Memories

Good ‘ol Memories

Arval Edwards has told treasured stories for many years. Elmer Jones and Ol’ Shorty are two of the favorites. We have loaded these to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

When he was around 11 or 12 years old, he and his friends would go to the Little Yadkin River after Sunday school to go swimming at the Big Rock swimming hole. It was about 10ft deep in some places, but the Little Rock was for the older kids because the water was deeper. They would all go skinny-dipping (or as grandpa Arval put it – “we were all naked”), and one day when they were all swimming they saw a bunch of watermelons coming down stream. He recalled this to be one of the funniest things he had ever seen; turned out some older kids had stolen a bunch of watermelons from a nearby farmer and dumped them in the river. Another time they were at the swimming hole, an older kid wore an inner tube that he kept pushing to around his hips; it ended up tipping him over in the creek and he was there with his feet in the air kicking like a fish. The kids all swam out to him and helped him back upright.

Charlotte: Lots of memories from my childhood at Grandma Gracie's when out of town families from far away, exotic places like California, Florida, Connecticut, etc. came to visit her little, podunk town of Pinnacle. Probably around 5 or 6 years old were earliest memories of cousins staying with us and no one my age to hang out with, they were all closer to Sheila and Robert's age. Although Andrea and I lived in the same town, we went to different schools and didn't see each other very often. Then Matt came along and everyone gathered at Grandma's house; all the men outside under the mimosa tree, near the cellar which you were always warned to stay away from, telling stories, telling jokes, laughing, squatting, smoking… while the women were inside talking, laughing, cooking, washing dishes and telling their own stories.

Grandma Gracie: loving, smart, quiet, easy, dresses, aprons, bunion, combing her long gray hair, hair combs and hair pins, sewing, being covered by a warm quilt at nap time, putting "our backs together", hugs, sugar cake, pintos and cornbread, coffee, cake for breakfast, hardworking, arthritis, rubbing alcohol, Raleigh salve… then walker, then wheelchair, then bed… "get me to the kitchen", "get me to the bed", "Clyde?"

Lucille and Meyer and Gail: the Drive-In, Avon, crosswords, TV guide, Star Trek, coconut cake.
Quentin and Helen: joking/pickin, "Charlotte Lou Gray Craddock", big smiles, farming.
Hilda and Herman: " ear piercings, camper, cool house, "the store".
Clyde (and Flossie, whom I never met, but always wondered about): trucks, scrambled eggs, naps, NASCAR, Budweiser.
Lottie and Suphi: new trends, acupressure, hypnotism, tennis, motorcycle and gun experiences, deep conversations, travel.
Arval and Nadyne: horses, stories, jokes, jewelry making, snake bones, bird claws, flowers, new age/cool.
Ralis and George: always dressed up when flying, calm, quiet, sensitive, interested, more jokes and storytelling.
Edna Earl and RW: my Mom and Dad, and the cousins, lots of memories. Nothing better than family!

I also want to thank and honor RW and Edna Earl for being such great, loving and supportive parents. I am so very grateful they are still part of our lives! We love them both so very much!

Robert Earl: Years ago when we were children, I think we were visiting either Ralis and George or Lottie and Suphi. We went out to a nice restaurant with cloth napkins. My brother Robert held his up and said, “Mama, what’s this?” She said, “That’s your napkin.” And he replied, “No it’s not; it’s a towel.” Neither Mom nor I can remember where we were or who we were with. ~ Sheila

During the summer of 1965, the Edwards siblings converged on Pinnacle for a summer family gathering. Lottie and Suphi came down from Baltimore, bringing their daughter Suzan, and Arval and Nadyne drove in from California with Anthony and Nona. Suzan and Nona, being the little girls, joined Sheila and Edna Earl

and had a great time playing dress up. Then they turned to Robert Earl, who was patiently, curiously watching the girls. They found some of Sheila’s old clothes, a pair of gloves and a wig, and had some extra fun. On their way back to Grandma’s house, where the entire family was visiting, someone had an idea. Edna Earl parked a little ways from the house and walked Robert Earl up to the door, then hid nearby as he knocked. When the door was opened to a sweet, shy little child, who was reluctant to talk to them, they all thought they had a lost little girl on their hands. Actually, it has been told that, when asked, “Where’s your mama, sweetheart,” Robert Earl burst into tears, making the ruse even more believable. ~ Collected memories

