Lucky Ducks

I am writing today in honor of my grandmother. She was born on March 17, 1903 and died on March 16, 1994. She was an incredibly selfless person and probably the closest I will ever come to knowing a saint. As I have mentioned before she lived just a block away from my childhood home and was almost as much a part of my daily life growing up as my own mother. My brothers, sisters and I ran in and out her door as freely as our own, never needing to knock. She always welcomed us in.

Grandma lived simply and frugally. Her small four room home remained pretty much the same through all the years I can remember. Other than repapering and repainting when necessary she did not spend a lot of money for decorating. She had the same simple bedroom furniture, the same kitchen table and chairs, and a lot of the same wall decorations and knick-knacks for years. Pictures of all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren adorned the wall above my grandfather's stereo console. Assorted religious statues and pictures were displayed throughout the house and a cross hung over her bed. When walking into her home it was plain to see that family and God were most important to her. She worked full-time for as long as I can remember until she finally retired at the age of seventy-six. The same little red Corvair carried her around town for more than thirty years. She spent money wisely and recycled or reused everything that she could. Nothing was wasted. My grandfather died in 1966 and my grandmother devoted the rest of her life to her family of two children, nine grandchildren, twenty-one great-grandchildren, and, prior to her death, one great-great grandchild.

While growing up, my little sister and I spent many overnights at my grandmother's house along with my cousins, whom she babysat for nearly every weekend while their parents worked. We would play in her basement, sometimes roller skating on the concrete floor or pushing each other around as fast as we could go on chairs set onto movers' casters. Grandma kept her ear tuned in to what we were doing, calling down every now and then to check on us. We would sit cross-legged and play card games on the living room floor. She would bring out rolls of paper for us to draw and color on, keeping us busy for long stretches of time. In her backyard we would play tag and on sultry hot summer afternoons she would fill a big metal washtub with water and let us play in the sprinkler. My grandfather stretched a rope tautly between two trees and attached a looped rope on a pulley so we could go sailing through the air across the yard, careful to stop ourselves with our feet before hitting the tree. When we wore ourselves out and came in for a break Grandma would treat us to cookies and kool-aid. She was very strict about taking naps and we would stretch out on pallets of quilts and blankets spread on the living room floor, trying to make each other laugh without getting caught while she sat in her chair. If she caught one of us giggling we would be sent to the bedroom to nap alone. In the evenings after supper we would play on the front porch, taking turns sitting on the porch swing with her, singing songs while she read the evening newspaper. In the mornings we would wake to the sound of the kitchen radio tuned in to the local news and the smell of buttered toast and hot cocoa wafting through the house.

Grandma was very involved with church and civic activities and we learned from her the importance of giving of our time. Every week we gathered around her kitchen table to help make tray favors to take up to the hospital, adding a bit of cheer to those confined by illness. We were called upon to help set up tables and chairs for the various club meetings she attended and presided over, spreading out the table covers and adding the decorations and favors, filling tiny paper cups with nuts or mints, mixing up punch and setting out the cups and napkins. Sometimes we stayed for the meetings, donning sheer white aprons, serving little sandwiches to the attendees. Afterward, we helped to clean up and haul all the supplies back to my grandmother's house until we did it all again for the next meeting. A perpetual fundraising effort was supported by our strong arms and backs as we were recruited to pick up bags of newspapers from people all over town to store in my grandmother's shed until a truckload had accumulated. Then we would load them all into the truck where they were hauled ten miles down the road to the paper plant for recycling. The money that was received for those papers was donated to the church. We were usually rewarded with a quarter for our efforts. Whenever there was a need for a child actor for various skits to entertain the guests at her meetings we would don costumes for the part. I have played many roles, including an elf, an angel, an Easter bunny and Mrs. Claus. With her prodding we helped clean the church, collected money at bake sales, sold popcorn and sodas in the school gymnaium, and served meals to bereaved families after funerals. We manned the carnival game booths at the annual spring fling held at the Catholic school we attended, collecting the tickets and instructing the players on the rules of the games my grandfather and uncle had built. We were forbidden to play the lucky duck game because we knew which ducks were marked for the best prizes. She rewarded us by giving us dimes to walk to the ice cream shop two blocks away from her house to buy the best malted chocolate ice cream cones in the county and on Sunday mornings after church we were sometimes treated to breakfast at a local cafeteria-style restaurant. Occasionally on Saturday afternoons she would take us for burgers and fries at the diner downtown. Since eating out was not as common like it is these days, these were special treats and we were always excited to go.

Grandma always believed that too much idle time led to trouble and she kept us busy. I remember helping with spring cleaning, washing her windows with ammonia water, drying them with newspapers until they were streakfree and squeaky clean. The sheer curtains were handwashed and attached to stretchers to dry in the sun, then carefully rehung. Baseboards and trim were wiped down and spots scrubbed off the walls. She would coat the screen doors with a fresh layer of varnish to prevent water damage. Metal porch furniture was cleaned and repainted if necessary. Everything was freshened and aired out after a long winter. Then she would walk up the block to our own home and help us do the same there. My grandmother never owned an electric washer, dryer, or a dishwasher. Clothes, towels, and bedding were all washed by hand, passed through the wringer and hung on the line to dry. Dishes were washed and dried by hand. Consumption of electricity was kept to a minimum to keep the electric bill low.

The attic in my grandmother's house was off limits to all of us unless she gave special permission. There she stored all kinds of craft items, fabrics, a trunk full of old baby clothes, formal dresses hidden away in garment bags, wrapping paper, glitter, glue, candles, vases, punch bowls, bingo cards, those lucky ducks, table covers, virtually anything she would need for a party, a meeting or other special occasion. To a child it was an enchanting room full of treasures and to be allowed to ascend that flight of steep stairs hidden inside her bedroom closet was exciting. Sometimes we would sneak up there while she was gone so we could peruse this forbidden treasure trove, always mindful not to get caught so as to avoid the ensuing lecture we would hear for disobeying.

My grandmother rarely asked for anything for herself. She was not frivolous or extravagant in the way she dressed. Simple dresses were her garments of choice. Her best dresses were carefully hung and brought out only for special occasions and meetings. Her makeup was simple with just a bit of pink on her cheeks and red on her lips. She loved to have one of her grandchildren brush her silver hair while she relaxed in her chair watching television or reading. I learned to pincurl her hair for her in between the perms and haircolorings that my aunt gave her occasionally. I am glad that I had this opportunity to do something nice for her routinely. Her one indulgence for herself was an occasional bus tour with other ladies from her various civic clubs.

As we grew older and started having families of our own, Grandma was still very much involved in our lives. She was a part of every family celebration - birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings, showers, baptisms, first communions, school plays, ballgames. She babysat for her great-grandchildren as she had for her grandchildren, providing them with the same loving care and memories of childhood. I can still visualize her rocking the babies in her lap, patting and singing them to sleep with her lullabyes. The older children would play under her watchful eyes and were taught the same moral values that we had been taught. She loved us all and spent her years helping us in so many ways. When I look back on those years I am truly grateful for having had such an opportunity to spend so much time with her. With families today spread all over the globe not many children have the good fortune to have their grandparents so heavily involved in their daily lives. We were truly the lucky ducks and the grand prize was her love and influence.