All Good Things with a History

We're humbled by some very special items that have come to live in our "new" country house--and settled into the kitchen, our favorite room. These are heirloom treasures worth their weight in gold (more, really) bestowed upon us by the matriarchs of each side of my family, maternal and paternal. I had to share, and some who read this will recognize these old things and smile...

I'll start with one legendary great-grandmother on my father's side, Eva Jesse Mackey King:

 
Granny King, ca. 1940s (?) Feeding the hens at her Nacogdoches, TX home

Granny King was salt-of-the-Earth and tough-as-nails. She could grow anything, cook anything, and make anything; a self-sufficient country woman that treated wounds with Kerosene and tobacco juice. She drank beer, dipped snuff, dyed chickens (when she thought it might look neat) told stories, and raised 16 children, five of whom she had in World War II at the same time. Granny King spent the majority of her life using a wood burning stove in an un-airconditioned cabin on a farm where she worked from sun up to sun down, as did everyone else there. I never had the honor of knowing her, as I was born just shortly before she died. I know we would have gotten along very well, though. Alas, references above are the stuff of legend and there may be corrections that follow--we'll see.

Knowing my admiration of all things self-sufficient and live-off-the-land, and my deep appreciation for anthing old and with a history, my wonderful grandmother has bequeathed to me the two remaining early 20th-century Ball canning jars that belonged to her mother:

 
Ball Co.'s blue "2L" Canning Jar ca. 1920, with Rubber Shoulder Seal in Discontinued Size

I'm in love. With these beauties, and with another precious item, my grandmother's favorite meringue fork:

 
Foreground: The Famous "Meringue Fork" used in Many Legendary, Hand-Whipped Meringue Pies. Background: The great S&P Shakers, another Canton find.

This is a large serving fork, which is unclear in the picture. My Grandmother refuses (to this day) to consider whipping egg whites for her legendary meringue toppings with automated gadgetry--only the right fork and lots of elbow grease will do. I'll be making her lemon pie recipe this weekend, in honor of it.

Jumping to my mother's side, another priceless treasure from my Great-Grandmother Roller, passed to me via my Aunt Anne, who received it from her mother, my "Grandmama" not long before her death in 2006:

 

Just how old the unassuming little box is, no one's sure--but it's filled with original, hand-written recipes from both of my Great-Grandparents and Grandparents, as well as a few of their friends and other family members:

 
Inside, treasures abound.

 
The oldest items from my great-grandparents were tucked into a tiny pink envelope by my grandmother for safekeeping. I'll have to try that potato cake recipe...

   
A well-used page for 'No-Kneading Rolls'--another one to try

Thank you, Anne, for the great honor of guardianship over these items, so full of history and interest. As with all good things with a story, their ownership is never static--one day, they'll all pass from my hands to other family members. In the meantime, however, I love knowing they're nearby--and remembering the good folks who brought them through the years to me.

 

Comments

[Anne Guyer]

Thank you, Cody, for your interest and deep appreciation for your family's history. There will be more "goodies" to come.

[Alex]

Be sure to scan those recipes or rewrite them! Time isn't kind to paper like that. Loved the little treasures.