My Special Grandmother-3
thick cream, honey, jam, peanut butter,
and coconut butter were a few of the
spreads that appeared on her table.
There was always good whole-wheat
bread. Her favorite dishes were baked
corn soufflé, tomatoes and macaroni,
and tiny mustard greens cooked. Meat
was never served, but she had meat
substitutes.
One of my favorite foods that was
made in her home was whole-wheat or
corn-meal muffins called gems, spread
with honey or thick sweet cream. She
raised her own chickens and fed them
grain. These fowl provided the eggs
used in her home. Her five cows sup-
plied the milk she and the family drank
and milk for the families of her help-
ers. The milk was sterilized by boiling
it in big pans on her wood-burning
cookstove. The cream from the miik
was used in place of butter. She ate
only two meals a day, but members of
her family and anyone visiting her
were welcome to use her pantry in
order to prepare an evening meal for
themselves.
Some of our Sabbath afternoons
were spent by taking long walks among
the giant hovering trees on the hills
nearby. Hearing the twigs break be-
neath our feet and seeing the birds
building nests to house their young
made us feel very close to God. Return-
ing from these walks, we would stop
at grandmother’s house and she would
tell us of the new earth in such a real
and vivid way that we would feel we
knew what heaven would actually be
like.
In the fall and winter, we often
sat before the fire in the fireplace sing-
ing hymns and reading stories. Grand-
mother loved to sing and would often
join in with her true soprano voice.
We always stayed together as a family
on the holy day. Never did one of us
leave and go off alone or with the
neighbor children.
If the day was warm and sunny, we
often gathered together beneath a fa-
vorite tree in our yard. Our mother read
to us from THE Yourtn’s INsTRUCTOR OF
Our Little Friend. While she was read-
ing I often climbed the tree and sat on
onc of the high sturdy branches, listening
and scanning the immense beauty be-
fore me. Looking down upon this earth
gave me an entirely different idea of
it, for this old world looked so peaceful
and harmless. Beauty was everywhere.
To close the Lord's day our family 4nd
friends would sing, just as we sang
to welcome the Sabbath, and then
we would lift our hearts in prayer.
Whenever we came to see grand-
The Youth's Instructor, December 5, 1961
mother during the week, we ran up the
dark, narrow backstairs to her writing
room, instead of using the wide, formal
stairs as we did on Sabbath. She would
be writing on her lapboard before the
bay window. As soon as she would sec
us enter, she would lay down her pen
and greet each one of us with a kiss.
Sometimes she took my younger
brother, Arthur, who was quite a bit
younger than I, upon her lap and cod-
dled him with her dainty, loving hands.
He would try to count the buttons on
the front of her dress, but invariably
his number system was not the same as
ours! She then would laugh and give
him a big hug.
On one of these visits, Miss McEn-
terfer, grandmother’s private  secre-
tary, nurse, and traveling companion,
showed us the place in the bedroom
where an angel had stood at the side
of grandmother's bed the night before.
We were filled with awe as we realized
that a heavenly being had been there.
When grandmother felt that she
must resume her writing, she would tell
us of some interesting thing for us to
see on her farm; for instance, in the
fall of the year the apple trees in her
orchard were laden with juicy red ap-
ples. She would tell us of one tree in
particular that had many ripe apples,
and off we would go to partake of the
delicious fruit. Or perhaps there were
some newly hatched chicks or a new
calf to see. 1 can well remember how
she always knew what was happening
on her farm.
There was an atmosphere of peace
and cheerfulness about grandmother.
She was a buoyant person. Never did
we feel under a strain or stress in her
presence. She had deep blue-gray eyes
that were kind and alert. She looked at
us with love. No one ever felt that she
was accusing with her eyes. When she
spoke in public her voice had a magnif-
icent volume, but in her home she was
quiet and soft-spoken. Her vocabulary
was always ftting to the person to -
whom she was speaking.
Grandmother laughed at humorous
things: she was always able to laugh
and enjoy the happy things of life. Qut-
side of her house we were normal, active
children, but once inside we did not
have to be told to be quiet, for we
were filled with much love and respect
for her. She had the wonderful ability
of always being able to put people at
easc. My mother was forty years old
when she give birth to my youngest
brother, Francis. Realizing that she
was rather old to be having children,
she wondered what grandmother would
299
say. Her fears did not last long, for
grandmother told her when she saw the
baby that she had been praying that
she would live long enough to see an.
other one of my mother’s children.
Having to reccive and entertain
many visitors required that grand-
mother be always neatly dressed. She
and her household, which on such oc
casions included our family, had dress-
making days. The material that her
clothes were made of was always of
good quality. Wool, velvet, and silk
were used in her good dresses. She had
several dresses alike. Two-piece suits
were what grandmother preferred,
They were dark blue, brown, or black
sct oft with a white collar and white
cuffs. The suit top had ten to fifteen
buttons down the front. She had several
sets of buttons, which were used over
and over again. Grandmother wore be-
coming little hats, not bonnets, made
of black straw, velvet, or taffeta that
matched her suits. There was nothing
sloppy about her appearance. She be.
lieved in utilitarian accessories. She
wore cameos and simple silver pins on
the collars of her suits as can be seen
in the pictures made of her.
On the subject of dressing, she be-
lieved one should wear what is appro-
priate for each occasion. Her principle
for hairdressing was to find a style that
looks well on you and that is appropri-
ate for your age, and wear it that way.
Miss McEnterfer had her hair cut short
before going to Europe with grand-
mother.
With her many pressing duties she
felt that short hair would be more
practical and easier to care for than
long hair, When grandmother saw Miss
McEnterfer’s short hair she said noth-
ing. She had no ironclad rules for
grooming or dressing.
With her family and herself she
was cconomical, and with others she
was very generous. My Sabbath dresses
were made out of the material of grand-
mother’s old dresses. The reason for
this was that she did so much sitting,
because of her writing, that she wore
out the backs of her dresses! The fronts
were used to make my Sabbath dresses.
A gay, youthful color was added as a
border or trimming.
To needy families she gave lengths
of material so they could make some
clothes for themselves. She cut it from
the bolts of cloth she always had on
hand for such a purpose. If they did
not know how to sew, she would send
some of her office helpers to teach them.
The Lord expects us to do what we are
capable of, and she expected that those