Tuesday, 07 August 2007
A Great, Great Grandma – A Memory
By Kay Dennison of Kay's Thinking Cap
When I was small, my dad's work on the railroad moved us from central Ohio to parts north when he left the New York Central for a better position with the Wheeling & Lake Erie.
Visiting my grandparents in Galion in central Ohio involved a drive of several hours. My little sister and I didn't like that part much but getting spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa and our teenaged uncles was pretty neat.
My dad always insisted that we visit our great-grandmothers as well. And that, I thought was really cool – especially Grandma Appleman aka Grandma Apple-Apple, according to my sister.
Grandma Appleman was really not related to us at all. My grandfather's mother died when he was only five years old and his railroading father, who traveled so much in his work, left the rearing of young Marion to the care of Grandma Appleman, an older widow lady with nearly grown children who raised and counted him as her own.
She continued as his parent when grandpa was orphaned at age sixteen. She was wonderfully eccentric and we looked forward to the cards she sent us on our birthdays and Christmas.
Remember when greeting cards were folded from a sheet of paper into quarters? When we got cards, we would open them and there would be a pretty handkerchief but no signature. To find that, one had to unfold the card to find her cramped name along with her love. Dad said she did that because she was ornery and liked to fool people. Whatever her reason, we thought it a lot of fun.
Visiting Grandma Appleman was an adventure. Her home was a step back in time filled with all sorts of wondrous things that today would set an antique dealer salivating. My sister and I would stand in wonder, with admonitions from our parents not to touch, in front of the big knickknack shelf filled with a collection of antique glass of every kind. My favorite was what I came to know as Carnival glass. My sister liked the milk glass hens best.
No one knew how old Grandma A was. The family joke was that she had lied about her age so many times even she didn't know it anymore. My dad guessed that she was well into her eighties or even her nineties. All I knew is that she was the oldest person I knew and I was sort of afraid to hug her too hard because she seemed so very tiny and fragile.
What we most enjoyed were her tales of our grandpa as the little boy who came to her with long red curls. His mother wouldn't cut those curls and we thought it rather funny because the Marion we knew was bald as the proverbial billiard ball. She also told tales on our Daddy as a little boy while he would go do chores for her.
Another of her favorite stories was telling us of seeing the train carrying Abraham Lincoln's casket come through town on its way to Springfield when she was a girl and how everyone who could be was along the railroad tracks to pay their respects to a great man.
It was 1960 and I was thirteen years old when she died at, my dad and grandpa estimated, around 100. My dad, my sister and I cried at the loss of Grandma Apple-Apple - a fine, good-hearted lady who we loved and made our grandpa the kind man we loved.
Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post
Comments
What wonderful memories! I enjoyed reading this.
Junie
Posted by: June Kellum on Aug 7, 2007 8:29:43 AM
Kay, this is a wonderful story! I had a similar figure in my life; not so old, but greatly beloved even though she was not related to us.
Carnival glass was one type my mom collected that I didn't care for much. She also had a milk glass chicken on the nest!
Posted by: kenju on Aug 7, 2007 9:11:40 AM
Kay, I love these memories of your Grandma Apple-Apple. I have many such memories of my paternal Grandmother....how lucky we are.
Posted by: Joy on Aug 7, 2007 9:44:44 AM
Kay,
Neither my husband nor I had the pleasure of knowing our grandparents. My husband's parents immigrated from Europe and he never knew any of their family..
My mother came from a different state to marry my Father and so I really never knew her parents. I met my Grandmother one time. My Father's Mother was widowed before I was born and she came to live with us only when she very old and died after being with us for less than a year.
So, Kay, count your blessings. I know from your writing that you do. You write so affectionately about them.
Posted by: Nancy on Aug 7, 2007 9:59:12 AM
Your memory stirred memories of my own. I had two great grandmothers when I was small and one was, indeed, eccentric. Since I am much older than you, my great grandmothers lived during the time of your Grandma Apple-Apple and their husbands were in the Civil War in the Ohio regiment. I had forgotten about them until I read your story. Thanks for the memories.
Posted by: Darlene on Aug 7, 2007 10:11:31 AM
Wonderful memories for you Kay. Great story, enjoyed it very much. I only have memories of my grandparents. Sadly I never knew any greats.
Posted by: Vanda on Aug 7, 2007 1:08:35 PM
Grandma Apple-Apple wasn't even really kin but she was in everyone's heart. I'll be telling you about another great grandma one of these days. I was truly blessed to have known both these ladies.
Posted by: Kay Dennison on Aug 7, 2007 2:12:17 PM
I quite enjoyed your memories of your Grandma Apple-Apple. How sweet is that?
thank you
a
Posted by: Annieofbluegables on Aug 8, 2007 7:34:32 PM
