Remembering a grandparents' house

[Jazzy1]

Remembering a grandparents' house often evokes strong feelings of nostalgia and warmth, filled with cherished memories of childhood. These houses frequently served as safe havens, places of unconditional love, and sources of comfort and joy.

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What can you remember about your Grandparents house?

 

[katlupe]

I can remember every detail of my grandmother's house. I spent a lot of time there with her when I was a child. I have her cookie jar in my kitchen and it is the only thing I have from her or her house. There are no pictures of the inside of her house but I can even remember the smells. Her house was an old farm house on 100 acres on a dirt road and my favorite place. The house is gone now and several new houses were built on her land. But in my mind her house is still there.

I remember she had folded newspapers taped inside her windows to keep out the cold. She had one of those old refrigerators with the tiny freezer. The pipes in her house eventually got bad and she kept water in a large milk can in the kitchen. She had two wells and would dip water out of the well with a pail (yes, she did that still in the fifties). Her kitchen was huge and the floor was slanted so us kids could put toy cars on it and they would race down the floor on their own. I have too many memories there to write them all down here.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Everything!!!

I lived in my paternal grandmother’s rambling old eight bedroom farmhouse until my parents divorced when I was about nine.

The old house had been built in four stages as the various owners began to make a living from the farm. The last section which we always referred to as ‘the new part’ was finished towards the end of the civil war.

My maternal grandmother’s house was a formal city four square with high ceilings, heavy judges paneling, and thick oak pocket doors.

As a child the best parts of that house were the secret compartments, window seats with storage compartments. false panels to closets under the stairs. back stairs for the maid, and a large attic room where we could play on rainy days.

The old farmhouse is gone and the city house is in ruins.

 

[That Lady in PA]

Remembering a grandparents' house often evokes strong feelings of nostalgia and warmth, filled with cherished memories of childhood. These houses frequently served as safe havens, places of unconditional love, and sources of comfort and joy.

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What can you remember about your Grandparents house?

Sadly, none of what you mentioned.

 

[smiley]

at the age of 9 [me] my paternal GM announced she couldn't cope with caring for her invalid hubbie and needed her son and family to move in with her - so we did - just did that in those days - socially a good move - peace and quiet a good move - grandparents and grandkids relationships never a good move but we all managed and got by and enjoyed easter and xmas? Pa could not have refused I don't think despite Ma not liking the idea - us kids just rolled with the punches and went back to our old haunts each day to catch up with the past mates and continued on as if naught had happened!

 

[smiley]

at the age of 9 [me] my paternal GM announced she couldn't cope with caring for her invalid hubbie and needed her son and family to move in with her - so we did - just did that in those days - socially a good move - peace and quiet a good move - grandparents and grandkids relationships never a good move but we all managed and got by and enjoyed easter and xmas? Pa could not have refused I don't think despite Ma not liking the idea - us kids just rolled with the punches and went back to our old haunts each day to catch up with the past mates and continued on as if naught had happened!

six years later Pa and Ma decided to go for a better lifestyle for all of us - next county; fresh air and country village and gardens! Granny was invited first said Yes then declined and her sister moved in with her who we loved dearly too. Of our now re-established family and over the next few years I was the one kid who caught a train and travelled back in time and often stayed overnight with granny and great aunty. I enjoyed the adventure of catching trains and being back in those old played streets that now had my mates too busy to play they were off chasing girls! I was experiencing and watching us all evolve into young adults etc etc

 

[officerripley]

One grandmother lived with us and was the cause of so much friction. The other grandmother lived with her husband and grown son and what I can remember about is how exhausted and sad and beaten down she was trying to wait on both of them and trying to keep that darned old country place clean.

 

[hawkdon]

Had one g'parent, mothers, lived in w.va. nice old house built
by grandpa himself, big wraparound porch, they would have
hoedown's on it at times, rear featured a big river where we
could fish any time...loved that place and those g'parents....

 

[DebraMae]

Maternal grandparents lived in a columned antebellum style house that had the upstairs partitioned into two apartments. They lived in one of the apartments upstairs. There was a porch on the upstairs front with a swing that we enjoyed as kids. On the back there were stairs that overlooked an attached roof. We would throw breadcrumbs on that roof and watch the birds eat them.

Paternal grandparents also lived in a two storied antebellum but had the whole house. The front door opened into a entryway with stairs on the left and doors to the various downstairs rooms opening off of it. The heat was provided by gas stoves that had been placed in inoperable fireplace openings.

When we stayed the night at Christmas my brother, cousin and I slept in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Someone would run up and light one of those gas stoves and then tuck us in. It was icy up there. The sheets felt like they were frozen! There was a landing and 3 other bedrooms up there but they were never used for anything but storage. I loved looking at things in them.

 

[hollydolly]

We were city famlies.. so no big farmhouses for my grandparents.

Their parents had come over from Ireland during the great Potato famine of the mid 19th century and became poor crofters in the highlands, and because they were so poor they eventually migrated to the cities, .. and lived in very overcrowded insanitary conditions in the citties

My grandparents were born into these conditions, and altho' things improved.. with regard sanitary conditons, they continued to live in what were essentially slum area..in tenements


I remember everything about my GP's houses..

