I went "home" to NE Pa today. The houses where my grandparents lived which always seemed to be large and full of lots of rooms and attics filled with all sorts of delightful things looked so much smaller than I remembered..the space between them was so much narrower than I remember it and the huge maples between the houses and the sidewalks were cut down years ago when the narrow streets were widened. How well I remember those sidewalks, bumpy and crooked and decorated with blood from my first roller skating and bike riding attempts.
One of the houses, Grandma Nellie's house has been remodelled and shows loving care. Next door, Gr Grandma Annie's house looks a bit worse for wear with peeling paint and the roofing looks to be a candidate for replacement before long. But when I look at those old houses I don't notice much that time has taken a toll...in my mind I still see Grandma Annie's pantry..full of cakes, pies and donuts, or as she called them "fried cakes". waiting to be devoured by the "boarders" who roomed there before WW 2 , and the bay window in the dining room, filled with plants and ferns, lovingly tended and so lovely that passersby used to knock politely and ask to step inside to see them and learn her secrets.
Next door where her son and daughter-in-law resided was only a few steps away and the 2 women managed to get along quite well all things considered. Grandma Nellie's house was always neat and tidy, in her spare time she mowed the lawns in Summer and swept or shovelled snow in the Winter. When that was done, she had plenty of time to bake, read, embroidery or just rock.
I am older now than she was when she died but I can remember as a child admiring her hair which she wore in a bun. On the outside it was just plain old gray, but when she took the hairpins out to brush it, the hair at the back and underneath the gray was the most beautiful shade of chestnut..my baby locks are the same color.
I went by my old school where I learned to read write, clap erasers to get out the chalk dust, recite a large portion of "Hiawatha" and took some pictures there..the only thing missing was the smell of Murphy's Oil soap and that funny smell of old wood and chalk.I remember all 4 of my teachers there with affection, even though Miss Stowell did stand me if front of the room on a Friday afternoon for whispering.
When I told my Mom about it she said "Oh, I thought she made kids stand in the corner for whispering". "Well, she does" was my reply" only today the corners were already full and there were 3 other kids standing up in front". Miss Stowell must have weighed at least 92#, wore a lot of makeup, didn't have a boyfriend and was crabby a lot. But I loved her because she was pretty and and wore beautiful clothes while the first and third grade teachers wore Large xxx for the first grade one and navy or gray Crepe de Chine for the 3rd grade one. Miss Stowell wore flowered dresses and silk stockings every day.
I couldn't understand why my mom just laughed and said "Friday afternoons will do that to a person" instead of bawling me out!
Then on to the town library, about the size of a smallish 2 car garage where I learned about BOOKS...my home library now has more books than that one did then and more than that one does now for that matter. Bless my Mom who took me in for my first Library card and introduced me to the world of knowledge and enjoyment that is the special province of books lovers and readers all around the world!
Then on to a beautiful ride home and a stop at a little farm and some gorgeous Goats.. but more about that next time.
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