As a matter of record, in Mama’s kitchen there was always a cook table covered with oil cloth. It had pretty patterns in kitchen decor. A large safe rested against the wall with screen doors inset on top and two drawers and cabinets and shelves on the bottom. There were always shelves on the wall and in the pantry for canned food. We always had jellies, jams, and preserves made from blackberries, huckleberries, may haws, grapes, figs, and watermelon rind. Mama always canned 500 jars of peas, butter beans, green beans, okra, corn, and tomatoes. Our fast food was a jar of tomato vegetable soup that you could open and heat on the coals in the fireplace.
In the dining room, there was always a large table with benches on each side-- the length of the table. There were chairs on the end. Sometimes there was a safe in there. I just wanted you to see mama’s kitchen. She had pretty starched and ironed curtains on the windows and it was always very clean and the linoleum on the floor was clean and shiny. I always remember waking in the mornings and listening to mama singing, “Amazing Grace” or “His Eye is on the Sparrow” or other hymns. Then I would smell bacon or sausage cooking and her wonderful gravy simmering as well as those huge biscuits baking. So don’t feel sorry for me because I didn’t have a fine house or get a bicycle or beautiful dolls for Christmas. I was really rich in every way that mattered!!! I love you all…..
Christmas is near-- only about a week away and I’m excited. I just can’t wait, for the day. I’ve been to Sunday School and church and I know that it’s almost baby Jesus’ birthday. My teacher again read us the story. I’ve heard it many times but it always seems new. I just can’t wait, but I’ll have too. Papa let me listen to some Christmas songs on our battery radio. I especially like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Jingle Bells”. I don’t have a Christmas tree, but I know what they look like coz I’ve seen them in the Sears Christmas catalog. We’ve never had a tree and I know we don’t have all the pretty decorations to put on one. Mama tells me to count my blessings and be thankful for what I have. She reminds me that Baby Jesus was born in a manger with the animals and he was the Savior. I was just happy Christmas was coming, and all the family would be coming to celebrate.
Christmas was always special. Mama would order us clothes from the Sears catalog. The boys might get flannel shirts, socks, a knife, yo-yo, ball or bat. I might get stockings, panties, a flannel gown or material for a new dress and, in a good year, I might get a doll. Papa always took the wagon to town and bought fruit, candy and nuts. The fresh fruit was always so good on Christmas Eve and all of it was such a treat.
I mentioned earlier about the battery radio--it was mostly saved for hearing the news of World War II. But on Saturday night we always listened to the Grand Ole Opry, Papa really liked Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys--especially Oswald on the dobro. We also liked Ernest Tubb, Red Foley, The Carter Family, Little Jimmy Dickens and Faron Young. So I grew up on country music, church hymns, soulful blues and folk songs such as “The Red River Valley”.
Mama was ready for Christmas, her fruit cake, was ripening and most of the other cakes and pies were made. There was always a full house, on Christmas Eve. I was lucky to get to sleep at the foot of the bed. And scared that someone in the bed with me might wet the bed. On Christmas Day dinner was prepared--not lunch, but dinner--we were country. We always had chicken or turkey and dressing, ham, chicken and dumplings, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and giblet gravy. We also had every kind of pie and cake imaginable. The women set the table and all the men were seated first. My, how I hated that custom. The children would have to wait with our mouths watering for all the men to get their fill and leave the table. I thought they would never get through getting second helpings. I remember praying, “Lord please save something for us”. Somehow we all got plenty to eat, but I promised myself when I had children they would always be fed first.
I wonder if maybe I’ve written too much about the holidays, but they were so important in my life. I’m writing this as Christmas approaches because I wanted you to know how it was celebrated at our house in my world growing up. This is being written as a gift for you that you may know how it was for me back then. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year…. I love you. MawMaw Faye.
Well it’s early November here in the hills of north La. The weather is cooler and we’ve had a coupla frosts. That always makes the turnips, mustard, and collards taste even more delicious. It’s time to make preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The rooster and hens that have been shut up in pens and fed special food are looking good and clucking all the time. As a young child I fed the chickens. I’d look at them and think, “you’ll die happy”. I didn’t feel sorry for them too long knowing how good they would taste. Mama was known for being the best cook around. She could make delicious meals out of practically nothing. Pecans were cracked and stored for fruit cake, pie and just for eating. Hickory nuts and black walnuts were gathered and used for Mama’s delicious cakes. Sweet potatoes had been dug up and banked in pine straw to get even sweeter. Mama made sweet potato pies and cobblers out of them. Mama always canned a lot of jars of turnip greens along with two or three gallon of greens for supper Christmas night. Everybody looked forward to greens, hot corn bread and milk. That was a tradition in our family.
