Welcome to my first blog for “GRIT” Magazine! I stumbled across this website by happy accident, and I’m so glad. When I think about “GRIT,” I am flooded with memories of my Granny Crawford.
My grandparents moved from the Smoky Mountains to Oregon when my mother was very young, and along with Granny came her southern traditions. Granny loved to go fishing – often on the spur of the moment. This involved thrusting her feet into a pair of Grandad’s work boots, embarrassing my mother in a big way. Granny grew a huge vegetable garden and raised chickens, starting fresh with a new batch of Rhode Island Reds every spring. I loved to watch them huddling together or busily pecking feed under their warm light. It wasn’t until later that I sadly learned that those little fluffballs became part of “Ma Crawford’s” legendary southern-style, after-church dinners – I thought their only job was to lay eggs!
Granny loved “GRIT” – especially the inspirational articles and the stories about people with rural lifestyles and interests so similar to her own. When I became bored and restless (and a complete pain in the rear) during our visits, she handed me her latest copy. I loved the funny stories, the anecdotes, and the comic strips, especially “Nancy and Sluggo” – the precocious little girl and her friend from the wrong side of the tracks. For Granny, it was probably worth the price of subscription to keep me occupied for an hour or two.
This photo of me churning butter was published in “GRIT.”Â
