This vintage 1950's Federal Glass Pitcher with the Star Clear Pattern, belonged to my Grandmother, and has been shut inside my cabinet since 1990 when my mother passed away. Today it sparkles in my NOOK. While washing the pitcher I found it full of old old memories.
My grandmother
Born in 1900
married in 1923 in a flapper dress and hat similar to below
Divorced in 1935 (gasp) a single mom of 2 young daughters, age 10 and 2.
She hated cooking. As do I!
When we visited, she had a baked ham with pineapple, brown sugar and cloves.
That was it. We had to do the rest.
She lived with a bottle of Coca Cola in her right hand and a cigarette in her left.
There was a death sentence involved if we touched the CRATES of cola on her back porch.
She had 3 porches, 6 rockers and a swing on those porches.
The porches were on a Cracker House.. click HERE for what they look like.
I read and rocked and swung hundreds of miles on those porches.
She worked her whole life, in the bakery they owned
and after that in a hospital in central supply.
We lived in Savannah, she lived here in Florida, 387 miles away.
We traveled by train twice a year to visit her, from 1944 through 1953.
1953 - 1959 we moved from Savannah to Kentucky
From 1959 until she died in 1969, mother drove us here.
Daddy did not come, she never liked him. He married her daughter, my mother, on her 18th birthday, and took her to Savannah. He turned 30 only 3 weeks after the marriage.
My Granddaddy lived in Savannah, working in the CC camps. That made it even worse to her.
I loved her old cracker house. I loved going through drawers and looking at treasures, and digging through her hope chest where mother baby teeth lived in a Ponds jar.
I loved all her RED shoes.
I loved her red purses
I loved her.
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| It has a star on the bottom and this big star up each side |
24 comments:
Wow, that is a pitcher full of memories.
Hello, Sandra! Wonderful memories of your grandmother. The pitcher is pretty. I like her house and the porch! Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
I love this post, Sandra. I love the pitcher and your memories of your grandma's house.
That pitcher is so pretty. It holds gallons of memories. Love hearing about your grandmother. She sounds like a great lady
"50s' vintage"--there's something wrong with that phrase.
Thanks for the memories. So many parallels with mine.
You found amazing memories in that beautiful jar.
MS thank you for writing down the memories stored in that pitcher....amazing that era of folks were strong and independent. This era needs more of them.
My Annie Ma (maternal grandmother, first grandchild could not say g's) would bite your head off if you touched her pocketbook. gosh you have given me an idea...to write down some of the stories I remember about her.
Thank you maybe one will appear on a Tuesday tale one day
Hugs and I hope your eye is 100% today
Cecilia
I can just picture you enjoying the breeze while swinging on the porch. Lots of memories. It's nice that you have the beautiful keepsake. (I always wanted red shoes and a red purse when I was little!= but Mother thought black patent leather was what I needed!)
You have great memories of your grandmother and it ounds like she was a very independent soul. Have a nice weekend!
I love love loved reading about your grandmother! It really took me back in time too. What wonderful stories, the baby teeth in the Pond's jars, the cans of Coke. Oh my you are a writer of dreams. Glorious. She was married a long long time before her divorce! Have you heard this story? A couple in their 90's go to a lawyer and tell him they have never liked each other and want a divorce. He asked why they had waited so long. They said they wanted to wait until the children were dead, ha ha ha!!! What a divine porch! The woman in your family were strong! Back then, women HAD to be stronger than today, I think. I recognize the pitcher. Or should I say the the holder of dreams. But I never knew it was supposed to be stars. Back then, they held a lot of iced tea, and later on a lot of Kool Aid. Hey, I found a picture of the house I grew up in!! I Googled the address and found it in a real estate listing for sale. I will send you a picture of it. The left side had been a duplex, so we only lived on the right, but you can see our porch!!! At some point I will post pictures of all the places we have lived.
WAIT! I just found an actual old picture someone took of me and my great grandmother sitting in front of our screened in porch!! Oh my, I didn't know I had it in my files. Sending it to YOU! We lived in this house from when I was 5 till I was 13. I LIVED on the porch. Well, you know what I mean.
What amazing memories from that beautiful glass.
Your Grandmother sounds so ahead of her times.
I'm glad you were able to sit on her porch and create memories.
Wish I could do the same.
I really don't have memories of my grandparents. They lived in Minnesota and we lived in California.
Never really had money enough to go and visit them. I always loved them and we would write letters but there really wasn't that deep heart connection. Makes me sad.
I'm glad I have 2 of my grandkids close enough to have a real relationship with them.
love hearing about memories of your grandma. :) she reminds me of my great-grandma, except she could cook. my grandma loves to cook and is really good at it and I love her so much!
I think besides your pitcher holding so many memories it's really pretty. :)
glad your eye is all well again!
Items can certainly contain a lot of memories...! Thanks for sharing.
I was born after both grandmas died early deaths. But I have fond grandpa memories.
I had an auntie who sadly died of cancer at 28. She loved me very much. She gave me a small red shiny change purse when I was about 8 and I managed to bring it to Canada but had it stollen from me at the CNE fair in August 1955. Another auntie gave me red shoes that I treasured as well. They also lasted to make the Atlantic crossing..
Today I use a red leather handbag and wear red half boots with my skinny jeans. The passion for red lives on.
As for your pitcher, it served up some delightful memories not just for you but all your readers too as the comments suggest.
It is a lovely pitcher perfect for that nook.
In my mind I have the idea to capture my various pitchers and see what story they might tell.
Loved this post.
Awwww Sandra, I got teary eyed over your love and fond memories. You are so lucky to have had a grandmother in your life...:)JP
I can feel the love in this post. And I may steal the format in some future post,a thing from the past and the memories it brings. Finally, Errol, who was also from the south, loved porches but we never had a big one like your grandmother's. It must have been so much fun to hang out on it.
That pitcher sure DOES hold a lot of memories, both sad and obviously many happy ones, Sandra. I really enjoyed reading about your grandmother and I too would have liked to visit her home and find all those "treasures." Funny too how you inherited her dislike of cooking :-)
Wonderful ... poignant. Goodness, you've touched my heart!
I wish I'd paid more attention to my own grandmothers.
Hmmmm, my in-laws had a pitcher like that.I am sure it has disappeared, but I do remember it well. Thanks for sharing your memories.
Oh, I really enjoyed reading this post....love hearing about other families.
great memories of your grandmother, sandra. and that pitcher is so pretty.
i love this post. thanks for sharing your memories with us.
What a beautiful pitcher and beautiful memories!
Loved the story you shared. She was a strong hard working woman. Love the pitcher. The porches and rocking chairs should lovely. I would love a porch with rockers!
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