One had a first floor tenement flat... just one bedroom..one bath, tiny kitchen and a livingroom .. at one point there was 4 people living there including me, my aunt and my grandparents.. . The house was always immaculate. Granny had a tiny stove like this..

In the livingroom she had a cupboard with a fold down bed , which is where I slept there with my aunt my granny's then teen daughter for the 2 years I lived there

On my grannys bed she had a Gold Brocade counterpane on her bed...

 

[C50]

I actually purchased my grandparents house when I was around 23 years old, I didn't really want it but was trying to protect my mother's inheritance. It was built in 1925 and was a quality built home but had fallen into disrepair, so I lived in it for two years and remodeled it.

Sadly its no longer standing, the city started a revitalization program to replace older homes, demolished many but never rebuilt. I will always remember that house fondly.

 

[Llynn]

My Maternal Grandparents house was actually built by my Great Grandfather when he homesteaded in Washington Territory in the 1870s. It was made from cedar logs harvested on his land. It had two stories with a kitchen in a single story attachment built on the back of the house.

Two bedrooms upstairs and two more downstairs housed my G.Grandparents and their three sons while the next generation was comprised of my Grandparents and their nine children.

On the property was a massive barn, carriage (later auto) garage, woodshed, well house, smokehouse, grainery and other single purpose out buildings. The barn was full of hay and equipment. The cows came and went twice each day and the big work horses had their stables in one corner of the building.

I lived in the old house the first few years of my life until Mom and I moved to a logging camp in the Cascade MountaIns.

 

[-Oy-]

I remember having a wash in an old tin bath in front of an open coal fire.

I remember being sat on Grandad's knee bouncing up and down watching the horse racing on TV yelling "Come on Red Alligator!" - his favourite dobbin.

I remember lying awake watching light patterns on the ceiling from the road outside as cars went by.

All warm loving memories

 

[Della]

Had one g'parent, mothers, lived in w.va. nice old house built
by grandpa himself, big wraparound porch, they would have
hoedown's on it at times, rear featured a big river where we
could fish any time...loved that place and those g'parents....

Sounds like my grandparents house in Sissonville West Virginia with the Pocatallico river running behind it. My brothers and I would go fishing (well they would fish and I would talk too loud). Besides fish, there were snapping turtles that could take your toe off, deadly water moccasin snakes, wild beagles covered in ticks for my petting pleasure, wild kittens that would rip my arms open when I tried to pet them, and rocky rapids we would go over in our inner tubes. Nobody ever worried about us so long as we went home for supper.

 

[Marcy Sheiner]

My grandparents lived in an apartment on the 4th floor of a building in the Bronx. We passed the el on the way there. Outside their window was a schoolyard and we heard and saw the young guys playing basketball. Great smells, my grandma was always cooking stuff like chicken soup, matzo balls and potato latkes. All of which were exotic to me, as my mother served us crap out of cans.

We always went there for Passover. My grandpa had to put the extra leaf in the table to accommodate everyone, and at least half the time this turned into a major construction project. Meanwhile he'd be drinking and serving "schnapps." We kids loved making egg creams with U-Bet in the kitchen. I also loved the Manischewitz grape wine mixed with seltzer and usually fell asleep after the seder (no doubt drunk, I was a child).

There was a musty odor in my g-parents' bedroom, my grandma was always dragging me and my older sister in there to give us what she thought were treasures--old smelly clothes of hers, jewelry that was paste, etc.

There were a few steps leading from the entryway into the living room, with a short circular bannister on each side, where I loved to play. I think I probably fit into the circle created by the bannisters.

It's so trippy to remember and write about this, thank you @Jazzy and thanks to anyone who actually reads this.

 

[Marcy Sheiner]

I've just read the whole thread and have one word to describe the posts: Tender.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

My maternal grandmother was poor and lived in the country in an old farm house at the end of a dirt road. Forget about going if there had been too much rain. She had no running water, only a well. She was a good cook, but fried everything she could. She always gave me her love and undivided attention, and I always looked forward to visiting her.

My paternal grandparents were the opposite. They lived in a huge elaborate home, almost a mansion, with a lot of acreage, and peacocks on the property. They had 9 children, all grown when I came along. My grandfather would hold me once in awhile and tickle me sometimes, but I hated being near him. He smelled like cigar smoke. My grandmother was good enough to me, but it seemed dutiful. The house was cold and uninviting. A maid did the cooking, and meals were served in a huge dining room at a table that would seat 20 or more, even though there may be only 2 of us eating at that time. I remember feeling overwhelmed by it all and just wanted to go back home.

