GRANDMA GARNER - SOME MEMORIES OF HER
Last night after the DAR meeting several of us were discussing the large families of yesteryear, and we wondered how in the world they managed to feed and clothe so many children.
My comments revolved around my Grandma Garner and a conversation she and I had when I was a mom with one toddler on this very subject. She had a hernia plus my uncle's birth had been very difficult (and the doctor was drunk) and after 2 children (my mom and uncle) the doctor told her no more children. She had 3 more. I asked if they tried any form of contraception and she stated that she did not ask or expect Pappy to sleep on the couch the rest of their lives. I asked why she didn't buy condoms, after all they had been available for many years prior to the 1940's. Her answer after she stopped chuckling was, "I had plenty of food to feed more mouths, but I didn't have cash money to go to the drug store with."
Several of the older women who were in on this conversation last night smiled and nodded in agreement - they understood exactly what my grandma meant. The Great Depression was just ending, and we were in WWII - cash money was just not available to most working people after paying for the necessities. Back in the day, most people had a vegetable garden, a few chickens, and maybe even a milk cow and a pig. While food variety might not have been great, most people, especially in rural areas had food. Both Pappy and Grandma Garner's parents were alive and still on the farms. My grandparents had a large home vegetable garden (I can remember Grandma still tending one in the 1970's).
Grandma often spoke of how during all the rationing of WWII, she took in laundry and ironing to help meet the cash needs of her growing family, while Pappy delivered milk for Moore's Dairy and later worked for Bushon Feeds. Grandma did not drive, and the car had to get Pappy to work and back anyway. Gas was rationed and in order to go to church on Sunday and to their own family's farms after church they did no running during the week. Whichever of their parents farm they went to on a given Sunday for lunch and visiting also stocked them up on eggs, fresh milk, cider, and other items that Grandma & Pappy either didn't grow themselves, couldn't get in Lancaster, or did not have enough ration cards for. It was a hard time for many people but I don't remember my grandma really complaining about it - they toughed it out.
A side note of this is that my mother had bad teeth, by the time I can remember she already had false teeth. My sister asked me about it and in my opinion it may have been caused by a lack of milk or other dairy products in her early years while she was really growing.
I remember Pappy talking about how they bought the house at 1747 Temple Ave in Lancaster in 1937. They had lived in downtown Lancaster, not far from John and Emma (Ressler)Reese, however, when Grandma became pregnant the decision was made to find a house on the outskirts of Lancaster. I don't remember all the details anymore, but I believe the house was purchased from 2 brothers for $4,000. Pappy said when they paid it off, it actually cost them $6,000 with all the interest they had to pay. When Grandma sold the house in the mid-1990's it brought $61,000. I wonder what Pappy would have thought of that. The reality is that $4,000 in 1937 was a huge amount of money to a regular working person.
When I was in Lancaster this past August, my sister and I went by and looked at Grandma & Pappy's old house on Temple Ave. It looks totally different with siding and fencing. But what sticks in my mind is how small it actually is - somehow with all the love and good memories that were produced in that home, it always seemed so big. My sister and I drove thru the alley and actually got caught by the current owner as we were peeking over the back privacy fence!! He was actually the person who purchased the house from Grandma, and once we explained who we were was very willing to talk to us about the house. The back yard was tiny - how in the world did we play games and have so many family meals and picnics in that tiny yard !!!!
My comments revolved around my Grandma Garner and a conversation she and I had when I was a mom with one toddler on this very subject. She had a hernia plus my uncle's birth had been very difficult (and the doctor was drunk) and after 2 children (my mom and uncle) the doctor told her no more children. She had 3 more. I asked if they tried any form of contraception and she stated that she did not ask or expect Pappy to sleep on the couch the rest of their lives. I asked why she didn't buy condoms, after all they had been available for many years prior to the 1940's. Her answer after she stopped chuckling was, "I had plenty of food to feed more mouths, but I didn't have cash money to go to the drug store with."
Several of the older women who were in on this conversation last night smiled and nodded in agreement - they understood exactly what my grandma meant. The Great Depression was just ending, and we were in WWII - cash money was just not available to most working people after paying for the necessities. Back in the day, most people had a vegetable garden, a few chickens, and maybe even a milk cow and a pig. While food variety might not have been great, most people, especially in rural areas had food. Both Pappy and Grandma Garner's parents were alive and still on the farms. My grandparents had a large home vegetable garden (I can remember Grandma still tending one in the 1970's).
Grandma often spoke of how during all the rationing of WWII, she took in laundry and ironing to help meet the cash needs of her growing family, while Pappy delivered milk for Moore's Dairy and later worked for Bushon Feeds. Grandma did not drive, and the car had to get Pappy to work and back anyway. Gas was rationed and in order to go to church on Sunday and to their own family's farms after church they did no running during the week. Whichever of their parents farm they went to on a given Sunday for lunch and visiting also stocked them up on eggs, fresh milk, cider, and other items that Grandma & Pappy either didn't grow themselves, couldn't get in Lancaster, or did not have enough ration cards for. It was a hard time for many people but I don't remember my grandma really complaining about it - they toughed it out.
A side note of this is that my mother had bad teeth, by the time I can remember she already had false teeth. My sister asked me about it and in my opinion it may have been caused by a lack of milk or other dairy products in her early years while she was really growing.
I remember Pappy talking about how they bought the house at 1747 Temple Ave in Lancaster in 1937. They had lived in downtown Lancaster, not far from John and Emma (Ressler)Reese, however, when Grandma became pregnant the decision was made to find a house on the outskirts of Lancaster. I don't remember all the details anymore, but I believe the house was purchased from 2 brothers for $4,000. Pappy said when they paid it off, it actually cost them $6,000 with all the interest they had to pay. When Grandma sold the house in the mid-1990's it brought $61,000. I wonder what Pappy would have thought of that. The reality is that $4,000 in 1937 was a huge amount of money to a regular working person.
When I was in Lancaster this past August, my sister and I went by and looked at Grandma & Pappy's old house on Temple Ave. It looks totally different with siding and fencing. But what sticks in my mind is how small it actually is - somehow with all the love and good memories that were produced in that home, it always seemed so big. My sister and I drove thru the alley and actually got caught by the current owner as we were peeking over the back privacy fence!! He was actually the person who purchased the house from Grandma, and once we explained who we were was very willing to talk to us about the house. The back yard was tiny - how in the world did we play games and have so many family meals and picnics in that tiny yard !!!!
Comments
Post a Comment