow! So, I would use a couple of extra steaks and crumble them up, like tuna fish. They made a huge bowl of fish that I fixed the way I fix tuna fish. Diced boiled egg, green pepper, celery, sometimes pecan and apple, then add in Miracle Whip, sugar and lemon juice. That too seemed to grow. The more I ate, the more was left in the bowl! We loved to sip hot Dr. Pepper in a tea cup, served with a wedge of lemon, in cold weather. A lot of little kids used to have soda water put in their baby bottles to sip on. We didn't have things like Kool Aid or a lot of fruit juices. It was milk, water, or soda water of some kind. My parents wouldn't let me have Cokes after 8 p.m. When I was small, we would go to the picture show at night, then go across the street to the grocery store where my dad would open the store, and they would share a Coke, while I just stood there, looked in the meat refrigerator, and waited to go home-if it was after 8. Maybe that is why I drink all the soft drinks I can get, now! I was so thirsty and had to wait until breakfast the next morning, when my mother would squeeze an orange for orange juice for me. I think they just heard that children should not drink Cokes after 8 p.m., so that was the rule they followed with me. There is a Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas that seems to be popular. My aunt went to Baylor, and they used to feed the bear mascots Dr. Pepper during ball games and appearances. They were so cute. Maybe that's why she always wants a Dr. Pepper. Cecelia > > It is really simple, just brown thin pork chops with or without the bone > on > both sides. Sprinkle with pepper if desired. Once the chops are brown, > pour > any kind of pancake syrup on each chop and then pour Dr. Pepper to cover > the > chops. Simmer for about 30 minutes. > > Julie > >

My mother used to make tea cakes and wrap them in a tea towel, with pretty embroidery, too. Would you share your recipes? I love orange cake, and my mother used to make a fresh banana cake. It wasn't like banana bread, but had the taste of the good, fresh bananas. She put layers of sliced banans in the filling between layers and on top. I never could figure out why her bananas didn't turn brown. I know she didn't use lemon juice on them. Maybe it is because we ate those cakes so fast, they didn't have time to turn brown! Of course, back then, we could only make it when the stores could get bananas! One great-uncle who had a grocery store, specialized in fresh produce. He would get up at 4 a.m., or earlier, and drive 60 miles to Waco, to drive back with fresh produce for his store, every day except Sunday. Coconut cake is wonderful, too. At church suppers, there was a lady who used to make wonderful angel food cakes. She has been dead for years, but her neighbor just died a few weeks ago at 105. I asked the neighbor , a couple of years ago when she was only 103, if she had Miss Rita's recipe for angel food cake. She said they were at her home. But she had been living in a nursing home for quite a while. The contents of her home were just auctioned off. The lady told me that her specialty was sweet potato pies. She said that the secret to her pies were that she baked her potatoes instead of boiling them. Another thing that I just loved were orange chiffon pies. A great aunt used to make those when she would have the ladies in during hot weather get-togethers. We had two family favorites, that I usually don't see, that we had at holiday time, like Christmas. One was Waxey Pecan Cake, the other is Bakeless Cake. No one liked fruit cake, so one of my aunt's boyfriends, who operated a large bakery, would bring rum cakes, which he would get lectured about for bringing liquor to where there were children! I would sneak in the kitchen and pinch off pieces so I could have some of that good cake. A great aunt would make Waxey Pecan Cakes, for birthdays, Christmas, etc. instead of the fruit cakes. It depended on if eggs were short, if there were a lot of pecans that season-the things needed for her cakes. Cecelia >I don't remember getting a spanking.Granny only gave me chocloate snuff > in the summer. > My other grandmother was the baker in the family.I make her Fresh Orange > Cake and Fresh Coconut Cake now.My grandaddy made the best tea cakes.He > would wrap them in a clean tea towell.I have not made those in years. > Alot of trouble rolling and cutting those things out.I am thanful I > inherited their recipies > > >

Paula, Where do you find the Dr. Pepper with cane sugar in Texas? I'm in Bryan. I have seen it advertised at Bancrofts in Kerens, as being from the plant in, I think the ad said, Dublin. I would have to go back and look. My aunt, who is in the nursing home, wants a Dr. Pepper every afternoon. What a treat it would be for her to have one of the "real thing". But, when we take her for a ride, she always wants to get a Coca Cola. Would be great to have one of the old formula Cokes, too. I just can't take the new stuff. When New Coke came out, we were putting lime juice into the Cokes, to make them drinkable. It didn't help that much. When they brought Classic Coke out, that was like a dose of medicine, but I drank them. After I had thryoid surgery a few years ago, they gave me Sprite or 7Up and orange juice. After that, nothing else tastes right. Cecelia in Aggieland > And we buy Dr Pepper with cane sugar here in Texas for a premium, but it > is > a nice treat. Paula > > > Someone forgot NEHI Grape and Nehi Orange. > She is right about the sugar. There is a Mexican Store here in > Indianapolis that sells Cokes from Mexico. They sell for $ 1.50 each for > 12 > ounce. They are made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Was in the > Indianapolis Star. > Kevin >