Well, let me get on to hog killing time. I remember waking up early in the morning and hearing a flurry of activity outside. Uncle Saul, my older brothers, and our neighbors would be there for the hog killing and butchering. This yearly event was important because it provided meat and lard for months to come. I was only allowed to see the hogs after they had been cleaned and washed. They were put on long tables, outside, and cut into hams, shoulder roasts, ribs and slabs of bacon and steaks. Pork chops were also cut. Everywhere we lived there was always a smokehouse. Papa always moved in his big wooden meat box. A low fire was built in the center of the smoke house. The hams, shoulder roasts and stuffed sausage links were hung from a rack over the smoke and turned periodically. They were brushed with liquid smoke until they were cured. They were then layered in the meat box with salt--that’s the way meat was preserved. Cracklins were cooked outside in large pots and then the oil was poured into cans and cooled for lard. We didn’t have healthy cooking oil back then. Lard and butter were used for cooking. It wasn’t healthy, but oh how good it tasted. Hams were saved for Thanksgiving and Christmas--oh what joy. Many times during the year we would run out of meat and we only had chicken for Sunday dinner. Come the holidays the women always cooked a big feast to feed everybody and guess what…I always ate too much and got sick. I’ve given you too much information. Back to the story of the hog killing which was so important it could affect the survival of the family. That may be hard for you to understand, but there were no supermarkets in that day even if you had money and we didn’t. The Thanksgiving meal was always basically the same. We would have chicken and cornbread dressing--Mama would always put sage, onions, lots of spices and sometime sausage in her dressing. We also had ham, candied sweet potatoes, potato salad and all kinds of vegetables. The desserts were pecan pie, butter roll, fruitcake, black walnut cake and many other delicious dishes. All the family came home and it was a joyful time with a lot of nieces and nephews to play with. We played a lot of games like jump rope, drop the handkerchief, red rover come over, London Bridge is falling down and ring around the roses. The little kids would play hopscotch and the little boys might shoot marbles (with their fingers, not with guns, ha).Those were good times--remembered in the bad times.
I’ve talked about all the good cooking done by Mama. Well let me tell you about her kitchen. It didn’t matter what sharecroppers’ kitchen she lived in, it was always clean. Remember cleanliness is next to godliness and so important to keep your family safe from disease. In her kitchen there was always a cook table covered with pretty oil cloth. Then very important was her pie safe where she kept her dishes, cooked goods and a lot more. The safe had two doors on top with a screen inset in them. Under them were two drawers and a cabinet with two doors and shelves inside. There was also a large meal and flour box. The most important thing in that kitchen was her large cooking stove. It had a large oven and there were four burners on top. On the back there was a large reservoir the width of the stove. Water was stored there for washing dishes. The water was also used for washing up at night. Mama always had nice clean linoleum on the kitchen floor and there was always pretty starched and ironed curtains for the windows. It was always warm there and smelled so good. Mama always made the best with what she had and praised God for it. There’s much more to tell you about my mama. Have a happy Thanksgiving Day. I love you all. I’ve already written the story about Christmas. I still have to type it. Talk to you later.
Topics I like to write about …to give a little family history …my earliest memories….holidays….my collie dog, Nig….Uncle Saul and Aunt Seinie Moss…Mrs. Hedges, the visiting nurse from the Natchitoches health unit…values that were taught…going off to school…sharing how food was preserved….play time and toys…war and sacrifice…my papa and mama…hog killing…syrup making…churches and religion.
My earliest memories…I remember being held and rocked in a rocking chair on the back porch. There were also good feelings of love and being taken care of. There were many people who cared for me--my parents, siblings, and sister-in-laws. I always felt safe and special as a young child. Probably I was spoiled by my siblings-- they called me “Baby Faye”. I always knew there would be food to eat and someone to keep me safe and warm. My life was truly blessed. Some of my early memories were of my Uncle Saul and Aunt Seinie Moss .They were an African-American couple and had no children of their own. As you know, I was the twelfth child in my family. I remember the love I had for them and the love they had for me. They were such good friends of my parents. Later I learned just how much they did for our family. Uncle Saul was a tall and very dark black man. He rode a big black horse, and wore a large white hat. He loved to ride me on his horse around the yard. I must have been two or three years old at the time. Oh, how I loved riding on that horse. One day I was playing in the yard and saw him riding down the road toward our house. Somehow I got out the gate and started running up the road to meet him. I remember him telling me when he saw me that it scared him so bad that he thought he’d turned white. From that day on, I was never allowed to ride his horse. I remember Papa taking me to visit them. Aunt Seinie always had cake, cookies and milk for me. Later, I was told, that whenever Mama had a new baby Aunt Seinie would come and take care of the children and cook and wash clothes until Mama was up and about again. I was also told that Uncle Saul was always there to help with killing hogs or butchering a beef cow. He also helped my papa making syrup at the syrup mill. Papa had other black friends--among them two brothers, Ed and Till Moore. They owned their own homes and were such good neighbors. It wasn’t unusual to see these relationships during my childhood in the South………..more to come.
