When we went to lunch with Nana the other day, she told us about her younger years. I have written it down here for you to enjoy. She is my papa’s mother.
When Nana was born in 1922 she was not breathing so they poured whiskey down her throat. Now, can you imagine a doctor doing that today? It probably would not even enter his mind to do such a thing!
When she was younger, before the age of seven, her father made all the children a full size carousal. It had six horses on it and it was powered by goats. Yes, you read that right powered by goats, no motor, or anything of that kind, just a few goats. He also made them a covered wagon. I can just imagine the hours of fun they had with that.
Around the age of seven, she got thirteen guinea eggs. The neighbor said he would not make her pay for them if she broke one against her forehead.
At the age of eight, she got diphtheria and they used kerosene to open her throat up. My, how that did burn! But it did save her life.
When she was ten, she got malaria. This time she made it through without the help of any strange “remedies”.
When Nana was twelve and Uncle Carl was ten, Uncle Carl got made at Nana for some reason and he ripped her widow's peak out! That is a good sized section of hair! It never grew back. Nana, in return, decided to light him on fire. She did and boy did she get in trouble for that one!
At the age of fifteen, she was bitten by a black widow spider. They took care of it the old fashioned way. The doctor lanced it and sucked the poison out.
During the Great Depression their family shared their land and their crops with their neighbors who were mostly very poor folks. Their neighbors were very grateful for the help.
When Nana was nine, her Mother was sickly and the doctor said her mother could not get up every morning to milk the cow. It was too early, she needed her sleep. So, Nana offered to milk the cow every morning. Her mother was grateful and told her she could have the cow and all the white - faced jerseys the cow birthed. Nana named the cow Mayflower and by the age of seventeen she had a herd of ten white - faced jerseys. By this time her parents had both passed away. At nineteen, she sold the herd and brought Uncle Billy, then sixteen, to
Well, that is the just the beginning of the story of Nana’s life. But the beginning seems to be a story in itself. I hope you enjoyed the story of Nana’s younger years.
Moriah
4 comments:
Moriah, This is a beautiful story. Life was so different in the old days. It was nice of you to share some of her stories with us. It helps us remember the past. Thank-you. We love you, Aunt Darla
Moriah,
I am glad you wrote about Nana's earlier years. Was she born in Mexico?
She had some challenging experiences growing up! I think it is wonderful how her family shared with their neighbors during the Depression.
Aunt Darla~
You are quite welcome. I enjoyed writing her story down for you all. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Love~ Moriah
Mrs. Van Dellen~
No, Nana was not born in Mexico. Nana was born in Banton Rouge Louisianna. It was my father's father who was born in Mexico. He came to the U.S. was he was seventeen. A few years later he met and married Nana.
Love~ Moriah
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