My grandfather, in Calvert, Texas, opened a dry goods store in 1901, after he graduated from business college in Galveston. He left Galveston just before the big hurricane of 1900 destroyed the school and killed the owner and his family. My grandfather's father had a grocery store, but started out as a cobbler in 1868 when he arrived from Prussia. The stores were in the same block. My grandfather's boyhood friend, and brother-in-law, was a partner in the dry goods store until about the days of the Depression, when the BIL opened a grocery store in the back part of the store. The store burned 3 times and was always rebuilt on the same corner. It was a family business, and my father worked in and ran the grocery store in the back. The last time it burned was in 1950, the coldest night we ever had. It got down to 7 degrees. The fire whistle blew and blew that night, but the firemen didn't want to leave their homes. Finally they started leaving. When they turned on the water, it froze into huge plumes that remained into the next day. Fire departments from the other area towns came to help. Our own firemen finally went out when Central (telephone operator) called all the firemen and told them where the fire was. The only thing that saved the whole block is that they had built in a fire wall the last time the store was rebuilt. My uncle went home and his fire fighting clothes were frozen stiff. They stood up alone where he took them off on the back porch. A woman whose husband owned the Western Auto by the picture show across the street, came out and served hot coffee and sandwiches to the fire fighters. My sister continued sleeping, I was up, with my mother, scared and not knowing what to do. My mother got hysterical. She didn't know whether to be sad that my dad wouldn't have a job, or happy because she wanted to move to where her parents lived. Anyway, the next day, my dad put on the fire department's asbestos suit and went into the ruins of the building, which was still smoldering. He picked up the two heavy safes from the store and brought them out. It would have been impossible for anyone to lift those safes, but I guess the adrenalin was really flowing. Then he started bringing out whatever he carried. They had huge hams in the meat section of the grocery store that he brought out. He also brought out cases of orange, red, and various flavors of soda water. He also brought out some canned goods, a couple of scales. but most everything else was destroyed. He put pieces of the concrete from the front of the store in our back yard, along with one of the scales, that no longer worked. Those hams that got the extra smoking were really good. We ate them for a long time, and also drank the bottled soda water. I don't think we could read the labels anymore, and most of the bottles were smoked. We just went by what color the contents were. Some of the best ham and soda water ever! It took a few years to rebuild the store, but they moved the safes to a building across the street where the store operated until the new building was ready. The grocery store was not rebuilt, but the back firewall was left standing. In between there, an elderly man built a barbeque pit and sold barbeque on Saturdays. It was sold from the family in 2000 as an antique store, but now a potter has bought it and has an gallery and pottery studio in there. Now, remember, it took only my dad to bring those safes out of the burned building, one at a time. But, to move them across the street, it took lots of really strong men and a flat bed truck. My mother and grandmother had a fit about my dad putting on that asbestos suit and going into that building. The more people told him he couldn't do something, the more determined he was to do that thing! He liked for people to think he was strong, too. When I was small, there was a Delaware Punch bottling plant across the street from the dry goods store. We were happy that the owners came to our church, and sometimes brought samples for everyone! They didn't stay open long as the people moved on. I think I have heard this little rhyme. Cecelia > When I was a kid and my Dad was the SE Regional Salesman for Pepsi Cola, > they had this saying: > Pepsi Cola came to town > Coca-Cola knocked him down > Seven Up picked him up > Took him to Dr. Pepper >

