Remember those times you spent with your grandmother or even your great grandmother? What do you remember most about her? Was it her grandmotherly smile? Maybe it was a stern look. Her baby soft skin? Maybe she smelled of roses or baby powder or maybe even the strong odor of Ben-Gay! Whatever it was, have you ever been reminded of those long forgotten memories or memories you thought you had forgotten? Does something trigger your memory so that you think of her?
For me, it was a simple photograph! A photograph that reminded me of what I thought was her birthday party, but was in actuality a Cornett Family Reunion that took place in Havre De Grace, Maryland at Aunt Pearl’s house. I remember bits and pieces of that day, not every little detail as that was over thirty years ago. But I do remember being there.
I remember her “Little House on the Prairie” style dress. Baggy, long sleeves and the skirt that fell nearly to her ankles, the too large, pointy collar that was popular back in the 1970’s, the lavender color of her dress which reminded me of her birthday cake. All white with lavender colored roses on the top and a lavender zigzag pattern on the sides of the cake with little lavender pearls. I think the cake had three tiers as I remember it being the tallest cake I had ever seen.
For me, it was a simple photograph! A photograph that reminded me of what I thought was her birthday party, but was in actuality a Cornett Family Reunion that took place in Havre De Grace, Maryland at Aunt Pearl’s house. I remember bits and pieces of that day, not every little detail as that was over thirty years ago. But I do remember being there.
I remember her “Little House on the Prairie” style dress. Baggy, long sleeves and the skirt that fell nearly to her ankles, the too large, pointy collar that was popular back in the 1970’s, the lavender color of her dress which reminded me of her birthday cake. All white with lavender colored roses on the top and a lavender zigzag pattern on the sides of the cake with little lavender pearls. I think the cake had three tiers as I remember it being the tallest cake I had ever seen.
Meet My Great Grandmother, Gincy.
I am the little girl in the photo.
My Gincy ~ A Social Butterfly 🙂
My dad, Bill is in the background in the cream colored shirt with Uncle Don standing next to him.
Another memory I have of Gincy is when I was about the same age I use to sit in her lap and she would rock me in her rocking chair on the front porch. I believe she even had a white rocking chair at her birthday celebration. I used to have a picture of the two of us, but I don’t know what happened to it. I can picture it in my mind what it looks like, but that is about all. I would love to have another copy of it.
The memories I have of Gincy are few, so here I am typing my last memory of her and smiling because I know what this memory means to me. I used to have this old brown two tone colored teddy bear. I took him with me almost everywhere I went and he would be the first toy I would grab to play with. I never picked a baby doll, but picked up old teddy instead. On my grandmothers front porch I would sit down and dress teddy and pretend he was my baby. I had cloth diapers for him and those diaper pins with the hard plastic covers on them so I wouldn’t poke him and end up making him cry! Gincy never liked for me to undress “teddy” for fear that he might catch a cold. She would always make me put his diaper back on! It’s kind of cute now that I look back on this memory and see her point of view. I think this was her way of playing with me, because she wasn’t able to get down from the rocking chair she was rocking in and play on the porch with me. At that time in my life, I thought she was just scolding me for taking his diaper cloth off!
Grandma Gincy was born on July 1, 1886 and died on September 24, 1978 when I was only six years old. Not understanding death at the ripe old age of 6, I always thought she would live forever and just be my Grandma Gincy. I miss brushing your hair and I am just so very glad to have these memories of you. I love you my Gincy!
Ancestral Roots & History 