Mary Faulkner-Mother's Paternal Grandmother-Part 2

From My Mother's Notes

Phyllis Fricker's Memory Book

My Mother's Paternal Grandmother - MARY FAULKNER

Mary Faulkner- Cameo Mary & Frank were almost self-sufficient, though not rich. They had fresh eggs from their hens, also chickens to eat. They had jersey milk from the cow, also butter and cream. The had vegetables from their garden - Potatoes, carrots, beets, and squash & onions stored in the root- cellar for the winter. They had berries from the garden - Grandma made jams and jellies.

Grandma cooked on a huge iron cookstove which was fueled with wood. It had an oven and a water reservoir. She was a good cook. Breakfast was always a hearty meal. Bacon & eggs and fried potatoes, toast and coffee and usually a pie of some description served up on a beautiful glass pedestal dish.

Grandma wore cotton print dresses every day, very long, and usually covered with a voluminous apron with large pockets. When she went out to work in the garden she always wore a sun- bonnet. It was not stylish in those days to be tan. She was a tall, gaunt woman with thick, beautiful white hair. She had false teeth which must have been uncomfortable because she usually put them in her apron pocket. I can remember starting out to Church with her. People said that we walked exactly the same - toes out & fast. We would get partly along the way and she'd say "Oh shaw, we have to go back." I would asked why and she would say "I forgot my teeth, I left them in my apron pocket."
Grandma was an avid quilter. Sometimes she would have a quilting bee at her home; inviting 5 or 6 other ladies. They all sewed like mad and never stopped talking and gossiping. Then tea or cake and cookies would be served. It was a very pleasant social event and the results were lovely quilts in various patterns - Log Cabin, Wedding Ring, Goose Tracks, etc. Every scrap of material would be saved - cotton & wool & linen. There were no synthetics then. She must have had a sewing machine because she made most of her clothes and dresses, also for Hilda and Clara.

Grandma was a great one for visiting. She had many relatives and friends in Dover. We would walk out almost every day and call on someone - Pete & Eva Brock, many of the Lowe family, 2 old-maid sisters who lived together and many others whose names I can't remember.