Well, Kevin, here's another for you. I remember when hardly anyone had grass in the yards and we had to sweep the yards with brush brooms, made from small bushes or limbs cut from trees, usually dogwood and tied togather with pieces of leather or pieces of rags to hold them together so we could sweep with them.. Sweeping the yard was always the Saturday afternoon job for my sister and me. There was nothing prettier than a clean sweeped yard. After sweeping the yards we were ready for our Saturday bath in the washtub full of water that had been warmed by the day's sun.. I can tell you lot's about the "good ole days". Mary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Morgan" <retread2006@sbcglobal.net> To: <tncannon@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 11:16 AM Subject: [TNCANNON] Posts >I know there will be a lot of conversation about our talks on colas, etc. >But, that is History. History that is being told, so the younger ones can >understand. If our Ancestors had recorded written down everything, we could >understand their lives better and their hardships. Our kids today do not >understand how a RC and a Moonpie was a highlight of a whole weeks worth of >waiting ! How not all of us just bought a ham from the store in a can when >our parents had to kill and dress a hog to be able to have food. Yes, this >is a delight to see everyone's thoughts on these subjects ! It brings back >a earlier time when those who are gone now are remembered. > Our parents and grandparents, their History, is as much a part of us, as > was the History of our Ancestors a hundred years ago ! > Thanks to all of you for your thoughts ! > Kevin Morgan > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TNCANNON-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >

Cecelia wrote: > I wasn't a big fan of root beer, either, as Coke was my drink of choice. > But this was really special. It made a really good float, too. The canned > and bottled A&W root beer just don't taste the same. They had dispensers > that looked like huge barrels, then put the root beer in those frosted heavy > glass mugs. Lots of foam, and really refreshing. Driving north on Hiway 6 from Bryan to Waco to eat at the Picadilly, did you ever stop at the Dairy Queen in Marlin? They had the best burgers & malts in the world and 1 of those rootbeer barrels. Joe

In a message dated 5/13/2007 11:26:34 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, kr4oj@bellsouth.net writes: Basically his letter warns of the dangers of passing of the proposed cemetery law, with little or no forethought. Write your congressperson. Jess Lewis I've missed an entire conversation, My apologies. Can someone fill me in on what this Law is stating Dotti ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

If anyone is interested, an archive of past posts to this list, can be found at.... http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=tncannon Jess

Funny! I wondered if you got a trip to the woodshed or a peach tree switch for your experiement! Yes, yes, yes! The "children's snuff" was great! But we used cinnamon instead of cocoa. My grandmother was from Cannon Co., Tenn., and she used snuff. But we thought that spit can was so gross, we didn't want to copy that, at all. However, Bertie, my mother's help, in Calvert, Texas, had a big knot in her lower lip, that she told us was snuff. She kept her spit can hidden, though, and I didn't ever notice her spitting. We begged and begged for some snuff like Bertie, so she mixed us up some cinnamon and sugar in a cup. We went around dipping and spitting happily. (We couldn't get candy or cookies due to sugar rationing, but "snuff" kept us satisfied for the whole day. I made some up for my grandson when I was making cinnamon toast for him. He liked the toast, but didn't want much of the snuff. I just saved it and made more cinnamon toast the next day. Another treat that we got was something that my mother called a "man". She would use left over pie crust, roll it out, put it in a pan, put on some butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up the edges, and bake it. Wonderful ! Sometimes she would make them and put lemon juice on them, along with the sugar and butter. Maybe the cinnamon too, I can't remember. At times, instead of making them flat, she would roll them up, loosely. So good. I thought that, when I retired, I was going to just make all kinds of goodies for my grandsons (and myself!). I haven't had one thing turn out like my mother's! (When I told my mother, years ago, that my soup and goolaush weren't turning out like her's, she said she believed it was a difference in water.) She didn't leave recipes for those basic things, and I didn't write things down. Even the French Toast and scrambled eggs, that I used to make for my children in the 60s, won't turn out like it used to. I know I am doing the same things, using the same items and procedure, it just isn't working. I grew up, sitting in the kitchen, with my mother, grandmother, great aunts, and they told me how to do things. I went to them for help, as they were still alive, when I was a young mother, if I needed to check on something, But, now that they are all gone, I'm just not having much luck. Even simple pie crust won't work. I got up one morning at 4 a.m., wanting to make scones for my grandson. What a mess I had! At 9 a.m., long after the boys had gone to school, I was still fighting with the really runny, sticky dough I had made! Once made, they were okay-for after school snacks. I decided I would just buy them at the store. However, those are not very good. Dry, and always labeled incorrectly! I heat them and put whipped cream on top, and they are okay that way. My grandfather used to get up really early and fix a big breakfast for the family, then he would spend a lot of the morning baking. My dad sure was glad when my grandfather came to visit! He loved those fresh biscuits every morning! And I loved the pies and cookies. (This was the grandfather who was married to my grandmother from Tennessee. He was from Texas, but his parents were from Alabama. Grandpa walked with his knees bent. We had a Civil War sword that my mother kept hidden in the couch that had a space