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| Mama Wilson (Fannie Malissa) |
My grandmother Wilson (Fannie Melissa Grimes) taught me so many things. She was the fourth child in a family of 14 brothers and sisters. She was born on Dec. 2, 1883 and was 83 when she died on Jan. 20, 1966. She married James Arthur Wilson on Feb. 9, 1908 at her home in Curtis community. She spent her entire life in the Curtis community as did many of her brothers and sisters. She was only 20 when her father died of typhoid fever in 1903 at age 47. Her mother lived to be 92 and died when I was in high school. I remember her very well and used to visit her often. Someday I will write what I remember about her.
We lived with Mama and Papa Wilson when I was growing up. She taught me how to sew on her old treadle sewing machine. First I had to learn to sew by hand with a needle and thread. I was always loosing my needle (and I still have this problem). I made doll clothes from scraps Mama would give me. Then one day she allowed me to sew on the sewing machine and I felt I was really grown up (around age 7 or 8). Mama was a good seamstress and sewed for ladies in Opp and Elba. This was during WWII and many things were rationed. Mama would take apart men's suits and make the ladies nice suits from the wool fabric. She helped me cut out dresses from chicken feed sacks and then showed me how to sew them. Often she made her own patterns. I was always so proud of my "home made" dresses and wore them with pride.
Mama Wilson was a tall lady and large frame. She was bigger than Papa Wilson. She always looked so pretty when she got dressed up and wore makeup - on special days. Mostly I remember how hard she worked on the farm, getting up early in the morning. She was the best cook and I would love to have one of her light biscuits and her bread pudding. Everything she cooked was so good. Her food had a cajun flavor - lots of pepper and tomatoes. When i was young, she would cook smoked link sausage (fry them until they were well done) and make red eye gravy and serve them with hot biscuits and whipped cream! I remember her little blue ceramic crock pot (bowl) she always made the whipped cream in, using a rotary beater.
We wanted a goat real bad to pull our little wagon. Daddy gave in and we got a billy goat from a neighbor. (Later learned they gave it to us because he was so mean.) He kept getting out of the pen and we would have to chase him and put him back inside. One day Mama Wilson was outside in the yard, bending over doing something and our Billy goat spotted her and ran to her and butted her with his horns. That was the end of our Billy. He moved on someplace else.
I didn't see Mama Wilson very often after I left home for college at age 17. She was close to 69 years old by this time, and seemed very old to me. Most of my memories of her are when she was much younger. I remember when she always baked sweet potatoes and opossum for her brothers and other neighbors to enjoy once a year in the fall. She lost her sense of smell and taste when she aged. I remember when she rubbed Watkin's vanilla flavoring on my brother and cousin when they were little boys and got stung by honey bees at one of our bee hives. She thought she was using Watkins linament. I guess they both had alcohol in them and soothed the skin where they were stung.
I always smile when I think about Mama Wilson. She had the sweetest smile and twinkling eyes. And I loved her so much.
We lived with Mama and Papa Wilson when I was growing up. She taught me how to sew on her old treadle sewing machine. First I had to learn to sew by hand with a needle and thread. I was always loosing my needle (and I still have this problem). I made doll clothes from scraps Mama would give me. Then one day she allowed me to sew on the sewing machine and I felt I was really grown up (around age 7 or 8). Mama was a good seamstress and sewed for ladies in Opp and Elba. This was during WWII and many things were rationed. Mama would take apart men's suits and make the ladies nice suits from the wool fabric. She helped me cut out dresses from chicken feed sacks and then showed me how to sew them. Often she made her own patterns. I was always so proud of my "home made" dresses and wore them with pride.
Mama Wilson was a tall lady and large frame. She was bigger than Papa Wilson. She always looked so pretty when she got dressed up and wore makeup - on special days. Mostly I remember how hard she worked on the farm, getting up early in the morning. She was the best cook and I would love to have one of her light biscuits and her bread pudding. Everything she cooked was so good. Her food had a cajun flavor - lots of pepper and tomatoes. When i was young, she would cook smoked link sausage (fry them until they were well done) and make red eye gravy and serve them with hot biscuits and whipped cream! I remember her little blue ceramic crock pot (bowl) she always made the whipped cream in, using a rotary beater.
We wanted a goat real bad to pull our little wagon. Daddy gave in and we got a billy goat from a neighbor. (Later learned they gave it to us because he was so mean.) He kept getting out of the pen and we would have to chase him and put him back inside. One day Mama Wilson was outside in the yard, bending over doing something and our Billy goat spotted her and ran to her and butted her with his horns. That was the end of our Billy. He moved on someplace else.
I didn't see Mama Wilson very often after I left home for college at age 17. She was close to 69 years old by this time, and seemed very old to me. Most of my memories of her are when she was much younger. I remember when she always baked sweet potatoes and opossum for her brothers and other neighbors to enjoy once a year in the fall. She lost her sense of smell and taste when she aged. I remember when she rubbed Watkin's vanilla flavoring on my brother and cousin when they were little boys and got stung by honey bees at one of our bee hives. She thought she was using Watkins linament. I guess they both had alcohol in them and soothed the skin where they were stung.
I always smile when I think about Mama Wilson. She had the sweetest smile and twinkling eyes. And I loved her so much.
