Remember When

RememberRemember When?When?

ByBy LisaLisa SydnorSydnor

Susan Remembers When Family traditions? Yes, we certainly had traditions. We had hayrides; they were a time to snuggle with your favorite guy(gal)! At the destination, we built a huge bonfire, ‘cause it was COLD, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows around the fire and sang. As a child, my favorite tradition was going to the pumpkin patch to select my pumpkin to carve. On Halloween, we went house-to-house and covered the whole town. Of course, the population of my hometown was only around 2100 people and I was related to most of them! We had a very big extended family and everyone had their specialties they made for holidays. One of my aunts made taffy every year. I swear I must have pulled 10 miles of taffy every Thanksgiving weekend. We would add the taffy to the boxes of goodies being given as Christmas gifts to friends and family.

Liz Remembers When Traditions? We didn’t have traditions. I was raised in California and during the fall my family would go to the beach, build a bonfire, go night fishing, and cook what we caught. Being a musical family, we sang and played various instruments, such as guitar, tambourine, harmonica, & mariachis. My “Ma” was our vocalist. She led our singa-longs and the rest of us joined in even when off-key! Maybe we did have a tradition, I just never thought of it in that way.

Pat Remembers When I never actually thought we had family traditions. As a child, we were what you might call “dirt poor”. There was no Halloween celebration but we always went to my grandparent’s home for Thanksgiving. We had turkey and dressing and everyone sat at the table to eat. Later on my husband, Bob, who was a very good cook, began our family tradition. He loved to cook, especially holiday or special event meals. We had turkey, dressing, ham and his great pumpkin pies and amazing chocolate cake. After his death, my son insisted we cook “Dad’s meal” to continue the tradition. I have to admit neither of us could match Bob’s expertise in the kitchen. Another tradition I loved, my best friend made heavenly divinity, and every holiday, I got a box of divinity. I looked forward to her special box of homemade divinity and other homemade candies.

Ron Remembers When My favorite tradition was Trick or Treating, my favorite holiday! Back then we had “neighborhoods” and we could go to every house in our neighborhood. We used

FamilyFamily Traditions!Traditions!

brown paper sacks or a pillowcase for our “treasure.” We couldn’t eat the candy until mom and dad had inspected each piece. I loved the costumes! My mother made many of our costumes. There was no such thing as buying a costume. Do you remember Foreman Scotty? My mom made me a Foreman Scotty costume! She also made clowns, pirates and cowboy costumes for me and my brothers. Such fun!

Krista Remembers When A tradition I remember was shucking corn! But my favorite tradition was the pecan pies my granddaddy made from the pecans we picked up, cracked and shelled. I didn’t really like digging up the potatoes, but I remember it well. Thanksgiving at my great grandparents with 300 people there - OK maybe not 300, but when you are young and you come from a very large extended family, it can be overwhelming; 80-90 people in one house - at one meal - with every room in the house full of people, tables, chairs and food, 300 is a reasonable number to remember.

Janine Remembers When I love fall traditions! We went to our hometown and I helped my mom, grandmother and great-grandmother make apple and plum butter. The smell of cinnamon and apples always makes me a little nostalgic. My great grandmother taught me so much about canning; how to use a pressure cooker; how to clean and prep vegetables for canning or freezing. I loved being on the back porch with my grandmother and greatgrandmother shucking corn. I got to put my name and the date on the jars or boxes so whoever got that jar knew I “canned” it. I was so proud when my granddaddy would say, “Now that was some fine corn (or green beans), wonder who canned it?” Then he would find the jar lid and congratulate me on a job well done. My finest hour!

Clarissa Remembers When I love traditions! I remember so many; canning in the fall, spreading potatoes under the house to store for the winter; loading my grandparents’ cellar with all the vegetables and fruits we canned. We celebrated Thanksgiving in my hometown with our huge extended family around. When my children were young, I started the tradition at Thanksgiving of sharing my blessings. I then asked anyone who felt blessed to share their gratitude. Now that I have a large family, it can take a while; even our youngest recognize and share their blessings.