to store blankets. I found that sword and took it to school to show in history class. One of my classmates had argued that I didn't have a grandfather in the Civil War. I thought I did and took the sword to show them. My teacher just told me to take it home, that it was too valuable to bring to school. Soon, we made a trip to Ft. Worth and took the sword. My mother said it was not because I took it to school, but because my sister was at that age of getting into everything and they were afraid she would find it and hurt herself. My mother and her sister traded things back and forth, including their parents ad they got older. They would stay with one a while, then they would rotate. I knew that the sword belonged to my grandfather, so I had asked my mother why my grandfather walked with his knees bent. I asked if he was in the Civil War. She was busy and just said, "yes", probably so I would go away and quit bothering her. I asked if that is why Grandpa limped, and she said "yes", and went on with talking to someone else. So, I always thought that Grandpa got hit behind the knees with a sword during the Civil War. Of course, that was all wrong. It was his father's sword, but he polished it every time he visited us. There was also a wall pendulum clock that belonged to his parents, that he worked on every time he came to see us. As soon as he left, it would stop running! A younger cousin told me that she thought that he limped because of a boyhood accident with an axe. He didn't really talk about things. After my cousin's parents died, the children divided things up. One son took the sword. But he has distanced himself from the family, and someone told me that the sword is now in the posession of a sutler. I wrote to them and asked for a photo of it for our family things, but no answer. Maybe I can draw a picture of it. It was kind of plain. I can remember the blade part, but I can't remember, exactly, the handle. It might come to me, once I start drawing. Anyway, I remember my grandfather, limping around the kitchen singing "Billy Boy" (which I thought was very appropriate!), "Froggy Went A Courtin' ", etc. Anybody ever play the musical saw? My grandmother did, while my grandfather played the fiddle. My mother and her sister played the piano. I was only about 3, but I remember it distinctly, and just did a drawing about it. I'm trying to write memories, as well as drawings of things that I don't have photos of. My grandmother tried to show me how to play the jug or the spoons so I could join in their Saturday night sessions on the farm. I couldn't manage them, so I just "rode the horsie" on my grandfather's foot, while he played the fiddle. I didn't know the words to the songs, but I tried to sing with them. Now if it had been classical, songs from the movies or popular radio, or from the Methodist Hymnal, I could have sung those. My mother said that I knew every song in the Methodist Hymnal by the time I was 2! Of course, I was always with her at choir practice, church, piano lessons in our house, and every time there was some need for a piano or organ in town! I was researching musical saws for my drawing. I'm sure my grandmother went outside and brought in a saw and a hammer, after I asked her what she was going to play with the little group. My grandfather had brought out his fiddle, and my mother and her sister were playing duets on the piano. I didn't believe that playing the saw was possible. So, she showed me! And just grinned all the while! I hope y'all are putting all these stories down, and labeling all your pictures! I always have thought that my little stories were too new, and not anything unusual or interesting. My family is totally uninterested. So, I'm just writing, painting and drawing, anyway, for someday, when I am no longer here and they will want to know. I finally decided that, maybe, they are a little interesting to some people when I was at writers conferences and read some of my things. I thought I was writing something very serious, when people would just be fallling out of their chairs laughing, and told me to finish what I was writing. I was puzzled, but I guess it is funny, come to think about it. I mentioned the time when one great-uncle, as a little boy, didn't want to take violin lessons. His mother made him go. So, Eddie went to his lesson. When the teacher was out of the room, Eddie peed in the teachers violin case, then ran home. He didn't have to take anymore violin lessons. I had actually written about a room in my great-grandfather's house, and I remembered when he died, and a grandfather clock that was in the hall. That was strange, because I was upstairs, and not in that room at all when he died. I was only 1, and was in my baby bed, not sitting in a chair in the entry hall, looking at my socks, while the grownups went in to see great-grandfather. But people got a big kick out of my story! Another thing that interested people was how, when we went to the picture show, everyone had a certain place to sit, sort of like in a family room. I was struggling to write the assignment, which was supposed to be a murder mystery (not my area of interest at all), and I started writing about the old movie theatre, and how things were. Never did get to a mystery or a murder! Guess that is a sign that I'm getting old! I found myself starting to tell little stories to my students before I retired. I grew up in the next town, so they knew