The strongest woman

My maternal Grandma, Ebbie, holding Brett. As I am older now and think back on her life it makes me appreciate how strong a woman she was. And wonder how she lived her life full of joy and love.

Mother of ten children born from 1932 until 1949. My Mom was the oldest, my Uncle Tom who lives in Florida is the youngest and only four years older than me.

My Grandpap worked on a tugboat on the big river in Pennsylvania and was gone for long periods of time. I still have fond memories of the old wooden house where they lived and raised all ten children.

They were poor but I did not know it. The house had no bathroom until 1960..an outhouse was in the yard. Two sinks, one in the kitchen and one in another room was the only running water. Bare bulb lights hanging from the ceilings and not in every room. I remember my mom and her sisters talking about taking a bath in a big metal tub with water heated on the stove. Washing clothes by hand in the sink.

My Granny always had cookies and milk. The milk was a powdered milk from the commodities they got monthly. Cheese, milk, flour, canned meat. Probably left over from the WW2. She could take one chicken and make enough noodles to feed her family and when my closest in age cousins and I were born, we ate lots of noodles.

About 1965, she left Pennsylvania (and my Grandpap) for Florida with my two youngest uncles. Her stepfather who she barely saw left her his small house. She got a job as a cashier at the grocery store and walked to and from work. My uncles were in high school so they found friends and jobs also. She was not a mean person but she was respected. I can remember my uncles friends loved her too.

So now I am awed at how strong she was, how resourceful and smart to make a move on her own with very little money and no backup family.

She spoiled me as I was the first grandchild. She made me Barbie clothes for my dolls and later taught me to sew. And to do some cooking. I failed noodles.

The thing I remember best is all the love she had for all of us. Ten children and twenty three grandchildren, and a few great grands who arrived before she died.

Love made her a great woman.