Sunday, October 27, 2013
Hey guys! Grandma has written some of her memories of her childhood, and I thought it would be a great idea to post them again on the blog for everybody to have access to. Enjoy! ~ Stephanie
When Grandma Was a Girl
(Memories of Sherry
Schaffer Hulse)
When I was younger than I am now – before life really began
when I married Grandpa – things were different. There were many traditions in
our family that I reflect on with fondness.
I’ll begin with holidays. As a child I don’t remember much
about New Years being special but as a teenager living with my grandparents,
New Year’s was fun. We always had a buffet with canapés and crackers, cheese,
shrimp, fun stuff and blew little horns at midnight. For entertainment we played Rook or board
games all night. We always had a fire in the fireplace that seemed to be going
all winter long.
For Valentines when I was little
we took Valentines to school like today only they were the size of birthday
cards and much cuter than the modern ones.
At night we went “Valentining,” taking Valentines to our friends and
running after dropping them on the porch and knocking on the door. It was worse
than death to be spotted leaving a Valentine.
St. Valentine, as mysterious as Santa Claus, would pound on our door
after we got home and we opened the door to find no one in sight but a small
box of chocolates for each of us.
Then came St. Patrick’s Day when you always wore green to
avoid a pinching.
Easter was a depressing time for me because it meant Jesus
had been crucified and it made me sad. But the pagan part of Easter was fun. We
always found an Easter basket identified by a chocolate marshmallow egg with a
name on it identifying the owner. We
usually got colored baby live chickens or a live bunny, but they never survived
too well. We had an Easter egg hunt in the yard and enjoyed the hard boiled
eggs we colored, until we had to eat them.
The next big holiday was Memorial Day. My Grandmother would
scheme for weeks to outwit the season so she could put fresh peonies on the
graves. She had saved large metal funeral baskets for years and we spent hours
preparing the floral offerings. We went to the cemetery and decorated graves,
visited with all the relatives there, kissed obnoxious aunts, uncles, and
cousins, and then had a gathering for lunch. Big Tradition.
Summers were fun and filled with visits to our grandparent’s
cabin in Mueller Park. We went up in May to catch the mice and clean up the
dead flies. It had Murphy beds that went up into the walls and an outside
toilet and a woodstove but it was fun and scary! There was always that strange woodsy smell!
We would tell scary stories and my mother would sing sad songs about little
children who died or brave soldiers who died saving the flag.
We had traditional family gatherings, and community
celebrations for the Fourth of July and Pioneer Day. My Grandma had an elderly
rich friend, Mrs. Rhodes, who lived in the Grand Hotel on Main Street in Salt
Lake, and we would go there and watch the 24th of July Parade.
Oh, when I was little, my dad, who was rich, would buy the
fireworks for the town of Tremonton and set them off. He was the head of the
American Legion and a big shot in town as the local doctor. He took us on fun vacations to Sun Valley. He
also took us to all three nights at the Tremonton rodeo and to the accompanying
carnivals (which I liked but I was afraid of the gypsies who ran them).
Labor Day wasn't too big a deal, but Halloween was great.
When I was little, we would to “Halloweening.” You carve a pumpkin, put a
candle in it and march around your neighborhood in costume and soap people’s
windows (no trick or treating). The smell of burning pumpkins and the smell of
my mask stays imbedded in my memory. We usually had a Halloween party at our
house with bobbing for apples and games.
We loved Thanksgiving and always went to Grandma’s where we
had a huge turkey and the best baked beans in the world. This tradition
continued after I married.
Christmas was a big deal. The tree had to be perfect and we
used to burn our letters up the chimney to Santa. We all hung stockings and we
used to go to the movies on Christmas Eve Day to take the edge off of our
excitement. We didn't get a lot of gifts, even though my parents were well off.
Usually some clothes, a doll, a game and a surprise. A big Christmas dinner was
a must.
We had other fun traditions.
A cousins party each summer and all the female cousins from all
generations came.
There was the traditional house scourging and the move from
housekeeping and living upstairs to moving to the basement for summer.
I’ve probably forgotten a lot of traditions but they are
important and we had them to provide the cement that keeps families together.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
I don't suppose anyone will read this, but if everyone or even a few ones are willing, we will have a get together the Saturday or Sunday before Halloween for food and scares and stories sure to frighten you. Pot luck, but we will probably make a pot of soup if you are lucky. We want to see everybody so come one and all for fright night. Let us know which night is best.
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