Chapter 8: What were your grandmothers like?

I don’t remember much about my Grandma Bessie Young. She lived on the farm in Ionia, Michigan. I visited her only twice when I was in my elementary school years. I remember her being short, stocky and very kind, but a tough woman. Living and working a farm will make you tough.

There house was very old, my father grew up in that house. My cousin’s children live in the house to this day. There was a pot-bellied stove in the kitchen. It was mainly used to warm the room and make hot water. Not far from the back door, there was a long one-story building. It was mainly used to keep farm equipment, tools etc. At the end of the building, there was a chicken coop. Inside the coop were two shelves covered with hay where the chickens laid the eggs. Grandma told me to go down and get some fresh eggs for breakfast. After a while, she came to the coop and asked what was taking so long. I told her that the chickens were pecking at me every time I tried to get some eggs. She told me to just pick up the hen by the neck and take the eggs. Us “city-boys” had a lot to learn.

Another time, I was “helping” my cousin bailing hay out in the field. It was rather hot, so they asked me to go back to the farmhouse and get some cold water. Grandma said that some orange soda would taste better, so she gave me a quart of soda and I headed back to the field. I was happy to get soda instead of water, but my cousins were a little upset. They said that soda will make you thirstier, so I had to walk back again. They also told me that if I smelled cucumbers, to be careful. Copperhead snakes smell like cucumbers when predators come near. These snakes are poisonous, but they usually do not kill people. Oh, the life on a farm!

My Grandma Johanna Duke lived in Seattle, about a 10 or 15-minute walk from my house. We converted our dining room into a bedroom for her and she lived her last few years with us.

When she was young, she and Grandpa Duke owned a farm in South Dakota. Farming was a very difficult life. They moved to Oregon for a while and then moved to Seattle. They first lived in Ballard. She worked in a school kitchen. She baked fresh bread almost daily. She didn’t use recipes or measuring spoons. She just knew how much of each ingredient to add by looking at it. Of course, at school she had to make “a ton” of bread for all of the students. Later in life, when she made bread at home, I think she made the same quantities. She couldn’t make just one loaf of bread. When she baked, she made many loaves and many dinner rolls. You could smell the bread baking from a mile away. She would give most of the bread to her neighbors. I love eating bread when it is still hot from the oven.

She told me a story of when she was you and she “broke”, or “tamed” a wild horse. She explained all of the steps it took to get the horse to allow people to touch and finally ride it.

She told me another story about when she was on their farm Her husband and farmhands were working out in the field, far from the house. She was in the house preparing lunch for them. Suddenly, the kitchen door opened, and some Indians appeared. By chance, she was holding a large knife for cutting the food. She said that she just stared at them and they her. She couldn’t remember how long they stared at each other without talking, but it seemed like a lifetime. They finally left without any problems.

I wish that my mother or grandparents would have written down stories of when they were younger. There are so many stories that I can’t remember the details.

Grandma Duke would spoil me and my brother, but she was rather strict with my cousins who lived with her.

Here are some photos of Grandpa and Grandma Young, Grandpa and Grandma Duke with my mom, aunt Agnes and uncle Charlie and Grandma Duke and uncle Charlie.