Grandma and Grandpa always lived across the field from us in my memory. Grandma was a kind person that was stoic. Grandpa was a little grumpy and didn't talk much to the kids. Grandma made cookies a lot and usually had a peanut butter or sugar cookie for us when we went to her house. She and grandpa always made peanut butter candy on Christmas and shared it with us. Grandma was usually home that I remember and most of her time was spent cleaning, cooking, visiting with people and going to church. She also did sewing, making quilts occasionally. Her biggest enjoyment that I could tell was visiting with her children and grandchildren when they visited.
Grandpa was a serious person that worked a lot as a pipefitter and when he retired he spent a lot of time watching the two tv's he had in the living room.
They had a raspberry bush in the backyard, along with peach and apple trees. We were always welcome to come over and pick and eat all we could.
My grandparents took Ed and I out to "N" Reactor when I was about 10 and we saw President Kennedy make a speech.
Grandpa and Grandma Muffenbier were always in Portland on 42nd Street, living in the same house Mom grew up in. We visited maybe once a year for a weekend. My memory is of Mom and Dad visiting in the living room with Mom's sisters, brothers, and parents. The kids could walk up to the local store, "Piggily Wiggily" to buy an ice cream or candy. My aunt Tekla worked at the Piggily Wiggily.
The kids slept upstairs in an old iron bed. When you walked upstairs you had to push the curtain aside to walk up. The curtain kept the heat from going upstairs in the winter I guess. There was an old iron tube set up upstairs. If you wanted a toilet, you had to walk outside the back kitchen door because it was built on the back porch. Mom talked about how she would sit on the toilet and wrinkle up pages from the Sears catalogue to soften it up because she had to use it for wiping!
The "Oaks" amusement park is a short walk from Grandparents house. We went down there a few times. It is still there, next to the river.
No comments:
Post a Comment