the families, people and places. They seemed to enjoy them, but I would stop myself when I realized I was telling old stories. (We could do those things in art, journalism, yearbook, and newspaper classes! Might not work so well in other subjects!) It really helped when the kids knew people that I knew, or their parents knew my family. Cecelia > My grandparents in 1955 had a sand yard,no grass,I have seen granny > sweep it many times. > The sand was great for a kid to play in and get in trouble with.As a > young child,I filled my daddy's gas tank with sand.Amazed me to see it > dissapear& I womonderd how long it would take to fill it up..I was maybe > 5or less but can remember this clearly.I remember the car would not > start & I was quit as a mouse.When daddy took the gas tank off,he > discovered my deed.HA > Since we are talking about older times.How many of you had their > grandmothers make them snuff to dip ? I wanted snuff like my granny so > she mixed up cocoa & Sugar,washed one of her snuff boxes,and I dipped > and spit big as granny.I was 5. > > >

Funny! I wondered if you got a trip to the woodshed or a peach tree switch for your experiement! Yes, yes, yes! The "children's snuff" was great! But we used cinnamon instead of cocoa. My grandmother was from Cannon Co., Tenn., and she used snuff. But we thought that spit can was so gross, we didn't want to copy that, at all. However, Bertie, my mother's help, in Calvert, Texas, had a big knot in her lower lip, that she told us was snuff. She kept her spit can hidden, though, and I didn't ever notice her spitting. We begged and begged for some snuff like Bertie, so she mixed us up some cinnamon and sugar in a cup. We went around dipping and spitting happily. (We couldn't get candy or cookies due to sugar rationing, but "snuff" kept us satisfied for the whole day. I made some up for my grandson when I was making cinnamon toast for him. He liked the toast, but didn't want much of the snuff. I just saved it and made more cinnamon toast the next day. Another treat that we got was something that my mother called a "man". She would use left over pie crust, roll it out, put it in a pan, put on some butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up the edges, and bake it. Wonderful ! Sometimes she would make them and put lemon juice on them, along with the sugar and butter. Maybe the cinnamon too, I can't remember. At times, instead of making them flat, she would roll them up, loosely. So good. I thought that, when I retired, I was going to just make all kinds of goodies for my grandsons (and myself!). I haven't had one thing turn out like my mother's! (When I told my mother, years ago, that my soup and goolaush weren't turning out like her's, she said she believed it was a difference in water.) She didn't leave recipes for those basic things, and I didn't write things down. Even the French Toast and scrambled eggs, that I used to make for my children in the 60s, won't turn out like it used to. I know I am doing the same things, using the same items and procedure, it just isn't working. I grew up, sitting in the kitchen, with my mother, grandmother, great aunts, and they told me how to do things. I went to them for help, as they were still alive, when I was a young mother, if I needed to check on something, But, now that they are all gone, I'm just not having much luck. Even simple pie crust won't work. I got up one morning at 4 a.m., wanting to make scones for my grandson. What a mess I had! At 9 a.m., long after the boys had gone to school, I was still fighting with the really runny, sticky dough I had made! Once made, they were okay-for after school snacks. I decided I would just buy them at the store. However, those are not very good. Dry, and always labeled incorrectly! I heat them and put whipped cream on top, and they are okay that way. My grandfather used to get up really early and fix a big breakfast for the family, then he would spend a lot of the morning baking. My dad sure was glad when my grandfather came to visit! He loved those fresh biscuits every morning! And I loved the pies and cookies. (This was the grandfather who was married to my grandmother from Tennessee. He was from Texas, but his parents were from Alabama. Grandpa walked with his knees bent. We had a Civil War sword that my mother kept hidden in the couch that had a space to store blankets. I found that sword and took it to school to show in history class. One of my classmates had argued that I didn't have a grandfather in the Civil War. I thought I did and took the sword to show them. My teacher just told me to take it home, that it was too valuable to bring to school. Soon, we made a trip to Ft. Worth and took the sword. My mother said it was not because I took it to school, but because my sister was at that age of getting into everything and they were afraid she would find it and hurt herself. My mother and her sister traded things back and forth, including their parents ad they got older. They would stay with one a while, then they would rotate. I knew that the sword belonged to my grandfather, so I had asked my mother why my grandfather walked with his knees bent. I asked if he was in the Civil War. She was busy and just said, "yes", probably so I would go away and quit bothering her. I asked if that is why Grandpa limped, and she said "yes", and went on with talking to someone else. So, I always thought that Grandpa got