Your MawMaw Faye is a registered Democrat and will remain one till the day she dies. Having said that we live in America where you have the right to think for yourselves. Your vote is private and personal hardships were endured and many, many lives were given for you to have that privilege. I would fight for your right to vote your convictions. I am one of those liberals that you hear about. I had heard that the definition of a liberal was “compassionate”. I looked it up in my dictionary and found other meanings, i.e., generous--a liberal donation, wisely liberal with his money for comfort and pleasure or he put in a liberal supply of coal for the winter, plentiful, abundant, tolerant, not narrow-minded, sympathetic, free in speech and action or a person favorable to progress and reforms. Please look up your own definition and draw your own conclusions.
Why am I a Democrat? I’ll share with you some basic reasons and influences. My papa lost two homes and farms during the Great Depression”. And the reason why that happened was he had eleven children, he had to pay taxes and he couldn’t make enough money to pay them and feed his children. He had to buy seed and fertilizer from a small country store. He couldn’t make enough on his crops to pay the store’s high prices so he lost his farms. Papa was the finest man I’ve ever known. I was told that a lot of people had their taxes marked “paid’ in the parish office when they weren’t. Consequently they saved their homes and land. Papa was a Christian and lived by the Bible and he never considered that alternative. He lost everything he owned--his farm and home, horses and wagon and his right to vote. Papa then had to turn to sharecropping to feed and clothe his family. That was a very hard life. He had to give half of everything he made to the landowner to pay for the seed, fertilizer and use of the land. My papa was proud and he looked to God for his strength. He never wavered and that took a lot of strength for he was only 5’6” tall and he only weighed one hundred thirty five lbs. He was proud of his family and the way we worked and pulled together. He had seven sons who got up very early in the morning and started work as soon as there was light enough to see. If it was hot they would come back to the house and rest or sleep until lunch. If we lived near a swimming hole they would rest for an hour after lunch, go swimming and go back to work until it was dark. Papa never over-worked his children the way some people did. We always took Sundays off and went to church if it was close enough to walk or if we could get a ride. And they tried to make time for fun. If the boys had worked hard, Papa would take them to BlackLake to fish overnight. They would put out trout lines and fish the next day. Then they would return home with washtubs full of fish. Papa would send word to all the extended family and friends to come for a fish fry. What a supper that would be. You see there was no electricity or refrigeration so all the fish had to be eaten. The ladies would bring cakes and cobblers. I can still taste them now. And by the way, kids, we did have french fries. Sometimes, when it got real hot, Papa would send a couple of the boys to Ashland to buy a block of ice. Again word was sent out to family and friends. They were told to come on over to make homemade ice cream. They would all gather bringing their favorite recipes. The cream was frozen in syrup buckets, the ice was chipped in a wash tub and the kids got to turn the buckets until it was ice cream. Nothing ever tasted so good and again cookies cake and cobblers were made for dessert. Well I have digressed again or as PawPaw would say I have rambled on. Not to my face though he only did that one time...ha-ha.
Papa couldn’t vote. A law had been passed that if you didn’t own land you had to pay a poll tax. Papa never had enough money left after paying his debts to pay this fee so he and Mama couldn’t vote. He grieved over that. Voting was very important to him. Back then Huey Long was elected governor. Some people said he was a dictator and complained that he taxed the rich to give to the poor. I just remember that one of the first things he did was abolish the poll tax. Thank God, my papa and mama could cast their vote again. I just remember that this poor, little sharecroppers’ daughter got good school buildings, free textbooks, paper, pencils and crayons. We also got school buses to take us to school. He also improved roads and built bridges to replace ferries. Charity hospitals were built across the state--from “Big Charity” and the medical school in New Orleans to the charity hospital in Shreveport. For the first time poor people had decent health care and no one was turned away. I will talk more about this later.
My mama had twelve children. They were all born at home--sometimes delivered by a country doctor. I came along when my mama was forty-four years old and papa was fifty-two. To say that I was unexpected is putting it mildly. My mama had grown plump and thought she was going through the change of life. Finally she went to the country doctor to see about the changes she was going through. The doctor panicked. Told her she had a tumor and he sent her to the charity hospital in Shreveport for surgery. Everybody thought she was off having surgery. Well you can already guess what happened. Instead of performing surgery they discovered she was six months pregnant--with me! What a big story! This happened when Mom’s youngest child was eight and a half yrs old. The doctors had Mama come back to the charity hospital for my birth. I could say more on this subject--that will come later. I’m just getting started. So to all you children, grandchildren and future generations these are some of the reasons I’m a proud Democrat. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it--or these are my memories and I’m standing by them.
In our home as children we always found An unselfish love that knew no bounds And there’s just no way to measure Such a rare and precious treasure The gift of a mother’s love The comfort of knowing in her strong arms We could always find safe haven from life’s storms An encouraging word A hug for each hurt The gift of a mother’s love Touching our lives in so many special ways You’re the best part of who we are today And there’s just no way to measure Such a rare and precious treasure The gift of a mother’s love
