My paternal grandmother, Winnie Gabriel – whom I called “Ma” - was the quintessential country housewife. In my grandparents’ home in Mount Mourne, NC, she cooked like a whiz, and she made beautiful quilts. A patchwork quilt she crafted is one of my most cherished possessions. Ma gardened, and her favorite flower was the zinnia, probably because it was a bright, colorful, hardy flower.
She also knitted. When I was a little girl in the early ‘60s, I was endlessly fascinated by her knitting needles. She attempted to teach me, but I just didn’t catch on. That was okay, though. She baked with me, taught me how to roll out biscuits, and took the time to play Old Maid with me on their front porch.
She was also artistic and musically talented, things I didn’t know until recently. As a young girl she played the guitar, and I believe that’s where I got my own talent for it. But I digress.
In 1965, my parents separated and it was a deeply sad time for our families. My mother took us right after Christmas and we moved to Charlotte, 90 miles away from my father. The divorce wasn’t pretty.
Family was everything. My grandmother, who loved her grandchildren unreservedly – in fact, she and my grandfather helped my aunt bring up her children after my uncle died at a very young age from heart disease – was devastated at the thought of losing two of her grandchildren due to a broken family. She attempted to help make that next Christmas a good one for my younger brother and I. When I opened a package from her that holiday season, I found a beautiful pair of knitted slippers. I can see them now. They were bright red – one of her favorite colors – and had little bells at the top that jingled when I walked. My sweet grandmother had crafted a gift of love and wanted to make sure my little feet were warm. Even though they slipped off my heels when I walked, I wore them. They were a link to my Ma and Pa and my old “normal” life.
As things sometimes happen, the slippers disappeared long ago. However, I’m honoring Ma - who died in 1988 - the best way I know how. I can bake a darned good biscuit, though I’m still trying to master her fabulous fried chicken and the fried squash. My favorite flower is the zinnia…and I delight in knitting for my little grandchildren. As for passing along things Ma taught me , Livvy and Julie have the biscuits down pat, and they’re nagging me to teach them to knit. This summer they will learn how to use needles and yarn, and we will plant zinnias in red, with maybe a little pink and white mixed in.
Ma, you left a fine legacy behind.
