Grandparents: Precious Memories

I only have one memory of Granddad, Cyrus McGowan.

He wanted Norma June for something, and she was upstairs. Granddad was sick and downstairs. He told a very young me to go get her. I walked to the bottom of the stairs and yelled, “Norma June, get down here.” I am blessed to have one memory of Granddad and that Joplin house.

Grandma Blanch Leas McGowan is still with me daily.

I heard her in my voice when I fussed at one of the grandkids the other day. I knew when Grandma told me, “Don’t do that again, or I’ll spank you.” In reality, she could catch me repeating the offense three more times before Grandma swatted at my behind.

I saw her standing in front of me at Mom’s a couple of weeks ago. Newell was heading out the door to spend the day with Ruby. He picked up three extremely ripe bananas and said they were perfect for eating. Grandma always liked her bananas to be over-ripe: brown spots.

I see her in my house daily. She is reading one of the books she kept at the head of her bed. Little Men and The Five Little Peppers are two of books that decorate my living room. Each morning as I get out of bed and each evening as I crawl in, I see Grandma piecing a quilt while visiting with family or quilting one while listening to a Cardinal baseball game. One of her quilts is one my bed.

I see Grandma daily as I drive through town and see ladies walking to and from the grocery store. Sometimes they are by themselves and other times that have children in tow. However, seldom do any of them pull a grocery cart. Grandma was smart!

I see Grandma each spring when various women in the neighborhood begin to tend to their flower beds. Grandma loved the flowers! There is a tulip tree next door. Each year when it blooms, I see Mom, Ruby and Melvin discussing where to plant the tulip tree they bought Grandma for her birthday, or was it Mother’s day? They decided to put it over by the old chicken house so she could see it out her living area window.

I see Grandma every time I see a white chicken walking around a yard. It seems one year some adult(s) got the bright idea to buy, kill, dressed and cook several live chickens. Grandma and Melvin literally wrung their necks! All of us kids enjoyed the show in the backyard. Did you know a chicken will run like crazy around the yard for several minutes without a head? Now, that was funny. However, the smell in the kitchen was horrific while Mom and Ruby cooked the birds just enough to remove the feathers.

I see Grandma every time I run home during my lunch break for some forgotten item. She is standing in Ruby’s and Melvin’s kitchen dishing up lunch for the little boys (Harvey and Dale), Melvin and the two first graders (Eddie and me) who decided not to eat at school that day. Melvin walks in and greets everyone just as the Paul Harvey radio broadcast begins.

I see Grandma every time I pull cooking items out of the kitchen and hand them to a grandchild to be used as a toy. Grandma’s “toy box” was full of such worn out items. All the kids loved playing with them.

I feel Grandma with me daily, and I miss her.

Grandma Jesse Leas

Grandma Leas lived far, far away in the strange land of Grove, Oklahoma. It took forever to get there by car, but once there the fun began. Grandma always had cookies in the cookie jar for us.

Nap time: It usually took place in her deathly dark bedroom magically lit by what I remember to be a fake aquarium. It probably had nothing to do with fish, but it did provide a hypnotizing light by which to fall asleep for this young girl.

When we spent the night, Eddie and I slept on the back porch. It was really a narrow back room with a single bed in it. The walls seemed to be mostly glass.

Outside was really where the children had all their fun. Grandma kept a huge propane gas tank in her front side yard just for us climb on and ride. Even though, both our parents and Grandma told us not to get on it, we really knew Grandma Leas had put it there just for us, and we played on it each visit until we got caught.

Grandma also had a barn type structure in her back yard just for grandchildren. Once again, our parents did not like us having fun, and they threatened us within a inch of our lives if we peeked inside the building. I seem to remember the boys going into the barn on more than one occasion. I am sure I never did. I just stayed on the outside watching all the birds fly in and out of the tall bird houses Grandma kept in front of the barn.

Grandma Lillian Loveless Tyler

My memories of Grandma are usually in a house. She spent a lot of time in the kitchen as the other adults visited. Grandma could whip up a delicious fruit pie in minutes and cook biscuits from scratch in half that time. She loved her collections and displayed them on her walls. Music was a big portion of her life as demonstrated by her piano playing. Grandma loved to hold us children and run her hand through our hair as she visited with our parents. Her hands were as gentle as her voice.

Sometime during the fourth year of my life, we lived next door to Grandma in a labor camp in Yakima, Washington. It was fun running back a forth between the cabins and playing in yard pestering Sue, Tommy and Carol. They were Dad’s youngest brothers and sister and still living at home.

After we moved back home, we would see Grandma and Grandpa a few times each year when they wintered around the Arkansas/Oklahoma line close to Betty and Jack. After a few years, they decided to buy a house in Yakima, WA and stop moving twice a year. We were lucky enough to be able to afford two trips out there before Grandma joined our Heavenly Father.

Grandpa Alvin Tyler always loved Dale best, and that’s the truth!

Grandpa never wore anything but overalls.

He did love Dale best, and all of us grandkids knew it. Once he asked Dale if he wanted some popcorn. When Dale said yes, he took the young lad into the kitchen, locked the doors, then cooked and shared the popcorn with Dale alone while three envious young ladies banged on the door (Bobby and Kathy Bittle and me). After Grandpa unlocked the doors, Grandma did fix us some popcorn.

Grandpa knew how to raise pigs, smoke meat (Arkansas memories), grow fruit and set outside under the front yard trees (Yakima memories). He also had great, scary stories about hobos jumping from the trains that sped by next to the house in Yakima spending the night in his basement or stealing his fruit. Kathy and I were going to stay the night in the basement of our grandparents’ house once. I think we might have stayed down there by ourselves for…oh…three minutes before we were banging on the back door and begging to be housed inside. Grandma tucked us into the spare bed for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Grandma Sally Loveless

She lived in the extreme northwest portion of the state of Washington. I loved visiting her there the two times we traveled to Washington. She lived in what I thought was an apartment house full of old folks. They all shared the same hall and used an elevator to get to their own apartments. Grandma had two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bird! I never knew anyone with a bird in their house, and hers could talk!

Grandma and Grandpa Rainey

After I married, I inherited two more wonderful grandparents. But, that is a story for another day.