As I write these blogs, I'm trying to remember some of my favorite memories as a child so that my girls will have something to have in writing. It's something I always wanted to do with my mom and dad, but never got around to doing it. So, without further ado...here's one of my favorite memories...
My mom had 2 sisters....Lou and Geneva. Both of my aunts were very different women from my mom, but I loved them nonetheless. Lou was probably the most like my mom personality wise. Anyway, when I was little, my parent and I (and my brother, Steve) would drive to my Aunt Lou and Uncle Elvie's house in Santoy, Ohio. It's no bigger than a minute (the town, that is). I believe, if memory serves me correctly, that it was an old mining town at one time. Anway, we'd go to Santoy, and we'd drive up the gravel driveway to their house. They had a modest home, with 2 actual bedrooms, a bathroom (with no plumbing, so I guess it was there for looks), a family room, living room and kitchen. It had a front porch and and big back porch, and for a bathroom, there was an outhouse. I loved everything about our visits there except for that....the outhouse. I had horrible visions every time I had to go out there of something crawling up out of that hole...or of me falling in...or spiders on the walls....or snakes...your imagination runs wild when you're sitting there in the dark! Anyway, aside from that, I enjoyed going there. My dad especially enjoyed going to Santoy, I think because it was remote and quiet. And he enjoyed visiting with Elvie. My mom enjoyed being able to see her sister Lou, and at one time, Geneva lived "over the hill" in her home, so mom would get to see both of her sisters. When Geneva lived "over the hill", she'd come up to Lou's and the three of them would sit at the kitchen table and play "Trouble" until the wee hours of the morning. I can remember laying in the feather bed (which Steve and I usually fought over) and when the windows were open, you could hear that "popper" from the Trouble game, and you'd here the three sisters playing that game and laughing and carrying on. My Aunt Lou was also a great cook, and she could make the best fried chicken around. For someone that had no running water, Lou did an amazing job of raising 8 kids in that house! She'd boil some water (which she got from the well), and they had a big wash basin in the bathroom, and that's how they would bathe. I can remember when we would visit that we'd take a cup of the well water outside with our toothbrush and brush our teeth and rinse out our mouth. My dad and I would go for long walks around Santoy...well....let's just say we'd walk several times around Santoy...and that was time that I treasured with my dad. I think he wanted mom to be able to just spend as much time as she could with her sisters, so we'd go off and have our own time. Simpler times...I miss those! I loved going here because every time we went for a visit, there was a lot of laughter....and there was nothing more contagious than my mom and her 2 sisters laughing together....you couldn't help but join in on the laughter when you heard them. My Aunt Lou also had a pump organ in her bedroom, and when Steve joined us on these trips, he and I would see who could get back to that organ the fastest to play it! It was such a simple house, but it felt like home when we visited. I loved going there because you could be yourself. Everyone there accepted you for who you were.
To my girls....I hope to be able to take you both there someday just so you can see it, and see the area that your grandma grew up in. I hope we take the time to do that someday. My next story will be about your Aunt Geneva.......now there's a story!!! :)
Until next time.....
