I have been doing a lot of thinking about my grandparents - Ed and Gladys Pipp (my maternal grandparents). I called them Nan and Grandpa - they lived two blocks from our house - I LOVED them. When I was little I use to think that my grandpa was the spitting image of John Wayne - big, tall - and tough as nails. He was a professional baker but his real passion was wood working. My old brain is FULL of memories about him - I was his only granddaughter and he spoiled me rotten! Oh yeah, his other passion was fishing. He would go into to the bakery (The Home Dairy in Geneva, NY) at 2am and bake for the day and be done at about 10 or 11 am . He would then head to his favorite diner and have a bit of lunch, and go right to the Geneva Pier and fish till dinner time. He would come home to a good dinner made by Nan - then head off to bed. Somewhere in there I caught glimpses of him - he didn't fish every day. He loved to sit on his small front porch and gab with neighbors and I would walk down with my Mom and we would sit with them for awhile - I always sat on his lap. He smelled like fish, sugar cookies and whatever Nan made for dinner!!! My grandparent's were married for almost 65 years - death is what finally seperated them. They are together now.
I have equally wonderful memories about my grandmother - my Nan. She continually told me to stand up straight! Ha! She was so talented in hand crafts - her sewing was the talk of all of Geneva. She made ALL my dresses until high school (then it was not cool to have your clothes handmade - isn't that a shame???). Many of my dresses had smocking on the front which both she and my Mom did by hand. I remember everyday she would walk up to our house around 3pm and have clothes in the making for me to try on so she could make them fit just right. I HATED to try them on because they had pins in them and they would prick me while putting them on. She would poke me and tell me to stand up straight!!! lol She loved to crochet more than knit - she made afghans and shawls and doilies. She would crochet trimmings on all our pillow cases and she would make the loveliest potholders with crochet cotton. She taught my Mom everything she knew and in turn my Mom taught me...... that is where the crafting talent comes from. She was a good farm cook- an okay baker. I remember the baked beans she would make - they would take days to cook and man, were they delicious when they were done. I have her cole slaw dressing recipe that makes the best slaw on the planet. She NEVER wore pants........NEVER! A dress, stockings and shoes with small heels. She was very active in her church - she was in the sewing group, crochet group and the rommage sale group (they would do all these things for the needy in town) - she has an award from the church for her many many years of selfless service to the community. She (so did Grandpa) loved the Lord, believed in Him and it is my belief that she and Grandpa are by His side right now waiting for me.
It is my desire that someday I have the chance to be a grandmother - I want my grandchildren to call me Nan. I want to set the standard and be reminded by her name of the kind of grandmother I want to be for them. Like she was for me.
They raised two lovely daughters - my Mom Eleanor and my aunt Janice (four years apart in age, my Mom being the oldest). I remember when my Grandpa was lying in the hospital at 92 years old saying he wanted to make sure that his girls were being taken care of - his "girls" were both in their late 60's!!! That shows you the love he had for them.....they were his girls even when they were in their 60's!!! What family love.