 

[hollydolly]

@Marcy Sheiner , you saying about a schoolyard, reminded me that my granny lived directly opposite a really big swing park... It had every kind of swings you could imagine, from witches hats, to roundabouts, to huge Chutes.... when we visited granny as kid in later years we were always at that park

 

[jujube]

My maternal grandparents' house, while nothing architecturally fancy, was warm and magical. It was full of fun and was my favorite place on earth. There was a "dress-up" trunk full of beautiful things to pretend with and lots of flashy jewelry to parade around in. There were always "treats" hidden away in the closets to find and we got to eat stuff we didn't get at home. Because she liked to do things "right", we drank our 7-Up out of crystal cocktail glasses and ate our corn puffs from a silver bowl, pretending to be at a fancy soiree, calling each other "my dear" and "Lady Guinevere".

We only saw my maternal grandparents once or twice a year, but it was always fun. The river was just down the street, so there was fishing to be done.

My paternal great-grandmother was still alive when I was young and I can remember a few visits with my grandmother to her very old house in another town. We'd spend the night and I can remember sleeping in bed with my great-grandmother, in her feather bed that sagged down toward the middle. I thought I was going to be suffocated and didn't really like it.

My other great-grandparents were also alive when I was small. They lived on a farm and that definitely was a treat to go visit.

 

[Della]

Mack saying he sometimes just wanted to go home reminded me of the swinging bridge behind my grandparent's house. It crossed over the river and I was always motivated to want to cross it because those tick covered beagles lived on the other side. But I was scared.

Every single year just like Lucy and Charlie Brown with the football, my brother would convince me that he wouldn't make it bounce when I got out to the middle of it and every year I'd fall for it.

 

[Marcy Sheiner]

The grandparents I posted about above were my paternal. My maternal extended family was completely opposite. The paternal came to the US from Poland in the 19=teens. The other family had been here one generation longer, worked in the stock market and were kind of rich. (My maternal gramps and his 2 bros owned 2 seats in the stock market.) I liked the ones I posted about better--they spoke with accents, could not read English and clung to their foods, my grandma wouldn't eat in any restaurant.

My mother's family were kind of mean, esp. her father, which is why she was so bad to me. He was wretched--and my mother's mom had died when my mother was a young child. Now I understand why she was the way she was, but when younger I had no clue.

In fact her father was such a bad guy that when my daughter and her husband were going to name their second son Benjamin, which was his name, I spent about an hour telling them horror stories until they finally decided not to call him that. They didn't settle on his name until he was a week old, and it's Lowell. I was/am really glad about that.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

I'm sorry - I got this in the wrong thread (too many windows open at once.)

This is a little off topic, but . . .

Remember email pen pals?

In the late 1990s before I got a computer, I had WebTV, later known as MSNTV. I met a woman online through an email pen pal registry that I cannot remember the name of, and we communicated almost daily for about 10 years. I was married at the time, and so was she. Neither of us wanted to meet - it was just a friendly email exchange.

In 2008, we stopped writing over a disagreement - which was over something really insignificant, now that I think back. Last year, I came across her email address, and sent a friendly email just to say hello, and ask how she was, but got no answer or indication if the email even went through or not, so I started researching her on the internet and found her obituary. It made me kind of sad that we did not repair our friendship before she passed on.

 

[hollydolly]

I was fortunate that I knew a lot of grandparents... in that I had one set of paternal grandparents who used to be married to each other.. then they had had partners who we were taught to call grandparents... ...so we had a lot to do with them visiting regulalry back and forth

Then I wasn't so fortunate knowing my maternal grandparents because they were evil... but fortunately thery stayed out of the most of my life...


..and then I also knew my great grandfather my maternal grandmothers father... ... who was a tall man wth white hair and moustache, always wore a black suit...

he was well into his 90's used to walk from his house to the pub every day for one shot of whisky and walk back again.. ... in 1965/66when I was 10... the road where he lived was relatively quiet traffic wise, .but on this fateful day a bus mounted the pavement and killed him...

 

[Elsie]

My maternal grandmother was poor and lived in the country in an old farm house at the end of a dirt road. Forget about going if there had been too much rain. She had no running water, only a well. She was a good cook, but fried everything she could. She always gave me her love and undivided attention, and I always looked forward to visiting her.

My paternal grandparents were the opposite. They lived in a huge elaborate home, almost a mansion, with a lot of acreage, and peacocks on the property. They had 9 children, all grown when I came along. My grandfather would hold me once in awhile and tickle me sometimes, but I hated being near him. He smelled like cigar smoke. My grandmother was good enough to me, but it seemed dutiful. The house was cold and uninviting. A maid did the cooking, and meals were served in a huge dining room at a table that would seat 20 or more, even though there may be only 2 of us eating at that time. I remember feeling overwhelmed by it all and just wanted to go back home.

MACKTEXAS, your story reads like a movie of a young boy's conflicting life. Or story in a novel. But true life coming from you, well, it blows my mind.

 

[papa tiger]

My Grandparents both live on long gravel roads with curves on them.
Later as I grew the roads seemed shorter. Still later they were paved with
Sidewalks and still the distance shrank. Finally, near grown it was like a
1/2 mile to their place from the Church. The other from the State Highway.

I remember running away from a Sand Turtle on the road.