Wednesday, May 23, 2012

No Photos....Couldn't Believe It!

Yesterday Warren, Georgia and I had a wonderful time.
In spite of the fact that Warren and Georgia have joined me 
in my illness (cold) and were both a bit uncomfortable too.
Perhaps this was why I forgot my camera....
but I left it at home.

It was a family reunion of sorts.
Warren's Aunt and Uncle from California had flown in.
The local Aunts and Uncles and two of his cousins
all got together at Aunt Betty and Uncle Jim's farm.

Now, you have to understand that this is the house that his 
uncle has lived in all or most of his life.
He is now a very healthy and active 70-something year old.
I cannot even imagine having lived in a house for more than 
10 years at a time, let alone 70 plus years!!
We tend to enjoy moving.

Aunt Betty is a wonderful homemaker and cook.
She is Warren's Dad's sister.
Betty single handedly made an amazing meal that had special 
meaning for the Aunts and Uncles present.
It was fried chicken, baked corn, salad with hot dressing, 
baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, baked beans
and lemon sponge pie for dessert.

This was the meal Warren's Grandma Esther would make
for special events. 
The recipes just as she would have done it.

Everyone enjoyed it so much.

Uncle Dan and Aunt Donna from 
California declared there is no such food 
consumed at their California home.
This was strictly Pennsylvania fare as far as they were concerned.

At the end of the meal as the ladies were cleaning up 
a couple of us mentioned how much we enjoyed the baked 
corn.....Aunt Betty was right on top of it.
She said she figured she might get asked for the recipe
and whipped out a few recipe cards on which was the 
handwritten recipe.
Such a smart and organized lady!!

Desserts were a team effort.
Georgia brought a cake called a birthday cake.
It was a recipe she had been wanting to make for a long
time....Georgia is the person that they put recipes in magazines
and papers for.  She actually makes them.
I've cut them out from time to time, 
but I rarely get around to making them.
Not Georgia.
She actually does it. 
Regularly.
This cake was awesome!!
Buttery cake with a layer of strawberry jam and
then iced with a delightfully light chocolate frosting.

Of course Betty had made the lemon Sponge.
That is tradition.

There was also a cake with a marshmallow icing 
which was the traditional cake their family had
for everyone's birthday.
It goes by the name of their neighbor in those days 
who had given the family the recipe.
What nostalgia all of these foods generated.

This was a farm family with six children.
There is a very large age range from the oldest son 
to the youngest girl.
They all worked hard on the farm and then at market
with their main form of entertainment being baseball.
They talked about how wonderful it was to get that time
to play because it was mostly about all of the work that had to 
be done.  One uncle grimaced as he remembered that part of it.
Our kids have NO idea.
None.

Finally, we sat around the long farm table with conversations
flowing freely.  One simply had to turn a bit to the right or 
to the left to be engaged in different conversations and topics.

Then the old photos were brought out and memories 
were enjoyed.  This was so touching to me because
I often wonder if any of the photos we treasure today 
will be appreciated in later times.
It made me have hope that at some point children,
grandchildren and even great grands could be reminiscing about
family gone on before.

The legacy of the family members was treasured.
Personalities and quirks were remembered.
Especially Warren's Grandpa who was quite the character.
I loved him in just the few years I was able to know him.
More than anything Grandpa Speed loved to make people
happy and laugh.  He went out of his way, even as a very 
quiet man, to bring smiles to all around him.

I'm so glad that Warren was able to take the day off 
work and that he felt up to going.

It was so nice to hang out with extended family when there 
was no crisis.  Usually it takes a wedding or funeral to 
get us all together.  This was way better.



5 comments:

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

I love visits like that! How special to have all the Aunts and Uncles together!

Too bad you didn't have your camera!

Deanna

Vee said...

Oh I'm hoping you lied to us about the camera (even if you're not sharing them in this public forum) because such opportunities for picture taking are very rare. You certainly paint a vivid picture with your words, though. You're right, most children today do not understand how important child labor was to the well being of a farm family and how important a farm family is to the fiber of a country. Okay. I do digress.

Susy said...

Sounds like heaven ~I've always wished for a big family. I helped friends today get ready for an estate sale for a couple that had lived in the same house 61 years. I'm with you / can't even image. Although I won't be moving again. Next stop eternity! (: get better xo

Theresa said...

What a wonderful visit! I would have loved to have been there too! Have a blessed day, HUGS!

Karen said...

Good for you for getting together without a wedding or funeral to make it happen. What a special time of sharing memories and making new ones!

So, are you planning to share the fantastic corn recipe? ;-)