Do You Remember Your Grandparents or even Great Grandparents?

Ruthanne

Ruthanne

Caregiver
Location
Midwest
I remember my grandparents on my father side; John and Sophie. They were quiet people from the old country that was Czechoslovakia. They didn't speak much English. They were very kind people though or at least that is the vibe I got from them at least. They had big holiday dinners but much of the time my grandmother was laid up in bed with some kind of illness which left her bedridden. My aunts would make the dinners. They had 6 children. They came to the USA and first settled in Pennsylvania in Yatesboro. They had a small farm and were very poor during the depression. My grandfather was a coal miner, too.

My grandparents on my mother's side were from Hungary and Cleveland. My grandmother came here when she was about 5 from Budapest. My grandfather's parents came here from Bohemia. They only had my mother. My grandfather worked in the clothing industry and my grandmother worked in a bakery. They had a little dog they named Penny. They both used to give me a few dollars folded secretly in my hand and would say "don't tell grandma" or "don't tell grandpa". They were very thrifty.
 

Unfortunately, no. 3 of my 4 grandparents had died before I was born. Only one still living was my father's mother, who died when I was about 3 or 4.
 
Very fond memories of both grandmothers and vague recollection of my grandfathers.

When I was little we lived in my paternal grandmother's old farmhouse, it was a big old rambling place with 16 rooms that was built in stages over several decades and finally finished at the time of the Civil War. We lived in the new part and my grandparents lived in the old part of the house. In those days my father worked on my grandmother's farm and my mother worked in a factory. My paternal grandmother took care of me, while my mother worked, from the time I was about six months old.

My maternal grandmother lived in a nearby city and had a modern foursquare style house that was built around 1900. It was always a big treat to go and spend time with her, life in the city was a great mystery to a country mouse. We used to go downtown to make a small purchase in one of the grand old department stores and maybe have a dish of ice cream in the store's restaurant or one of the old hotels while my grandmother had a cocktail, LOL!

They were strong women who pulled their own wagons through life without much assistance or complaint.
 
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I remember 3 of my 4 grandparents very well. One grandfather died a few months before I was born. Also knew 2 of my great-grandparents (my mother's mother's parents).
 
I remember all four of my grandparents well! I even remember visiting my maternal great-grandmother, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana when I was 2 or 3. My mother wanted me to pat her cheek but I was a little afraid of her because she was wrinkly. Wish I hadn't held back, now! My German maternal grandfather, a professor of music, died fairly young and my grandmother was a tough ol' German gal who would visit for a month or two every so often. Apparently she was critical of the way my mother kept house. She and I had an on-going silent battle with the way I made my bed. She was a nurse and everything had to be just-so. I would make up my bed one way and when she passed my room, she would re-make it, then I would make it back and so on. Kind of funny now!

My Dutch paternal grandparents lived closer, in northern New Jersey, so we visited them more often. Grandma was a lot of fun and I adored Grandpop. He and his two sons were in textiles - I eventually followed suit. Always fun to visit, play with cousins and holiday dinners at my aunt's. I really miss that. My children never had that experience but, I guess we're making our own traditions. 3
 
All my grandparents died before I had a chance to know them, except for my grandfather on my mother's side. I do remember him visiting us, a quiet gentleman who I remember as being very kind.
 
I remember my paternal grandparent, neither spoke English, but we somehow communicated non the less. They were German, and speaking that language in the 50's was not very popular. I guess love doesn't need a language. I remember grandma teaching me all kinds of recipes the one summer we spent together.

I met my maternal grandfather only a couple of times. He lived in Anchorage Alaska, and was a bush pilot. My maternal grandparents divorced shortly after my mother was born, way back in 1929. But I was blessed to get to know my maternal grandmother very well. I was fascinated by her. She was Umatilla Native American Indian. As far as the world was concerned, she made the most sense to me. My grandfather was Indian as well, but I'm not positive what tribe he was from.
 
My maternal grandfather served in wwi and was mustard gassed in the ardenne forest. In civilian life he was a heavy equipment mechanic and I used to have a photo of he and I standing next to a very large piece of construction he had driven from the east to montana. He died in 1977.
My maternal grandmother worked for F.W.Woolworth until she retired. A very kind person. She died in 1972.

My paternal grandmother died in 1958 and I only met her once.
My paternal grandfather was a southern baptist minister and lived to 93.I seldom met either as they lived in West Virginia, where dad was born, while the others lived in montana.
 
I remember both my Dad's parents, and saw them periodically, visiting them during the summer time in Lincolnton, North Carolina.



I never met my Mom's dad, or even saw a picture of him until I visited my aunt and uncle, in Clemson,SC in 1999. My maternal grandmother lived with us, when I was growing up. I loved her very much.
 

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