Grannys are the best thing ever!

Grand parents in general are awesome and sadly some people never get a chance to know them personally. I was lucky because I got to spend a lot of time with both Grand parents, but I like to share a few things in particular about both Granny's.

There's a long list of things these tough women did without ever seeing the Internet, high school, or telephones. Here's a look at my grandmothers and things no one can duplicate.

Odella Thomas Brown was my Maternal grandmother we called Grandma Brown. Tough as nails, this woman endured a hand pump 30' from the back door and had to tote water into the house in buckets. I was in High School before her kids were able to install indoor plumbing to her kitchen sink. Being a shallow well, the water had a high mineral content and a tangy taste of iron. Fresh vegetables from her garden boiled in the water had a great taste that has never been duplicated. She made the best potato salad  I have ever tasted and can not be duplicated. Mom's was close, but Grandma Browns had that extra tang only she could produce.

Her fried cornbread was another treat never duplicated. She never baked cornbread in cake form, but using real lard she fried her cornbread thin and crispy around the edges. Thinner than a pancake and golden brown around the edges, it was treat I could eat as a main course. Actually, in the South cornbread and biscuits are eating tools, not a side dish. You use them to scoop your food onto your fork or spoon to savor a full mouthful of butter beans or other veggies that might roll around on your plate.

Her fried chicken was another dish that was always on the table each Sunday that would make Col. Sanders envious. She somehow had several chicken legs every Sunday that made me wonder if she used four legged chickens.

I could go on and on including remembering playing under the quilting frame in her living room as the ladies hand sewed the quilt tops from all four sides pretending it was a tent. Each Sunday we watched Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Dennis the Menace and My Favorite Martian. We usually went home half way through the Ed Sullivan Show so I missed a few historic appearances.

Delcie Hoggard Mizelle was my Paternal Grandmother who lived next door to us. She had the honor of babysitting my sister and I while my parents were at work. I don't know who the baby is she is holding in this picture, but that's Uncle Bill on the left. We called her Grandma Bill as long as I can remember.

I will never forget her biscuits! Her's were usually bigger than most people made and fluffy even when cold. That was an afternoon treat we could have any time. She always had molasses, chocolate syrup or honey to dip them in and a taste of Diet Rite Cola to wash it down since Grandaddy was diabetic.

She also made something I have never seen on a table since. She made dumplings with corn meal boiled in collard pot liquor which gave them a slight green color. It also was a treat to break in half as they were usually about 6" in diameter to eat as a side dish. It's something she took with her I have never had since.

Do you like collard greens? She made the best straight from the garden. Collards in the South are a main dish as well as boiled cabbage and fresh green beans. She also kept chickens in the yard beside her house, so I can tell you firsthand what it feels like to step in the pen barefooted. In my teen years I used to cut her grass, and the area where the chickens were grew the fastest and was the hardest to mow, but green for many years after the chickens were gone.

I could go on and on, but I'd love to know what your Granny did that has never been duplicated. Leave a comment and let's remember these great women that affected our lives and spoiled us rotten!