And Grandma's Too . . .Grandma G.

I wrote about my Mother. I want to also write about and honor my Grandmothers, in honor of Mother's Day coming up this weekend. Tonight I will write about my maternal Grandmother, and tomorrow I will write about my paternal Grandmother.

My Mother was the good person she was, because of her Mother. Grandmother, Elizabeth (I called her Grandma G.), was the oldest daughter of a family of 8. Grandma lost her husband at a young age, leaving her with four young children. Grandpa died while helping a neighbor during a thunderstorm. It was at the home he grew up at, and his brother’s car went off the road during a bad thunderstorm, into a ditch. Grandpa Livingston was helping him to get the car out of the ditch. Electrical lines from above had fallen, and they didn’t realize it. Grandpa stepped on a live wire that was under water, and was electrocuted. It was a tragedy. He was too young to die. My Mother was 9 years old.

My Grandmother was strong though and went on, she took jobs housecleaning for people, and made a living that way. She and the children moved to the “big farm” and lived with Grandpa’s parents. I don’t know too much about them. I know I have met a lot of Grandpa’s family over the years, because each year we went to the “Livingston Reunion”, picnic held every summer. I did get close over my growing up years to two of Mother’s uncles that lived close by, and one of her cousins. They are all gone now, and I wish I had talked to them more about their brother.

Grandma worked in a sewing factory, I’m sure, because Mom would talk about working at the sewing factory with her Mother, she told me that was how she put herself through Nurses training.

Many years later, after her children were grown, she married a widower, who had the farm next to her parents farm. His name was Maurice, so we always knew them as Grandma and Maurice, rather than Grandma and Grandpa. I didn’t know much about my Grandpa, because Mom was not one to talk about her past. I found out more information about his death after I was grown up and read some newspaper clippings about the accident that I found tucked away at the house.

Mom and my Grandmother were never ones to complain about anything, or about their lots in life. You never heard them complain about losing their husband/father at a young age, or the hard life they had after. Grandma was a real jewel, she was kind, considerate, compassionate and a friend to everyone. She lived trusting her life to The Lord, and so did my Mother. Both of them instilled those values to me.

I think I told you how Grandma would take me overnight on weekends to her house, many times. I loved being with her. She opened my world to books, magazines, and to music. Her house was filled with wonderful things to read and she had a record player with great records, mostly religious records, but sometimes she bought some that were on the hit parade, like "Davy Crockett" and “Don’t Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes” (Perry Como…who remembers that one?). My favorites were the album of 4 – 45’s of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing hymns. I especially loved them, because I would watch their tv show every Saturday morning! I listened to them over and over, learned every song by heart. They are still my favorite hymns!

Grandma was a great seamstress; I told you before that she sewed clothes for me all the time. She tried so hard to teach me to sew, but it just wasn’t something that came easy for me, no matter how she tried!

She was such a good housekeeper; her house was always spotless and neat as a pin. It was a relaxing place for me to be, a totally different atmosphere than the farm.

Grandma also was the best cook. We had great family gatherings at her house, holidays, and often after church, if Uncle John's family was in church, she would say, come up for dinner (after church)...(lunch..but in PA we called lunch dinner)
The evening meal was supper. Of course, I was with Grandma so much on weekends, I'd be in church with her, so I would be part of the dinner gathering. I sure loved those get togethers.

Grandma took care of her Father, he lived with her. He died when I was 7. It was
my first funeral. I still can smell the carnations that were on top of his casket in the cemetary, they gave each grandchild and great grandchild a carnation to take home. Grandpa was a real character, he was big and heavy, like the photos you see of King Henry VIII. He always had a cigar in his mouth. He sat in a rocking chair in the corner of her big kitchen, and used a cane. He would take the cane and try to grab us by the neck with the neck of the cane. These are things you don't ever forget. He fixed steam engines for a living, or something like that. I asked
one of my uncles one time what Great Grandpa did for a living and he said "as little
as possible". So... I know that my Grandma G. took after her Mother not her Father!
Because, you could never ever say that about Grandma. She was always busy doing something. Over the years, my Mother's youngest brother, looked more and more like
Great Grandpa.

Because Grandma was the oldest daughter, her brothers and sisters would come around to her home often on Sunday afternoons (and as I said, I was often there). Because of this, I got to know all of my great aunts and uncles. Not every child has this opportunity. Even my siblings didn't have this opportunity. I felt everybit as close to my Great Aunts and Uncles as I did to my Aunts and Uncles. I believe it's due to my two Grandma's and their closeness to their children and siblings, that I am as family oriented as I am. I can say the same about my Dad's Aunts and Uncles...I was close to them also. Grandma G. has one sibling left, my Great Aunt
Dot. She was 10 years younger than my Mother. So, she is now 90. I visited with
her the last time I was home. I found a family photo taken at Grandma's First family reunion, Great Grandpa G. is in it, and I'm in it, sitting with the other cousins, I was young. The family has an annual reunion, celebrating their 50th last year! I framed the photo and had it in my Mother's room at the nursing home.
It's one of the photos I brought back to Duluth with me. I have it hanging in my home now.

Grandma did a lot of volunteer work, was a tireless worker for the church, and was always helping people. When she was past 60, she took a course at one of the city hospitals, and became a “Gray Lady” volunteer and put in many hours helping there.

She was very close to one of her sisters, my Great Aunt Ellen and her grown daughter, Glenda. Grandma would take me along with Aunt Ellen and Glenda to so many places, her Women’s Club teas, luncheons, and visits to other relatives. More than once I went with them to Phila-delphia at Christmas time to see all the store decorations, which were so much more elaborate in those days. Stores don’t do much decorating anymore. One time we went to Maryland to a very large shopping mall, which was before we had any malls in our area.

Grandma lived just a bit past her 75th birthday. She had to move off her beautiful farm and farmhouse about 5 years or so before that. She moved into town. She had a weak heart, and that is what took her. My Mother was with her the night that she died. Grandma hadn’t been feeling good, and so Mom stayed with her that evening. Mom was awake all evening, until once, she dozed off, and when she woke up, Grandma was gone. I was so upset that I was not able to go home for her funeral. My best friend Nancy and her husband were in route to Minnesota to visit us. It was Memorial Day weekend, 1975. My Mother told me I was to not feel badly about not coming home, that Grandma would understand, and that it was better that I remembered her the last time I had seen her (which was the autumn of 74). I guess she was right, but I still wish I could have been there.

My Mother always told me that her best friend was her Mother. I think that when Mom didn’t have time to go places with Grandma anymore, I was the one that Grandma took. I looked at Grandma as one of my best friends and a mentor.

Yes, Grandma opened up many horizons to her granddaughter, that I would not have had the opportunity for, if not for her. She was the best Grandmother anyone could have. I feel badly that my Granddaughter doesn’t live close by, if she did, I would have her every weekend. I hope someday my Madelyn will feel as close to me, as I felt to my Grandma. How can I make that happen when she’s not in the same town? I shall continue to try my best.

To honor Grandma, we named our daughter's middle name Elizabeth, my sister named her daughter's middle name Elizabeth, my Mother's middle name was Elizabeth and Dawn named her daughter (our granddaughter's) middle name Elizabeth. Her name lives on, as she lives on in our hearts.

I know that my Grandmother would fit the “Good Wife” spoken about in Proverbs 31. She also had all the fruits of the Spirit. She passed all of this on to her daughter. If the two of them passed even half of their good traits on to me, I consider myself fortunate. What a heritage!