hit behind the knees with a sword during the Civil War. Of course, that was all wrong. It was his father's sword, but he polished it every time he visited us. There was also a wall pendulum clock that belonged to his parents, that he worked on every time he came to see us. As soon as he left, it would stop running! A younger cousin told me that she thought that he limped because of a boyhood accident with an axe. He didn't really talk about things. After my cousin's parents died, the children divided things up. One son took the sword. But he has distanced himself from the family, and someone told me that the sword is now in the posession of a sutler. I wrote to them and asked for a photo of it for our family things, but no answer. Maybe I can draw a picture of it. It was kind of plain. I can remember the blade part, but I can't remember, exactly, the handle. It might come to me, once I start drawing. Anyway, I remember my grandfather, limping around the kitchen singing "Billy Boy" (which I thought was very appropriate!), "Froggy Went A Courtin' ", etc. Anybody ever play the musical saw? My grandmother did, while my grandfather played the fiddle. My mother and her sister played the piano. I was only about 3, but I remember it distinctly, and just did a drawing about it. I'm trying to write memories, as well as drawings of things that I don't have photos of. My grandmother tried to show me how to play the jug or the spoons so I could join in their Saturday night sessions on the farm. I couldn't manage them, so I just "rode the horsie" on my grandfather's foot, while he played the fiddle. I didn't know the words to the songs, but I tried to sing with them. Now if it had been classical, songs from the movies or popular radio, or from the Methodist Hymnal, I could have sung those. My mother said that I knew every song in the Methodist Hymnal by the time I was 2! Of course, I was always with her at choir practice, church, piano lessons in our house, and every time there was some need for a piano or organ in town! I was researching musical saws for my drawing. I'm sure my grandmother went outside and brought in a saw and a hammer, after I asked her what she was going to play with the little group. My grandfather had brought out his fiddle, and my mother and her sister were playing duets on the piano. I didn't believe that playing the saw was possible. So, she showed me! And just grinned all the while! I hope y'all are putting all these stories down, and labeling all your pictures! I always have thought that my little stories were too new, and not anything unusual or interesting. My family is totally uninterested. So, I'm just writing, painting and drawing, anyway, for someday, when I am no longer here and they will want to know. I finally decided that, maybe, they are a little interesting to some people when I was at writers conferences and read some of my things. I thought I was writing something very serious, when people would just be fallling out of their chairs laughing, and told me to finish what I was writing. I was puzzled, but I guess it is funny, come to think about it. I mentioned the time when one great-uncle, as a little boy, didn't want to take violin lessons. His mother made him go. So, Eddie went to his lesson. When the teacher was out of the room, Eddie peed in the teachers violin case, then ran home. He didn't have to take anymore violin lessons. I had actually written about a room in my great-grandfather's house, and I remembered when he died, and a grandfather clock that was in the hall. That was strange, because I was upstairs, and not in that room at all when he died. I was only 1, and was in my baby bed, not sitting in a chair in the entry hall, looking at my socks, while the grownups went in to see great-grandfather. But people got a big kick out of my story! Another thing that interested people was how, when we went to the picture show, everyone had a certain place to sit, sort of like in a family room. I was struggling to write the assignment, which was supposed to be a murder mystery (not my area of interest at all), and I started writing about the old movie theatre, and how things were. Never did get to a mystery or a murder! Guess that is a sign that I'm getting old! I found myself starting to tell little stories to my students before I retired. I grew up in the next town, so they knew the families, people and places. They seemed to enjoy them, but I would stop myself when I realized I was telling old stories. (We could do those things in art, journalism, yearbook, and newspaper classes! Might not work so well in other subjects!) It really helped when the kids knew people that I knew, or their parents knew my family. Cecelia > My grandparents in 1955 had a sand yard,no grass,I have seen granny > sweep it many times. > The sand was great for a kid to play in and get in trouble with.As a > young child,I filled my daddy's gas tank with sand.Amazed me to see it > dissapear& I womonderd how long it would take to fill it up..I was maybe > 5or less but can remember this clearly.I remember the car would not > start & I was quit as a mouse.When daddy took the gas tank off,he > discovered my deed.HA > Since we are talking about older times.How many of you had their > grandmothers make them snuff to dip ? I wanted snuff like my granny so > she mixed up cocoa & Sugar,washed one of her snuff boxes,and I dipped > and spit big as granny.I was 5. > > >