Boyden: When Boyden was about 5 years old, he took everything out of grandmas clock and told her, “I fixed your clock.” She gave it to him before she passed away. He said the only other thing he could remember about it was she had paid $1.50 or $2.00 for it.

Nona: I was three years old when I first met Grandma. I had spent some time with my cousins Phillip and Sheila, who had come out with their moms to visit us in California and to see our mutual baby cousin Suzan. Sheila wanted my flip-flops and played with my puzzle. Actually, we fought over my flip-flops and puzzle. And I was quite unhappy about it. So I wasn’t too keen on sharing my new cousin with Sheila, never mind sharing her grandma.

Daddy (that’s Arval) stood next to his mother, looked down at me and asked, “So Noni, what do you think of your grandma?”

I looked right into those blue eyes looking lovingly down at me and I said, “I don’t like her!”I can still hear that beautiful laugh, and her saying, “Bless your heart.”

After that first encounter, my youth was blessed with several cross-country adventures, driving three-thousand miles to see FAMILY. After days of exploration all over the USA, we’d end up on Highway 52, and Daddy would say, “LOOK!” We’d squeal in excitement at the sight of Grandma’s Mountain. We were there! Or as Grandma would say, “We were home.”

I always remember tables in the yard, covered with white table cloths, and mounded with food; fried chicken, corn and crowders, bread, sugar cake, and soooo much more. Sometimes, there would be a new cousin, like Charlotte, or Andrea, and finally, Matt. There were philosophical conversations, political arguments, jokes and stories, and food. There was always food, GOOD food, and lots of it. Above all else, I felt welcomed, at home, loved.

I was so proud when Boyden took me for a ride in his go-cart. I was in heaven when Quentin let me ride his mule. I spent days with Hilda and Herman at their store, and fell asleep in bed between them. Anthony and I helped bag up popcorn at Meyer and Lucille’s drive-in theatre and couldn’t wait to eat the best hamburgers in the universe. I could write a book of beautiful memories of my aunts and uncles and cousins, of Lucille and Gail cooking hamburgers, Clyde cutting up watermelons, Hilda bringing me a new dress, Edna Earl taking me to Sunday school, swimming with Sheila, spending nights with Anne telling me stories and playing the piano and singing. I always remember her singing. I remember playing dress up with Sheila and Suzan and Robert Earl, going to the Blue Ridge Parkway, sewing with Grandma, priming tobacco with Quentin and David and Larry, flying with Boyden, playing with Andrea’s kittens, walking around the knob with Phillip, even climbing to the top with a large portion of the family, Ned playing his trombone, visiting Crawley, Carrie and Lillie, milking the cow, making butter, Herman singing “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa,” whenever I walked into his store, being at the top of a human pyramid to change a light bulb, meeting William’s newest wife, Helen making pickles, Mary jumping off the porch and breaking her ankle, Grace carrying blue-eyed baby Matthew, going to a tobacco auction, thunderstorms, lightning bugs, and real rain. Lottie and Suphi would come in from the north and George and Ralis from the south. Someone talked about Mary and Grace being from the other sunshine state. I am grateful to have brought my own children to meet their great grandmother, a connection that is forever. FAMILY!

I last saw Grandma just after her ninety-ninth birthday. She was pretty tired and not always up for conversation, but she looked at me one day, with a twinkle in her eye, and she said, “I remember the first time you met me. You didn’t like me one bit!” And she laughed.

My Grandma Grace Edwards shared this recipe with my mom when I was little. It has become a tradition I now share with my own grandchildren. ~ Nona

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