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| Story ID: | 2445 |
| Written by: | Donald L. Jones (bio, contact, other stories) |
| Story type: | Family Memories |
| Writers Conference: | $500 2007 Family Memories Writing Project |
| Location: | Mc Minnville Tennessee USA |
| Year: | 1957 |
| Person: | Family |
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Grandma’s House On The 4th of July By Donald Jones Summer sky at midday on the 4th of July was cloudless and warm when I was twelve years old. The chickens were wondering in the backyard while a cow was mooing in the pasture nearby. We kids enjoyed a gentile warm summer breeze under the shade of the great oak tree in the yard where we had gathered to play. My Aunt Wyona went to the well to bring in a bucket of water in preparation of making tea to accommodate the crowd of visitors. Grandma had caught one of the fat hens that were in the backyard the day before, and killed it for the chicken and dumplings everyone would be enjoying at the dinner table. All of my father’s brothers and sisters had gathered, as they had for several generations at Grandma’s house. The front porch was full of relatives leaning back on the old straight back cane bottomed chairs, talking about their past week on the farm. Some of my uncles were whittling and waiting for the call to come to eat. Some of the men were talking about a foxhunt while sitting on the side of the porch. The women were busying themselves setting the table, and hovering over the old woodstove, while they shared family gossip of who had just had a baby, who had gotten married, and about the dress they saw someone wearing at church. My cousin Brenda took the butter out of the churn Grandma had made earlier that morning, and put it in the butter mold. The younger children were out in the yard playing tag wile some were prowling around in the barn just to see what was there. My cousin Vada was out in the pasture giving rides to the older children on her horse and showing off her new saddle she had gotten for Christmas. The call for dinner came and the men went to the big table while the kids got their plates and went out on the porch to eat. My great Uncle Joe Kirby worded the prayer that was always so long that it tested us children to stand still long enough for him to finish. After the Amen, he started the passing of the food around the long table. When the men were through the women all took over the table and finished the meal. My cousins and I, waited in anticipation for the afternoon activities and crowded around my Uncle Leeburn’s car when he opened his trunk, and brought out a large box of fireworks he had brought with him. He worked for a fireworks company and it was always a special time when he came. The explosions of fireworks filled the afternoon air, as we set off the firecrackers. That night, we got out the bottle rockets, sparklers, and roman candles, while the older family members stood on the porch and watched us kids have our fun. Such was the 4th of July in my youth. These celebrations came once a year for many years, till Grandma passed away and the farm was sold. After her death the family stopped meeting and the family tradition fell into family history. Our parents, like all the other relatives moved to various parts of the country, and in time lost touch with that once wonderful time that anchored us to our family tradition. |
